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MARINE REVIEW Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg., by the Marine Review Pub. Oo. VOL. Now: CONNERS TRANSPORTATION PROJECT. DETAILS OF THE LARGE UNDERTAKING THAT IS INVOLVED IN GRANTS TO AMERI--- CAN CAPITALISTS FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS AND OTHER FREIGHT TERMINALS AT MONTREAL. At a meeting that is now being held in 'Chicago plans are under way for the financing of one of the largest transportation projects ever under- taken on the great lakes. In the name of W. J. Conners valuable grants of sites for the erection of grain elevators and warehouses in the harbor of Montreal have finally been fully secured, not only from the harbor com- missioners of Montreal, but also from the higher government authorities in 'Canada having jurisdiction over the harbor. In all the discussion that -has attended negotiations for the Montreal terminal property, and which related also to the probability of developing a very large export trade in grain through the new Canadian canals of the St. Lawrence, the names of W. J. Conners of Buffalo, and Harvey D. Goulder of Cleveland, the latter counsel in the matter, have alone appeared prominent. It was not to be expected, however, that an undertaking of this kind was being urged by a couple of Americans in Canada without certain assurances from other capitalists on this side regarding the large amount of money that will be -_ required for the Canadian company that must at once take over the Mon- treal grants from the so-called Conners syndicate. Even yet no new names are given out, but it is quite certain that the new company will include among its stockholders men connected with large grain interests of Chi- cago and the northwest. . The capital required will certainly not be less than $5,000,000, as the Montreal contract calls for an expenditure at that port alone of not less than: $3,700,000 for elevators and warehouses, the elevators (three of them) - to be of 9,000,000 bushels combined capacity. Of course not all this is to be provided immediately, but the operations of the company will involve _ the employment of a large fleet of vessels of the special canal type, for the construction of some of which arrangements must be made at once. It -is understood that the immediate arrangements on this score contemplate the construction of at least two steamers of canal size at the plant of the Bertram Engine Works Co., Toronto, and the construction in England of four steamers and four tow barges, the latter to be of full canal size and to be similar to the regulation lake tow barge except as to the reduced di- mensions. The scope of this project is best explained by a summary of the con- - tract under which the Montreal grants are to be secured. The Montreal harbor commission is to grant to W. J. Conners, or rather to the company that is now being formed, three pieces of dock property on which to con- struct grain elevators and large warehouses for the handling of miscellan- eous freight. It is enough to say with reference to this dock property that it is among the choicest in the harbor of Montreal and affords ample space for the transfer of millions of tons of freight. On one of these sites, ' which is now ready for occupancy, the syndicate is to construct at once a modern steel or combination elevator of 3,000,000 bushels capacity and ' first-class modern warehouses, to cost together not less than $1,000,000. -- Tt is already planned by the syndicate to have this elevator and the ware- houses cost $1,150,000, the warehouses to be of the three-story kind. As regards the second site, the syndicate binds itself to erect, when the con- dition of improvements now under way will permit, similar first-class ele- vator or elevators and warehouses of capacity of not less than 3,000,000 bushels and to cost not less than $1,350,000. On the third site the space to be allotted (this is a part of the harbor not yet improved) is to be suffi- cient for at least one large elevator and warehouse and here too the ex- penditure of the syndicate is to be at least $1,350,000. The project also in- cludes the provision of elevator and warehouse facilities at Port Colborne ~ on Lake Erie, which is the western terminal of the Welland canal, and the deepening of the harbor at that point, so that large lake vessels, unsuited to canal trade, will transfer grain and other freight there, to be carried down to Montreal by the smaller type of craft, these latter engaging in either through traffic from Chicago and Duluth to Montreal, or simply in the Port Colborne-Montreal trade as conditions may warrant. In return for these grants it is agreed by Mr. 'Conners and his asso- - ciates that in the first season after a stated depth of the water is provided at Port Colborne, such depth to be 18 or 20 feet, on a sufficient area to allow large lake vessels to transship their cargo, there will be transported te Montreal and handled through the elevators and other facilities of the syndicate, at least 25,000,000 bushels of wheat, or the equivalent in weight of other freight, and in each season thereafter 35,000,000 bushels of wheat or the equivalent in weight of other freight. Other clauses in the contract deal with certain safeguards required by the Montreal harbor commission in event of the project failing; with the purchase of the property by the commission if satisfactory terms for renewal cannot be agreed upon at the end of the forty-year period, and with a bond in the sum of $50,000.000 that is to be provided by the syndi- cate immediately upon the execution of the agreement. A tumor to the effect that Harvey D. Goulder of Cleveland, is about to give up his very active law practice has been current for some 'time ' past, but there is nothing in it. Mr, Goulder will very probably hold an important position with the large corporation that is to take over from W. J. Conners