The following comparative table gives the totals for the different classes of trades during 1893, 1892, and 1891: Total... 46, 273, 14, 000 249, 965. 3 236, 872. 9 189, 546. 1,5, 766, 965. 1 8, 373, 971. 78, 197, 231.4 12, 232 Including 6,200 excursion passengers. + Including 34,693 excursion passengers. In comparing Table 1 with a similar table of the preceding year there appears to be a decrease in 1893 of over one-third in grain and live stock and over one-half in miscellaneous products shipped on the river. The item of wood and lumber shows a decrease of about 10 per cent, while that of sand and building materials shows an increase of 36 per cent in 1893 over that of 1892. The mile-tons are about one-third less, the loss showing principally in the packet trades. The river traffic in 1893 suffered in the general depression of business, as did every other department of industry. From the report of the secretary of the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis it appears that the receipts and shipments by river to and from the city during 1893 were over 13 per cent less than in 1892. The total amount of wheat received in St. Louis in 1893 was nearly 50 per cent less than in 1892, while for total grains, including flour reduced to wheat, the decrease was 18 per cent. The principal article of shipment on the Missouri River in the packet trade is wheat. The completion of the M. K. and E. Railroad, skirting the left bank of the river from Boonville down to the Bellefontaine bridge, has contributed not a little in diminishing the amount of freight carried by the short-line packets in the lower river. The following table gives the number and total registered tonnage of steamboats plying on the Missouri River in the years 1889 to 1893, inclusive: In addition to the steamboats there are 6 gasoline boats plying in the short packet trade on the Missouri River. Under the present laws these boats are not subject to Government inspection. The largest of the gasoline boats is 78 by 14 feet, and their aggregate tonnage is about 182 tons. The aggregate of their freight carried by them during 1893 is 11,866 tons, which is included in Table 1. From the weekly reports of the gauge observers and from the registered tonnage of the steam vessels and the approximate tonnage of the gasoline boats, the following table is made up, showing the number of boats passing 6 of the regular watergauge stations and their tonnage: Rates of insurance on the river have remained unchanged since July 1, 1889, and are believed to be higher than on any other river comparable in size to the Missouri. No new line of transportation has been established since the report of last year. The formation of a line of towboats and barges between St. Louis and Kansas City has been advocated in the public press and has received some attention from capitalists, and it has been asserted that the experiment will be tried on the river during the present crop season. TABLE 5.-List of steamers plying on the Missouri River, in the district of New Orleans, enrolled at the port of St. Louis, Mo., during the year 1893. TABLE 5.- List of steamers plying on the Missouri River, in the district of New Orleans, enrolled at the port of St Louis, Mo., during the year 1893—Continued. C. C. Turner, Osage City, J. R. Ern, St. Louis, Mo. Dolphin Transportation Chas. B. Able, St. Charles, Henry Castrop, Tuscum- Hermann Ferry and Pack. et Co., Hermann, Mo. Cole & Calloway Transportation Co., Jefferson City, Mo. R. M. Marshall, Tuscum- Argentine Sand Co., Kan. Hermann Ferry and Packet Co., Hermann, Mo. Edward Kirkendall, Washington, Mo. Henley H. Moore, Jeffer son City, Mo. Hermann Ferry and Pack. et Co., Hermann, Mo. Do. Twenty second cabin. |