6 WATERWAYS JOURNAL. THE WATERWAYS JIIIIBIIAI. Oflicial Organ of the Western Rivers Ferry Owners’ Association. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT 314 Olive St., 2d Floor. ST. LOUIS. MO. Telephone, Bell, Main 4858- WM. ARSTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I’ublisher KATHLIEN SMITH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Edit0l‘ Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - 32-00 P01‘ Y°3" Foreign Subscriptions . . . . . . . .$3.00 Per Year Single Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Con s IN ADVANCE. NOTE—We do not hold ourselves res9l"l1- sible for cash sent through the 1'33"‘ “n ‘.355 registered. B.emlt_by Registered Letteléhluxl; press or Post Oiflce Money Order 0' *3“ only. ADVERTISING RATES FURNISHED ON APPLICATION. Entered at Post olrice. St- Louis. Mo-. as Second-Class Matter. NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENITS. W‘e invite correspondence from everyhody. To insure prompt attention all communi- cations for publication should be at our of- fice on Wednesday. End 130 9~dd'°‘3°d ‘° THE WATERWAYS JOURNAL. Room 1, 314 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. THE WATERWAYS JOURNAL desires it to be distinctly understood that no attention will be paid to anonymous c_0rresP0nd9n°°- In order to insure consideration, all com- municatlons must be accompanied by 11111 names and addresses of the auth0X‘S—110t necessarily for publication, but as an evi- dence of good faith. We do not hold our- selves responsible for views expressed by our correspondents. Subcribers failing to receive their papers regularly will please notify us at once, and we will have the matter promptly remedied- Subcribers should watch the date on their papers. Those desiring to discontinue will please notify this office promptly. Oth- orwise. a renewal will be expected. AUTHORIZED AGENTS. The following persons are authorized to solicit and collect subscriptions for THE WATERWAYS JOURNAL. W. L. Blake . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Traveling Agent William F. Campbell. .Plttsburg, Pa. F. L. bley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Gallipolis, 0 ..os. B. Barry . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Memphls, Tenn. J. H. Marsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Na.tchez, Miss. W. J. Shannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Inonton, 0. Harry F. Kohr . . . . . . . . . . . .Kansas City. M‘o. TO OUR FRIENDS. When writing o.r remitting to this ottice, do not fall to address as toll- lows: Waterways Journal, 314 Olive street, St. Louis, Mo. Advertisers who help make The Journal possible are not a-dvertising out of :a spirit of philanthropy. They expect returns, as they have a right to. Everything we advertise is re- liable, and in ordering see that you order from the finms whose names ap- pear on our pages. In this way you can help yourself while helping oth- ers. You can also do us a favor by mentioning The Journal when order- mg. The special session of the Illi- nois Legislature has adjourned and waterway legislation is no further advanced than it was a year ago, As an example of “do-nothing” legisla- tors the Illinois solons are entitle-d to medals. The Chicago harbor bill was strangled to death like the water- way project. These improvements are needed, but our legislators care nothing about what the people want. —Steam Shovel and Dredge. For a good advertising medium, try the Waterways Journal. —So persistently does the long- promised ship subsidy legislation “hang fire” in Congress that one is almost tempted’ to believe there may be “nothing in it,” after all. The Democratic bill was introduced by Representative Spight on February 27, and has for its ‘principal feature a reduction of 5 per cent duty upon goods imported in American vessels, which vessels may be- considered American, regardless of where they have been built, if owned by Ameri- can citizens or corporations and so admitted to American registry, but foreign-built vessels shall be exclud- ed from coastwise trade and fI“0lIIl subsidy privileges, As the dis- criminating -duty idea has not hith- erto received favor, it does not seem likely that this feature of the bill will be accepted. FOR A BETTER RIVER. It is quite practicable to rest-ore navigation on the Missouri from Fort Benton to St. Louis, if we may believe S. Walter Fox, a civil engi- neer at Kansas City, who testified last week before the Senate Commit- teen on Commerce, says the Dubuque (Iowa) Journal. Mr. Fox, who was in the Government service -on the Missouri nearly twenty-five years, said it was entirely feasible to get a 12-foot channel from St. Louis to Kansas City and 4 feet to Fort Ben- ton. Fox made the river erodes thir- teen acres of land per mile every year from Sioux City to St, Louis, and that much of this erosion could be averted by the proposed improve- ments. million-dollar bo-at line on the Mis- souri, to run from Kansas City south, whether the Gove-rnment makes the improvements or not, said Fox. He added that the line would be much more effective if the Gov- ernment work were done. CUTTING OFF RED AND ATCHA- FALAYA RIVERS. (By Dr. G. H. Tichenor, New Orleans, La.) By request of the Secretary of the Board of Trade, New Orleans, La., I formulate my objections to the divorce of the Mississippi flood waters from the Atchafalaya. May I say: First—“Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise.” -Second——Common sense, from an or- dinary consideration would proclaim the proposition a monstrosity pure and simple and a premeditated attack on -our city by the advocates of such absurd proposal. Third—One-thi-rd of the flood waters from the Mississippi pass down the Atchafalaya out into the Gulf, to force the same volume of water into the channel below Red River, the levees must be raised below and above at a cost of millions of dollars. Our levees and wharves around this city would have to be raised at additional ex- penditure of millions of -dollars. I ob- ject to the diversion of the commerce from the Red River Valley and Oua- chita from this city. The pro-position to utilize the