The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

1903-] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. 3 canal section--Rochester--that is opposing the barge canal, be- cause of its cost, is dividing its sentiment up over ship canal a that would involve a cost many times that of the barge canal. I hope that the lake vessel interest will not fail to note that the return to supremacy of our canal will mean much more busi- ness by. water,.as it will cut down the all-rail business, and just ata time' when the roads must increase their equipment very much or leave the shipper in the lurch. JoHN CHAMBERLIN, GOVERNMENT DREDGES ON THE LAKES. It is gratifying, indeed, to see some support accorded to the dredging interests of the great lakes which now have to fight the incubus of government competition. It is a distinct invasion of private right on the part of the engineering corps of the war department to engage in dredging. It is an unwarranted interference in. private enterprise and can be justified on no grounds whatever--especially not on the ground of economy. There. is no merit whatever in the argument that a combination of dredging -interests exists on the lakes. One can no more make a trust out of a variety of dredging interests than he could make a trust by combining any number of chicken farms. 'The business docs not lend. itself to monopoly and capital is pretty eager to engage in anything out of which a profit may be wrung, provided it is not stopped by natural conditions. Certainly no combination of dredging interests could hope to maintain prices at-an unnaturally high level because capital would then be at- tracted to the business. Any one can build a dredge who has a few dollars. The bringing of two government dredges to the lakes to compete' with established private interests is indefensi- ble. These private dredging interests have all they possess in the world invested in dredging plants.and none of them has ever made much more than a living out of the business. In its current issue the Engineering Record discusses the subject very sensibly, saying: _ "The association of dredging contractors on the great lakes, which was formed a few months ago, has been criticised severely on grounds that appear rather unjust. The fleet of dredges and auxiliary boats on the lakes is a very large one, built for the express purpose of engaging in the extensive channel deepening operations undertaken a number of years ago by the government. Many of the dredges are among the best of their type now afloat, and some of them are of unusual capacity. They represent a very large investment incurred because of the implied inten- tion of carrying on the work by contract and without such an investment 'by contractors the navigation of the lakes by large vessels would not now be as easy as it is. The end of this large work is now in sight and it.is only natural for the contractors not only ito feel reluctant to:incur heavy charges for new plant, which will probably be in good condition after. all opportunity for its use has passed, but.also to strive for good prices on the work still remaining. The competition has been so severe of late that several experienced firms have either failed or withdrawn. The work still remaining is rather more difficult than that under~ taken before and higher prices are naturally enough desired for it. Moreover, the labor unions have made such demands that in order to carry on work at a profit even under the most favor- able conditions, it is necessary to receive more money than the government has been paying. Last winter a number of con- tractors seriously contemplated keeping their plants idle this season on account of. the labor difficulties, despite the rapid deterioration which takes place in idle dredges. a "The situation has been further complicated by the proposal to build large government dredges for this class of work. It is generally acknowledged that it is a desirable thing for the gov- ernment to own and operate the small plants needed in the main- tenance of the lake harbors, for little experience is. required to catry on such work and few contractors will engage in it. To organize and conduct the heavy operations of channel deepening is an entirely different matter, however. It is generally con- sidered the most difficult branch of contracting, in. which only those succeed who know every feature of the work and have the judgment which comes from long experience coupled with shrewdness. The men now engaged in the great lakes work represent the survival of the fittest, in a business sense, and it is difficult to understand the position of the government in its proposal to put additional plant on the lakes, already amply sup- plied with dredging facilities for the heavy work still to be done, The statement that the dredge owners: are now charging ex- cessive prices is not warranted by the facts, and it is questionable if the actual cost of government work would be materially dif- ferent from the expense of the same work done by contract, because of the special training necessary to carry on dredging economically. ee fa "The association of dredge. owners, about which so much has been said, has two distinct. purposes. The first is to pro- vide