The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-11-01
Norwood Writes on This Matter, Civ
ina Letters From New Orleans
Officials Piedging
Help.
VALLEY IS BENEFITED
Charges Not Merely for Gulf, Eut For
All Mississippi Valley
Canal Through City
Planned.
IRy Irving c. Norwood. ]


DAVENPORT, Iowa, Nov. l.
New Orleans, AGAINST which river
men have complained for years, VIII
soon be adjusted This assurance
has been conveyed to me by President
Loeb OF the board of port commits
sioners and by members Of the firm
Of Ford, Bacon 6 Eavis, the engineers
in charge Of the development Of port
facilities at New Orleans.
| A new system of steamship charges
has been inaugurated by the dock
board, of which Mr.. Loeb is: presi-
dent, on the Recommendation of the
engineers, following all exhaustive IT,
vestigation and the question Of steam
| boat charges has just been taken up.
But the engineers and the dock boar''
mem ers admit in advance that the
present system Of charges against
steamboats, is. unjust and burdensome
and should be changed.
/ Captain Walter Blair of Davenport,
/ general MANAGER Of the Northern
Steamboat company and one or the
! best informed river men Of the ccun-
: try, recently sent communication 10
/! the New Orleans dock board, explain
ing why he considered certain changes
! in the port charges to be absolutely
necessary in the interest Of the de-
!yelopment of traffic between New
: Orleans and other Mississippi river
cities. In this communication Captain
] Blair said: a
I 81 am much interested in the work
you have been doing in PROVIDING
! docks and terminals to facilitate and
encourage the growing commerce OF
your port.
! Il think your charges for service on
the land side are reasonable. I hear
no criticism on your regular charges
for steamers landing and doing busi-
ness at Canal street when they handl
| freight and passengers but when q
towboat lands to get SUPPLIES spend
ing money, not earning it think
her charges should be very light.
Objections Are Found.
II find serious objections to yoir
practice and hope from what you say
(! In your letter that your present efforts
will remedy or remove them. For in
stance when vessel has paid wharf
age for three days and within that
time Is obliged to land sat different
docks to pick up her return cargo, your
charge of two cents per gross ton On
! the vessel for each landing Is too
much and should be greatly reduced
III not cut out altogether. The vessel
has already paid for three days ac-
commodation at your wharves. l que5-
ton the fairness of basing the charge
on the tonnage Of the vessel instead
Of on the tonnage she handles in O."
out. .f
! ITO land and pick up cargo OF
coffee or sugar, at present, our com
pany's large steamers would be re-
quired to ray $40 to SIS, while q lOn
ton boat calling for the same would
paw only $500. In fact, your pres
ent methods favors the smallest,
poorest craft in your local trades
against larger and better boats like
> the America, J. r. Menge and >. -.
Elan. I hope you will go into this
matter thoroughly and in your new
schedules give the water side fair
equal consideration.
1--WE arc spending a lot OF money
on our river front, many other cities
are about to do likewise in antlclpa-
ton of a revival Of water transporta-
ton.
! at rests with New Orleans to en-
courage or defeat the whole move
iment. I am confident you will adopt
fair and progressive policy
! . Action in Near Future.
| President Loeb replied at that tine