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MARINE R VIEW Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg., by the Marine Review Pub. Co. N/CyIe Nees SHIPS AND MINES. THE NATIONAL STEEL ©6O., ONE OF THE STRONGEST OF THE INDUSTRIAL ORGAN- IZATIONS, ACQUIRES COMPLETE OONTROL OF THE OHAPIN AND WINTHROP MINES, CAPABLE OF PRODUOING 1,250,000 @ROSS TONS OF ORE ANNUALLY, AND OF NINE STEEL STEAMERS OF *& MILLION TONS SEASON OCAPAGITY,. ; Mr. L. C. Hanna of the firm of M. A. Hanna & Co., Cleveland, and President W. E. Reis of the National Steel Co., Chicago, have just ex- ecuted in 'Cleveland contracts that involve the transfer to the National Steel Co. of all the property of the Chapin Mining Co., Winthrop Iron Co., Mutual Transportation 'Co. and Menominee Transit Co. This means mines capable of producing, when worked to the maximum in their present condition, 1,250,000 gross tons of iron ore, and ships that will move in the trade in which they will be engaged--Escanaba to Ohio ports--a full million tons of orelina season. It is understood that Mr. L. C, Hanna managed to effect this great transfer of property--not as a mere control, but practically the entire stock of the four corporations--without the necessity of calling a single meeting of directors, and on the other hand it is announced also that the steel company will take over these large interests without a new issue of stock and in fact without new securi- ties of any kind. Relations between sellers and purchasers were of such a nature that there was no examination whatever of the properties. The management of the different interests transferred remains in the office of M. A. Hanna & Co., and there will, of course, be no distufbance in the details of operation as regards either mines or ships. : All information regarding prices involved in the transaction is with- held, but it is certain, of course, that the figures are in the millions, in view of the great capacity of the Chapin mine, and in view also of the fact that both mines and ships--the latter not to be had new at any price-- have almost doubled in value within the past six or eight months. It is quite probable that the ships were sold at figures equal to their original cost on leaving the ship yards several years ago. But in purchasing this property at the high prices that were undoubtedly demanded for it, the National Steel Co., strong, prosperous and possessed of surplus funds, is fortifying itself in a position that has 'been forced by the other big steel industrials, that of owning the mines and providing for the transportation of the ore. The steel steamers involved in this transaction are the Coralia, Cor- sica, Corona and Cambria of the 'Mutual company's fleet, and the Grecian, Roman, German, Saxon and Briton of the 'Menominee fleet. They are ~ not of. the modern 6,000 or 7,000 ton type but they are all good vessels, "practically new, built forthe ore trade and as noted above capable of moy- ing from Escanaba, which is the port of shipment for both the Chapin and Winthrop mines, full 1,000,000 gross tons of ore in a season. The transfer also gives to the steel company an interest in one of the ore docks at Ash- tabula that was partly owned by the Mutual Transportation Co. Both of the transportation companies are Ohio corporations. The Menominee fleet of five steamers is now under charter to the Canada-Atlantic Trans- portation Co., operating 'between Chicago and Parry Sound, Ont., but the charter expires with the close of the present season of navigation, after which the vessels will, of course, be turned to the Escanaba ore trade. The Canada-Atlantic company had about concluded negotiations a short time ago for the purchase of these five vessels, but the deal fell through on account of a misunderstanding regarding insurance. The Canada com- pany will now be required to look elsewhere for steamers for 'its service. Both of the mining companies involved in the sale are Michigan cor- porations. The Chapin mine of Iron Mountain, Mich., (Menominee range) is so well known as one of the largest producers of the Lake Superior region that extended reference to it is probably unnecessary. Its output up to the close of 1898 aggregated 7,499,450 gross tons. At the beginning of the present year the Chapin had in sight between 4,000 .000 and 5,000,000 tons of ore with enormous reserves. Though not strictly a essemer ore the Chapin is a component of Bessemer mixtures. This mine is not owned in fee, but the lease is a long one, twenty years, just eginning, and the royalty, something like 10 to 30 cents a ton according to prices of ore, is very low in view of the change that has taken place of late in ore values. The fee of the 'Chapin is owned 'by the Chapin estate, or rather C. A. Chapin, who is the only heir. The Chapin Mining Co. also owns the Hamilton and Ludington mines adjoining the Chapin prop- erty. The Winthrop Iron Co. of Ishpeming, Marquette county, Michigan, the other corporation passing to the control of the. National company, Owns in fee 160 acres of mineral land and in addition 80 acres of surface. The Winthrop began shipping in 1890 and its total output to the close of last year was 1,236,814 gross tons. e National Steel Co., although not so large as some of the other steel and iron combinations, has been looked upon since its organization aS a verv strong concern. It has not owned outright any mines or vessels up to this time, but has a one-sixth ore interest in the Oliver Iron Mining 0., which is controlled by the Carnegie company, and also has a num- ber of long-time ore contracts at what are now looked upon as very low igures. 'Mr. W. E. Reis, the president, who has conducted all the nego- trations with Mr. L. C. Hanna for this purchase, was president of the henango Valley Steel Co. of New Castle, before that company became a part of the National Steel Co., with the Bellaire Steel Co. of Bellaire, - the Aetna-Standard Co. of Mingo Junction, O., the Sharon Iron Co. of Sharon, Pa., the Ohio Steel Co. of Youngstown, O., and King, Gilbert Yarner of Columbus. Since the consolidation of the aforenamed com- Panies in the National Steel, the Thomas Furnace Co. of Niles, O., and the Ohio Iron Co. of Zanesville, have 'been acquired by purchase. The ational Steel is now said to have about 80 per cent of its ore require- ments in its own hands. Its requirements are about 3,000,000 tons annually, CLEVELAND, O., JULY 27, 1899. Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as second class matter. No. 4 THE DEMAND FOR SHIP BUILDING MATERIAL, A cry has gone up all over the country on account of the famine of material for ship 'construction. As in nearly all other branches of the steel and iron industry, it is not a matter of price but a question in nearly every case of getting the material at any cost. Prices spoken of in some cases range from $50 to $60 a ton for ship plate at the mill, as against little more than $10 a ton before the "boom" came on, There are not, of course, any lbig orders being placed at these figures, and in fact there are really no transactions of any account at any price. The manufacturer who has small lots of material to offer for early delivery can get almost any figure 'he may ask for it. Orders placed in advance of these extreme conditions thave of late been delaved more than ever. In a number. of cases keels have not been laid simply because material to proceed has been lacking and there_can 'be no doubt that work on new merchant ships everywhere throughout the country, as well as naval contracts of all kinds, will be seriously delayed 'by existing conditions. Looking to the future, there seems to be no more hope for the ship builder than there was two or three months ago, when $40 was looked upon as a price that wauld cer- tainly 'bring relief in the form of increased productive capacity. Increased capacity 1s expected shortly in a few mills, notably at the Homestead plant of the Carnegie company, but all of this seems to have been anticipated in orders booked some time ago. Probably when the change comes it will 'be found that the trouble has been due more to a general demand for material than to the ship building industry having radically outgrown the productive capacity of mills that engage in this line, but it must be ad- mitted that the ship builders, for the time 'bein~, at least, are absolutely prevented from planning on future business. They are left to the struggle of trying to get material ordered long ago for work which they have in hand. An amusing feature of the situation is noted occasionally. Some time ago one of the largest steel concerns of the country ordered several cranes from a well known manufacturer of special machinery of this kind. The order for material 'for the cranes was given, of course, to the steel company that was to use them. The steel company is now almost daily urging the delivery of the cranes, although they are not themselves able to furnish the material that is to go into them. The builder of wooden vessels appears to be little better off at the present time, as regards supplies of material, than fis brethren whose energies are devoted to steel construction. Reports from the yards in Maine and along the Pacific coast indicate very high prices in several lines, with the usual difficulty in securing delivery. 'Manila rope, yellow pine and iron for strapping and other purposes have all made great ad- vances during the past six months. In some cases the increase amounts to 100 per cent and on an average it probably approximates about a quarter that. It is sufficient anyhow to contribute to the uneasiness of the 'builders of wooden vessels, as well as those engaged in steel lines. DAHZGREN SHOWS NEARLY 30 KNOTS. The United States torpedo boat Dahlgren, built by the Bath Iron Works of Bath, Me., made 29.76 knots over a measured course in the Kennebec river off Georgetown last Saturday morning, July 22. This speed was made with 300 revolutions in shallow fresh water. As the water in some parts of the course was only 18 feet deep, the builders of the Dahlgren are confident that the little vessel will easily make her re- quired speed the first time they take her to the Southport deep salt water course. The Dahlgren's trials up to date have been machinery tests of value similar to the usual dock trials, and no attempt has been made to get high speed. On her first trial the little vessel steamed at 13 knots. This was increased to 17 knots on the second trip. Then a cruise at 21 knots was successfully performed, and this was followed 'by speeds of 24 and 26 knots. The boilers were then covered and the fire room made air tight. On the next run, with an air pressure of about 1% inches, a speed of 27% knots was attained and last Saturday, with about 3 inches air pressure the speed was raised to the before-mentioned high rate of 29.76 knots. This'is the highest speed ever attained by any vessel on the Atlantic coast, and it is the highest speed ever attained by any torpedo boat of her size, with the exception of the French torpedo boats Forben and Cyclone, and the Bath builders are confident that the Dahlgren will beat the Forben record of 31 knots on her official speed test. HIGH GRAIN FREIGHTS. Next to the announcement. of the sale to the National Steel Co. of ships and mines controlled in the office of M. A. Hanna & Co., Cleve- land, the most important item of news in shipping circles on the great lakes this week is the payment of 3% cents freight to vessels that are to take wheat from Duluth to Buffalo during the latter half of September. This rate, which is equal to $1.30 a ton on iron ore, indicates what is expected in the grain trade during the closing months of the season. Quite a large amount of tonnage--mostly big steel steamers--has been placed with Duluth shippers at the rate noted. Freights in all other lines continue strong, just as they have been every day since the opening of navigation. More cargoes than ships is still the rule everywhere. Coal shippers do not seem to be making much of a gain in the movement of their product, especially as regards the coal to go to Lake Michigan ports. They are hoping, however, that the heavy ore movement will be reduced shortly and thus permit of more coal being carried, but another element in this calculation. comes up now in the restlessness among dock laborers which is causing general anxiety. The new Spreckles tug Fearless, recently completed by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, has been chartered by the. government for service as a tender and dispatch boat in San Francisco bay.