AMERICA'S BUSIEST RIVER

[Music] the march of time among all the rivers in the United States the little manonga hila plays the Giant's role in the output of America's most important industry steel this peaceful river which meanders for 128 M through the Alanis is the major link between two areas which constitute the industrial Heartland of America the great coal and steel producing centers of West Virginia and Pennsylvania it is a river rich in contrast 19th century Stern wheelers still paddle its length doing the same job as modern diesels the rich richest coal deposits in the world deep in the Aly mountains yield an almost endless supply of energy that provides the backbone of the nation's powerful industrial plan the great steel producing centers situated on the banks of the manong Gila at the river's mouth Pittsburgh steel cap of the world stands as a symbol of the power generated along the mananga hila to trace the course of that tremendous power one must go Upstream to the source of the river beyond the borders of Pennsylvania to the hills of West [Applause] Virginia mile for mile the mananga hila is the busiest River River in the country each year it carries 32 million tons of cargo almost as much as the Panama Canal though it lacks The Majestic sweep of more impressive streams the very smallness of the old man as it is called by Riverboat men gives the river its character its homely traditions and its friendly atmosphere here at the junction of the West Fork and the Tigert rivers in the low Hills of West Virginia the man has its beginning near its source it runs between high hills the origin perhaps of the Indian name which means River of falling Banks here the stream is so narrow that toeb boats pass within hailing distance of each other a third of the towboats on the mananga hila are pedal wheelers Vivid reminders of bygone days on the river but still just as useful for pushing coal barges as their modern Rivals the Diesels originally the nahila was hardly navigable except by the canoes of the Indians and the flat bottomed fairies of the Pioneers but today a system of dams and locks deepens the channel to a minimum of 7 ft from the mines on the West Virginia Hill Country to the Mills on the banks near Pittsburgh now the shallow dra towboats can Traverse the entire length of the river by passing through its 12 federally operated [Applause] locks the abandoned tipples of worked out mines serve as landmarks on the journey Upstream toward newly developed coal beds but booming activity is the rule most of the industries along the banks of the man are operating at full blast taxing the river's transport resources the hills and mountains through which the man flows are a rich source of other raw materials beside coal like sand and gravel which swell the flow of traffic on the river particularly along its loow reaches in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh the focal point of mananga hila Valley industry is the destination of coal hauling towboats which work the river the mon flows north to reach its source the boats travel South passing many busy little industrial communities the whole life of these towns is centered about the river which provides cheap transportation for their products the story of the mananga hila toeb boats begins deep in the alagan in the heart of the rich coal country in the mines along the banks of the man miniature trains carry the miners sometimes for Miles underground to the open faces of the coal seams the days of pick and shovel work in the mines are gone today Modern Machinery lightens the miner's burden and increases his productivity this giant cutting machine and other modern mining equipment has helped to increase the daily output of coal per minor in the United States by 32% in the past 10 years mines in this area yield a rich grade of bituminous commonly called Soft coal which has a low sulfur content that makes it highly desirable in the production of [Music] [Applause] Steel the m of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia exploit what is known as the Pittsburgh seam the most valuable single mineral fuel deposit in the world which was discovered in 1759 the first coal mining along the man began in the early 1800 today mechanical equipment digs the coal raises it to the surface washes it and dumps it into empty barges and a single continuous [Music] operation [Applause] the barges which carry the coal down the mananga Healer are pushed by both paddle wheelers and diesels Bill Cunningham captain of the shopen a Modern Diesel has been a Riverboat skipper for 28 [Applause] [Applause] years the shopin normal run is from bestest of mine number five owned by the Jones and laand Steel company to the JNL mill near Pittsburgh today's barges carry 900 tons of coal each and can be loaded in as little as 20 minutes at the mines deckhand Bill morice who was born and raised on the mananga heiler cuts loose the empties from the towboat as a so-called captive mine all the output of V number five goes to feed the furnaces of the Jones and Lan Mill the shipan which is one of the fleet of towboats and barges owned by the company makes the run from the mines to the mills in about 10 hours under good conditions speed on the turnaround is a factor in an operation that enables the m to carry more than 26 million tons of coal a year so no time is lost in picking up the loaded barges for the run down the river before the trip to the mill Begins the barges must be securely lashed together first the six barges are assembled with heavy lines these lines are pulled T around timberhead until all the loaded barges are warped in close together steel cables and chains are then added to secure the assembly deck hands on a riverbat must be as handy as any seagoing sailor the six barges are gradually tightened into position just in front of the shannopin until they form a double row of three lashed together side by by side when the assembly has been completed the six barges form a solid prow just forward of the shopin about 600 ft in length ready for the run to the Mills the shopan moves quickly into the stream with his payload organized and underway Captain Cunningham can relax somewhat during the first leg of the Journey Down the River to [Applause] Pittsburgh from the vantage