a central organization for handling labor questions, which are now so serious as to threaten all shipping interests on the . great lakes. The second purpose is.to. exchange information concerning the best methods of conducting work, and to arrange for placing on each undertaking the most suitable plant for the purpose. It is only in this way that the dredge owners can see a way out of their straits, between the Scylla of the labor agitator and the Charybdis of the advocate of government dredges. It is frankly a. business association, but that is no reason for calling it a trust. On the contrary, its objects seem worthy of support so long as they are pursued in a conservative spirit. The own- ers. of these plants, built under the supposition that the great lakes improvements would. be executed by contract so long as the tenders' were reasonable, have an unquestionable right to show to the secretary of war the conditions that have made higher Prices necessary. In doing this they do not reflect in any way on the engineer officers of the army. All the facts that this journal has yet been able to. secure go to prove that the con- struction of large dredges for the great lakes would be an-un- profitable undertaking for the government, in addition to working injustice to a group of men whose profits have never been large and now seem about to disappear unless the association can accomplish its. aims." CHICAGO GRAIN REPORT. Chicago, Sept. 16--Since last report the number of vessels under grain charter for early loading is greater than for any similar period since opening of navigation, estimated something upward of 3,500,000 bu. The average daily receipts are running about 1,000,000 bu. and together with reduction of 1 cent per bushel in rail rates at and east of Buffalo, the proposed ad-_ vances in all-rail rates for Oct. 1, with nearby material movement of northwestern grain, suggests a favorable outlook in the cash grain situation, at least as to good movement, despite the con- tinued heavy call of vessels through up movement of coal. Of rates, expectation seems general that present basis of 1% cent wheat, I cent corn and oats for Buffalo, Port Huron | and Georgian bay will be continued for a little time. To Mon- treal rate basis nominally 314 cents corn (via all-water route) has the call on export business since it figures about '6% cents to Liverpool against 8 cents to 8% cents via New York and Bos- ton. The grain carrying charges, lake and ocean, are at mini- mum basis, but, of course, there will be more or less uncertainty in movement until passing of "frost scare period" and the new corn crop position is fully assured. In the latter connection it ' may be noted that the September United States government crop report for 1903 suggests a total wheat yield of about 620,- 484,000 bu., 2,085,000,000 bu. corn and 721,000,000 bu. oats. _. Of the shipments noted below for past week there was via rail about 65,000. bu. wheat, 132,000 bu. corn, 445,000 bu. oats; via lake for Buffalo 300,000 bu. wheat, 1,300,000 bu. corn and 1,400,000 bu. oats; and via lake for Canadian points about -100,000 bu. wheat, 340,000 bu. corn and - 80, bu, oats... ime shipments, lake and rail, together with stocks of grain, follow: Week just Same week closed. : Last week, last year. Wiareat 29 ee as 471,865 141,215 592,288 Vora Wy ye a 2,038,014: 2,199,950 675,447 Oats. ye 0, 708 853,924 1,462,255 RYE Pe a TORO cean gas ' 68,754 4,362,417 3,195,089 2,798,744 ee Shipments since Jan. Same time : i 1, 1903. last year.. Wihéats sce ee ee 23,619,804 COUR. 4s ds ae see SOB eenO 28,643,771 Oats: obser ele ee ee 39,084,016 RYy6o jude ee a anak 325,453 1,841,220 118,997,998 93,788,895 Stocks and grain are slightly increased over those of 'the preceding week. bs : ; Same week _ Week just ae , closed. Last week. last year. Wheat a 6,215,000 6,303,000 7,230,000 COtis 3 es 5,002,000 4.230,000 _,. 1,635,000 StS) bebe a 3,888,000 4,347,000 2,818,000 Rye oes ee hs 435,000 428,000 186,006 15,540,000 15,308,000 11,875,006 CANADIAN SHIPPING NOTES. A 50-ft. tug boat for the Thompson Lumber Co. of Long- ford is being built. by R. Morrill, of Parry Sound, Ont. : The Dominion government proposes to replace the present lifeboat which has been in service at Port Stanley, Ont., for twenty years with a new one. cs The insurance companies have paid over $17,500 in respect of the loss by fire of the steamer Empire State at Kingston re- cently. The steamer will not be rebuilt. The Lake Ontario Steamship Co., which has been incorpor- ated with head offices at Hamilton, Ont., and a capital of $150,000, is the company which proposes to operate a turbine steamer be- tween Hamilton and Toronto. The new steamer is expected to be put on the route in the spring. oe The steamer Prospector has been launched at Edmonton, Alba. for Turss Bros. Her dimensions are: Length, 70 <a breadth, 12 ft.;.depth, 4 ft. She will be fitted with a stern wheel and propelled by a 32-H. P. engine. The vessel will carry 10 tons on a draught of 12 in., and is fitted to carry a small number of passengers. y j 'A revised chart in colors of the north end of Lake Michigan has just been issued by the United States lake survey and is now for sale by the Marine Review Pub. Co. ae