Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-03
TRAFFIC ON THE MISSOURI.

TRAFFIC ON THE MISSOURI.
Will A. Campbell of the Omaha
Bee, who has been devoting much
attention to the publicity end OF
river traffic improvement, publishes
an interesting article in recent is
sue of the Sioux City Tribune on
Missouri river improvement and says
among other things:
Those who urge the establishment
of a boat line on the Missouri river
also point to the possibility of bring
ing the Goals of North Dakota and
Montana to the furnace mouths OF
the lower Missouri river cities on
barges. It is no uncommon sight to
see 10 barges carrying 1000 tons
each on the Ohio river. Bringing
coal down the Missouri river in lots
of 10000 tons at a time is not an
impossibility according to those who
have been engaged in steamboat traf-
nc on other streams.
Five hundred billion tons of lig-
mite await the miner; await trans
portation facilities to bring them
from the hills along the Missouri
river to the furnaces of the lower
Missouri river cities. This is the es-
innate placed on the North Dakota
coal fields by the United States geo.
logical survey. No where IN the
United States is there such vast
amount of commercial coal so near
a great waterway as the seams of lig-
mite in North Dakotatare to the Mis-
souri, river. In no state. of the union
is there so much coal. g., T. ....-
This coal is almost as near to
Sioux City as the Iowa steam Goals
The four principal ssaoa1 fields now
open in North Daktf, are Washburn
681 miles from Sioix City landing;
Coal Harbor, 729 M les; White Earth
river, 845 miles, aII Williston, 919
miles. .
This coal can he ought at the pit
at from 80 cents = $3.50 per ton,
but it could not IS. Erhipped out Of
the state by rail t .e of the ex-
cessive rates. On : it should
be brought from a==1s mines
along the Missouri --f tos Sioux
City at from 60 cent? s7SSer ton:
That the coal is a CONF al fuel
which will save from t::inn,, SO per
cent on fuel bills if it caiUke brought
to the lower Missouri RI # cities at
a total cost of $225 per ton cannot
be disputed any more than it can be
said that the Missouri river is not
navigable.
Two large fiourishing mills at Man
dan and Jamestown in North Dakota
use Ignite coal exclusively for fuel.
The Russe4i-Miller company at
jamestown, a 500-barrel mill main
tains 170-horsepower for IL hours
with 1900 pounds of Ignite. The
Minot Electric company employees
two boilers and 50-horsepower is
maintained for Ia hours with two
tons of green Ignite.
An expense bill for fuel of the
United States weather bureau at
Bismarck fell under the attention of
those interested in the river because
of the possibility of delivering ig-
mite coal to the cities. For years
the bureau used anthracite at $1,000
per ton. Crates were introduced
with which to burn Ignite last win
ter and the coal bill formerly $50
per month, was reduced to $14 per
month, the Ignite costing 81 per ton
in the bin at the bureau.
The United States geological sur
Yey offers this bit of testimony as to
the commercial possibilities of lig-
mite: H..
with respect to the fixed carbon
the Ignite of North Dakota appears
to be equal to the product of the
western interior coal fields, which
includes Iowa, Missouri and Kansas
According to a recent survey, the
fixed carbon In s13 samples from Iowa,
Missouri and Kansas computed on a
dry basis averages about so per cent
The Washburn mine at Wilton fur
nishes the following analysis OF the
coal at that mine for this report:
Fixed carbon, 543 per cent; volatile
matter, 1915 per. cent: ash 6.82 pei
cent; moisture, 31.S3 per cent. -" Us
Witt, such facts and such stern
necessities, together with the real
nayigabflity of the Missouri river, II
is the opinion OF business men from
Fort Bent0n-even further up the
river where boats will never land te
the Mississippi, that 1t is only q
short time until boats will be put on
the Missouri river and will pay
handsome profits. =
This brings those interested In the
i use Of the river to the old question:
why is river traffic dead
Two causes for the passing OF the
q 20 IF feamboatS are commonly al
leged the wickedness of railroads 10
rate cutting and the failure OF the