The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-09-02
The New Mississippi
reinhtino Revived Brilliant
ReieyerS i'm the Stream as a Burden carrier
Not Waiting for Congress

to Grand Tower. where they had a
coal mine, and tipped them full OF
coal, which they barged back to st.
Louis. Both of them made fortune
at it, and in ten years they sold the
Lockwood for 50,000--more than she
cost She is still in service.
Good Work Accomplished on the Mis-
souri,
The problem of the Missouri is one
OF the most interesting which the ex-
perimenters have to solve. Some years
ago the railway lobby at Washington
was strong enough to force congress
to abandon the Improvement Of the
stream. A commission which had
worked for any years and had spent
nearly $10O0O.00O had developed
sane and easy mode of rendering the
Missouri safe channel. They had
only had $3,O0O.O0O for systematic
improvement, the rest of their funds
having, at the direction of congress,
gone to riprap threatened railway
bridge approaches and railway en-
bankments. With this $3,00O,000 they
opened the river for five foot naviga-
ton from its mouth 275 miles, and
practically all the way to Kansas City,
What they did remains today almost
intact and with very little care 1t
would have stood through the past
ten years without damages. Now Capt.
Schultz, at Kansas City. has reported
that $6,o00,00O would give safe and
permanent, reverted six foot channel
to Sioux City.
While waiting for such a channel
the navigator must be content with
four feet of water to Kansas City
and three feet above there in the long
dry autumn season when grain is NOV
ing. Kansas City is one of the rate
making points and is so established
because of its river. AS the river fell
out of use the railways steadily adj
vanced its rates. For several years
spasmodic efforts have been made to
put packet in commission not really
to carry freight, but to show" the
! railroads and to influence congress
Last summer two boats, the Ten.
nessee and Chester, were engaged by
an organization of merchants headed
! by Lawrence NJ. Jones, the dry goods
merchant of Kansas City. The Ten
/ nessee ended the last trip on the bot
tom of the river. having struck snag
and sunk with an uninsured cargo.
This mishap damaged the enterprise
and this spring no boat has run But
the Commercial club of Kansas City
under Mr.. Jones' leadership has ac
lively canvassed for money to equir
regular steel barge line.
/ President Taft will be on the river
/ have said, in October. Cooks are
already interested in the river as q
possible resort for tourists and have
been considering the chartering Of a
steamboat for tourists to go dowr
with Taft. replacing the old and bad
rive- cooking service with some good
caterer. Nothing has as yet come OF
this, but there are many plans afioa'
for better passenger service. If the
old packet is ousted from the freight
business by the new steel barges an6
new towhoats, 1t will also be GUST
ed from the passenger business BY
new all-passenger boats. These viii
have good cooking. good cabins ant
observation decks; and they will also
have something which has so fal
escaped the American steamboa
builder, sleeping cabins in which the
berths turn by day into sofas, making
of the rooms pleasant and attractive
parlors.
The boom Is on at last. The repor
of the engineers on the fourteen foo
waterway to the contrary notwith
standing. the river folk are aroused
and are building. 1t will not be man,
years before one can board a pas
senger steamer at st. Paul and e,
. without change down a busy river t.
New Orleans and there connect wit
coastwise ship for Boston
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