Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-27
DELAY TO BARGE
ARE RIVER NEEDS
Lack of Terminal Facilities
Means Boat Will Arrive
Here Behind Schedule.
FIVE DAYS IN ONE PLACE
In Letter to United States Engineers
Office State That Loading Was
Slow and Caused Hindrance.

While the 1.OOO-ton steel barge of
John Bernhard, New Orleans, was
scheduled to arrive in this city the COM
ing week. delays have occurred, which
will mean that the barge will not get
here until sometime in August.
In letter to the local United States
engineers Office, Mr.. Bernhard stated
that at one place the barge lost five
days where lumber was loaded on
board at a slow rate of eight tons per
hour. In the same letter, the New
Orleans water expert questioned the
height of the bridges above the water
level between st. Louis and st. Paul,
stating that he had read where in some
places the smokestacks of the vessels
had to be lowered. He said that
barge No. 8, which is making the mi
tial trip between New Orleans and st.
Paul and return to demonstrate the
work of the Bernhard engine and also
to revive river traffic, was "a feet.
above the water level.
In the reply he received he was told
that he would experience no trouble on
account of bridges or cables and wires
crossing the water as these were re-
quired TO have 90 feet head room above
the water level or the bridges to have
either draw or lift spans if not that
height.
He also queried relative to the eff
feet the suspension of river work
would have on the trip and was told
that at the present stage that the
idleness of the dredges and tow boats
would not affect the trip.
Brings Out Necessity.
In answer to his statements relative
to the lack of terminals or handling
facilities, the letter from the local
United States engineers Office explain
ed that his experience brought out
clearly the big impeachment to the re-
vival of traffic on the stream.
There has been a great discussion
of the question and designs for mod
ern terminals have been prepared by
the Upper Mississippi River Improve
ment association. The cities in gen
eral on the stream have made no ad-
vances in this line and with few
freight boats in service there has been
little incentive to take steps unless
some other purpose such as the re-
cIamation of valuable property or the
establishment of a park, such as in
Davenport.
Touches Upon IL.
James (. Edmonds. staff correspond
ent OF the New Orleans Item, who is
making the journey upstream on the
barge, touches upon this matter in q
STORY" published under date line of
July IS, "above Vicksburg." He says:
so we are travelling on what is the
equivalent to a nationally owned %
trcak north-and-south railroad, with a
model roadbed, fewer curves and less
gradient than any other railroad in the
United States, reaching from the heart
OF the continent to the sea, and link
ing the greatest cities between the
Rockies and the Alleghenies.
I'VE are travelling on a slow freight
bound through to the terminus. And
between Jeffris. La. and Vicksburg,
Miss, in the heart of as rich farming
country as there is in the world. with
great numbering industries centering
near, in "a hours we have met not
enough moving traffic to fill a dozen !
freight cars or enough travel TO crowd
one sleeper.
Had we been on the Rhine. or the |
EIbe. we would never have been out |
of sight OF hurrying travel or thriftily |
moving traffic. Every few miles there |
would have been loading stations. with |
quays. electric cranes |
Where a railroad was near there would |