The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-01-09
JUST LIKE BUSINESS
METHODS: OF TODAY
WHO HAS A
GRAFT oNsA FERRY IN
ILLINOIS,.
Village In lIIiEois Owns: and Controls
Ferry Landings. Farms 1t Out to
Saloon Keeper Who, Pays DOL
lar Day for. It. He Then Lets It
to Ferryme, ii for s$1>25: Ferrynan
Charges Uncle Sam More Still.

Cllcle sam, Tile Town council OF Hen
nepin, ILL.,, a saloonkeeper and a ferry
man are mixed UP, in the. oldest ferry
arrangement to be found in the State
of Illinois. The ferry itself outrivals
any contrivanceSthat has ever been in
vented for the traAsportation of man
and beast across stream. BY the ferry
people are enabled ato reach the town
fro mthe railway. lktation..at Bureau
! Junction: IN island Road.
|ETe!n thia65ss.t .o... & .epsk.
ennep INA threes
times aFday. tx .s$s. = szs% zs: ~ e r
The village of Hennepin own. the fer
ry and controls the FERRY landings.
Hennepin is in Putnam, County, but
Bureau County, across, the Illinois
River, is required to keep up the road
from Bureau Junction to the ferry
landing. The town of Hennepin farms
the ferry. out to a saloonkeeper who
pays a dollar a day for the control of
it. Then the saloonkeeper* farms it to
the ferryman for $1.25 day; pocketing
$50 a year for the privilege
Peter Lehr operates the mail route.
and for this service he receives from
Uncle Sam $500 year. OF this sum
Lehr is required to pay the ferryman
$l56 year, or more than half the sum
ne receives from the Government Peter
is known to be a patient, faithful serv-
ant, but, try. as he may, he is unable
to figure out why that rum seller
should get $50 a year for doing nothing,
while he must put up half of his money
to help feed that wonderful ferry ar
rangement.
Another old character in the ferry
company is "Bill.' Bill is the horse
that furnishes the power to get the
boat back and forth across the river.
The boat is a long, flat-bottom affair,
but is safe and sound, and has never
been known to be out of business.
Across the river is a heavy MANILA
cable. an end being securely anchored
on either side. The cable rests on pull
ley wheels, one on each end of the boat.
A man named Spencer one owned the
fry, and when he got possession of it
1t was costumary for two men to take
hold OF the rope, and by walking the
ienght of the boat the craft was pro-
PEELED across stream. Spencer. evolved
a thought. He procured a stick Of
wood and across one end he cut a,
notch thick enough to let the cable fit
in it. The other end he rounded off
like the handle of cant hook. BY bit
ing the rope in the notch of the stick
he had only to hold on and take the
boat's-lenght walk. The stick for years
was handled in this manner until
new operator came along and also
evolved thought. why couldn't he
hitch horse to the end Of the stick
and make the animal do the works."
He tried it., and that resulted in the
present style of operation Of the Hem
nepin ferry.
Bill is the horse that knows when he
is hitched to the. rope. and he also
knows whole lot Of other things. He
knows that it requires just eight walks
I'm an ordinary stage of water) to
walk the boat across the Illinois River.
On every trip up the eighth he turns to
the right in retracing his step to take
another hold on the rope. But on the
eighth he never fails to turn to the
left land ambles off to the box in which
his master places his dinner. At such
times as high water makes is necessary
to do more work Bill is able to tell
whether he will have to go back and
take another step: bite out OF the apl
take another bite when theaboat -is, ap-
preaching shore. He doesn't bulge il
his horse sense: tells him that the mo-
mentum wille take, the scra tt. to anchor
without further: effort on his: part. -