Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-21
CITIES ARE NOT
DOING SHARE IN
USING THE RIVER
al Engineer Shows Increase
That Should Come to Wa
ter Borne Freight.
nMINTERESTING RESUME
.;,. WHY Tonnage Is Small and
How Municipalities Could OBJ
vists Conditions.

e,obably the most interesting. por-
-, Of Major George NJ. Hoffman 2
lanai report Of the work accom-
,T,,sd on the upper Mississippi river
- the calendar year 1913 just made
:. aIgadier General Dan c. King,
80 n engineers at Washington, is
-, psrt in which he discusses
sT-,sc prospects for the upper Mis-
.,ssinri river with an improved chan
,s and the installation Of suitable
socks and derricks for handling and
,-,psferring freight" Major Hoffman
says:
The upper Mississippi river be-
,zssn Minneapolis and the Missouri
river. GIL miles. has in lis present
,.1Iv improved condition great carry
inz capacity.
~Withiu a year 6-foot navigation
will be carried to Minneapolis by
means Of a high dam and lock near
Miunehaha creek. in connection with
wing dams. shore protection and ex-
,ensfve dredging. making that city in
stead OF ST. Paul The head OF naviga-
ton.
Now in but few localities there is
less than feet at extreme low water,
and such low stages very rarely occur
Al mean low stage at least AZ feet IS
found in the channel. The depth in the
greater part Of the river exceeds s
feet. facilitating speed. and when the
s-foot improvement is completed.
which will be in 1922. If congress ap-
propriates the necessary annual quota,
only comparatively few points as shoal
as s feet will be encountered.
Conditions for Cheap Traffic.
With its gentle current and other
favorable characteristics. including
100 miles slack water and canalized
river. with numerous prosperous ana
populous cities on its banks and min
tsrland. conditions for cheap. exte--
siTe river traffic are excellent. But if
is fact that very little long distance
freight is handed by wafer. and L.
the bulk o. passenger business is by
ferry. and the freight chiefly by pack
Ct The freight is mostly local or for
shcrt distance. II is undoubtedly true
mat were proper dockage. handling
and transfer facilities installed at the
principal points the tonnage Of water
borne freight would enormously in
crease.
1T is well known that actual cost
- urT h. e. -
less than by rail and that the greatest
cost in handling and transferring wa
ter borne freight oyercomes the ad-
vance that the river should have
Although freight rates by boat are
% to so per cent cheaper than by rail,
on river points. and while rail rates
are cheaper with water competition,
much less than those where the water
transportation is possible, the incon-
Fenience in shipping, receiving and
ne general irregularity Of the service
are such that the railroads secure
most OF the business. which would
hot De the case were the appliances
above mentioned installed.
There are at a few points Iocomo-
i've cranes chiefly used for handling
coal and sand. but the availa bility OF
nen is very limited. The carriers
"a he river are as a general thing an
-nquaied and clumsy and not well
aoapted, according to the modern
news. for either passengers or freight,
specially al low stage.
The general opinion. which IS be
LeEed to be the correct one. is that
20 matter how much money is spent
% river improvements, nor however
satisfactory these improvements may
0e' there will never be adequate or