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Montreal Transportation Co. in 1868 was $60,000. When the firm passed to Canada Steamship Lines in 1916 the par value of the stock was $9,134,000. During the first years of the 20th Century, there was a phenomenal growth in grain harvested on the prairiest. The amount of grain handled through Kingston by Montreal Transportation Co. increased from 5,400,000 bushels in 1900 to 19,100,000 bushels in 1907, which was a record high. The overall average amount carried down in 1907-14 was 14,800,000 bushels but increasing amounts of that bypassed Kingston and went directly to Montreal. For instance, in 1914 Montreal Transportation Co. moved about 9,000,000 bushels direct from the transfer elevators at Port Colborne Ontario to Montreal (Salmon). Port Colborne is on Lake Erie at the upper end of the Welland Canal. When the St. Lawrence canals were finished, the canal became the new "choke point" for the eastern movement of grain because it could not handle the larger "upper lakers". Only canallers could travel between Port Colborne and Montreal. ELEVATORS Originally, Montreal Transportation Co. and the other Kingston forwarding companies normally used floating elevators to transfer grain from lake ships to river barges. One shoreside elevator was built in the 1850s but it was of limited capacity and not a success. Richardsons then built a successful elevator intended for lake schooners. At the turn of the 20th Century two larger elevators were built to serve canallers. One of these was owned by Montreal Transportation Co. and it was situated where the ferry wharf is now. Montreal Transportation Co. also absorbed the Prescott elevator and some of its barges after its owners went bankrupt. But, canallers usually ignored the new elevators in Kingston harbour and took grain straight through to St. Lawrence ports. CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP: A proposal to sell the company in 1908 fell through. Almost no details could be found in the records although the firm declared a 4% dividend on 5 August 1908. No breakdown of ownership could be found prior to 1909. Therefore, during the period that the shipping operations of the company were directed by the energetic John Gaskin 1873-1906, the actual breakdown of ownership is unknown. But the breakdown of issued shares for 1909 and for 1916 can be found in the Montreal Transportation Co. directors' minutes. They show that Montreal Transportation Co. was still controlled by the McLennans, with other lake and ocean shipping, grain and flour interests also involved. 6