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.:i..:' "'," ,'.'" ~ .,." .., ", ,,~" " ~.' ' , . 00:0.439 ,. 6 MI,;S()VHJ Hl\'ER FROM KAIi:>i.\S CITr, MO., TO TUE MOUTH. the company hns been operating on an unimproved river o.nd huilrl- ing up a tro.ffic ill fnee of considernble difficulties. It clnims to ho.vo dC'monstro.ted that the traffic will be eminently successful on an.. improved river. This ycar, 1\)15, up to October 1, freights col- lected would have more than covered operating costs had not a '" barge been accirlently sunk at its Enst St. Louis wharf. 11. This company is making the most thorough attcmpt within the knowlerlge of the boo.rd to revive a river traffic that hnd disnp- ponred under railway competition. It appears to bo spatin" ):10 oxpenso or effort that will contributc to tho solution of this profitem, IInd it claims as 0. result of its experience, that success is attainable if a permnnent 6-foot channel is provided. A continuance of the experiment under ll.'l favorablo river conditions as can bo securen is worth much to the United States, and should go far toward showing what are the rOM possibilities in this important" field of the .transpor- tation problem in this country. ' 12. The commerce handled by this company is still compo.ro.tivel,y smull, hut has been increooing rapidly since its orgnnizo.tion. Durin!? the current year, up to October 1, ,it o.mount"d to 27,306 tons, una it is expected tho.t by tho ond of the no.vigation season it will be somewhat in excess of 33,000 tons, or about two and one half times the amount in 1914.. This does not illch.ido the traffic carried by local bont lines opernting at different points along the river, inde- pendently of the Knnsl1s City (Mo.) River Navigation Co., which amounted to about 27,000 tons in 1913. 13, It is difficult to determine what mny be the future water- horne commcrce of this riv"l", and neither the past nor the present volume should in fairness be used as a ll1ensure of what to expect in the future. The improvemrnt so fnr effected in the channel is sufficient to show whnt can be done by tho engineering methods IIdopted, but, excepting in the removal of snags, it hns not pro- gressed far enough to nfford a very materinl betterment of channel (1e)]ths, excepting in discollJlOcted improved sections. The boats can not be loaded to their full capacity, and even light find diffi- culty nt many shol\l crossings.. Schedulo time can not be made IInd delnys in' delivl1ry 'have" tended to discournge shippers. Not- withstanJing this, there is' o.pparcnt an t'nthusiastic determination on the pnrt of the navigation' company nnd of the shippers to pusli their present endeavors to a successful conclusion, provided the United Stntes continue the work of improvement under the existing- project. Many individual sh.ippers at Kansas City have given evi- dence that they intend to patronize the boat line as fnr as practicable. nnd that the extent of watl1r-horne traffic will be in proportion tll the amount of work done by the United States in the betterment of channel faeilities. It is claimed that benefit has alrendy been felt from the work done, and that oach bend revetted ndds to the safet\. lInd reliability of navigation. A numbor of individual shipper.-; appoaring at tho hearing stated tho o.mount of commerce, that ther . woul~l. offer tho boat line under improved river and transportatioil eondl~lOlls. The~e wer~ sclec.ted rLS reprosonting different industrie,; an.d lmos of busIlless, m wllloh thero afO many other prospectivo shipper:>.. Several of these shippers ('mphasized the fact that high- grade freIght has been carried by the ,nu\'igntion company with less .' ,".