Free Republic

Click on the link for a great video report on the attempt by Democrat Rep. James Oberstar and unions to shut down the 1926 passenger steamboat Delta Queen, which sails America's inland rivers.

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH, blamed labor unions and partisan politics for a U.S. House vote this week rejecting an amendment that could have kept the Delta Queen riverboat from having to phase out its overnight cruise packages. The historic riverboat has been operating with a special Congressional exemption from the federal Safety at Sea Act since 1968, an exemption that has been renewed eight times. The safety act bans the use of wooden vessels for overnight cruises. Backers of the exemption claim the Delta Queen deserves special treatment because of its historical significance and recently upgraded fire-safety systems. With...

For decades, the Delta Queen's tall stack has been a familiar sight in St. Paul and other river towns such as Red Wing and Winona. Children wave and a vintage steam calliope plays as the elegant 81-year-old steamboat majestically makes her way down the Mississippi, bound for ports including St. Louis or Hannibal, Mo. The Queen is the last steam-powered riverboat still carrying overnight passengers on American waters. With her Tiffany lamps and rare Siamese ironwood floors, she recreates a bygone era -- down to a bell from the steamboat that carried Mark Twain as he researched his "Life on...

Mark Twain has been dead for a number of years. He often voiced his opinion that Members of Congress were not the sharpest tools in the shed, but he hasn’t actually made such a comment in more than a century. Still, an issue arose last week which allows me full permission to condemn Congress again in Mark Twain’s name. This concerns the sailing of the Delta Queen. Practically everyone, even in land-locked states, knows the Delta Queen. She is the last surviving original-style paddlewheel boat to sail on the Mississippi. She was built in 1926 for use on the West...

Majestic America Line Announces Farewell Celebration Throughout 2008 for the Legendary Delta Queen. Congress has decided not to enact legislation to grant the historic ship a statutory exemption; Ship will continue sailings through November 2008. Click on link above for full press release.

DELTA QUEEN CANCELS FALL AND WINTER CRUISES FOR AMERICAN QUEEN September 7, 2005 Due to Hurricane Katrina and the resulting impact on the Greater New Orleans area it will be impossible to operate the American Queen on her regularly scheduled fall 3- and 4- night cruises this year. In addition, we are working with various government authorities to make the American Queen available in the overall relief efforts for the Gulf Coast region, especially greater New Orleans. All American Queen voyages beginning with September 16 onward are cancelled. The American Queen voyage sailing from Memphis on September 10 will arrive...