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4 MARINE REVIEW. Lake Freight Situation. A few cargoes of grain in sight at this time would boost the lake treight market to a position that would insure fair pro- fits for the vessel owners. As it is, rates have gone up during the past few days and there is every assurance that the situation has changed for the better. Ten days ago a Cleveland shipper whose business in ore is not very extensive had a block of 20,- ooo tons for which he found a vessel owner ready to accept 55 cents from Escanaba. He wanted the ore carried at 50 cents and refused to accept the 55-cent offer. Today it is doubtful if tonnage could be found for the same ore at 70 cents. ‘This is simply an illustration of the change. Wild rates have advanced to 65 cents from Escanaba and go cents from Marquette and Ashland, with indications favoring an advance in the Ashland rate. Delay in the ore movement and improvement in the iron business is the cause of activity that now promises a season fair- ly remunerative. On Juue 25, just a year ago, there had been shipped from all Lake Superior mines 2,606,435 gross tons of ore and the output was at the rate of 335,000 tonsa week. Ship- ments up to this date of the present season do not aggregate more than 500,000 tons. As already explained, this is counter- acted in part, of course, by the surplus of 2,400,000 tons remain- ing on dock when navigation opened, but the season has been shortened by more than two months, the coal movement is heavy, grain will be somewhat more plentiful than last year and there is every reason for the opinion that the iron furnaces will continue active operations, as they have an advantage over last year of $2 or more a ton on pig iron through reductions in prices of iron ore, coke and labor. Duluth grain shippers paid 21% cents on a few cargoes dur- ing the week and the amount of grain in store at that point .Monday, 2,453,910 bushels, showed a decrease of 63,661 bushels. Coal Movement and Coal Freights. ° Although it is certain that the shippers of soft coal will en- deavor to make a big addition to last year’s shipments of 3, 107,- 816 tons from Lake Erie ports, their expectations may meet with disappointment in sympathy with other branches of the lake trades, on account of the general change in conditions, brought about by the delay in handling ore. The freight contracts on soft coal to run through the season comprise about 500,000 tons for Duluth and a block of 175,000 tons to go to Manitowoc, Ash- land and Milwaukee. All but 25,000 tons of Duluth coal is cov- ered at 50 cents, a large portion of it being held by the Wilson line and the McDougall barges. The 25,000 ton lot is covered at 45 cents, while 50 cents is the rate on about 150,000 tons of of the coal going to Manitowoc and Ashland. ‘The Manitowoc and Ashland coal is, of course, being worked off in wild cargoes at 45 cents, thus allowing a margin on the contract. Within the past week a 50,000 ton block to go to Green Bay has been offered on the market at 50 cents a ton, vessel owners being asked to take all or any portion of it, but the rate is considered too low. The sale of the coal is based on a 50-cent lake freight and the shippers refuse to go above this figure, although the wild rate so far to Green Bay has been 60 cents. One boat the Don- aldson, was secured Monday at 50 cents, but it is not thought that this will bring the wild rate down to that figure, as the Donaldson was one of a tow that was about to move and coal has been scarce on account of the larger portion of the fleet being held at lower lake ports. Buffalo is ahead of last season in shipments of hard coal but the movement from Ohio ports so far is, if any, a little lighter than that of a year ago, and the increased demand tor ore would certainly indicate a shortage of cars from this time on. Whether the coal shippers are to be disappointed on this account in their expectations of an increase over last season’s movement is a question of great importance, but the vessels have an alternative in the hope of having ore rates reach a point that will permit of up trips without loads. A surplus of vessels during the past week has made coal scarce and wild rates have been a little weak, but there has been no reduction with the single exception of the Green Bay cargo noted above. One boat’ was placed for Port Arthur at 45 cents, but the Duluth rate still holds 50 cents, with Portage at 55 cents, Marquette 50 cents, Chicago and Milwaukee 60 cents, Manitowoc, Gladstone and Hscanaba 45 cents, Racine 60 cents, Lake Huron ports 45 and 50 cents, St Clair river ports 35 cents and Detroit 30 cents. Lake Builders Bid on Four Coast Light-Ships. That four more government light-ships for coast service will be built on the lakes is quite certain for the reason that on the last light-ship bids the highest bid of lake builders was lower than the lowest bid of coast builders. The four ships for which bids are requested will be delivered at Staten Island, Delaware river and Charleston, S. C. Their dimensions are 118 feet 1o inches over all, 110 feet keel, 2614 feet beam and 14% feet deep, with a 17x17 h. p. engine which will turn a six-foot wheel. The boilers will be single ended 9x8 feet. The material in the hull is to be iron and No.51 is to have an electric light plant, consist- ing of two dynamos and two engines, the switch-board to be fitted with a flash device that can be used for telegraphic signals. The appropriation for these ships is $280,000. Lake Built Steamers on the Atlantic. The ocean steamship Mackinaw, built by F. W. Wheeler & Co., West Bay City, on her recent voyage from Newport-News to Progreso, Mex., and thence to New York with a cargo of hemp, showed excellent speed and fuel economy. Although she had a continuous north east wind, varying from a fresh breeze toa . galeon her return, W. H. Jenkins, captain, and J. C. Long, chief engineer, certified that there was consumed on the whole voyage, both ways, 1434 tons of coal per day. ‘The Mackinaw’s machinery was constructed by the Frontier Iron Works of Detroit The companion ship Keweenaw has probably arrived in New York from West Bay City by this time. The American Steel Barge Company now has three of the whaleback vessels on the coast that were built at its West Supe- rior yard at the head of Lake Superior. They are the steamers Colby and Wetmore and barge 110, and were all run down the St. Lawrence rapids within the past ten days, their cargoes being lightered at Kingston and reloaded at Montreal. ‘The Wetmore goes direct to Liverpool from Montreal, having cleared for that port from the head of Lake Superior. Canada’s Load Line Act. Canada is also about to have a load line act for ocean going vessels. Mr. Tupper in introducing the bill said that the im- perial act, which wouldcome into force in October next, had been passed, and would apply to ships of Canada clearing outward from England if Canada did not in the meantime enact legisla- tion fixing the load line for vessels. Canadian vessel owners had by petition pointed out that owing to the extra bouyancy of Can- adian wooden vessels and, for other reasons, the imperial load line could not be applied to them without seriously lessening their carrying capacity. The bill proposed if possible to fix a maximum load line, but in fixing of aline to secure the interests — of the owners it proposed that the owner should be included in the settling of the load line, and should have associated with him © a Lloyd's surveyor, one from the French bureau, or a surveyor duly authorized by the governor-in-council, ae Official Numbers and Tonnage. _The bureau of navigation, William W. Bates commissioner, assigned official numbers to the following lake vessels during the week ending June 20: Steam—John Duncan, Milwaukee 1,267.81 tons gross, 697 07 net, No. 76,960; Loe Roy Brook, Toledo, 39.19 tons gross, 22.88 net, No. 141,143; Vulcan, De- troit, 17.05 tons gross. 9.99 net, No. 161,658. a