Ambitious Plan to Revive Columbia River Transit
Eastern investors propose a fleet of modern steel boats to compete directly with railroads for freight and passenger traffic.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Wallace S. Struble is proposing a new river transportation system for the Columbia River, claiming it will provide service equal to any railroad in speed, efficiency, and comfort. The plan involves a fleet of custom-designed steel boats capable of handling bulk grain, livestock, and cold storage. Struble promises a 25 percent reduction in rates compared to existing railway tariffs. The project, backed by undisclosed Eastern capital, intends to incorporate as the Columbia Transportation Co., Inc. Stock in the company is being offered locally to shippers, with the promise that no payment is required until at least 20 boats are operational on the river.
“We have based the operation on the idea that all we need to do is to supplant antiquated, 'spread-eagle' methods with sound business.”
While this river-transit scheme was a product of the early 20th-century boom mentality, it mirrors modern aspirations to move freight off highways and back onto waterways and rail to modernize regional infrastructure.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.