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Novel Mississippi River Craft Driven by Internal Combustion Engines Makes First Trip—Official Welcome at New Orleans: | hee Inland Navigation Co.’s new self-propelled barge, INCO THE First, planned by her owners and shipping men of the Mississippi val- ley to restore navigation on the great inland waterway and its tributaries, handled the unexpectedly large total of 2,800 tons of freight on its first trip from St. Louis to New Orleans and re- turn. Mention of this event was made in the May issue of the Marine Review. Inco, which is the first of a fleet ex- pected to grow to 35 barges, ranging from 1,600 tons up to 3,000 in capacity, her big cargo box filled with freight, ar- rived in» New Orleans April 24, and left April 27, with 1,200 tons of north ward- bound freight to be distributed between the Crescent’ City and “St.Louis: More than 800 New Orleans shipping men turned out to welcome the mo- tor barge. The board of port commissioners on the tug SAMSON; the Association of Commerce with many guests on the steamer SIDNEY; scores of townspeople on the ex- cursion boat Mayestic, and the motor boat DeEstrREHAN, with another party, journeyed 10 miles up the Mississippi river, and, amid the blowing of whistles by more than a hundred craft along the 25 miles of harbor front, gave greeting to the barge. Then, headed by Samson, the proces- sion moved down the water front to a point opposite the Algiers drydocks, THE OFFICIAL RECEPTION AT Ernest Lee Jahncke, president of the Association of Commerce at New Orleans at the right delivering address of welcome to John H. Bernhard, inventor of the barge, next to Mr. Jahncke on the bridge of the new craft on her arrival in New Orleans, April 24 where Inco THE First, turning with the’ ease of a destroyer against the current of the Mississippi, swept back up to the Robin street wharf, followed by the flotilla which had met it further up the river. The barge tied up, and Ernest Lee Jahncke, president of the Association of Commerce, and commodore of. the Southern Yacht Club, presented the greetings of the city of New Orleans and the congratulations of the ship- ping interests of the south to John H. Bernhard, inventor of the barge and promoter of the Inland Navigation Co. Wants River Transportation “We want the rivers used again,” said Mr. Jahncke, “not to fight the rail- roads, but to supplement them and thereby give to our commerce a_bal- anced and co-ordinated transportation system, clastic enough in its capacity to meet all our needs.” Mayor Martin Behrman, of New Or- leans, formally welcomed the new ven- ture in the name of the city and of the state of Louisiana. He was followed by Jefferson D. Hardin, of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, who was loudly cheered by the more than 2,000 spectators when he said: “I believe this step by the Inland Navigation company will revive river trade along the Mississippi, especially between St. Louis and New Orleans.” He promised the hearty support of the board of port commissioners to the new barge line. Mayor Wood, of Joliet, represented the state of Illinois at the New Or- 196 NEW ORLEANS By H. H. Dunn leans celebration. He spoke on the im- portance of the barge line, and told of the $20,000,000 project for a navigable connection with Lake Michigan, to bring the great lakes in direct connection with the Mississippi river. Mr. Wood was followed by Mr. Bernhard, pres- ident of the Inland Navigation Co., who told of his struggles on a capital of fifty cents and a sheaf of blue prints to secure capital for the barge he had invented. Then he found D. A. Thom- as, the Welsh coal operator, who agreed to finance the $9,000,000 corpo- ration which is putting the barge at work. A. Rust- Oppenheim, of New York, rep- resentative of Mr. Thomas, and vice president of the Inland Navi- gation Co., made the announce- ment that the company expects weekly barge line service between New Orleans and cSt... 5 wOUts would be inaug- urated May 13, and that as soon as enough of the remaining 34 barges of the fleet were com- pleted to insure proper mainte- daily departures terminal nance of schedules, from each of the would be attempted. Besides Mr. Oppenheim, with Mr. Bernhard on the barge on its arrival were Harold Imbrie of William Morris Imbrie & Co., of New York, and Harry R. Warfield, of Baltimore, vice presi- dent of the Baltimore Trust Co. All expressed themselves as confident of the permanent success of the undertak-— ing, while Mr. Oppenheim took occa- sion to remark that his principal, Mr. Thomas, was determined to stand be- hind the new corporation until it was established and in a paying position. After the speechmaking, the barge was thrown open to the public for in- spection. The crew consisted of Henry ports - > >, : 4 3 i