the Montreal harbor grants and he is now trying more than ever to so arrange his business that he will have less to do than in the past with the trial of cases--work that has kept him away from Cleve- land during the greater part of the past year--but aside from this there is nothing in the report of his giving up law practice. CLEVELAND, 0., DEC. 98, 1899, Subscription $2.00 a year. Foreign $3.50 a year. No. 26 EIGHTEEN AND A HALF MILLIONS. IRON ORE SHIPMENTS FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR REGION DURING 1899 WILL AG- GREGATE THAT NUMBER OF GROSS TONS--COMPLETE REPORTS SHOW WATER SHIPMENTS OF 17.901,858 TONS, TO WHIOH WILL BE ADDED ABOUT HALF A MIULION TONS OF RAIL SHIPMENTS--AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 32 PER OENT OVER 1898. An output of 18,500,000 gross tons of iron ore is to be credited to the Lake Superior region for the year 1899. Official returns from dock mana- gers at all the shipping ports show a total movement by water of 17,901,- 308 tons, to which will be added 500,000 to 600,000 tons of all-rail ship- ments. The great increase in lake commerce during the past year will be understood when it is noted that the ore movement alone is 32 per cent in excess of 1898. The total movement, lake and rail, in 1898 was 14,024,673 tons; in 1897, 12,469,638 tons, and in 1896, 9,984,828 tons, so that there has been almost a doubling up of shipments in four years. Full 2,500,000 tons of this 1899 increase is from the state of Minnesota: from what are known as the new ranges, Vermillion and Mesabi. For a great number of years the port of Escanaba, which is an outlet for ore from both of the original ranges, Marquette and Menominee, has held, almost without interruption, the first place in the shipping column, but this year Two Harbors (Minn.) takes first place with shipments of 3,973,733 tons. Escanaba is a close second with a total of 3.720.218 tons and then comes Duluth, the other Minnesota port, with 3,509.965 tons. Marquette and Ashland are about even, with shipments of 2,733,596 and 2,703,447 tons respectively. A fullisummary of the output for five years past follows: OUTPUT OF IRON ORE FROM ALL MINES OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR ORE REGION 1895 TO 1899 INCLUSIVE. PORTS. 1899 1898 1397 |. 1806 .| 1895 Ercanabacca? ce ee 3,700,218 | 2.803.513 | 2,392,191 | 2,391,981 | 9,860.17 Maranette .. "| givaainog | 2'adniogs | Tlo4sc519 | 1se4813 |) lo7a ses Ashland... "| airoziaa7 | 9,301/088 | 2,067,637 | 11566936 | 2'350°219 Teo, Harbors, ce cccne, 3.973733 | 2)603:046 | 2.61465 | 1'813/992 | 9°118.156 Gladstone' eet eames 3git57 | 335955 | adiso1a | "990,887 | 109:911 Superiot cr eee eS RrR.042 | RaMAO3 | --RAL8O8 | T6724 | 117;884 Duluthiseincie- ate naam eae 3.509.965 | 2,631,262 | 2.376164 | 1,988:932 | 1.508°783 Total by laK@...scsccssssssssssssevene| 17,9(1,358 | 13,655,432 | 12,215,645 | 9,644,036 | 10,289,910 Motaliy small tateiae cae sme Eo ee oer | '369.241 | 253,993 | "290-792 | "195,127 Total shipments..cc.:-ssces/sssssewesnesie | 14,024,673 | 12,469,638 | 9,934,828 | 10,429,037 _ Gains made by the different ports over 1898 are as follows: Two Harbors, 1,280,487 tons; Escanaba, 916,705; Duluth, 874,703; Marquette, 487,631; Superior, 328,539; Ashland, 312,859; Gladstone, 45,504. r The famous Norrie mine, or rather the Norrie group, will not be alone this year as a property of the million-ton kind. Two Mesabi mines, the Mountain Iron and the Fayal, exceeded the million-ton mark, and it will be found also, when the.statement of shipments by mines is published after _the first of the year, that there are still two others on the Mesabi, the Adams and Mahoning, that are probably slated for a million tons each in 1900. The output of the Adams this year foots up 720,000 tons and that of the Mahoning 740,000 tons. The output of the Chandler mine exceeds 800,000 tons and the Chapin has made the greatest record in its history, approaching the million-ton mark. NEW ORE DOCK AT DULUTH. Mr. H. L. Dresser, chief engineer of the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway Co., has been kind enough to furnish the Review with particu- lars regarding the new ore dock to be erected by the D., M. & N. Co. at Duluth. The dock is to be built on plans similar in most respects to those of the present docks, but larger and higher. Increase in the size of lake vessels, more especially in the height above the water line, has necessi- tated raising the floor of pockets and the hcel of spout far above the level of the old structures on the lakes, to allow the ore to run freely in the spouts. The Duluth, Missabe '& Northern dock No. 3, now in course of con- struction, is 6614 feet in height and 62 feet in width, the heel of the spout being 40 feet above the water line. At present there are being con- structed 192 pockets with a capacity of 210 tons each. The additional width permits the placing of a track along the center of the dock for stor- ing empty cars and minimizing the work of switch engines. The dock proper will require 6.500,000 feet of sawed timber and 4.780 pieces of piling in'its construction. The trestle approach to the dock will be a double track . structure 2.700 feet in length, requiring upward of 2,000,000 feet of sawed timber, 1,474 pieces of piling and 400 linear feet of steel trestle, the latter being placed over street crossings and tracks of other railroads. The Bar- nett-Record Co, of Minneapolis, Minn., has the contract for building the dock proper and the timber portion of the approach. The entire structure is to be completed and ready for use by May 1, 1900. William Lamb & Co. of Norfolk, Va., a well-known shipping firm, has announced its intention to establish, under the title United States Towing & Transportation Co., a steamship line between Norfolk and Cuban and Porto Rican ports. Lamb & Co. are well known as the Norfolk agents for Pocahontas coal. oe e spy