The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-02-21
RIVER TERMINALS
BANQUET At IOWA
Business Men to Meet at Banquet in
TWO Weeks to Hear Terminal
Conference Dele 5A
gates.
KEoKUK TO ACT SOON
Modern Terminal Facilities Neees-
sary If keokuk is to Meet the
Commercial Rivalry Of
Other Cities.
KEoKUK TO ACT SOON

Keokuk's river terminal problems
will be brought before the attention
of local business men and public
spirited citizens within the next two
or three weeks when banquet VIII
be held at the Hotel Iowa where the
| delegates to the st Louis conferences
last week will explain what was done
at the conference and what Is hoped
to be accomplished in this city in the
! immediate future. The banquet PROB
ably will be called under tie auspices
of either the Retailers league Or the
Boosters club, but it will be open TO
all citizens.
The speakers will be Mayor S. w.
Moorhead, j. A. Hamill, and C.. r.
Mcfarland. delegates from this city
and state to the conference on river
terminals held on Thursday and FRI
day of last week at st. Louis. The
meeting will be attended, largely by
business men since they are the ones
most vitality affected in the freight re-
auctions that will follow the rehabill-
tation of river traffic On the MISSES
sippi.
Speaker Quoted Hugh L. Cooper.
The Importance to community of
low freight rates was emphasized
with particular force by one of the
speakers at the conference who, IN
his speech. quoted Hugh l.. Cooper n
a talk made in this city by Mr.. Coop
er as follows: III
"chcap power will not alone attract
factories. A municipality must have
good conditions regarding labor. raw
material, and freight rates. For
flour mill. difference Of 20 Genus
per hundredweieht On the cost Of
wheat into keokuk, would offset the
cheap power, even If il were given the
power for nothing. The same princi-
pal applies to almost any manufacture
ina community"
The speaker was government OH
cial from Washington who has maae
close study to the effect Of freigns
rates. This man said that the amount
of money annually spent for freight
charges in this country amounts to
more than the total cost OF conduct
ing our national government, our state
governments, our county govern
ments. and our city governments.
Canal Gives Coasts Advantage.
The Panama canal will give the
cities along the eastern and western
coasts an advantage over the middle
west in freight rates that can be met
in only one way, the St. Louis con-
ference delegates were agreed This
one way is through the development
of river traffic on the Mississippi and
contributory rivers. The completion
of the canal makes it imperative that
this development be carried forward
without any further delay
If Keokuk is to be able to meet the
competition of other river cities, it is
absolutely necessary that her river
front be equippeG with modern termin-
ais such as are going to be con-
structed in the near future by all
other cities of importance On the Mis-
sissippi as far north as ST. Paul, on
the Ohio as far east as Pittsburgh,
and on the Missouri as far west as
Omaha-this is the conviction of the
three men who attended the ST Lou.
conference from this city.
One Of Greatest Opportunities.
Mississippi river cities for years
have realized that the revival of river
a