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Mm OA OR La RoE. iM) A ee 21 ised protection to American shipping in the foreign trade. Nothing has been done. This neglect is a colossal act of repeated bad faith which should be atoned for, now. Again, we say, how about President Roosevelt? His campaign for the presidency was un- embarrassed by the shipping question. Friends of American shipping, at his suggestion, waited a whole year for the fulfillment of republican promises. He may think he has done his full duty in the case, but has he? He has said that the country wants a mercantile marine. How are we going to get it? If it shall appear that the shipping bill cannot be brought to a vote in the senate because of insufficient time to consider it, the president can provide the neces- sary time for its consideration by calling an extra ses- sion of congress. The announcement of the president's intention to call an extra session of congress to. pass a shipping bill would probably render an extra session unnecessary for that purpose; the senate, doubtless, would then find time to vote on the bill at the present session. The only man who can cause the needed change to be made in senate methods of procedure is the presi- dent. If the senate refuses to enact needed legislation the president can keep congress in continuous session and thus force the senate to do business. If senatorial dilatoriness bars the passage of a shipping bill, the president can force action. The momentous question is, will the president do so? : THE ORE TRADE The Bessemer Ore association, which went out of business about a year ago owing to the fact that its members could not agree upon output and prices, has now been succeeded by the Lake Superior Iron Ore association, which includes in its membership the leading shippers in the Lake Superior dis- trict. Mr. Wm. G. Mather of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., who was president of the Lake Superior Iron Ore associ- ation. Mr. E. W. Oglebay of Oglebay, Norton & Co. is vice president and treasurer and Mr. Wm. B. Treat is secretary. No action has been taken by the new association concerning the prices that rule at present for ore and the question of output this season is not a subject for much debate. Under normal conditions the policy would probably be against a heavy movement of unsold ore but indications are that this year shippers will be satisfied if they move all the ore that they can sell. A feature of the association will be the gathering of statistics concerning the iron ore trade of the lakes. Ore sales have been especially active during the past few days and Corrigan, McKinney & Co., one of the largest ship- pers outside of the United States Steel Corporation, has al- ready sold all the ore that it can produce during 1905. In fact it has had to go into the market to buy ore for its own furnaces and this has also been the case with other large in- dependent consumers who are also producers. Everyone is looking forward to a year of great activity and indications are that the record for ore shipments will be broken this year. Vesselmen are looking forward to a movement of 30,000,000 tons and there is every reason to believe that such a movement will be obtained. Such a figure would exceed the great movement of 1902 by only 2,500,000 tons. 'There is practically no unsold ore on dock, and it is moving forward rapidly to the furnaces, much more rapidly indeed than -- aE was at first expected. There is 'enough ore ,however, available so that no shortage may be 'anticipated before navigation opens. As yet there is no talk of freights for the coming season. LABOR SITUATION ON THE LAKES Notwithstanding any 'reports to the contrary no trouble whatever is to be expected with labor on the great lakes this year. Owners are gradually appointing their mates and the utmost good feeling prevails between them as has already been abundantly indicated within the past two or three weeks. Engineers are disposed to be reasonable and contracts will be closed with them without friction. Little interest is being manifested in the new classification by the engineers because it effects so few interests. The executive committee of the Lake Carriers' association has not as yet held a meeting since the annual meeting of the Lake Carriers at Detroit, but it is a foregone conclusion that labor will be lined up well before the opening of navigation. There is no evidence anywhere to indicate any other condition. A conference will be held on Monday next at Detroit' be- tween the Great Lakes Towing Co. and the men aboard tugs who will be represented by Mr. Daniel J. Keefe, president of the International Longshoremen, Marine & Transport Work- ers' association. It is probable that contracts will be entered into for the season at that time. ENLARGING ORE STORAGE PLANT AT RANDALL Plans are now being worked out by Pickands, Mather & Co. for an enlargement of the old storage plant of the Erie railroad at Randall. The Randall yards have been used by the Erie and Pickands, Mather & Co. for years as a storage place. The unloading equipment at Randall is ample and similar to the great machines on the unloading. docks at Lake Erie ports, but the available yard space is practically entirely occu- pied. The fact that these yards have to be enlarged is fur- ther evidence of the growth of the pig iron-making capacity of the country. Old furnaces are being blown in and new ones are going into blast so that the winter consumption of ore is growing rapidly and the storage yards are taxed to provide for it. The extension of the yards, of course, means the placing of contracts for new ore-handling machinery. LAKE ERIE ORE RECEIPTS In the table published in the Marine Review of Dec. 29 regarding ore receipts at Lake Erie ports and ore on dock Dec. I an error was made in the Cleveland and Buffalo re- ceipts. The corrected figures are: Receipts at Cleveland, 3,572,228 gross tons; on dock at Cleveland Dec. 1, 1,237,033 gross tons. Receipts at Buffalo--Tonawanda, 2,433,601 gross tons; on dock Buffalo--Tonawanda, Dec. 1, 318,793 gross tons. Total receipts at Lake Erie ports for the season of 1904, 17,932,814. gross tons; total on dock Dec. I, 5,763,399 tons. Detroit managers have made the following appointments: Adams. Transportation .Co--Steamer George L._ Craig, Donald . J.-<Duncanson; Thomas "Adams. FF... B.2 Cody; Langham, Walter Mahon. Roby Transportation Co.-- Steamer L. C. Waldo, John Duddleson. Northwestern Trans- portation Co.--Steamer Harvey H. Brown, D. Girardin, Sr.; Fayette Brown, D. Sanders; barge George E. Hartnell, Capt. C. L. Allen. William Livingston--Steamer Livingstone, James Doner; T. W. Palmer, George F. Stilphen. Attorney General Mayer of New York state has held that the bids submitted for the six test contracts of the 1,000-ton barge canal are legal and that Superintendent N. V. V. Fran- chot of the department of public works has authority to award the contracts.