Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-07-02
Barge Limo Company.
A Report Oh the Executive Gem.
mittees
lrrom the Knnsa. Guy TIme,.l

Ia -
From the Kansas City Times.1 .
At II meeting Of tho Barge Line :,
held Mt the Board o Trade y
Yesterday afternoon, tho fol-
report was read, received and :.
adopted, aud, on motion, an adjourn !.
ment was had siae die: :,
To the Knrsns City Barge Line Association (;
DETERMINATIONS Executive Com /,
mittee, to which was entrusted the
management of tho Guarantee Fund
and the contracts requisite to tile
carrying out of tho designs Of this
Association, begs to make tho fol-
lowing general report Of its opera
lions and their results thus Ear:
The original intention of the AS
sociation-formed chiefly Of citizens
only remotely Interested in the barge
navigation of the Missouri river
was to solicit n fund of $4,000, in
which amount to insure against pos
sible losses arising from the expert
mental trip the persons or company
who might undertake it. The re-
CURED fund was literally subscribed,
and the major portion of tin the
shape of checks, payable to order OF
tive President-paid into tue treasury
of the Association. These checks
have been returned to their maker
within the last few days.
Having been advised of the rcadi-
ness of our grain dealers to furnish
the necessary amount of freight, it,
was desirable next to procure the CO.
operation of parties friendly to the
project, the posscsscrs OF n tow-bont
1 strong enough to stem the current of1
the Missouri, and of model barges
upon which the underwriters would
give reasonable rates of Insurance.
These were found in the officers of
the Mississippi Valley Transporta-
ton Company, who, after a careful
= canvass of the matter, consultation
with numerous experienced river
men, aud under the advice Of old and
long-tried Missouri river pilots, de-
, cided that the scheme was perfectly
|, practicable, and that they would
make the trip. TO examine the river
moro particularly, their President
made u visit to Kansas City and after
, being finally and thoroughly satisfied
as to oyery particular, made Il propo-
. sition to the association, upon the
= acceptance of which he agreed to
send n tow-boat and three barges up,
, bringing from three to six hundred
I tons of freight, and carrying back
I from 1900 to 1000 tOns of grain, or
more il the depth of water would
II permit.
:. This proposition threw the total
risk of q possible extra expense
above So, 900, arising from delays or
$ difficulty of navigation, upon the
= association; aud, as there was no
authority from tho %guarantors to
\ assume such responsibilities, the
proposition was necessarily rejected
10 A second proposal was made by
= the Executive Committee, within the
~ purview of the articles of association,
~ which e%ilectually guarded the inter.
~ ests of the subscribers, aud limited
all possiblc losses Oh their part to the
y gross sum of the fund. This, fol
&c reasons of their own, the Mississippi
~ Valley Transportation Company re
jectcd.
" A third proposition was submittet
~ by the said company, agreeing tt
:, make the round trip, to carry thu
=, freight for a specific sum, the same tt
:. be paid out of the proceeds of thu
:, freight charges and the guaranteed
~ fund if necessary.
This agreement would have beef
~ duly submitted to the guarantors
and would doubtless have been &C
- ceptcd by them, lad not n very un
fortunate and unforeseen contingenc.
+, arisen, " hich has efiectually stoppet
further negotiations for the present
and most probably will altogethe
preycnt the projected trial trip thi
season. The frequent rains of thi
~ spring have wet the grain through
~ out the country SO continuously tina
~ ~ it has been coming into the mnrke
i'm a condition unfit for shipment. L
~ load q large amount of grain in bulk
nc for barge transportation, with safety
Nv it must be dry, otherwise it may b
=. expected to spoil Gu route, and SO ell
~; tail a. heavy loss upon the shipper
This unavoidable obstacle has pre-
,,e vented our dealers from whom til
required supply was to be obtaine
NV from contracting with the Associt
y ton for the provision or the graz
~ within the time permitted by I'll
Company.
o. o. To avoid a defeat of the projct
=, from this cause an extension OF tim
III, was requested of the Mississippi Va
~ lev TRANSPORTATION Company, whic
owing to their present active scrvit
. below, they fiud themselves unabI
so to grant. And 30 the matter stand
with no reasonable prospect OF effec
n.the,,a arrangement during this SCI
son. 1t is the opinion of the commi
III tee. therefore, that the association
,.uo having faithfully attempted the eX
aaI;,, cutiom of the proposed project OF
'o.i practical test of the feasibility
barge navigation on the Nilsson
eir river. and having been for the abo'
sufficient reasons unsuccessful,shou
oe dissolve forthwith. 1t is also OF
opinion that 1T is perfectly practic
~. bic to navigate our river in this wa
~ We deduce the conclusion from
c"t mass of facts which have come und
y our observation during the course
up the negotiations, but which 1T won
be impructicable to detail fully hel
'es. Barges have already been towed
IN the Missouri river rs far as Jeilers'
.. City. The current is not strong
v than those Of other streams on viii
' o, barges arc plying regularly, the cha
mp mel is less ]torlurous and difficult tn
others whose distractions have be
LII overcome: the average depth is gre
70 enough to insure success with bare
pG- specially adapted to it. We ha
not met with a dis~lntercsted nv
'rrn man or pilot who has doubted l
mn feasibility of it, whilst on the &C
trarv one of the oldest and most
s.uI liable of them unhcsitatingly assel
its easy performance, and is ready
iui conduct the tow safely over t
api course, and numbers of others c.
,ti" roborate his views from the results
'n:ad their long experience. The NJ: v.
m. Company have full faith i'll
u.- and, rs stated above, have offered
'om, prove their faith by their works
one of the most encouraging in
VI dents elected. particularly i'll vi,
WIZ of the fact that they were will
Ca to assume all risks of disaster and
eu.' lay, and expected to carry their o.
ap- insurance additionally. Their wi
experience, coupled with their a
uai examination of all possible ct
n. tingencies of the experiment, is
elii- most a guarantee of its success
titus issue. Aud VIM. ii. Brown, "i
age. Coal King of the United Stat
I OF who has probably done more
9th, barge navigation than any OIL
L on dozen men in the country, and W
was recently exceeded the highest anti