The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
LAUNCHING PARTY
 RETURNS ID CITY
 FROM ROUGH TRIP
Washouts and Detours, De lays and Archaic Town, QuOits and Waits Mark
 Journey of Travellers
nv w, ]. POLES

turned last night from St. Louis more deeply impressed than ever with the potential possibilities of the Warrior river and It's commercial development
 At St Louis, where four self-pro- pelled steel boats. each with 2,sOo tons capacity. are building. while the christening ceremonies of the Bir- lningham and Tuscaloosa were under way, other boats and steel tbarges for use on the Mississippi river kept ply ing up and down rhe Father of Waters" in front of the wards of the st. Louls Boat and Engineering Com pany.
 It was an impressive sight and pressed home the thought that water transportation in the future will con- tribute it's share towards the build ing of great industrial empire here in the Birmingham district at the head of navigation of the Warrior river.
 Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, who, as director of the transportat ton division of the war department, has charge of the inland waterways. went away from Birmingham last Sunday with the determination to, hasten the com ietion of all equipment now under contract to the end that the enormous tonnage waiting on 1t may be moved to the sea by way of the Warrior and taken care of.
 General Hines goes to Washington in a few days and shortly after his arrival there will appear before congressional committee which is in- Nestigating the waterways of the United States. While in Alabama he thoroughly familiarized himself with the Warrior and the Alabama rivers and the Mobile harbo- and stated while en route to St. Louis that no other state had so complete a water sys- tenn or one with such great possi- Utilities.
 DETOURS
 The Birmingham party that made the trip to St. Louis did not all come Lack together. Sixteen of the twenty three members came back over the Frisco by way of Memphis, while cthers returned by way of the Illi- nois Central, but because of washouts On It's main line the Seminole Limited had to detour through Memphis and arrived nere last night about o'clock. an hour and a half, later than the Frisco. which came in two hours late.
 Coming down from St. Louis to Memphis the Frisco was held up at St Genevieve the oldest town in the Show Me" state, three hours and twenty minutes while track men re- falred washout, into which a train Fad run into the night before, three teaches being deraiIed and turning ever. Fortunately no one was in- jured.
 St Genevieve Is nice, quiet old town, not much larger than when Mis- scuri entered the sisterhood of states, but everybody there seems to be well ccntented and willing to let strangers entertain themselves in their own way It was long walt, three hours m a towA and not even moving lticture slfyw to see, but the Birming- ham men were equal to the occasion. Claude Estes, J. F. Keith, J. Ellis Brown, W. D. Nesbitt and one or two others organized horseshoe throwing contest that drew to the railroad sta ton large part of the populace, who watched this ancient game with ap- parent delight When Mr Estes and MT Nesbitt threw ringers the ap- clause could be heard to the far therest boundaries of this old Mis- slssippi river town.
 Here 1t was learned for the first time that connections would be missed In Memphis, necessitating an all-night layover in that city. Some of the ladies in the party had sent out invi- tation for receptions yesterday after noon and the SeuSdtloHS tHey eApcil- enced when this information was gent ly broken to them may be better imagined than described Recall of the invitations was impossible, so after long deliberation the hostesses- to-be concluded to let the reception go on as planned.
 s o S CALLS
 Accordingly long night letters were telegraphed to housekeepers contain ing full instructions and other night letters requested intimate friends to take the place of the hostesses fol- lowed.
 Coming through Mississippi yester- day afternoon passengers were able to trace the tornado that did so much destruction in that state Tuesday. For niles broken and uprooted trees and the debris of few houses told the story of lives lost and property de- stroyed.
 When 1t was definitely learned that gi.e Frisco train from St. Louis would not arrive in Memphis in time to con hect with the train for Birmingham. .he passenger department of the Frisco system notified MT. Nesbitt, who had charge of the party, that a sleeper would be waiting for them in the terminal station at Memphis on the arrival. It was after 12 o'clock V hen they ROt to heInpnls, put tHo entire party extended vote. of thanks ,o the Frisco system TOT the courtesy which enabled them to sleep few hours later yesterday morning
 General Manager Charles F. Wood of the Port of Birmingham Corpora ton and Henry T. DeBardeleben Transportation manager of the War rsor river. remained ever in St. Louis Tuesday to have a talk with the build CTS of the Warrior river boats with view to speeding up work on them.
 As result of General Hines visit tc Alabama it Is believed that other equipment will be provided for the Warrior rive~ just as soon as it can Icssibly be donc.
 PERSONAL