The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-09-02

Louis and Cairo-but the barge IS
built for profitable work on four feet.
! These boats are of steel through
out with their own steering gear SO
that they can tow tandem If desired,
and with open holds covered with
easily removed matches, with stout
deck beams supporting unloading der
ricks, capable of swinging cargo to
high bank, and with tram road down
| the middle of the hold for delivering
cargo under the hoist or slowing 1t.
| To propel them on the Mississippi
Mr.. Green has devised steel-hulled
| steamboat for towing and carrying
cargo. This vessel, which has some
thing of whaleback slope at the bow,
has low side wheels of the German
type, about fourteen feet in diameter,
with feathering blades, driven at high
speed with triple expansion engines
mounted amidships. A bridge directly
over the engines and row Of crew
and officers cabins set thwartships
under the bridge is all. except the
/ smokestack, which shows above deck.
! These boats are expected to carry
their fuel and one thousand tons of
cargo on ordinary stages of water.
and to tow three harges ahead Tor
one ahead and one on each shoulder)
lashed together, carrying each four
thousand tons; making Downstream
| fleet capacity of thirteen thousand
tons and an upstream capacity with
fair speed of ten thousand tons. The
towboat has three long balance rud-
ders under the stern for direct steer
ing of the whole tow. and will be
equipped with driving apparatus for
the hosting cranes of the feet.
! Supplementary to this Mr.. Green
has designed freight packet for 10.
cal service. capable of carrying about
1000 tons. at need, or 1000 tons in
ordinary service. This is like the tow
boat except that i. has larger side
wheels and less power 1t is equip
ped to swing cargo, and to push one
barge ahead carrying 1000 tons.
For the Tennessee, the Ohio and
Arkansas these barges are we'll suited
but 1t is the plan OF the promoters to
have in addition smaller boa for the
Forked Deer, the Obion, the White
and the st. Francis. and for similar
minor streams, collecting cargoes a,
the mouths of these streams for de
q livery to the larger boats.
!, The Range Of the New Freightins
Systems.
/ These new boats it must be under
| stood are not to engage in the ole
"peddling traffic" which is all that ex
lists on the main Mississippi today
! They are going into freight carrying
: as a serious business. They propose
; to seek regular alliances or pro-rat
ing agreements with railroads (ant
have several already in View. The,
propose to take freight from Spring
J Valley ION the Illinois or even from
La Sale, by short rail haul from Chi
cago. and deliver it at ST. Louis, New
: Orleans or Kansas City They ar,
! going broadly and definitely into tn,
| business of establishing the Missis
sippi again as burden bearer, full,
: convinced that If they do so congress.
| must In the end adopt the fourteen
, foot project and deepen all the tribu
: taries.
Their activities are not limited t.
the flowing water. Already they hav,
been visited by agents of the New
l Orleans-Liverpool lines, who offe
through rates from the Flour City ant
! from Chicago cheaper than the ex
listing rates by rail and ocean. In thi
combination 1t will be only necessar,
I for the barge to lie alongside tn
3 ocean steamship and unload oversize
avoiding all dock charges and tn
dangers of storage In hot city. Il
2 addition line to the terminus Of tn
Tehauntepec route is planned and |
e Is the expectation of the promoter
to put on eventually their own steam
g ers from New York to Boston. an
1 to northern South America, these t
r be of fourteen foot draft and capabl
$ in time of ascending to st. Louis an
J, Chicago.
Never in the history Of the Missi,
: sippi has SO comprehensive a schem
!, been worked out and presented. Their
:. have been many plans for combinin
. the old packet lines; but this is nev
: er and more comprehensive. 1t
partly based on Mr. Kavanaugh's e,
= perience as builder Of steamboats,.
Some years ago he built, with hi
: partner, James Lockwood. sterl
: wheel towboat called the Lockwood
This boat when built cost $4,000
Like many another boat It was col
= sidered by onlookers a foolish ente
;. prise and was called Lockwood
: - Folly" 1t has a steel hull Everyor
= on the Mississippi knew that ste
- was heavier than water. When tt
= Kate Adams came to Memphis
= 1896 with her new steel hull the lea
= ing newspaper said editorially the de-
:. before she arrived that it could not |
: made to carry cargo on fresh waite
- even though 1t could support its ov
weight! So the Lockwood arouse