point of the Pilot House the river daily unfolds its changing [Applause] scene despite the decades he has spent on the river and his change from steamcraft to diesel the captain still enjoys watching the stern wheelers churn by although he prefers piloting his new diesel as he scans his instruments a light flashes him a warning hey Homer better look around down there I got a red light showing in my face there and stop Homer caner the shannan's chief engineer is an old Steamboat man too but nobody on the River today understands a diesel motor any better than he [Music] does to caner the engines of the twin screw diesel sound like a purr compared to the pounding of the old steam engines he used to work on caner has served on Riverbats for 42 years ever since he was 14 years old he still prefers the old Steamboat to the modern diesels a view which Captain Cunningham does not [Music] share my part I'd rather be on diesel because on a steam boat we were sitting up here we didn't know if we going to get float up the air or what and we have a better Vis here we have the steam flying up there on us foggy nights and smoke blowing down your face we can see we got a clear view all in all you think it's saer I do yes I like it I like people I thought I haded about 40 years ago when we come to the prime of Our Lives life on the mananga hila now is quite different than it used to be today there are women on board the towboats which ply the old man Mrs Violet Oster known to the crew as Mickey has brought her own brand of home cooking to the galley of the shopen woman's touch is also evident at the mess table where Josephine Bennett takes over rivermen are traditionally heavy eaters and the members of the shipin crew are no exception the mess has a food allowance of $45 per day for each man so she is able to include in her menus good cuts of meat and plenty of fresh vegetables rivermen in the old days were often recognized by what came to be known as a steamboat figure these days the men eat just as well but they watch their diets a little more carefully on the shopen the crew can count on being served well balanced meals today with women aboard the tone of the conversation at the mess table has changed somewhat and at dinner on the shipan the crew is as well-mannered as any family gathering even the oldtimers who fondly recall the days of another era on the man seem to welcome the refinements which have been added to Riverboat life [Music] the usual watch on board the shopin is 6 hours on and 6 hours off when the boat approaches one of the mananga hil's many locks all hands on duty must turn two there's a lot to be done in a very short time and a mistake can result in damage to a barge or to the lock itself near Elizabeth 24 Mi up River from Pittsburgh the heavy traffic at Lock 3 usually causes a delay before the shipan can enter the lock the water level must be raised the gates at the Lock's exits are closed and the water led into the lock until it reaches the level of the River on the Upstream side in approaching the lock the shopen must be maneuvered carefully as the barge load is brought into line with the lock Gates a Workman releases a float to see if the water is level with the river Upstream the lock tender then signals all [Music] clear Cunningham [Music] answers and the lockmaster tells him to come ahead a single control sets the mechanism in motion and the gates swing open against the current from up River towboat loads have outgrown the capacity of the man's old blocks and the shipin barges must be taken through in sections four first then two this means that the first four barges must be pushed into the lock and pulled through by means of winches Captain Cunningham sends the shopin slowly ahead between the Jetties at the Lock entrance at just the right second he must cut his engines and bring his heavy load to a hole the clumsy barges slip into the lock without even brushing the walls on either side a tribute to Captain Cunningham's long experience as a towboat pilot there are often only inches to spare between the bges and the lock walls as the tow comes to a Hulk much of the river was an impassible series of shallow pools with Rocky shs between them before the Army Engineers built these dams and locks lines are passed around Timber heads on the lock walls once the barges have been lowered to the down river level they will be pulled out of the lock by winches without the help of the shopan from which they must now be cut loose Bill Rice quickly unleashes the first four barges and the shanan backs out of the lock entrance to wait until the lock is clear once again a massive lock gates are closed on the four barges so the water level within the lock can be lowered to the Down River State once the barges are drawn through the gates they are tied up at a jety Beyond to await the shopan which is now able to enter the lock with the remaining two barges still lashed to its prow watching the smoothness of this operation it is hard to believe that it can be difficult and dangerous high water and low water are both problems in floods the mon sometimes reaches a stage of 40 ft 30 ft above normal and there have been cases where a train of barges and their towboat have been swept over a dam during dry seasons shows present a dangerous Hazard but the channel depth is being increased from a minimum today of 7 ft to a minimum of 9 by improvements in the system of dams a barge Laden with 900 tons of coal today can still scrape its Keel along the mananga healer's rocky bottom clearing a lock in good weather takes Captain Cunningham as little as a half an hour once the shipan is beyond the gate the barge train can be reassembled and the toeo gets underway for the next leg of the trip to the steel mills mileage markers on the banks give the distance from Pittsburgh but an old hand like Captain inam knows almost every Bush and every tree along the [Applause] shore sometimes the schedule allows for a brief stop at places like morgant town for the crew of the shipan such pauses provide a welcome breathing spell and an opportunity to stretch their legs Morgan Town is a typical mining Center set in the Hills along the river gray and drab but with a few bright spots like Vince's a restaurant and Tavern frequented mainly by Miners and