The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-04-19
ST. LOUIS IS SLOW
NEW BARGE LINE SECRETARY
RESIGNS TO RESUME MAGA-
ZINE WORK.
Spent 10 Months to Get $4,000 Sub
scribed and Received No Salary
Has Done All He
Could

St. Louis, April 1S.-John L. Ma.
thews yesterday announced his reslg-
nation as secretary Of the Mississip-
pi Valley Transportation Company,
which Is shortly to open a barge line
service between st. Louis and New
Orleans. His resignation was sent
IN last January, but he deferred max.
ing it effective until the companys
lans We're completed for putting the
first barge and tug in operation which
Will be next month, Mr. Mathews
will resume his former occupation OF
magazine writing and will leave St.
Louis in May to go to Panama and
Colombia to study rivers and trade
routes for articles treating with the
upbuilding of the trade of the United
States in South America.
Mr.. Mathews yesterday said that
while he was disappointed at the slow
ness of st. Louis capitalists to take
hold Of the barge line, yet that fact
had nothing to do with MS leaving.
He has spent eighteen months organ
izing the line and getting the $780,
900 Of capital which it has Neither
he nor w. X Kavanaugh, president
OF the company, have received any
salary for their services.
Mr.. Mathews said that nothing had
been done toward choosing his sue
cessor, as Mr.. Kavanaugh was out oil
town. Frederick W. Shapleigh is
said by persons connected with the
company to be in line for the post.
He has been with it for some time
as fiscal atyent and is now acting
auditor and assistant to the traffic
manager. Mr. Mathews gave out the
following statement concerning the
status Of the company;
Capital Slow to Respond.
In November, 1909, the Business
Mems League Endorsed and recon-
mended Mr.. Kavanaugh and the new
steel E1at line and urged the mer-
chants and manufacturers to contri'
butte to its success by subscribing its
capital Almost none OF them have
lone s., and the capital on which the
COMPANY is operating is almost en-
tirely from out of town.
AS additional funds were needed
and the plans of the company fol
navigation were matured through the
services of experts, and abundant
freight was assured, | began, abou
January /, to urge tAe Business Mems
League to action, Some of its &C
tive members taking a hand, the ex
ecutive committee named specia
river committee, which, in turn, ap
pointed the commission now sitting
Lyman L. Cooley, Oscar Barret
and P. w. Coyle, with two members
of the league. The two expert rive
men named are both friends Of thu
Mississippi Valley Transportation
Company and approve its plan to u.s.
fast package freight boats for tn
quick, high-class freight, and big
powerful steel barges, with towboats
for the slower bulk freights. | be
ieVe they will so report and that 81
Louis will at last in a degree emu
late Kansas City and come to the al,
Of the steel boat line.
My own coming to the i:ne was en-
tuely for the purpose of creating
public faith in modern wafer trans
portaton, in pursuance OF lon
campaign to open an economical wa
to compete with Germany in Soutl
America. Having done all | can here
resigned the secretaryship at tn
January meeting of the stockholders
and will give up the office in fey
days. | am going from here shortl.
to Panama and Colombia, and, Will
| shall no longer be an executive OF
icer OF the company, the investigs
lion aud study there of the rivers an,
routes for directing that trade vii
be at the service Of st. Louis.
hope that the newspapers OF 81
Louis will some day conduct an &C
tive campaign, as the Kansas Cit
papers did, to arouse the people. But
whether they do or not, water trans
| portation in steel hulls is inevitable