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

the coal and iron business has led it to own vessels for carrying those commodities. Detroit, as the greatest passenger port on the lakes, has seen. its capitalists lead in passen- ger boat ownership. Many lumber boats are owned in Chicago because of the pre-eminence of this city as a lum- ber market. Doubtless Chicago mer- chants would be investors in package freight boats were it not that the rail- roads monopolize that line of lake busi- ness. When the enlarged Erie canal is ready for use it would seem that Chi- cago merchants would invest and canal boats intended to furnish through transportation service between this city and the seaboard. "Aside. from harbor improvement, about all the public can do to encour- age home ownership of shipping is to provide more liberal tax laws and per- haps to enact incorporation laws de- signed to meet the needs of boat com- panies. At the present time boat com- interest in in lake panies in this state must organize un- . law, : der the' general incorporation whereas. the' railroad companies given a separate law. are TAXATION OF VESSEL PROPERTY. "In Illinois boats are taxed as per- sonal property. Minnesota and Indiana have laws providing that boat compa- nies, in lieu of other taxes, shall pay annually 3 cents for each ton of its net registered tonnage. This tax is not only small in amount, but it has-the merit of definiteness. While the Ohio tax laws are similar to those of Illinois, the vessel owners of Cleveland register their boats in the small Ohio ports that pursue the policy of assessing vessel property at a small proportion of its value. "When Wisconsin laws a few years ago, the Good- rich' Coo. an oli" Wisconsin' = cor- poration, re-organized under the laws ch anged its. tax of Miine and registered its vessels at. the port of Duluth. "There would seem to be no good reason for treating real estate that may be owned by a boat company different from other real estate. But the attempt to tax the vessels as personal property at their full value simply drives the owners to register them at other ports. The value of an attempt to introducea more liberal tax system for boat com- panies, which probably would call for constitutional changes in this _ state, would be chiefly psychological, as tend- ing to demonstrate the friendly attitude of the public mind toward the develop- ment of lake shipping. Under a more liberal tax system, the community would TAE MarRINE REVIEW derive more revenue from shipping than it does at the present time, because now very few vessels register from this port, even when owned here. Even though the matter be not one of prime impor- tance in itself, it should be the policy of Chicago to favor the registration of boats from this port." ADDITIONAL INQUIRIES SUGGESTED. Mr. Sikes closes his report with sug- gestions for more investigation into sev- eral lines of business which have close relation to Chicago's water-borne traf- fic, saying: "There are three lines of inauicy. closely related to the subject of har- bor development, each of which calls for more thorough study than the har- | can give (0. ite oie railroad terminals in bor commission first 4s; 'that. of Chicago ; tion for the fruit, vegetable and dairy produce business now centered in South Water street; the third has to do with the utilization of street cars for express and package business. "The railroad terminals of Chicago are very badly arranged, and the facili- ties afforded are unsatisfactory. The problem is very difficult of solution and for that reason the subject is deserving of study by a body of experts that should give attention among other things to the need of better correlation of rail and water terminal facilities. "The buildings in South Water street are antiquated and unsuited to the needs of the business carried on there. The quarters are cramped and modern facili- ties are lacking. Change of location is not likely to be brought about by pri- vate initiative. The subject is pre-emi- nently one calling for careful study by the public authorities, especially as the selection of a proper location must be made with reference to adequacy of transportation facilities, both rail and water. "Chicago is behind many other cities with respect to the utilization of street cars for other than passenger purposes. This subject is intimately related. to that of harbor development because, if a plan can be worked out for using street cars at night, and to some extent during non-rush hours of the day, for carrying express matter and packages, that service should prove valuable in connection with boat traffic. This de- velopment is certainly coming sooner or later, and it would seem to be the part of wisdom to determine by preliminary expert inquiry what is likely to be the best line of development for the pub- lic," the second, the proper loca-' AS EARNINGS OF WOODEN SCHOONERS. Data concerning the earning power of wooden schooners engaged in car--- rying coal on the Atlantic coast has just been compiled by the Bath Times, and will be found exceedingly inter- esting reading to vessel interests in general. These schooners leave Port- land or Boston light and sail down the coast to one of the soft coal ports, returning with. a load of coal, On the average a week is allowed for the trip each way, a week for loading and a week for unloading, . Fhus the round trip consumes about a month. The time consumed in loading and unloading will doubtless be read with wonder in the great lakes region, where a.cargo of coal is gut aboard in a few hours and taken out in a day. | : Each trip is handled as an inde- pendent account, settlements' being - made at the end of each voyage. Thus, if the vessel has reasonable dispatch, 12 trips are made in the year, and the fortunate owner re- ceives 12 checks. In the monthly statement every detail is accounted for. Following is the statement of one of the six-masters engaged in this. trade: ' STATEMENT NO. 8. Schooner blank and owners in ac- count with Blank & Co. Portland, Me.: Baltimore in July, 1997: To telegram, 40c; towages, $38) 11068. vie ea wee $ 381.40 To trimming 5,200 tons coal ate 7G 0. tee ieee eee ee 364.00 To gratuity to trimmers, $1; . stores, $48.53; water, $1.25.. 50.78 Boston in August, 1°07: . To crew's wages, 505; mas- ter's .wages, July 1 to Aug, 1, 40; ei i $ 545.00 To. .mastetr's .. primage | on freight "se. .0hsse oh 286.00 To towages, $283; telephone, Ober ba a 283.65 To stores and _ marketing, $161.43; chandlery, $14.07.. 175.50 To laundry, $1; shipping bill, LE OS ih 7.00 To annual dues to Atlantic Carriers'. Association....:.. 62.64 'To water, $10; commission on itéight) $117.0. 55 a | 127.00 $1,486.79 To dividend No. 8 among owners, Aug. 15, 1907....$2,304.00 To stamps, stationery and petties for same .......--