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Some Leading River Men To what extent the entire Ohio Valley is indebted to Col. John L. Vance for his indefatigable efforts in behalf of the improvement of the Ohio and its tributaries, future years alone will tell. He has been president of the Ohio Valley Improve- ment association since its organization in 1895, and the work done by this. body attests the strength, energy and influence of its guiding hand. .He was born in Gallipolis, O., July 19, 1839, and at the age of seventeen was a teacher in a public school. A year later he was deputy clerk of courts of Gallia county and there commenced the study of law. In 1860 he attended the Law School of the Cincinnati College, from' which he graduated in 1861, and the day following his graduation he was ordered to report for military duty at Gallipolis. The year previous he accepted a position on the staff of Gen. Con- stable of the Ohio militia.. On July 5, 1861, he was appointed captain of a company recruited for three years' service and this company took part in forty-seven battles. Honors came to him swiftly on the battlefield and he was successively pro- moted to the position of major and then lieutenant colonel. He was severely wounded in one of the charges before Vicks- burg and after the war enSaged in steamboating and was blown up from the steamer Cottage and severely injured. On Oct. 4, 1866, he was: married and three sons resulted from the union. In 1867 he started the Gallipolis. Bulletin which he successfully edited until August, 1900, when he sold the property. Throughout his entire career he served. the public in various official capacities and held many positions of political prominence. In 1872 he was elected a delegate to the Democratic national convention and in 1874 was elected to congress. He only served one term, however, being defeated by a small majority in 1876 and again in 1884. His district was overwhelmingly Republican and in both instances when he was defeated the usual Republican majority was greatly re- duced. He was one of the founders of the Hocking Valley: Editorial association and was appointed quartermaster general. and commissary general of subsistance of the state of Ohio: with the rank of brigadier general by Gov. Campbell. Al- though a Democrat, he has been appointed to other public™ . offices of trust by Republican governors in Ohio, and at pres- ent makes his headquarters at Columbus. MR. JAMES JONES. James Jones, chairman of the board of directors of the Pittsburg-Buffalo Co., Pittsburg, was born on May 6, 1835. in Wales, and in 1858:came to the United States. His first ex- perience as.an operator and employer was in 1878 when he leased the Osceola mines and organized the Osceola Coal Co. In 1880 he sold his interest in the Osceola Coal Co. and with the Hon. W. L. Scott of Erie leased the Grant mines at Carnegie, Pa. Two years later he purchased the Ivill mine near Monongahela City, Pa., and in 1889 secured a half in- terest in the Catsburg mine at Monongahela: City and organ- ized the Catsburg Coal Co., Ltd. A year later he purchased a half interest in the Rostraver mine near Lock No. 4, Monon- gahela river and organized the Rostraver Coal Co. In 1896, wishing to associate his five sons in business the firm of James Jones & Sons was organized and the local river business, flats and steamers of the T. M. Jenkins Co., Pittsburg, to- gether with the river trade, steamers, retail yards, etc., of John H. Jones, his eldest son, were purchased making this con- cern one of the largest river shippers of coal in the Pittsburg district. Upon the formation of the Monongahela River Con- solidated Coal & Coke Co. in'1899 the entire business of James Jones & Sons was sold and Mr. Jones retired from business. At the earnest solicitation of his sons he accepted the position of chairman of the board of directors of the Pittsburg-Buffalo Co., which position he now holds. CAPT. W. C. JUTTE. For more than thirty years, Capt. W. C. Jutte, head of the Juite interests, with headquarters at Pittsburg, has been prom- inently identified with river shipping as a coal operator. The Jutte interests at present consist of C. Jutte Co., Peoples' Coal Co., Marine' Coal Co., Monongahela & Western Dredging Co., Jung & Sons Coal Co., Mississippi River Coaling Co., Jutte & Foley Contracting Co. and the McKeesport Sawmill Co. The Jutte interests are the largest independent river coal shippers and operate' ten steamboats, five dredges, sixty-five barges, 129 flats and 500 coal boats. The Mississippi River Coaling Co.,. New Orleans, one of the identified interests, is erecting a large stationary coaling dock at the mouth of Lake Borgne canal about twelve miles below New Orleans and will have a stor- age capacity of 2,000 tons and a coaling capacity of 200 tons an hour. The McKeesport Sawmill Co., another identified in- terest, builds all the river craft for these various companies while the Jung & Sons Coal.Co., New Orleans, looks after the southern coal interests. Capt. Jutte was a member of the partnership of C. Jutte & Co., which was absorbed by the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal & Coke Co. CAPT. WARREN ELSEY. Capt. Warren Elsey, master of river transportation of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., comes to his calling naturally, having first seen the light of day on board a river steamer on the Ohio at Portsmouth on Jan. 15, 1849. At the age of fifteen he was first employed by the Jones & Laughlin inter- ests in the capacity of engineer of a propeller and later secured a pilot's license to rtin on the lower rivers to New Orleans. In 1881 he purchased the steamer Iron City and in 1884 built the steamer Resolute. In 1886 he engaged with Gray's Iron Line operating the steamers Iron Age, Iron Duke, Ironsides and Resolute and in 1891 became connected with the Jenkins Coal Co. as master of the steamer Frank Gilmore. He was later in charge of the steamer B. D. Wood of the Lysle Coal Co., and six years ago again became connected with the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. Since in charge of this company's fleet he has built three steamers and purchased one and it has been decided to add another. This-company ships from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 tons of coal from the upper Monongahela to its works annually, and in addition to the steamers owns 179 coal boats and is building twenty-five additional. MR. FRANCIS' L. ROBBINS. Francis Le Baron Robbins is president of the Pittsburg Coal Co. and the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal & Coke Co., Pittsburg, the largest shippers of bituminous coal in the United States. The river coal shipments are made by the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal & Coke Co., and its fleet of steamers, barges, flats and other water craft is the largest on inland rivers in the United States. Mr. Robbins comes well equipped to the two positions of importance which he holds. When a boy of fifteen he began work in a mine operated by his father at Midway, Pa., and from this humble beginning he has advanced to the head and front of the bituminous coal industry of the United States. Few em- ployers of labor have solved the difficult problems that con- stantly arise between employer and employe as has Mr. Rob-