Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-06-17
|sH,PpERs OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
AwA<.Ma 70 PRESENT
OPPORTUNITY.
WATER LINK MUST De
oPERArEp TO GET RESULTS
othsr>wlss lows Shippsrs Will Be
Handicapped BY Opening Of Panama
canal-citiss Asked TO Provide
Wharfage and Track Facilities For
Handling Freight.
pecial to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines, June 17.-"The opening
Of the Panama canal has impressed
very forcibly upon shippers located at
Mississippi river points the vital ne
cessity Of putting the idle river to
work."
This is the statement of Irving G..
Norwood. secretary OF the greater
Davenport committee, in a letter re-
plying to inquiries sent out from here
as to the work being done by river
cities in developing the river traffic.
THE river has long been rate
basing point" says Mr.. Norwood, even
in it's >idlest periods and shippers seem
to have felt that as long as it had the
effect of holding down their rates 1t
was serving it's natural purpose. But
the operation Of the Panama canal
means an actual increasing hardship
and handicap to shippers at Mississippi
river points unless the water link to
the sea is actually operated.
Suppose, for instance. that Dav-
export manufacturer wants to sell his
product on the Pacific coast where he
Immediately meets the competition or
eastern manufacturers. He must eth
err pay the all rail rate from Daven-
port to the coast, which is practically
prohibitive, or else ship his goods to
New York by rail and thence to the
coast by water. In the latter case the
eastern manufacturer has the advan-
tage of the Davenport manufacturer
by the amount Of the rail rate from
Davenport to New York.
Would Insure Joint Rates.
The actual operation of the Missis-
sippi river and the utilization of New
Orleans as terminal port for the en-
tire Mississippi valley would result in
the publication of through rate from
any valley point to any west coast
point identical with the all water rate
from the east coast to the west coast,
via the Panama canal. This is not
merely a logical and theoretically cor
rect statement. One of the steamship
companies operating between New
Orleans and the west coast has offered
to put in such a rate as soon as freight
originating on the Mississippi and
destined for west coast points reaches
a minimum of 10000 tons month.
have not at hand the figures for the
lower river from st. Louis down but
inasmuch as the in-and-out tonnage
on the upper Mississippi between
Alton. Ills. and st. Paul averages 81
900 tons a months, of which APP
proximately 10000 tons month could
and would be carried by water at the
present time if terminals and equip
ment were ready. 1t is apparent that
the small tonnage asked by the steam
ship company before the through rate
is published. merely indicates the pos
sibilities of water borne freight from
Mississippi river points for competitive
west coast points"
Mr.. Norwood declares the principal
difficulties which transportation COM
panies operating on the Mississippi
have to meet are lack of modern ter
minals at river cities, lack Of boats Of
the proper type and lack Hphysical
connection and working agreements
5c."ccn water and rail cc.cpanies. He
believes that when sufficient number
Of terminals have been constructed by
the cities to make the operation Of a
water transportation company econom-
ically possible. private capital will pro-
vide the boats and there is power in
the law to force water and rail con-
nections and cooperation.