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Deep Water and Low Freight Rates. Below will be founda table that cannot fail to interest every owner of vessel property on the lakes. It shows the average "wild" rates, or single trip charters, as well as season contract rates on ore from the different upper lake ports for each year from 1872 to 1891 inclusive. The total shipments of ore from all Lake Superior mines are also shown in connection with the freight rates. These figures for single seasons have been pub- lished with the close of each season, but it is more than probable that such a summary covering a long period of years--twenty in this case--is now presented for the first time. The idea was suggested by Congressman Vincent A. Taylor of Cleveland, who is desirous of securing this and other data for the purpose of showing the reduction in carrying charges caused by govern- ment improvements in the connecting waterways of the lakes and it will be followed by similar statements regarding carrying charges on grain and coal, which have been very carefully re- _corded and may be readily secured. Some difficulty attended the collection of these statistics as to iron ore, but they are in every way reliable, being taken from the records of actual freight transactions in the offices of the Bradley estate and H. J. Webb & Co. of Cleveland. The summary, which follows, presents a study especially interesting at this time to vessel owners and iron ore shippers, who are engaged in making contracts for next season's delivery of ore: Total Ship- ESCANABA. - || MARQUETTE. ASHLAND. Year. ments, : ; Gross tons. || Wild |Contr'ct|| Wild |Contr'ct]/| Wild |Contr'ct Rate. | Rate. Rate. | Rate. Rate. | Rate. e To72 948,553 || $3°33 | $2.00 CM ey ale) (soy ibe cameo: || aioe 1873 1,195,234 259:| 2-60 3 53 Bee Oued eemeseirt © Alar alee ee 1874 809,934 1.236 2 00 i938 D7 SNE can lgh: 9-7 pais 1875 881,166 | erg 1.40 I 50 P75, Gil ates omit" la eect 1876 993,311 86 I 20 Teas TA5O 'aces ee setae 1877 1,025,129 98 I 00 IvAL T 14> lipeasess St ees 1878 lll, LlOs 81 90 1°22 TRO, Gl rere -- iis 1879 1,375,091 125 go a8 T WO | ees 2s clay» eee 1880 1,908,745 : I 70 I 85 e206 DET War eees ee eee tmeee 1881 2)307,005 ' I 36 I 75 2 05 DANG Tole anemone tl eso aeyeht 1882 2,965,412 I o4 I 4o Te20s L752 ||. See acs 1883 2,352,840 ) I 00 I 40 Tx 20s» | ral aieeeecn lc a gcen ae 1884 2,508,693 87 I 10 I 08 iG OS 5 oeateaiea| oases 1885 2,516,642 782-|¢ GO 98 los 125 Si 5 1886 3,559,371 I 28 I 05 I-51 I 20 I 78 I 20 1887 4,742,276: I 59 T 40 I 87 I 63 223 2 00 1888 5,046,503. 1.05 go I-30 T15< Tel I 25 1889 7,292,644 I OL I.00 Tech, I 10 ee esos 1890 9,003,701 89 I 10 I 07 Tey Tr glee |e aes 1891 7,011,933 (84 65 Teo2 go eaten I 00 It is remarkable that an average of the Marquette and Es- canaba figures for twenty years past shows only an insignificant difference between contract and "wild" rates. The average rates for twenty yearsare: Escanaba, contract $1.20%,"wild"' $1.29 %; Marquette, contract $1.71, "wild" $1.70. ages for seven years are $1.31 contract and $1.47 "wild." Shipments of ore from the Gogebic iron range previous to -- 1885 were unimportant. Rates from Two Harbors, not noted in the above table, are of course, the same as those from Ashland. _ The expense of handling, borne at all times by the vessel, is 21 cents a ton. Bridges at Duluth and Superior. _ Duluth people who are advocating the construction of a bridge across the canal or harbor to Superior and St. Louis bays do not understand the danger of such an obstruction at that point. Every vessel master who has visited thehead of the lakes knows that in heavy northeast weather it is a most difficult task to keep a steamer off the piers in making this entry. Jn a north- east storm this point is exposed to a sweep of sea of 300 miles or more, and there is no anchorage or shelter nearer than the Apostle islands. With the chances of a bridge becoming clogged in severe fall weather, a fleet of vessels trying to make this har- The Ashland aver- MARINE REVIEW. bor would certainly be exposed to great danger. Putting aside these conditions, however, there is no good reason tor the de- mand of local interests that an obstruction of any kind should be placed over this channel, and the commission of engineers who are to consider the question at Detroit shortly, will undoubtedly see it in the right light. The narrow strip of land which it is sought to connect, Minnesota point, is worth but little if any -- more than a single steel steamer of large capacity. _ The land will doubtless be used eventually for a city park and can be reached by a ferry, and if ever. valuable enough can be reached by atunnel. The claim that Minnesota point is wanted badly for dock frontage will not withstand investigation, as the city is now platted out half a mile or more into the bay and there is 100 miles or more of dock frontage, including slips, with only a little over four miles of it in use. Farther up the St. Louis river another bridge project is under way that will bear attention from the government engineer in charge of the district as well as the commission. According to original plans this bridge was to be tro feet in the draw, but it is understood that the projectors are now making an effort to have the bridge constructed without a . draw at all. Propellers Instead of Side-Wheel Passenger Boats. Some of the managers of companies operating passenger - steamers on the lakes are considering plans for new boats, and among the different types suggested is that of a propeller built up with guards above the main portion of the hull, similar to the present type of side-wheel steamer, so as to admit of double rows of state rooms. Such a boat is thought of by the Goodrich company, owning the twin-screw steamer Virginia, and the Kid | F te wag Bees cot ai ch I ie 2 bees ora BS ° ° oe iS oe eel NEW TYPE OF PASSENGER STEAMER. accompanying engraving of the steamer Maine, built after the same style by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company of Wilming- ton, Del., for the Stonington line, Long Island sound steamers, will accordingly prove interesting. 'The Maine and New Hamp- shire, sister-ships of this pattern, were both launched recently, and are exciting much interest, as it is expected that if success- ful, they will bring about a revolution in Long Island Sound travel from the side-wheeler tothe more modern propeller. "The two vessels are exactly alike in every detail. 'Their dimensions are: Length on water line 302 feet 7 inches; length over all 310 feet; beam molded on load water line 44 feet; width over guards 60 feet; draft 12% feet. | The main engines of these steamers will be inverted, direct acting, surface condensing, triple expansion engines with four cylinders, 28, 45,51 and 51 inches in diameter, with 42 inches stroke. 'The propeller is of cast iron, left-handed, four-bladed, and 13/4 feet in diameter. Four Scotch type boilers will be in- stalled ineach vessel. These will be13 feet 6 inches in diameter and 11 feet 6 inches long. Each boiler has three corrugated fur- maces 46 inches outside diameter, comprising 274 feet of grate surface. 'The boilers will be worked at a pressure of 160 pounds to the square inch. The engraving is from the Railway Review, Chicago. oi Pig Iron Production is Still Heavy. Stocks of pig iron are increasing and prices are lower than they were three weeks ago. On the first of the year there were 310 furnaces in blast-with a weekly production of 191,442 tons. Feb. 1 the number of furnaces blowing was 305, but the weekly. production was 193,007 tons, that is with five less furnaces in pee The average weekly production on Dec. 1, was 193,009