Kansas City daily journal., 1896-12-16
PORT ARTHUR HARBOR
MEMORIAL ASKING SI,OOO,0OO FOR
ITS IMPROVEMENT.
HITTING THE SCALPERS HARD.
SoUTHER MILEAGE TICKET ADOPT
ED BY WESTERN LINES.
Central Pacific Sinking Fund Bonds
TO lie SoId-Fort scott Changes
Other Railroad News of In
tercst to the Cen
ernI Public.

Deep Water Convention Hall, Fort Smith,
Ark. Dec. I-(speciall The harbor of
Port Arthur, Tex, and the Arkansas river
were made the subjects of elaborate me
MORALS addressed TO congress by the Ar
kansas deep water convention, held in Fort
Smith to-day. The Port Arthur memorial
called for an appropriation by the gov
ernment of 100000 for the purpose of
dredging channel l2O feet long by twenty
six feet deep from the head of Sabine pass.
at the southern end of Sabine lake. to the
Neches river, at the northern extremity.
Port Arthur is short distance from the
head of Sabine pass. A government ex-
penditure Of 81, 100000 has already secured
depth of twenty-five feet through the pass.
The Neches river has a depth of over
thirty feet, and the memorial asks con-
gress to connect the deep water in Sabine
pass with the deep water in the Neches
river by the proposed channel.
The Arkansas river improvement me
UUOTtdl REQUESTS Lllt Improvement "a llLs
Arkansas from Wichita. Kas., to the
mouth of the river, so as to permit the
passage Of large steamboats, up to Wichita
and to convey by water transportation
Kansas corn and Indian Territory coal and
cotton to the Gulf.
One hundred and fifty delegates from
Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indian Ter
ritory. Missouri. Colorado and Texas were
in the hall when the convention assembled
for the morning session. Speeches of well
come were made by Ex-Governor Fishback,
of Fort Smith, and Mayor Hoffman, which
were responded TO by Secretary of State
W. p Edwards, OF Kansas, who referred
10 the fact that he had just returned from
Port Arthur, near which in Sabine pass
he had counted fourteen great ships from
all countries loading with products of the
Central West, direct result of the work
of such conventions in the past. These
officers were named:
Temporary chairman, C. NJ. Barnes, of
Guthrie, o. t: permanent chairman. C. G.
Jones, Oklahoma City. o. T.; temporary
secretary S. NJ. Seward. Topeka, Kas.;
permanent secretary, s. A. Williams. Fort
Smith.
A part of the afternoon and evening ses-
sions was devoted to the reading of va
Tious technical papers. AT night the visi-
tors were banQueted by the Fort Smith
Commercial League. Among the Kansas
delegates were Secretary of State w. C.
Edwards, Larned; Congressman-elect ]. D.
Botkin, Neodesha; Ed Ridgley, Pittsburg;
= Colonel ]. V. Moffatt Wichita; George NJ.
Seward, Topeka: Marsh Murdock Wichita:
{. Z. Moore. Cherryvale; T. w. Eckert
and Amos Walton. Arkansas City. From
Missouri-Captain ]. NJ Mason. st. Louis;
l.. L. Bowers Springfield; L. l.. Coleman
r. b. Gillette. Marionvile; F. NJ. Ferris
and f. w. Mcdonald, Kansas City.
The Improvement of the Port Arthur
harbOr is of great Importance to Kansas
City. because that port will be the
terminus Of the Kansas City. Pittsburg Sc
Gulf railway within the next ninety days.
II is lG7 miles nearer to Kansas city ihan
Is Galveston, III miles nearer than New
Orleans. 4l) miles nearer than Savannah,
AL miles nearer than Newport News and
55G miles nearer than New York. Thus
Port Arthur has the geographical advInt-
age over all other seaports in competition
for Kansas City business. Galveston was
recently blocked for several weeks with eX-
pors grain because its narbor facilities
were not sufficient to enable the grain to
he loaded into ships as fast as IT arrived
from the grain belts. With the improve
ment contemplated by the Fort Smith deep
water convention. to secure a twenty-siX
foot channel. 120 feet in width from Sabine
Pass to the mouth of the Neches rive~. the
Sabine lake harbor will bc ample to ac-
commodate fleets sufficient to carry the
grain product of the world. In this Kansas
City is interested for % per cent of the
wheat and 40 per cent of the corn produc-
nf tha Taffn tote FrA,,,
district of which she is the center. So also
does 30 per cent of the oats. 40 per cent of
the cattle and 60 per cent of the sheep.
Kansas City has been looking forward
with expectancy to the completion of the
Kansas city. Pittsburg & Gulf.and TO real
ize the full measure of these expectations
the port on Lake Sabine must be made q
harbor capable of floating a number of
deep draught vessels Sabine Pass has
depth of 24.1 feet of water at mean low
tide, and is the deepest port on the Texas
coast a government expenditure of $l.150,
coo was required to dredGe Sabine Pass and
construct the ictties at the outer end. The
river and harbor bill passed by the last
congress contained an appropriation of
Sl.GAW0 TO continue the work. If the rec
ommendation of the Fort Smith conven-
tion for an additional S.001OO0 to dredge a
twenty-siX foot channel 12O feet wide north
to the Neches river is adopted the Port
Arthur harbor VIII be capable of floating
the deepest draUSht vessels in practically
unlimited number.
The effect upon rates of the opening of
the Port Arthur route is of course prob
lematical. 1t is clear that the Atlantic sea-
board rates from this territory are lower
because of water competition by the lakes
and Gulf. II has been frequently demon-
strated that st. Louis was in position to
secure lower rates on account of Mississippi
river competition. Reasoning from prem
ises of almost universal application. Kan
Sas City shippers have believed that the
closer this city is brought by rail To the
sea. the better the position she will be in
10 secure low rates Traffic men all over
the country have been speculatng upon