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6 MARINE REVIEW. LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ORE PRODUCTION. Statistics for the Calendar Year 1892--Magnitude of Capi- tal in Mining and Distribution. With this issue the REVIEw presents a supplemental state- ment of iron ore shipments from all Lake Superior mines for 1892 and for the past thirty-seven years, and in connection with these statistics a collection of illustrations that will tend to show the dock machinery and the best methods that have rendered possi- ble the work of handling in a single season of navigation more than 9,000,000 gross tons of ore in addition to the large quanti- ties of coal, grain, lumber and other freight. Turning first to the ore statistics for 1892 it is found that the shipments, lake and rail, for the full year again surpass all previous records, the aggregate from all mines being 9,074,243 gross tons, divided among the different ranges and ports as fol- lows: SHIPMENTS BY RANGE, LAKE AND RAIL, 1892. Ranges. Gross Tons. WO eens reece cae ate ene ne cece set eiscmocst 2,973,993 NVicin Ge hea deneect cnc secreepatactiee tae enetes scene ceere ties: 2,666,856 Menominee ....... NP cuseaedsctrtce atemhonectanatauesendaeetenee: 2,261,499 BV FOTIMMMOM sts scceiessecss + serene det es la sees cae cheseneetemaveart 1,167,650 Mesaba........ EELS RIS ateit is game cis ones mac easly sciai ecto 4,245 Gta gateecsedticcue ea cesoisdssccra elite sed ies exo ekeee 9,074,243 SHIPMENTS BY PORTS AND ALL-RAIL, 1892. Ports. Gross Tons. Se dine ete en ene eos usin siinnes See sed aiees ops aes Te guess 4,010,085 SNA at ee es hc) siseciioe abe eos See 2,223,683 ARN oy G [ie goss waeesemoaneee tbhoocacrntadnnocadochpnaonecetncarses! luo lis AVEO GTC et eae iehtcaece re neiceen seer 1 once Sinadore ent aaae tts 1,026 ,338 Cera SHON CMe ste cc eae chains eatet ces cea ecgwasncosere rect ta. 115,886 MO CT OM ccpwaccte csi ounvecnca Shere Manae sot sabenes scene aciee sat ol 4,245 UIT SRVAU ars concen eeea meen Meeeatane acue she tee set ote enete otetes oe 528,930 WG Pai sve nei tasnteds esse rcmermnce ets coe rae oas sapite sdaseus 9,074,248 TOTAT, SHIPMENTS BY RANGES SINCE OPENING OF LAKE SUPERIOR REGION. Ranges. Gross Tons. BY ETT es amet teem tee Ceela cere ari dea teetieecn ne ssc eee cs oo 1c 37,917,593 INFCMONUNES taraset ye susidinset see dee Gasics ck -, se tecnieean ds. f: 16,779,261 COR PIC erenamacteukcast canyscuun te Oeairas ie cscap ens dua. tuos ee 13,260,206 NTU OM wetesnnccetaut saeapitei es vein see ssh Gecesen et enesse cu 0,285,173 IWC Sealy ase gece teen ema me Mas Okc acs cde ahs aa succscan ae 4,445 MiScelaMCoUsseta tae caece csr csseiscaoiereusass so 5. 2,320 A Otabe reste ss Bene Sen ealpa genes seer ee alton cen 73,248 ,796 CAPITAL INVESTED IN MINING AND DISTRIBUTION. . An investment of $175,394,985 seems almost beyond the _proportions of any one closely connected line of commerce, but such are the figures representing the capital involved on July ist, 1892, in mining and transporting by lake and rail the output of the lake mining country. These figures as to capital were presented recently by Mr. George H. Ely of Cleveland after months of inquiry and research among the numerous companies involved in the business. They can be comprehended only by considering that 73,248,796 gross tons is the output of the mines since 1855 when this immense industry was begun. Iron ore forms the largest single item in the lake trade, and the discovery of new properties in Minnesota during the year just closed would seem to indicate another era of enormous increases in shipments when these properties are fully developed in 1894. This country consumed in 1890, 17,500,000 gross tons of iron ore. Of this amount, 1,246,830 tons were imported and 16,- 253,170 tons were of home production. Lake Superior mines produced in the same year 9,003,701 gross tons, or more than one-half the raw material for a nation that leads the world in the output of pig iron, Bessemer steel and steel rails. |The average value of iron ore mined in the United States in 1889 on cars and carts at the mines is given by the census bureau at $2.30 per ton. The value of such ore at Lake Superior mines averaged $2.66 per ton, while the ores of Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia averaged only $1.20 per ton in value at the mines, The figures referred to above, as prepared by Mr. Ely, make up a most forcible statement in evidence of the magnitude of this industry. They will bear reprinting: Capital in mines in the four Lake Superior dis- tricts in 1889, as per United States Census.....594 825,122 Increase to J uly 1-189 2 0... sc cec ee ence nee ee nro sees ese . 