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uw AR 1 NOE CHICAGO GRAIN REPORT. Chicago, Aug. 9--The past week conditions in country movement of grain and eastern buying demand determined a much improved tone in local chartering and lake rates have ranged from r cent to 114 cents Buffalo corn, reacting to 1% cents on which basis business is going at outset of present week. Georgian Bay and Port Huron demand rather easy at 1% cents corn, with Montreal likewise slow and unchanged at 3 cents basis corn, all water routing. Liners are under fair package freight inquiry and dealing sparingly in grain engagements. All dock conditions are favorable and boats are enjoying very fair despatching both loading and unload- ing. | Vessels running about in equal supply with cargo offerings supports the generally firmer tendency but in the outgrowth of extensive reports by rust in the spring wheat belt market prices have reached the highest record level since 1897--up- ward of $1.00 on wheat and about 55 cents corn; necessarily, therefore, the outshipping demand is intermittent and freights must be dealt with from "spot" standpoint until cash market- ing effort settles upon a warrantable shipping basis. The shipments as summarized below, for this week, dis- tributed about as follows: Via all-rail lines of wheat 200,000 bu., corn 195,000 bu., oats 520,000; via lake to Buffalo and other American points, of wheat 270,000 bu. and corn 1,300,- 000 bu.; via lake to Canada points about 125,000 bu. corn. Lake and rail shipments: Same week This week. Last week. last year, Wheat 484,074 298,335 228,867 Cor 2. 2..6 4. 1,661,140 1,812,047 1,355,741 Oats ea 523,500 671,292 645,048 2,068,723 2,781,674 2,220,656 Shipments since Same time Jan. 1, 1904. last year, WY ees 8,102,946 12,227,052 COO Oe ek wets 30,571,004 48,044,161 ale es 27,258,844 39,308,512 739333754 100,179,725 Stocks of grain in elevators: : Same week This week. Last week. last year. Wheat ..,.:. 2,330,000 2,390,000 4,260,000 Corn 4,868,000 5,383,000 6,159,000 Oats 1,001,000 872,000 4,017,000 Rye 2 503,000 558,000 372,000 8,762,000 9,209,000 15,408,000 AROUND THE GREAT LAKES. The steamer Soo City is to be placed in the dry dock for a thorough recalking at Buffalo. The schooner Oliver Mitchell was libelled for repairs Aug. 8 by the Oades ship yard at Detroit. The steamer Merrimac, belonging to the Gilchrist fleet, ran aground in the Maumee river Aug. 8. The wreck of the 'barge Garritt P. Smith, which sank at bay City ten years ago, is to be dynamited. Capt. James W. Hawley will begin work next month on a 700-ton 4-masted schooner to be ready for launching in De- cember. Rieboldt & Walter have been awarded the contract to build a dock at Sheboygan for the city. The structure is to be 100 ft. long. The steamer Lucille owned by Capt. Brower, burned to the -water's edge and sank at Ashland last week. The loss is $15,000, with no insurance. RF VY tf fw The Frontier elevator in the Blackwell canal at South Michigan street, Buffalo, is again receiving grain. The first vessel to unload was the Duluth. The steamer Haddinston recently completed at the yard of the Bertram Engine Works Co., Toronto, will be managed by Mr. J. T. Mathews, Toronto, Ont. Captain Ed Grasser of Toledo has lately given the Irene, his new auxiliary boat, a trial spin. She gives promise of being one of the fastest 35-footers on the lake. The Dominion Coal Co. has in contemplation the building of steel steamers capable of carrying 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 tons of coal during the seasons of navigation. While dredging out the channel at Ellicott creek, Ton- awanda, the state mud dredge sprung a leak and sank in the channel. The dredge will be raised at once. Johnston Bros., Ferrysburg, Mich., have been awarded the contract for building a small lightship for the ninth light- house district for service on Peshtigo reef, Green bay. Walter Seidmann, dock agent for the Goodrich line at Stur- geon Bay, has been promoted to traveling freight agent, filling the position made vacant by the retirement of Joseph Lavasson The city council at Lorain has passed an ordinance chang- ing the city dock line along the Black river to provide room for a turning basin large enough to accommodate a 600- foot ship. The canal boat, Pan-American, owned by Edward Wence, loaded with a cargo of jute butts, burned and sank at the Erie street bridge, Buffalo, on Aug. 3. The damage amounts to $1,500. The training ship Essex of the Toledo naval reserves has finished her journey of 2,000 miles from salt water. She will be given a general overhauling before being put into commission in the fall. . Bids were opened this week by Capt. Chas. L. Potter, government engineer at Duluth for building a vessel yard at Duluth. The Whitney Bros. Co. of Superior, Wis., were the lowest bidders at $16,671. The steamer James H. Reed of the Provident Steamship Co. is in dry dock at the head of the lakes for repairs. Thirty plates must be removed and more than half will have to be renewed. Repairs will cost about $30,000. A new chart in colors of the east coast of Lake Huron from Port Elgin to Cape Hurd, including the southern por- tion of Georgian Bay off Parry Island, has just been issued and is now on sale by the Marine Review. The United States has acquired the McMillan yacht slip near the foot of Chene street, Detroit. The consideration was $15,000. The vessels under the direction of United States En- gineer Davis will make the slip their headquarters. The first canal boat ever cleared from the Tonawanda over the Erie canal with a cargo of pig iron and lumber was cleared Aug. 6. The boat was the Flammery & Baker. She carried 130 tons of pig iron and 100,000 ft. of lumber stock. Capt. J. R. Innis, superintendent of the Michigan Central car ferries, has fitted out a little steam yacht for use in the transport system. 'The craft can do 16 miles per hour and will carry twenty persons. She has been christened J. R. I. The first lumber boat of Detroit to go into ordinary is the barge Kelly of the Kotcher fleet. She will be tied up in ac- cordance with the action of the Lumber Carriers' association in ordering 100 of the 300 vessels enrolled out of commission. Work has been formally begun on the big dredging con- tract, which Dunbar & Sullivan secured for lowering the channel at Amherstburg reach, running from the Lime Kilns to Bar Point. The contract was for nearly $1,000,000. The work will require three years for completion. The secretary of the Buffalo Launch Club, Roger F. Wil- liams, announces a handicap race of power boats to be run for a silver cup put up by H. T. Koerner. The race will take place