Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-01-10
RIVER BARGE LINE
BOOSTERS CONFER
Local Navigators Appoint Committee
that Will Report Later on Prob
able Tonnage Out of Omaha.
BLAND sT1Rs WITH ADDRESS

BLAND STIRS WITH ADDRESS
For two and one-half hours straight
last night W. T. Bland of Kansas City
told a mass meeting Of nearly 400 Omaha
business men of the possibilities Of the
Missouri river in the way Of carrying on
barge line that the Omaha men contem-
plate establishing. Bland with a halt
dozen other boosters OF Kansas City came
to Omaha on the urgent invitation of the
trade extension committee of the Com
mercial club to tell of the operation OF
their river barge from Kansas City to st.
Louis.
As a result of the meeting a committee
of eight was appointed by the trade eN-
/ tension committee to investigate the pos
sible tonnage that could be carried out of
Omaha on a barge line II one is to be
established, and to report these with other
facts back to another meeting to be held
later, as a basis for definite plans in re-
gsrd-to the installation of a barge line
similar to that at kansas City.
| Committeeman Named.
]. A. Sunderland heads the committee
on investigation. The other committee
men are: II. G. Kranz, w. l. Holman,
w. S. Wright, Chester Sturtevant, F. s.
| Knapp, Charles Beno of council Bluffs
and ]. w. woodrough.
]. w. Gamble of Omaha made brief
| talk at the beginning of the meeting ia
voring Missouri river navigation and urg-
ing that something be done along this line.
Richard l.. Metcalfe presided. A w.
Mackie OF Kansas City made brief in
troductory talk also. G. d. Parker, ex-
president of the Kansas City Commercial
club. spoke briefly. w. S. DiclSie, presi-
dent Of the Kansas City Missouri River
Navigation company, was present, and,
although he did not speak. he was con-
stantly referred to by the others for
verification of facts regarding the project
at Kansas City.
Leading Navigator Here
E. NJ Clendenning, secretary OF the
Commercial club of Kansas City; o. V.
Wilson, one of the large shippers Of Kan
sas City, and William e. Spatt, president
of the st. Joseph Commercial club. were
among the party from the southern river
towns who came to Omaha to attend this
meeting.
Sydney J. Roy, field secretary of the
National Rivers and Harbors congress,
came all the way from Hannibal. Mo-. to
attend the meeting He told the audience
that the body he represents would be-
glad to be a party to the work Of de-
1eloping this navigation line between
Omaha and Kansas City.
''It must not be for Omaha, alone" said
Mr.. Roy. lit is a federal proposition,
since the Missouri river belongs to the
United States. 1t must be for Iowa and
Nebraska and the Dakotas and Montana
You need to start campaign of educa-
ton because in order to get federal ap-
preparation you need more than to get
the people of the state interested. You
need to get the congressman from all the
states interested"
Railroads Overtaxed.
Mr.. Bland in his exhaustive and In
tefesting speech declared that while the
Rhine is the greatest river in Europe, the
Missouri river by the figures of the
United States waterways commission. is
from Sioux City to the mouth, an inn
measurably better river. He declared
that while the railroads are wonder
fully developed they are today not equal
to the occasion. He said that j. ]. Hill
had himself declared that the country
was reaching an insurmountable barrier
in that the railroads could not handle
the business.
Mr. Bland pointed out that the country
has but sixty miles OF railways to every
1000 square miles served. This. he said
was much smaller service than that of
any Of the great countries of Europe
giving the figures as America sixty miles
to every 1000 square miles. France 40
miles. Germany 165 miles. Austria Hun
gary 101 miles Great Britain 1s9 miles
and Belgium 3ss miles to every / 600 square
miles Of territory.
The problem. then. is to add to this
service" he said. cor to develop water
ways to supplement this service. II is
not intended that the water service shall
supplant the railway service, but that IL
shall supplement It. There is work
enough for both. have yet to learn Of
a railway that suffered by reason of hav-
ing parallel waterway line, but. or the
contrary. the tonnage OF the railroads
is often increased by reason Of this fact"
FreiEhts Lowered.
lie said 1t had cost $50. 10000 for the
Improvement OF the river from Kansas
City TO st. Louis. but he called attention
to some OF the freight items which had
been lowered. For example, he said, lit
cost 80 cents per hundred pounds to ship
soap in carload lots by rail to the Pa
cific coast. while now that It can be
shipped by steamship it costs but 4O"
Other commodities. he said. were favored
accordingly in greater or less degree.
He urged that the Omaha business men
give their support to the National Rivers
and Harbors Congress. as without the
support OF that body" he said. your
requests for federal appropriations viii
be dead letter. with the fight from I'M
seen forces now being made on the
waterways"