15,000,000 Capital in docks a d their equipments at Lake Superior and Lake Michigan ports, built and used exclusively for shipping ore (Official) ance eS Rae Lae enh heatuackea tyghes <a. Capital employed exclusively in-railroad transportation of ore from mines to shipping ports on Lake Superior and Lake Muachigam (OfClal) cies. -ccenccecsserssveescy<s Peeb eactewtaragios sem rtacis cola 27,014,594 Floating capital on the lakes, employed exclusively in ore trans- $69,825,122 9,885,665 portation, from upper lakes to lower lake ports (estimated)... 29,933,107 Capital in docks, and in their equipments, for receiving and for- warding ore exclusively, at Lake Erie ports between Toledo and Buffalo, inclusive of both (official)..................-.seee--e00 12,392,880 Capital employed exclusively in railroad transportation of ore, inland to mills and furnaces from Lake Erie ports (official)... 26,343,617 PNG talline cei ce neers etc en te Nemneerta ce aes nome' ah oe $175,394 ,985 The engravings on the opposite page are from photographs. They were selected from numerous views of the various docks at upper and lower lake ports. Ore Sales Market--Question of Freights. Two rumors regarding sales of ore tor next season's deliv- ery have been current during,the past few days. One of them credited the Florence-Iron River Company, producing non-Bes- semer ore, with having sold 300,000 tons, and the other was to the effect that the Illinois Steel Company had made a large pur- chase of Bessemer ore. Mr. J. C. Morse, of the Illinois Steel Company, is a member of the firm of Pickands, Mather & Co., Cleveland, and it is not at all probable that the big Chicago company would purchase any ore without asking the Cleveland company for prices. At the office of Pickands, Mather & Co. the rumor of sales is emphatically denied, without any qualifica- tions. The Florence-Iron River Company is represented in Cleveland by Tod, Stambaugh & Co.,-and here too the talk of sales is declared to be without foundation. It is not expected that there will be any great margin of profit in the ore business, but sales agents look fora demand that will care for a heavy product in 1893, and are still satisfied that the Mesaba output for the first year can not be large enough to influence prices. Enormous stocks of grain in all parts of the country will cause vessel owners to hold out for fair rates of lake freights, as a heavy business in the spring is insured beyond any doubt. Meeting of the Republic Company. At the annual meeting of the Republic Iron Company on Wednesday, called for the purpose of electing a board of direct- ors and voting on the question of amending the articles of asso- ciation, so as to allow the company to acquire property outside of the state of Michigan, the Chicago stockholders, who opposed the proposed amendment at a special meeting last month, repre- sented about 28,000 shares of the stock. An amicable under- standing was arrived at, by which three members of the Chicago party were elected to the board of directors as representatives of the stock which they held, and a proposition giving the pow- er sought at the special meeting to the board of directors was passed unanimously. This leaves the matter of taking up new mining property presumably on the Mesaba range to the direc- tors. The new board of directors is made up of H. B. Perkins of Warren, O., G. W. R. Matteson of Providence, R. I., Peter White, of Marquette, Mich., Samuel Mather, W. D. Rees, and J. We Painter of Cleveland, Abraham Hart and C. F. Dummer of Chicago, and M. M. Kaufman of Marquette, Mich. 'The three last named gentlemen were among the representatives of the so- called Chicago party. Officers re-elected are the the sameas last Media eMeveaie se \\i el): Rees, president and treasurer: H. B. Perkius, vice president; W. B. Castle, secretary ; Douglass Per- kins, auditor. :