Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-11-13
CLAIR, Richard Beulow, and John Q.
Hawk.
STRECKFUS LINE
CUTS OUT SOUTH
Lack Of Support Forces With
drawal of Steamer Quincy
From Trade.
COMPANY DROPS $500
Business People in Cities Along thu
Route Loud With Praises, but
Fail to Deliver.


Failure of the southern merchants
to support a st. Louis-New Orleans
packet service is attributed by the
Waterways Journal as being the real
reason for Captain Streckfus with
drawing his boats from the lower riv-
er. In regard thereto the above pub
location in this weeks issue contains
the following caustic comment
Once again the merchants and
shippers of st. Louis, Memphis, Vicks-
burg and New Orleans failed to make
good their regular promises to sup
port a St. Louis and New Orleans pack
ct line. The Quincy was taken to
Paducah for the winter last week, and
on last Saturday the directors of the
Streckfus line at a called meeting de-
cided to abandon the St. Louis and
New Orleans trade after loss of &c.
COO on the three trips she made. with
a fourth loss staring them in the face
for the fourth trip.
PLENTY LARGE ENOUGH.
"Of course, 7 told you SOS will
again come to the front with their
forecasts that the Quincy is too small
etc. but it was plenty large enough
for all the limited business offered,
and never turned a pound away, nor
was II lack OF water. Yet the mer-
chants viii go to the convention and
yelp and howl for more water, larger
appropriations. etc, and go right
home and ship By rail. 1t is really to
laugh
The alleged threat of the Lee line
opposing the Quincy's entering the
trade had nothing to do with her re-
ttrement. We are positive that no
such threat to enter the upper Mlssis-
sippi river territory was ever made by
( Captain Lee But il is a fact that the
Quincy lost more on her third trip
and would have sustained a larger loss
on her fourth trip than either of the
others, which forced her owners to
quit. There simply was no future in
sight.
FEW GAVE BUSINESS.
Captain Walter Wisherd said TO the
writer that they had spent $4,000 ex-
/ perimenting, and that there were only
about three or four concerns in ST.
! Louis that gave all Of their business to
! the boats-of course, as usual, Russell
Gardner was one of them. He is the
/ best friend the river has today in
substantial way. Captain Wisherd al
so stated that at every town along the
river it was nothing but hold-up-
$3.50 for landing at Cairo each way,
s14.5O at Memphis, $50 at New Orleans,
and so on all along the line.
"As to the passenger business on the
Quincy's trips. st. Louis, New Or
leans and intermediate points furnish
ed about 10 per cent of the passengers
the balance coming from inland
towns and eastern cities. The Quincy
may make a Mardi Gras trip in Febru-
airy.
THE Kavanuagh company Is tired
of their proposition and are about 10
unload on the st. Louis Business
Mems league. We will then see what
they will do.
STARTS AMID CANNON.
The Quincy started amidst cannon
saIutes, receptions at all points ex-
cept Cairo, where the wharfmaster
received her with open arms. The
merchants of st. Louis sent a COM
mittee down brimful Of gush, but no
business. They had no time to make
a short trip, say to Cairo, to get &C
quainted with the people, but when |
the Yoakum went south two weeks |
ago they found ample time to go all |
the way to New Orleans to get &C
quainted-because why? 1t was free |
and at the expense of the Frisco rail- |
road. OF course, the Frisco won't |
get that back-only a hundred fold.
In this connection We might refer |
to the letter of Captain Will Kelly. in !
our last issue, where We made a mis-
take in saying the boats he proposed /
would draw eight feet, which should
have read three feet
FINE ON PAPER
His letter reads very fine on paper
even to the profits such boats would
make per trip - $1,000 on passengers
each trip alone, outside the freight
profits; but where in the name of sense
are the passengers coming from? She
might possibly get 500 deadheads
st. Louis business men, but
pay-oh, no, They will wait now until
the Frisco or some other railroad COM
pany builds another transfer boat.
Captain Kelly says his boat would
carry 500 people at $50 each round
trip. Now. that class OF passengers
travel for pleasure, as a rule have /
plenty OF money and would not allow
a few dollars to stand in the way OF
their pleasure.
so passeth another ST. Louis and /
New Orleans packet" J.
Ph.U,,.]ssn, paiIa.,.d IL E..., La,,r.