Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-11-13
Can ALL But HEAR WHISTLES
Omaha Business Men Say Boats Will
Soon Be Here.
BANQUET THE PROPER TONIC
NRViEatioB Company VIII Meet and
soon TrafHc Congestion VIII
ne Relieved by River
TRANSPORTATION.

Hush. listen. Oh, l thought that was
steamboat whistlng IN.
Business men of Omaha have found the
spark" and river transportation will be
come reality. Members Of the rivers
and harbors committee who attended the
dinner Of the Commercial club Monday
evening will not refer to the banquet halls
as the caves of the winds This is the
opinion Of President Pickens Of the Omaha
and Missouri River Transportation COM
pany. who attended the banquet
Boats will be placed on the Missouri
/ river" said MI Pickens ~ believe the
business men Of Omaha arc back Of the
| movement. and what they arc actually
! back of is sure to succeed. II is true
/ there are many problems to he worked out,
! but river transportation can be started
/ In a small way. and we must never allow
/ the distinguished members of the rivers
! and harbors committee 30 find Omaha
| lacking. They helped give the inspiration
and it Is up to us to respond at once. VI
| they do not hear that Omaha Is running
! boats they win believe we have lost in
/ terest in the project.
} The only reason the Omaha and Mis-
/ souri, River Navigation company las de-
( layed starting a boat line is that Kansas
/ City experimental last year and as It
/ looked like an experiment at that time we
| have waited to the outcome. Kansas
( Citys fleet consists of the Tennessee and
| the Chester. two old Mississippi river boats.
! They have been running. but thoy have
| not proved to be the right kind of boats.
We will now know what kind of boats will
be needed. One thing we have learned, and
| that for certainty-the Missouri river is
/ navigable. and we had forgotten that it
| was.
Must Relieve Congestion.
"The time has come when we must use
! the rivers to relieve the Congested traffic
! Holland and the small countries of Europe,
which are a network of railroads, have
| spent vast amounts for improvements of
rivers. And every river is full Of boats
| The Erie canal in New York has been al
| lowed to become a frog pond for the last
| ten years Formerly we received goods
/ by canal and rail. but in the last ten years
we have not had more than FIVE cars by
canal for our house Paxton & Gallagher
wholesale grooers). Now New York state
has awakened and will spend 500 100000 for
the Improvement of the canal
| IA meeting will be held within a short
time by the Omaha and Missouri River
| Transportation company. l believe boats
will be running soon as they can be
] secured and docks provided
! Mr. Picksns said men who We're capable
of working out the problems of transpor-
tation for the RAILROADS would be necessary
to the working out OF the problems, which
confront the cities which propose TO open
the Missouri river.
W. q. Haley nR Otd Pilot.
! w c.. Haley, president of the Haiey &
Lang company, wholesale fruit dealers,
with houses in several western cities in
cluding Omaha, said;
| u ought to know the possibilities of
of the Missouri river. For years l was
a pilot on the stream which built up the
northwest think my first gray hairs
were caused by my experiences in hauling
supplies for the forts and Indians about
Fort Benton. ] made numerous trips up
the river from st. Louis to the last pos
! sible station in Montana and the Yellow
] stone country. The government had never
lpulled a snag then, nor spent a cent for
rip-rap. It does not need to do so now
in order to run the boats on the river.
AS a river pilot believe the old stern
wheel boats practical today. | do not be-
lleve the steel bottom boat will be sue
! cess. / see no home for the tug. The
side wheel steamer is equally impractical
BILE. What we want is boats, boats like
a capacity Of 1000 tons and carried it up
into the northwest without once blowing
a whistle Of distress. 1 will be interested
in the work. We have houses at Sioux
! City and Omaha, and they are two OF the
greatest fruit-distributing centers in the
country We certainly believe that the
business men of the river cities are ready
to start the boats, and next year is the
time
Railroads Release shippers.
Former Congressman ]. L. Kennedy, vice
president OF the J. /. Brandeis Sons
bank, said:
The time has come. Boats will run, be-
| cause the big shippers can no longer get
lower rates than the small shippers. The
| railroad rebate drove the steamboats, from
the river The big shipper could get low
rail rate. He would not ship by water
when he was getting hundreds of dollars
back from the railroad. companies. But he
has been cut on. When his business is
put on an equality with that of the small
! .hipper, he is going TO look for q cheaper
means Of transportation, because he needs
It in his business, The big shippers are
| compelled TO back the steamboat move
J ment and we will be running boats IN a
short time, or I am much more mistaken
than Congressman Ellis thinks he will be
| when he says he is big ass II he has not
the right idea Of the needs of river trans
portation."
! w, j. Hetter, chairman Of the executive
committee Of the Commercial club, said:
Il believe the banquet did the work It's
| a start that is a start and ! believe the
business men of Omaha are behind Il, as
! we'll as those Of Kansas City, St Joseph
and Sioux City. There is no doubt but
| what the money can be raised to establish
a boat line, and the speakers last evening.
who spoke with authority. convinced many
big shippers that the Missouri river was
! naviKable and that they would be com
PEELED TO look TO II for relief from conges-
tion OF trahic which is causing big losses
to business men every day"
Movement MeRas Boats,
This movement. means boats-lt doesn't
| mean anything else-if there Ia a man In
Omaha or Sioux City or Kansas city, who
only wants money from the federal gov
ernment to save his land from being carried
down 10 the Gulf Of Mexico, he should be
sent 10 the rear"
Such was the characteristic statefent OF
Edgar G. Ellis Of Kansas City a member
IL a.