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MARINE REVIEW. | 7 No Talk of Season Contracts. In some previous years contracts for carrying iron ore have been made as early as December, and very often immediately after the time of holding annual meetings in January. Present conditions in the iron market can not be said to be against early contracts, but the most serious draw-back is the probability of differences between furnace men and ore dealers regarding prices, on account of uncertaitity as to the output of ore from the new Mesaba range. Furnace men will expect low prices as a result of the opening up of this range, and may delay their purchases until some time after the opening of navigation, unless ore deal- ers submit to a marked reduction in prices. Ore dealers are of the opinion that the influence of Mesaba ore on the market for the first season has been over-estimated, and will probably delay sales rather than dispose of their product at low prices. A large volume of business in ore is assured, however, and stocks of grain already accumulated at Chicago and Duluth are additional assurances of an active season. In four months stocks of pig iron have decreased one-fourth, and the make and consumption of iron continues very heavy, although prices are low. Combination of Ohio Coal Producers. For several years past coal dealers of the Hocking Valley district of Ohio and the Pittsburg district in Pennsylvania, who ship large quantities of soft coal from Ohio ports by lake to the northwest, have tried in different ways to pool their interests, so as to overcome competition, which, it is claimed, has kept the margin of profits below a reasonable basis. An agreement made last year was lived up to for only a short period, and now the Ohio operators are endeavoring to form a trust company for the commercial handling of the output of all their mines. They have held several meetings and propose to turn over to one general company the output of their mines for sale, the proceeds to be divided among the operators according to an equitable rule. The new company will employ all traveling men and attend to all contracts, and the individual operators will have nothing whatever to do with the sale of coal. Some of the results of this arrangement will be the discharge of a number of salesmen in the employ of operators, and a large reduction in the expense of placing the coal on the market. The Hocking Valley ope- rators along the lines of the Baltimore & Ohio, Columbus, Shaw- nee & Hocking and Toledo & Ohio Central railroads, are, it is said, to become members of the new trust company. Valuable Information Regarding the Mesaba Range. We have just received from Horace V. Winchell one of the first copies of a pamphlet of 60 pages on the "Mesaba Range in Minnesota," giving a history of recent developments and a gen- eral account of the method of occurrence of ores, their quality, ete. 'The work is a part of the "Minnesota Geological Survey," and is the most complete description of the Mesaba range yet published. It comprises numerous analyses of nearly all of the ores of mines on the older ranges, as well as the Mesaba, and a description of properties already opened on the latter range. Although a part of the Geological Survey of Minnesota, the ex- pense of printing this pamphlet is borne by the author, who also published some time ago a volume of 430 pages on the "Iron Ores of Minnesota." [he two reports can be secured through the MARINE REVIEW at' $3.50, the cost of the first publication. Quantity of Ore on the Mesaba. Hardly a week passes now without the announcement of a new find, and new areas are continually being tested and found productive on the properties already under development. ae number of known merchantable deposits already exceeds twenty and many other promising localities have not yet been explored. It is evident that there is ore in store for many years to come, and that permanent investments and improvements of the most two or three stockholders of the company. extensive nature can safely be made, based on an expectation of the sufficiency and quality of this ore supply. Contracts have been made calling for a minimum production of one and a half million tons per annum. 'This is more ore than has ever been produced by the Vermilion range in one season, and is about one-sixth of the entire Lake Superior product. The yield of some of the largest mines, like the Mountain Iron, Mc- Kinley and Lake Superior, is not included in this minimum figure, nor are some others like the Canton, Kanawha and Great Western. Itis moreover likely that some companies will ship more than their minimum amount. It may not be . within the first two years, but after they are quite ready.--H. V. Winchell in the "Mesaba Iron Range." Republic trom Company. In justice to the management of the Republic Iron Com- pany it is only fair to state that the report of the special meet- ing of stockholders on the 14th inst., printed in the last issue of the REVIEW, was not furnished by any of the officers of the company. It was prepared from information gathered from We find that an impression has gone out that the report regarding the condition of the Republic mine, from which abstracts were published, was secured from the office of the company. Such was not the case, however, and our information regarding this meeting, as in the case of most other meetings of Lake Superior mining companies, which are considered private corporations, was obtained from stockholders outside of the board of directors, the latter refusing to give as much detail as was printed. ! Interested in Passenger Ships. Two distinguished leaders in affairs on the lakes, James J, Hill of - the Northern Steamship Company and Capt. Alex Mc- Dougall of whaleback fame, are now very much taken up with passenger ships. A Cleveland gentleman who called on Mr. Hill in New York a few days ago says he is as much interested in the Great Northern boats building at Cleveland as a boy would be in anew toy. After the big Chicago delegation arrived at West Superior too late to see the world's fair passenger boat launched, Capt. McDougall interested them with his model of the boat. He had the model taken from a glass case and floated in a tank, specially prepared for it, and then to the wonder of the guests produced small bars of brass, representing in weight hun- dreds of passengers in the same proportion as the model repre- sented the finished ship. The bars of brass were placed on one side of the deck of the small vessel in the water, to show that a rush of passengers to either side would not materially change the line of flotation. Another Contract for St. Mary's Falls Canal Work. Bids on another important part of the work of constructing the 800-foot lock at St. Mary's Falls canal will be opened by Gen. Poe at Detroit on Jan. 12. The contract to be let will include the construction of floor, culverts, breast-walls and miter sills of the lock, and the specifications give the following approximates of material and work: Portland cement, 4,000 barrels; natural cement, g,000 barrels; white pine timber to be laid, 4,421,572 feet, broad measure; white oak timber to be laid, 15,400 feet, broad measure; iron, 1,143,272 pounds; material to be excava- ted, 6,000 cubic yards; concrete to be laid, 10,000 cubic yards ; holes to be drilled, 67,500 linear feet. Work under the contract, shall be begun on or before May 15, 1894, and entirely completed on or before Dec. 15, 1894, but prior to Nov. 16, 1893, must not interfere in any way with the execution of the existing contract with Messrs. Hughes Bros. & Bangs for masonry construction. A large number of subscriptions expire with the new year. Send in renewals and avoid having name cut off.