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MARINE REVIEW. Il More Than Eighteen Million Tons. A Few Points from Major Symons on the Canal Question *A SUMMARY OF LAKE SUPERIOR COMMHRCE--DEOREASE OF ABOUT 1,600 IN THE Editor Marine Review:--I have read i ya y TE ee ner's etitism of iy report, Ia this cries Me Wine ee ites ae a ENTS WILL BE ABOUT Shee 4 : k S ie EQUAL TO LAST YKAR. keynote of the whole question of cheap water transportation between the plies et ee lakes and the seaboard via the Erie canal route. The present fame i 'tai : Cc IS ni : : apts It is now certain that the movement of freight to and from Lake ana! Is not used to anything like the extent to which it should be used, Or to which its vaiue in the transportation world entitles it to be used What is the reason? ihe cause is undoubtedly the utter lack of organization of the canal Superior during 1897 (commerce of Canadian and American canals) will exceed 18,000,000 net tons. The canal statistics to Dec. 1 show a total of 17,785,452 tons of freight, and as it is probable that the last vessels will not pas passed down ee take Pre cna Monday next, there will be ees cee Sui eee eas yond this eco th ; : ¢ . aI , ' 3 : } b 'i 5 q 1 | h : A most ie nat eee ae on ee ene decrease in the the canal comes into competition. 'The State ot Keg enorete wee brs mat, pe aaree ae ae =a 5 ; i oe statutes a law limiting the capital stock of a canal ortation ¢ number of vessel passages compared with 1896, while there is a great to $50,000, This : ec Stock Of a Canal transportation Company increase in the amount of freight moved. Thus far in 1897, 16,862 vessels SOnpan ele rae is of course utterly inadequate to allow, the have moved 17,785,452 tons, against 16,097,880 tons moved in 18,445 vessels fae pita ie es ne Fequisite canal boats, lake steamers, terminal facili- to the same date in 1896. In other words 1,583 less vessels have moved atenee eh Fea ane pa oo for the transaction of through business in 1 eee more tons of freight. This is the effect of bigger ships and deeper Bieta! ce oi oe Veh TRA esters from dan Te aed eee Ee a i channels. : Ate oath sare Be ete quence Is that the canal only gets the The canal reports also bear out the opinion that, notwithstanding the rae ne eee re Pca picienape Buttalo and Tonawanda, and long delay in soft coal shipments on account of the strike of miners, the it Ace ai anil business along its course. The business on the canal is movement this season, helped out by enormous shipments in November ye a fe om ion as any enemy of it could desire, -- £ (648,250 tons), will be practically equal to that of 1896. On Dec. -1 the n eltort was made last winter for the repeal of this law, but it was _-- unsuccessful owing to the opposition of some local industries along the line of the canal, and the opposition of the pretended friends of the picturesque individual boatman, whose business it was asserted would be injured 1 big companies were allowed to use and monopolize (?) the canal, as if the lot of the individual boatman could be worse than it is at present. When the work of canal improvement now under way is completed, and boats carrying 400 tons replace those carrying 240 tons and are able to make their trips in much less time, the necessity for repealing this limit~ ing law, or finding some way around it, will bé greater even than at pre- sent. Unless this is done, the $9,000,000 to $15,000,000 required for the canal improvement may be considered as practically wasted. The same would be almost equally true of a 'canal enlarged to accommodate 1500-ton shipments of soft coal through the canals aggregated 2,400,533 tons, against 2,605,172 tons on the same date in 1896. Hard coal shipments through the canals to Dec. 1 foot up 531,188 tons, against 394,210 tons on Dec. 1, 1896. The main increase in the commerce of Lake Superior is, of course, in iron ore. Flour shipments are practically equal to 1896--a little more than 8,500,000 barrels. In wheat there is a decrease of about 12,000,000 bushels and in grain other than wheat a decrease of about 7,000,000 bushels, but in the total grain movement of the lakes this decrease from Lake Superior will be offset by increased shipments from Chicago. Following is a full summary of Lake Superior commerce to Dec. 1 of each of the past three years: ao VESSEL REGISTERED FREIGHT PASSAGES. eel ROIS barges, as stated by Mr. Wisner. It is, however, morally certain that the Hig Dec" 1: s189( ee nee 16,862 17,339,114 17,785,452 canal would never be enlarged to the suggested capacity with such a fitoe Dee al 1896 ee 18,445 17,144,385 16,097,880 blighting law in force. My whole report and the determinations therein are based upon the MOVEMENT OF PRINCIPAL ITEMS OF FREIGHT TO AND FROM theory that the business on the canal would be conducted with the same LAKE SUPERIOR. freedom that is enjoyed by lake lines and the lake-and rail lines. It is -- very much to be hoped that by the time the present canal improvements . are completed, the state of New York will plainly see the wisdom of Ho Dec: 1, *|; Lo pee: {57 | Zo pee 1, repealing the limiting law and permitting the organization of companies ITEMS: : with suincient capital to,control lines of lake steamers, operated in con- oe eee nection with lines of steam canal fleets, with good terminal facilities at Coal, anthracite, net toms.............