New Britain herald., 1918-08-28
{ Brent, who will supervise traffic do

Brent, who will supervise traffic de-
 tails.
 MT. Sanders assumed his duties carly
 III July and imme ediately instituted 2
 search for available craft with which
 to begln operation. He declared needs
 were too pressing to await cOnStruC-
 uon Of steel barges. After a survey
 Of the district he announced that forty
 barges and seven towboats had been
 found and that by September 1 the barge line between St. Louis and New
 Orleans would be in operation on a weekly schedule.
 Meanwhile orders for additional
 barges and twoboats were placed and construction of docks begun The latter, like the barges, are for the most part temporary makeshifts. In St Louis, for instance, it was decided 1 that the proposed muniCipally-Owned dock costing $300.000 would require too long to build. Accordingly, a 1 small landing was erected at a cost of s15, 900 10 meet present needs Advices from other river cities in dtcate similar activity New Orleans
 is making tremendous preparations ] for increased business and according to figures presented by it's chamber l Ol COllll1elCe, VIII pro DaDly GXD6nd $25,000.000 within the next year for docks and other terminal facilities Memphis has announced that $50O.000 will be expended on docks and equip | ment for handling freight Cairo, H., will spend s1OO,O0O; Greenville, Miss, $100,000 and small towns in l Arkansas will expend at least S25,O00 1 in docks. These are merely first 1 figures based on conservative estimates 1 of increased business that will come 1 to these towns. Pledges have been made for more money as necessity 1 demands.
 The Mississippi Valley Waterways 1 Association, which is an outgrowth of l the traffic revival movement, has com 1 piled formidable array of evidence. One 1000 ton barge, association off, i cers say, can carry as much freight as 1 fifty cars and if each towboat conyoys 1 three barges the fleet as it enters New 1 Orleans is equivalent to 15O cars ! which are thereby released for other service. If seven oWbOats. each e3- i corting three barges. are placed in 1 operation on Septemb Der 1, as has been 1 planned, it will be seen that the trans 1 pOrtation by water will have released 1 1,050 cars for other dutics
 1 Shippers have shown q willingness i to cooperate Director Sanders esti- 1 mates that 100000 tons a year will 1 be sufficient to make the line a finan- 1 cial success.
 1 It is hoped further that a joint rail [ and water rate may be obtained under l which shipments may be made ovcr 1 either transportation system. This would increase greatly the territory 1 tributary to the line.
 What I want understood" said Di- rector Sanders, is that this is not
 comparable to any previous effort 10 1 revive river traffic. What we are going 1 to do will be done in a wholly modern l way backed by the credit and war en- ergy of the greatest country i'll the 1 world
 The cost of transport by water IS 1 approximately one-third the cost by 1 rail. There is scant difference in the
 time required to deliver freight. Our | upkeep is tremendously less than that l of a railroad. In short we have every l opportunity to handle all classes Of 1 shipping at less cost than do the rail- roads and every whit as satisfa ctorily.
 "Revival of traffic on Mississippi is | only part of the federal scheme to util-
 ize it's waterways. We are gong 10 l make a tremendous effort-an effort l that is going to do it's share to prove l that the waterways of this country can | assume one-third the burden that has
 at times all but broken the railroad' S l back"