Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-05-27
PACKET SERVICE ON
|. & N. CANAL NOW
AN ASSURED FACT
INAUGURATION OF NEW LINE OF
STEAMERS AND BARGES IN
SURES SUCCESS OF WATER
TRAFFIC AS RELIEF FOR
FREIGHT CONGESTION.

an assured TACT.
/ The initial trip in demonstration of
this was taken over the canal Chi.
/ cago to La Sale within the last week
( The Illinois Barge & Boat company. "A
corporation organized and capitalized
by Joy Morton, Of Morton Salt com.
( pany. Col. e. S. Conway, of the Kim
ball company, John T. Pirie, of Car
son, Pirie, & Company. c. Wiehe. of
Hines Lumber company, f. r. Harris.
OF Payson Manufacturing rompany,
1 Charles w. La Porte, OF Keystone
Steel 4 Wire company, Peoria, and
{ several others of the hundreds of
I workers for transportation by water
/ and barges for fleets that will nav
! igate the canal, The company has
( three large steamers for towing and
twenty barges for operation on the
Illinois and Mississippi rivers. II will
utilize these for freight between La
Sale and St Louis and St. Louis to
La Sale, thence transferring for the
time being to the smaller barges and
tow boats that can operate on the old
canal
!. & NJ Canal Now Improved.
year ago June /, the federal gov
eminent as a result of the effort of
the Lowden administration and Off
Gals connected with it in charge Of
waterway Improvement and naviga-
ton, overcame the obstacle of state
inability to finance the project by al
lotting a small appropriation for the
work OF Improvement. Last year on
account of the wa rthe government
and state had difficulty in getting the
work started for lack of equipment.
but cooperating made such progress
that boats hauling a profitable cargo
could get through. The Improvement
was resumed this spring at an early
date. The channel is now equal in
its capacity to almost that of its
original day and the fleets that can
pass through it now will be able to
carry six to eight hundred tons. The
fleets on the Illinois river can carry
more than $500 tons or more than
the average tranload, which is
acknowledged profitable transporta,
ton.
Shipments by water can now be
.sade by Ottawa industry in connec-
ton with the barge company operat
ing the fleets and material reduction
In cost will be possible. II is an
nounced there will be regular packet
service out and in to Chicago along
the valley cities
Through shipments can be made
to st. Louis and other points. rail.
roads being required to accept freight
from water carriers now, thus giving
shippers the benefit of long hauls by
water at low rates as against short
hauls by rail at high rates.
st. Louis has about completed wa
ter terminals costing a million and a
half dollars, and the government is
operating number of large cargo
boats between st. Louis and New Or
leans, the business steadily incrcas
ling.
Success for Big Waterway.
There is every prospect of the sue
cess of the larger waterway project
(which has been successfully worked
put legislatively and engineeringlv bv
ithe Lowden administration. and of So.
curing the authorization and coon.
|eration of the federal government. so
that project may become an accom-.
Iplished fact. The government hereto
Fore has refused to give permit for
he work because of a number Of
questions involved flow of water for
5anltary purposes out of the lake at
Chicago for the Sanitary district be-
ing one, but refused to give hermit
Under the Dunno law because the di.
Inensions of locks and structures for
purposes of navigation were held en-
irely inadequate.
New Boat Best Type.
The new towboat built by the barge
company for operation on the Illinois
Michigan canal represents the la I
Pest type of construction and attracts
fttention of people interested all over
he country. The boat is only 55 feet
n length. but has engines capable of
+ speed of IL miles an hour. 1t is
tight draft. 1t makes its own gas for
gas engines of 200 horse power. and
Ply this process represents a gasoline
consumption cost of less than cents
per gallon. 1t is predicted sis type
bf low cost towboat will be generally
fsed for navigation purposes on the
Waterways of the country.
The larger Illinois project when
completed, as now seems probably
Eill be accomplished within the next
|hree years, will connect up $4,000
piles OF inland navigabe rivers. It
Fill mean millions of dollars in freight
|aving to the people of the entire
Riddle west, saying nothing Of local
benefits to cities like Ottawa. Norris.
|oliet and La Sale.