The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-08-20
First Half Of Journey of Nakomis and
Barges From St Louis
Has Been Com
pleted.
PROVING RIVER CLAIM
Expected That Nakomls and Sachem
VIII Both Show That Water
Traffic 10 Not Thing
Of the Past.

The steamboat Nakomis, towing
five government owned steel harees
with $500 tons Of coal which IS
equal to "a carloads, consigned 10
the Northern Pacific railroad, reach
ed st. Paul Monday after success
full trip from st. Louis which was be
gun July 80. The fleet touched at
Keokuk on August 3.
This simple announcement, provlu-
ed the cost Is what was expected
means much to every city and to"n
on the river between st. Louis ana
St. Paul, and to the country IN gen
eral 1t means new era In trans
portation, or, rather, 1t means the
restoration to the people OF one OIL
the greatest means of transportation
and one of the cheapest. 1t means
that no longer will shippers be com
PEELED to rely upon the raliroade
alone. 1t means cheaper transporta-
tion and unlimited possibilities in
the trans portation of heavy materials,
such as coal and iron Years ago the
rivers of the country and the canals
and other waterways were of e. =
IRENE importance. Gradually one
after another slowly but surely gave
wav to railroad competition. In many
! instances, especially in the east, the
railroads bought canals outright ana
under railroad ownership, they ceas-
ed to be operated. This was be-
cause it was more profitable to the
railroads company to do business by
rail than by boat. A notable case IN
point is the great Lehigh Valley ca
| nal of Pennsylvania, which, with the
Morris and Essex canal of New Jer-
SOW afforded transportation from the
coal mines of Pennsylvania to New
| York City. The Lehigh Valley rail
road owns this great system and not
in wears have canal boats passed
over it.
/ There Is an Awakening.
| Now there is an awakening. 1t is
| a coincidence that with the compile
tion of the trip of the Nakomis to ST.
| Louis, the great Erie barge canal
from Buffalo, N. Y, to Albany, con
Meeting Chicago. Duluth, Detroit,
Cleveland and all great lake ports
| by water with the Hudson river ana
New York harbor and the Atlantlc
ocean, should also be about ready Tor
traffic. The Mississippi river diff
fers from that wonderful project.
however, in that it is great natural
water highway. whereas the eastern
waterway. system is partly artificial.
But nevertheless the strong point is
that the entire country is aroused to
the possibilities of waterway trans
l2ortation and the trip Of the Mako
mis- may make history.
,, GoItra Broke the Ice.
Edward P. Goltra, president OF the
Mississippi Valley Iron company,
shortly after the Mississippi Valley
Waterway convention held IN ST.
Louis In May, procured from the sec
rotary of war a lease on twelve
barges and two towing steamboats,.
Goltra felt as the members Of the
convention did, that the time had
come for utilizing the greatest river
in the country for trans portation on
q larger scale than ever before. Col
| ira was So sure that 1t would be sue
cessful that he was willing to invest
his own money in demonstration
and while there were those who had
their doubts about the fleet ever
reaching st. Paul, Goltra was certain
Of success from the first. The river
stage at this time of the year is what
| caused many to declare that the
heavily laden barges would not be
able to make the trip, but would run
Iapround. It was freely predicted
| that Goltras barges would be high
and dry on a sand bar long before st.
Paul was reached and thus would end
the barge line business In other
words, the trip Of the Nakomis would
be the beginning of the ending Of the
latest river traffic boom.
NakomIs 10 Stlcker.
| But the pessimists knew not Of the