The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-06-28
TO PUT FLEET
OF BOATS ON
THE COLUMBIA
Eastern Capitalists to Finance
Elaborate Plan of River
Transportation
AS SPEEDY AS THE RAILWAYS
Both Passenger and Freight Schedules
to be Maintained by New Type
of Steel Boats

The dream Of not only naVigable,
but navigated Columbia river will
yet come true if plai.s which are being
unfolded to the shippers Of the Colum-
bia basin by Wallace r. Struble, are
realized. 20
Mr.. Sta uble was in Kennewick few
hours today on his way to Lewiston
and his plan as he briefly outlined it
is this: A river transportation sys-
tenn that will assure its patrons a SER
vice equal to any railroad carrier in
time, speed efficiency and superior
comfort and enjoyment Of travel
With all the discomforts of railroad
t.avel reduced to minimum. In the
sysrem's freight service, boats espec-
ially designed for handling grain in
bulk, live stock shipments, cold stor-
age cargoes, liquid tank cargoes, and
all the various merchandise cargoes
will be provided. When in operation
the system will guarantee to shippers
and passengers a reduction Of at least
35 per cent of the existing railway
tariff; or in other words, rates on
freight and passengers will be not in
excess of 65 per cent Of the rail and
tariff rates from all points contiguous
to the Columbia river and its navigable
tributaries. Practical and commodi-
Gus non-sinkable steel boats for any
form of transportation, general or
specific, will at all times be available.
The system will be operated as near
ly as possible as railways are operated
with regular freight and passenger
schedules. Passenger boats will carry
no freight and freight boats will car
ry no passengers. The system will
be operated in divisions just as trains
are operated. The Columbia and Snake
rivers from Lewiston TO Astoria win
be the main line and all tributaries on
which boats Of two feet draft can op-
crate will be the branches. The sys-
tenn when complete will call for the
operation Of a fleet Of about 300 boats
of many sizes and designs.
The system will be known as the
Columbia Transportation System, Inc,
with head Offices in Washington, ID. C.
1t is to be financed by eastern capi-
talists who are determined to give this
method Of river transportation thoro
trial and if successful they propose to
extend it to every inland waterway in
the United States.
1--WE have theorized on the Open
River long enough and now we are
going to do something, we are going
to supplant conventions, resolutions
and spread-eagle speeches with boats
and business" said Mr.. Struble. ~The
car shortage in the United States is
becoming more serious every day and
the railroads of the country are face
to face with the physical impossibiIity
OF handling the traffic and railway men
have come to realize the fact that un-
less the inland waterway navigation
can be co-ordinated with the railway
transportation they must expend hun
dreds of millions of dollars for eouip-
ment to meet the pressing needs of the
country.
THE men who are backing the CO.
lumbia Transportation company are
big men who have sufficient capital to
build a transcontinental railroad IL
they wished but they believe the wat
erways offer a great new field of en-
deavor. So firmly do they believe it
that they are ready to invest million
dollars in the enterprise on the Co.
iumbia river. All they ask is the CO.
operation of the people in the Colum-
bia River basin. To do this they are
offering for sale 100000 worth of
capital stock of the company at a mar
value of $40 a share"
The placing of this stock among the
shippers of the Columbia
Basin is the work which Mr.. Struble
is engaged in. Subscriptions to stock
provide that no part Of it is to be paid
until the company has at least 20
boats on the river and then if the pur-
chaser does not wish TO keep his stock
the company will accept it at its face
value in payment for either freight
or passenger transportation.