Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-07-22
THOMAS HEARS
FROM RIVERMAN
w, n, BLAIR OF STEAMBOAT
FAME URGES IMPROVEMENT
OF DIES MONIES.
LOWER FREIGHT RATES
Wants Shippers to Show Interest and
Give Support Meigs Reports on
Trips are Furnished Rock
Island Official.

&c. H. Thomas of the South SiGa
| Iostoffice is in receiDL Of letter
from w. H. Blair, general manager O
tie Carnival CITY Packet Co. operat-
ing steamboats, between Quincy and
Davenport In which the writer tells
come things about navigation of in,
land streams. Captain Blair tells OF
the depth of four feet between st.
Louis and st. Paul being considered
good water for the light draft boats
| plying between these points on the
Mississippi. He urges that the navi-
gability of the Des Moines and its i'm
provement to that end, be pushed.
! Also that the shippers especially and
the people generally get into the
game and work for the cause of rive,
transportation The writer Is an eA-
perienced river man with thirty years
on the river to his credit and speaks
advisedly on the subject of river
| transportation.
Interest Shippers.
! The letter to Mr.. Thomas who has
shown unusual interest in the river
| improvement, follows:
been on the river for more than thirty
years, and my experience tells me it
| is up to the people, especially the
! shippers, to say whether the Des
Moines river will be improved or not.
| If they realized the advantages they
would serve through such improve
ment they would not hesitate to give
this enterprise their hearty support.
You should go ahead and have your
Des Moines river improved as it will
be easily done by the dam and lock
system. 1t is only a question of get
ting the necessary appropriation Of
money to pay for the work.
Building New Boat.
eff you should operate only few
boats on the Des Moines river, your
people will find that it will repay its
cost many times over in the saving Of
| freight charges. There are but few
boats on the Illinois river but the
shippers stay with them, give them
their business and keep them going
| in order to keep the freight rates
down. There is no question with the
people of that valley about the wisdom
of keeping the Illinois river open and
giving the boats a portion of their
business. In no other way can the
shippers get and maintain reason
able freight rate. We are now build
| ing our sixth boat and she will be
completed in September. 1t will De
1876 feet in length and % feet beam
with a depth of Az feet. 1t will be
called Black Hawk
| Get Into the Game.
70 tor tho 5,,u n, he
we can only depend on, four feet of
yet with our light draft boats, we call
this good water and can do big and
profitable business on it.
There is another thing that wish
| to call your attention to. There is
now a good prospect for Improvement
of the rivers and a general revival of
the boat business, but to make this
permanent the shippers and the peo-
pie generally must get into the game.
Tired Bearing the Burden.
"The steamboat men have been
making this fight for over forty years,
attending conventions and spending
their money in an effort to show the
people the great Importance of water
transportation as a check on high
freight rates. We are tired of bearing
the burden for the benefit of the other
fellows who are equally interested.
Tired of playing monkey and pulling
chestnuts out of the fire.
'You are alright, have the Das
Moines river made navigable and then
ask your shippers to get into the
game with the rivermen and put some
money into the boats. Through this
combination the enterprise will be 4
success. The boats will get the bust
ness to river point, the shippers viii
get a large reduction in freight rate,
and such business and low rates will
be maintained"
| Meigs Reports.
Major Montgomery Meigs, who will
! be remembered as in charge of the
party government engineers who ma:ie
q trip down the Des Moines river from
the city of Des Moines to Keokuk and
stopped for time in Ottumwa en-
route, has filed his report of the Des
Moines river trip as we'll as the cruise
down the Iowa and Cedar rivers with
| Colonel Richie of the Rock Island ar
! senal
Favors Des Moines River.
The Rock Island Union has the fol
lowing regarding the report:
major Montgomery Meigs has for
warded to the local U. 6. engineer {
Office his report Of trip of examina
4 ton up the Iowa and Cedar rivers
branches of the Mississippi river ir
Iowa. The report, with an accompany
ing map, was received at the U. 8
| engineer office yesterday. Major Meigs
4 has also made trip of the same ma
ture up the Des Moines. These trips
were made in order that the U. S
engineer Office may CLEAN from the re
ports the nature of recommendations
for or against the improvement g
these rivers which will be made to the
chief of engineers at Washington.
/ THE report to the chief of engi
lneers, together with recommendations
will not be made for month or more
1t is understood, however, that the
recommendation as to the improve
ment of the Des Moines river may bt
i favorable, while the recommendation
RI tho Of Ho5or a,,f