Riverboat [Music] men dorsy Lewis who works in the mines is always willing to sing his own composition which he calls the scared coal miner I never be a minor I never be again I will never A [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Min now about 17 years old I took an ocean want to those Co and I took a little trip of on Co off ask the boss to give me a job shoving Black Diamond didn't have no better sand i b me ac thr a pick and a heart sh c fit too quick all said it stress but it didn't I was greenn kidding jok on me I won't ever be a minor I would be again I will never be a minor [Music] for many of the rivermen have worked in the mines themselves and can sympathize with the sentiment in the song The Riverboat men get along well with the miners and the talk soon turns to the old days Cunningham and his crew never Tire of the arguments over diesels versus steamboats and when all else fails there are always the legends about the old timers on the man and the exploits that have kept the stories of those days alive Steamboat very different nowadays it was the old times yeah it is uh in the old times when I first started they had wooden barges now it's got steel barges the old says the olden times they had the wooden barges and the Iron Man now they got the iron barges and the wooden man another favorite topic is the traditional Steamboat Race the last one was ruled a tie and the men are still arguing over whether or not the ruling was a fair one these breakes on Shore come all too seldom for the Riverboat men one of the worst hazards on the river is fog with 600 ft of barge in front of him the captain stations Pat gainard forward to watch for other craft approaching in the mid by hand signals gainard warns the the captain of a boat coming up River off to starboard in such weather Captain Cunningham sounds a warning blast every few seconds off to Port another towboat overtakes the shipan and her toe passing them at high speed in spite of the Morning Mist today the fog begins to lift early but there is no time for Captain cunning to relax from here on to the end of the journey the river bank is studded with steel mills and River traffic is heavier smug from Smoke Stacks is often thick and there are dangerous bends in the river one of the worst of these is Greenfield bend a sharp curb on which visibility ahead is [Music] poor [Music] another Hazard for the Riverboat Captain is crossed traffic on the M as at Simpsons Ferry near Greenfield bend the ferry which links the towns of Newell and coal Center is a small craft worked by a gasoline motor with room for only a couple of cars at a time when the ferry is in motion its cable rises from the river bottom but at the approach of a towboat the ferry pilot can drop the cable to avoid the possibility of fouling the towboats propellers the ferry carries workers back and forth from coal Center and other nearby communities to a plant near New from the deck of the shipan the industry which makes the on important is readily apparent this is the shipyard where the river's Co barges are made farther along the carnegi mills empty waste into the river through a sloo way that forms a minor Cascade from the vantage point of a timberhead an important segment of America's industrial might now passes in review these are the steel mills and foundaries and chemical plants which draw their heat and power from the hauled by the mananga hil's tobolt one ton of coal to make one ton of Steel for processing into armor plate and gun mountings and GDs for skyscrapers at night the Panorama takes on a different aspect blast furnaces send out a lured glow reflected on the river's surface one of the most impressive sites in this steel country is The Dumping of slag the wastes and residue from the smelters and furnaces carried from the mills in what steel men call simal these oval-shaped containers 10 ft high are dumped automatically sending a fiery molten Mass down the ever growing mountains of [Applause] slag the Jones and logland Mill is one of the top steel producers in the country coal used in its furnaces must first go through the cooking process which produces a fuel that is almost pure carbon capable of burning at intense heat it still takes men of iron to make steel men who can withstand the Searing heat from White Hot Coke fires that are used to transform ore and scrap iron into molten metal it takes men of muscle and a sh hand men with a quick eye and the technical knowledge needed to operate a steel Mill's complex machinery the giant rolling Mills which carry a slab of glowing steel from one set of rollers to another squeezing and drawing the livid metal into any size and thickness required making steel takes strong men to tap the fires and manipulate the cranes that pour the liquid metal from glowing Crucible in which the physical fiber of our strength is fored it is men like these who make Pittsburgh steelt Town part of America's industrial might drawing its sustenance from Rivers like the mananga hila the vital artery on which the economic life of the city and the whole nation depends these are the men who make it great the man who makes the steel The Miner deep in the earth and the men of the old mananga healer who provide the link between the mines and the Mills bringing the fuel that keeps the f is glowing the steel pouring Veterans of many about with storm and flood and fog all right now we'll move that barge over on the fourth side each year the expanding industrial Life Of The Nation makes even heavier demands on the mananga Hiller which day after day fulfills its traditional function of transporting the C from the mines to the Mills Time Marches on each week at this hour the march of time presents a report on an important personality problem or place somewhere in the world at this moment March of time cameramen are shooting significant stories in the various parts of the world the setting for next week's show may be southeast Asia Western Europe the Middle East Latin America the Arctic or our own United States the march of Time covers stories today which will be news tomorrow join us again on this channel next week for another authoritative chapter in the march of time television series this is Westbrook van Voris speaking for the editors of the march of time the