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92 movement continued in gigantic pro- portions and July, August, September and October were all characterized by ore movements exceeding 9,000,000 tons, the month of August setting the high water mark of 9,850,140 tons of ore, making an increase of 1,769,023 tons over the banner movement of August one year ago. As the fall movement drew apace and the entire country be- came enwrapped in a gigantic rail freight movement, it was inevitable that the car shortage grow more acute. From Sept. 1 on the dispatch was ma- terially lessened and ore vessels were held in lower lake ports from four days to one week, and coal charters were hampered to an almost equal extent. Nevertheless, the ore movement for October reached the wonderful figures of 9,116,096 tons, or an increase of 1,- 969,223 tons over 1915. This splendid record had a reassuring effect in inter- ested channels throughout the country for it indicated then that upward of 62,- 000,000 tons of ore could be transported during a season without extreme diff- culty; as well the situation as now pre- sented removed any anxiety that may have existed as to a possible shortage of ore stock in the winter. Heavy snow and zero temperature characterized a portion of November and yet the mines sent forward 5,715,452 tons of ore in the short month. The closing days of the season were marked by some mild weather that furnished summer dispatch, and although many vessels were with- drawn from the fleet the 12 days of December furnished a movement of 1,- 085,900 tons of ore as against 57,236 tons in 1915 and the bare 1,411 tons in 1914. This brought the 1916 move- ment of ore up to 64,734,198 tons and shattered the lauded record movement of 1913 by 15,663,720 tons. Fall Movement Makes Record Moreover, the movement from Aug. 1 was far in excess of the splendid record established in the corresponding period one year ago. It will be re- called that during that period of fever- ish activity 27,593,501 tons were moved, but this last year the movement for the similar five months covered 35,368,474 tons. . By its great work of 1916 the fleet demonstrated beyond cavil it is ade- quate, if not supreme, for any emer- gency. So rapid has been the progress in lake navigation and dispatch, and so vast its extent, that the shipping of the Great Lakes commands the admiration of the world. The achievement of 1916 will live long in memory even though it may soon be improved upon. The volume of ore, coal and grain handled in 1916 totaled 114,543,511 net tons. This was 25,347,636 net tons more than was handled in 1915, 42,603,- 908 more than in 1914, and exceeded the THE MARINE REVIEW record-breaking movement of 1913 by no less than 14,525,047 net tons. The coal movement received a fine start when navigation opened, in fact, through the first four months the amount of both kinds of coal shipped exceeded the heavy movement of the corresponding period in 1915, but the car shortage that developed early in the fall so seriously hampered the trade in this commodity that the year’s move- ment fell off perceptibly from early cal- culations. However, it was a movement that totaled 31,485,235 net tons and this was 5,265,235 tons more than the coal tonnage of 1915, 4,457,007 tons more than 1914, but 1,877,144 tons less than the coal movement of 1913. Grain Shipments Hampered Unquestionably the keen demand for ore tonnage prevented what might have been a_ record-breaking movement in grain, although the congested condition of the elevators at Buffalo during late navigation because of a lack of cars and the railway embargo on freight, was a contributory cause for the year’s grain movemént having fallen off from record-establishing proportions. And yet the grain movement on the Great Lakes. for 1916 shows a decrease of only 542,840 net tons from that of 1915. It was 762,125 tons more than 1914, but 1,141,185 tons less than the move- ment of 1913. In connection with this fruitful year of lake transportation combined with excellent dispatch, it may be added as a matter of interest and record that here- tofore the largest cargo of ore ever transported was 13,333 tons into South Chicago in 1906, and that the record for a Lake Erie port stood at 12,622 tons. This last mentioned amount was fre- quently put into eclipse by several dif- ferent vessels during 1916 and the zenith in ore carrying cargoes was reached last July 26 when the steamer Wm. P. Snyper Jr., carried 13,694 tons of ore into Cleveland. The steamer Cot. JAMES M. ScCHOONMAKER trans- ported 14,474 tons of coal from Ash- tabula to Duluth, and W. Grant Morven brought down 490,724 bushels of wheat. In the matter of dispatch the steamer SCHOONMAKER delivered at Cleveland two cargoes within seven days that totaled almost 25,000 tons of ore, and on another occasion this same ves- sel unloaded 13,904 tons of coal and took on 12,757 tons of ore within a period of 48 hours, including a shift from Superior to Duluth docks. Under the influence of an active ore freight market, grain rates were high during the entire year, in fact it was not until the cold period of November set in, causing a lull in the ore move- - ment, -that the rates from Lake Superior dropped to as low as 3 cents. With more than 200,000,000 bushels of March, 1917 wheat and grain to move after the opening of navigation, of which 60,000,- 000 bushels were in Duluth, grain rates _ were a matter of speculation through- out the winter and spring. On Feb. 4 -_two vessels were chartered at Fort Wil- liam at 6% cents, the highest price on winter storage spring delivery ever re- corded in the history of the lakes. On March 18 a rate was fixed of 5% cents for the opening trip, 5 cents for the first half of May, and 4% cents for the last half of May, but on March 22 the price advanced to 6 cents with a dispatch guaranty. Grain rates did not fluctuate in any marked degree throughout the height of the sailing season. The rate was firm at 5 cents in April and at 4% cents in May and June. There was an advance to 5 cents again early in July and on July 25 the rate soared to 5% cents. In August some charters were made at 4 cents but in the fall the rate was firm and steady at 4% cents. A decreased rate did not develop until later in November when charters were made at 3 cents, while in the closing days of navigation the rate was re- turned to 4 cents to unload at Buffalo and 4% cents to hold. There was a record breaking movement in grain up to the time of the car shortage and when this period arrived the movement fell off perceptibly, to reach the point in the closing days of the season where the elevators became choked and unloading a matter of days. Early Coal Movement Heavy The rate and the movement in coal kept pace with ore and grain. The coal movement was phenomenal through the first four months of the season and up to Aug. 1 the total receipts of coal at the head of the lakes were 600,000 tons in excess of the corresponding period of 1915. The established coal rate for 1916 was 35 cents to Lake Michigan and 30 cents to the head of the lakes, but at the end the price to Duluth went as high as 60 cents and $1.00 to Chicago. In each of the 12 months of 1916 more than 3,000,000 tons of pig iron were produced and as the last three months of 1915 were also productive of ton- nage in equal proportions, this made 15 consecutive months in which the pro- duction was above the three million mark. Under the impetus of the pros- perous volume of business that became signally marked in the middle of 1915 the year opened with 303 stacks in blast, a gain of 84 per cent over Jan. 1, 1915, when 165 stacks were in operation. The maximum was reached in October, when 328 stacks were in full blast, and the year closed with 312 only because of the slow movement of coke. The pig iron production totaled 19,381,954 tons in the first half of 1916, as against 12,043,503 tons for the corresponding period of — 1915,