Plaquemine Sluice way for navigation is a mirage simple and pure. With the waters from the Mis- sissippi divorced there would not be Kansas City will put in a water enough in the bayou to float ducks and geese, much less a steam- boat. Again it is now well known that the seapage and transperation water destroy the crops for a great distance behind the levees, and to raise the levees higher and higher would in- crease the submersion of land that is so much desired by the planters, The flood waters remaining against the levees seven and eight months each year destroys the fertility of the land by rendering the soil sour. This con- dition exists largely in the state of Louisiana, entailing a heavy loss to the planters subjected to these con- ditions. With a proper discharging capacity of the Gulf end of our great river, there would be very little seap- age a11d transperation water. The Flood waters should not remain against the levees longer than thirty days. At our last meeting it was admitted that the Atchafalya was an outlet for the Mississippi River, also by reason of the outlet a bar is forming below, claiming the outlet caused it. We will ask how many sand bars. from the Red River to the Ohio and from the Ohio to St. Louis. You will find about fif- teen hundred. Was it outlets that made the bars in the river from St. Louis to the Gulf? Caving banks and levees widen the river and shoals it. The closing of outlets does not deepen the bed of the river but neces- sitates the raising of the levees high- er, higher, higher, hugging ourselves in ignorance of the violation of natu- ral laws, will prove disastrous in the future. The closing of Bayou Lafourche is bringing distress to the plantin.g inter- ests, and now to divorce the flood wa- ters of the Mississippi from the Atcha- falya would be an outrage that should be resisted by every man in this state that possesses ‘brains enough to real- ize the fiery indignation that will fol- low divorcing the flood waters from the Atchafalya. Morgan City and the railroads will be largely benefited by -diverting the commerce from the present channel that is now ample for all purposes. ST. LOUIS’ LEVEE PARK The East End Improvement Asso- ciation of St. Louis is working on a scheme to form a river front park, to be bounded by Locust, Pine, Third streets and the Levee, six city blocks in a.»rea.l The plan is to erect ‘a “sea wall” -of reinforced concrete to guard against hfi water and to in- stall masonry =arclie»s to carry the park, so as to level the streets op-en below. Each property holder is to retain his present holdings except the casement overhead for the park. The property below is to be used for cold storage houses, etc. The «park, it is believed, will increase the value of the property as far north as Carr St., and as far south as Chout-eau avenue, at least $10 per front foot and will restore the district -to the -popularity it -enjoyed many years ago. The park is to be planned with regard to beau- ty, will have fountains and sta-tues, trees and flowers, will be thoroughly lighted and patrolled, making it a safe and pleasant resort at all times. It is proposed to have at the sea wall 'a union suburb-an passenger sta- tion for the use of railroads, con- -trolled under stringent municipal reg- ulati-ons to prevent the blocking of the view by allowing cars to stand -on the tracks. A union street rail- away at the western-end of the park is also projected. Olive street, Locust street and Pine street are to be ‘wid- -ened at Fourth street to make access to the park easie-r. It is believed that new ‘buildings, such as ware- houses, will be -erected in the vicinity, and that the Merchants’ Exchange, -which has retained its location de- spite the deterioration of the district, will adopt special measures for the success of the plan. The plan which is ta.king shape now has been discussed for years. At the city plan meeting of the Civic League, held about three years ago, such a proposition was broached. As long ago as twelve years a proposition was placed before capitalists of Boston to establish a park and- 'w*arehouse col- ony in the district. -Complete statis- tics as to -the value of the property -were taken at ‘the time, and these statistics are now available. At that time a bond issue for $10«,0v00,000 was planned to finance the project, and matters were progressing satisfac- torily when a big bank in Boston failed and led to the indefinite post- ponement of the enterprise. The same St. Louisians who -then promo- ted the project are concerned in the present mov-e. The ‘statistics taken a-t that time show that the district to be covered ‘by the: park contained 6332 front f-eet, assessed at $2,326,290, or $367.46 a front foot. -1 ’ NOTICE TO MARINERS. The government lights on the Illi- nois River, from the mouth of the river (Grafton, 111.) to Naples, Illinois, was lighter for the first time this sea- son on the night of March 12, 1910. RIVER ITEMS. Davenport, Ia., March 11, 1910.—The ice moved above the government bridge to-day——a few more warm days and the river will be clear. The ferryboats Davenport and Rock Island are in fine condition for the season’s work. Hugh Shannon, the veteran engin- eer, will turn the throttle on the steamer Lone Star this season and is now busy fitting her out, The steamer North Star now in the ice harbor is having its -boilers and machinery repaired to enter the raft- ing business. The Acorn, Capt. Schricker, will en- ter the sand business early this sea- son. F I Capt. Blair is getting his fleet of steamers, the Black Hawk, Keokuk, Columbia and Helen Blair, ready to enter the short line packet trade be- tween Davenport, Burlington, Keokuk and Quincy. These steamers are well patronized by the traveling public. Capt. A. J. Whitney, the veteran contractor, has earned a well deserved rest and will retire from contracting, Capt. Whitney has constructed some of the largest river improvement works on the upper Mississippi River, owning at one time four tow boats, two dredges and twenty-five barges. He had charge of the work at Musca- tine last year in his 82nd year,gbeing the oldest contractor on the river.