+ 531,183 394,210 445,277 upper lake ports, Buffalo and New York, and intermediate points. Coal, bituminous, net tons............ 2,400,533.| 2,605,172 | 2,107,804 With companies so organized on a broad-gauge basis, and securing Iromore, net tons iets ae 10,569,965 | 7,885,769 | 8,040,558 through business at upper lake ports and at the seaboard, traffic of mag- Witeat. bushels.ccarce--o/0cdetnsot eee 49,847,873 | 62,062,571 | 42,817,076 nificient proportions will again flow through the Erie canal, at rates far lout, sbarrel sisters st tee oe 8,566,637 | 8,609,998 | 8,615,347 below any yet realized, to the direct benefit of the great west anid of New York, which will regain some of its lost trade. With a still further en- larged 1500-ton Erie canal, the benefits would be still greater, always REPORT OF FREIGHT "AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO AND FROM LAKE provided that the business of transportation on it is conducted in a free, SUPERIOR, FROM OPENING OF NAVIGATION TO DEC. 1 unlimited and business-like manner, and on a large scale. ; OF EACH YEAR FOR THREE YEARS PAST. Mr. Wisner makes a statement to which I can not agree. He says: . "The day of small vessels in competition with railroad lines is past." This is probably true of small vessels run singly as in the olden times on the lakes, but is it true of small vessels run in fleets as in the coastwise EAST BOUND. ep Doak To Dee. 1 coal transportation business? Could any railroad compete successfully ITEMS. Designation. po Dee. 1 1896." Tso with fleets of oe Un ton Batece, running from Duluth to New York e city, or from Duluth to Buffalo: : Such small vessel fleets may not be able to compete with the great ; lake freight vessels on the lakes, but they certainly would be able to Copper «.-ess-ssereeeseeees) Net oe 19 en 26 Le es compete ea any railroad. And it is an open question in my mind, which Pat ie a Roe en 6,249 72731 24.396 could furnish the cheaper transportation, through fleets of barges from See Se ee id ae ane ae 8 566.362) 8,609,711 8 613,197 the upper lake ports to the seaboard, or large lake vessels running MeO) se el Net tons...| 10,569,965, 7,885,769 | 8,040,558 through. the lakes and Atanslerping at Bultala alg ae NOH oer eee St : 18! Oe ceo Pia ceatoaet : MTOM DIP «tes. eekinee vere Net tons... 13,316 27,948 24,481 Oe Mator 'Corus OF Boe 35,294 jor, Corps of Engineers. ee ee A ee en ee United States Engineer Office, Buffalo, Dec. 2, 1897. Hic Lu ds, |Bushelsy.2-led 49,847,870) (62,002 Bulle 4zsenoe mee ecieca freight .....| Net tons... 208,505, 174,289 138,677 RASSEN PETS. esis: <..404 hace Number.... 19,296 18,475 16,537 Difficult Job on the Gogebic. "The unsatisfactory methods of old-time wrecking concerns are dis- WHS Ts BOONE: ; appearing from the lakes," said a Cleveland vessel owner upon reading of -------- ae ce is ea a ie steamer Gane bie ke, Nor on jeer i 531,183 394,210 445,27 ay last. "A few years ago the policy of wre Ww Ss Coal Pe aions pio Nee iguah! 2,400,533 2,605,172 2,107,804 eq aaiers and underwriters and pile up charges for all the time they Riot... oo Sialparrels s,s 275 287 2,150 could possibly put in on a job. A wreck like that of the Gogebic, oc- eran ete: 8h Oak es Bushels..... 34,500 2,209 35,650 curring late in the fall and in such a place as the Manitous, was sure to be Manufactured iron.....: Net tons... 120,828 93,359 14,976 given up as a total loss after everybody concerned had paid exorbitant Walitaepee eee os, went Barrels ..... 285,449 237,015 271,997 charges for tugs, lighters, etc. But with all other lines the wrecking Unclassified freight..... Net tons... 367,765 343,895 315,469 business has been improved and the managers of the Favorite are entitled HESSEN GELS. 20: ss ,asoeeets Number... oO 18,586 16,944 to a great deal of credit for their work on the Gogebic. : Pees Le ie re The Favorite encountered a very difficult job with the Gogebic, as she rested on boulders and was out her whole length. Weather was around SUMMARY OF TOTAL, FREIGHT MOVEMENT IN TONS: zero most of the time and the vessel was all iced up, making it a hard task Uo ae to fasten the hutchicks on her sides. With a very uneven bottom under To Dec.1, | To Dec. 1, To 1, the vessel, the work of getting ready for each lift was also very slow. It __ 3897. |__1896._|_""-__ was necessary to jack her up six times before getting her off. West bound freight of all kinds, net tons| 3,175,879 | 3,475,792 aeons SPL CA, Ube bai East bound freight of all kinds, net Pea eum 12,622,088 meas Mr. A. F. Yarrow of the English firm of Yarrow & Co., torpedo boat | Sema re 14.610 099 builders, has visited Cincinnati and Chicago and is now in Cleveland. Mr. [17,785,452 |16,097,880 [14,020,02% Yarrow is accompanied by Mr. G. Greenbaum, who is associated with him eee a in the management of affairs ph Yaron & <n Mae Dae nee as 16,862 and the entlemen placed.an order with the Davis gan Machine Tool Co. for The total number of vessel passages to Dec. 1, 1897, was. 10, ee ae ae Tegistered tonnage 17,339,114. mma _ -- a i a a a ee eae