The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-07-22

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THE TENNESSEE RIVER Trade
Louisville is seized just now with her
annual spasm in regard to the Ten
nessee River trade, and all her papers.
the Board of Trade, and the mer-
chants generally are taking a hand in
the affair.
For two or three years Louisville
has been fighting it out on hat line
with but Indifferent success-indeed,
has found it an Improbable business.
They have taxed themselves and SUBJ
sidized boats to run in the trade
promising to indemnify them for their
losses, and offering every inducement
to the merchants and planters along
the Tennessee River TO come to Lou
isville to buy their goods or bring
their cotton or other products to that
market. But their efforts have proved
unsuccessful, and the steamboatmen
lost money, Notwithstanding they
were to be Unidentified. The
people along the Tennessee River
are an intelligent and discrim-
mating public, and will persist,
despite all the allurements held out
by the Louisville merchants and
her Board of Trade, to trade where
their interests direct them, at Ev-
ansville; and the result has been that
while Louisville sent out one boat a
week, at a heavy loss each trip, Ev-
ansville has had two boats running
nearly the whole year round, having
full cargoes-paying cargoes almost
every trip. and this Notwithstanding
no indemnity has been collected from
our merchants. Had our merchants
shown the same liberal spirit mani
Tested by the merchants of Louisville.
IN their efforts to build up the Ten
nessee River Trade, it would have
been largely increased if not doubled.
a. Louisville, though discouraged does
not despair, and has made a new ar
rangement by which to divert the
trade of Southern Tennessee and
Northern Mississippi, and Alabama
from Evansville to that city. The
new arrangement is to bring into
requisition the L. 4 N. R.R., which
crosses the Tennessee River at Dan
vile, at which point every facility for
the receipt, transfer, and reshipment
of freight has been made. The pro.
position is to ship freight by rail to
Danville, then reship by the two
steamers Rapidan, to Florence, a dis
lance of 1874 miles, as we'll as to the
AZ intermediate ports and landings
between the two points. From Dam
vile to Padueah is 80 miles, with IL
intermediate landings. Now Louis
vile and the railroad and Rapidans
propose to carry freight to all these
points at a certain uniform rate.
which, on examination, will be found
considerably higher than the through
rate charged by the Sam. Orr from
Evansville, and with, at the same
time, the additional risk and loss in
eident to reshipment.
This arrangement looks very well
on paper, and may do for the marines,
but the old sailors, the merchants
and planters on Tennessee River, are
too intelligent to be deceived. They
know hal the merchants of Louis
vile will not expend all the profits on
their goods in the indemnity of steam
boats. They know they will expect
to get back the money they thus ex-
pend, by increasing the price of their
commodities. This has been the case
before, and hence it was that mer-
chants went by Evansville to Louis
vile and returned here to make their
purchases, because they could save
money in the operation, 'lw
Our merchants purchase their
stocks as cheaply as do the merchants
OF Louisville. They pay less rents
and less salaries to statesmen. They
pay out none Of their profits for in
aemnity to steamboats,, and hence are