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

MARINE REVIEW. VoL. X. CLEVELAND, O., DECEMBER 13, 1894. No. 24. Ships' Earnings--Situation as Regards Freights. Readers of the REVIEW who keep posted throughout the year on cur- rent matters pertaining to lake freights would not be greatly interested in a lengthy review of the market or conditions that have had a bearing on freights during the season just closed. It is well known that a very large portion of the lake fleet of freight vessels under 2,000 tons carrying capacity have made no money, laying aside all reference to the question of depreciation. Owners of all of the steel vessels and the larger class of wooden steamers will divide moderate earnings, probably as much as 6 per cent. in some cases, where repairs and other charges made in pros- perous times are not liberally dealt with. In the case of a few of the steel steamers built lately at low cost, like the Kearsarge, I. W. Nicholas and several others, there is little doubt of satisfactory profits over all ex- peuses, but these boats are exceptions, and the same may be said of the steamers of the iron ore companies, which may be operated under special advantages, on account of the dispatch afforded them in port. But there is one important item, even in the case of the steamers of the ore com- panies, that must be taken into account in considering any profits that have resulted during the past season, and that is the great difference in the value placed on such steamers a year or two years ago and the price at which they might now be duplicated in any of the ship yards. Steel steamers for which $200,000 and over was paid only a short time ago are now being duplicated for $160,000 to $175,000. Although figures published by the REvIEw last week showed an in- crease of about 700,000 tons of ore on dock Dec. 1, as compared with the aggregate on the same date a year ago, the returns were not greatly sur- prising to men in the ore trade, especially when it was considered that the output of Lake Superior mines by water was 7,776,547 tons, or a full million tons more than was expected early in the season. Itis known that the Bessemer ores, aside from Mesabis, are well sold up, and the best feature of the situation at present is the active movement of ores to the furnaces. Shipments from Lake Erie ports to the furnace districts have never been more active than at present, which would indicate a con- tinuance of the heavy make of pig iron, notwithstanding weakness in the sales market for pig. A strange feature of the iron trade is weakness in pig iron although the demand for it has been of a steady and urgent kind. Ore sales agents who keep account of what the furnace men are doing say that this weakness is caused by some manufacturers being forced to sell their iron as fast as it is made in order to realize upon it. The stronger concerns are in several instances stocking iron in furnace yards, rather than sell it at present prices, as they look for improvement after the first of the year. The conditions, then, in the iron trade are not such as to cause any certainty ofhigher prices for next year's ores, but ore men are all of the opinion that increased labor cost in the mining regions, coupled witha supply of Bessemer from the Mesabi far less than was 'expected, on ac- count of the very large proportion of non-Bessemer that is mixed with the ore of the new range, will result in an advance of 25 or 50 cents a ton over last year's prices. It would be interesting to know now how much of the unsold ore on dock may be charged to the Mesabi output of 1,793,- 988 tons during the past season, as figures bringing out this feature of the situation would have an important bearing on the matter of new prices. Statements that are usually made by the sales agents at the close of the year may determine this point. Ship Yard Matters. About 1,400,000 tons of iron ore, all from Lake Superior, was handled by the firm of Pickands, Mather & Co., of Cleveland, during the past season. It is not surprising then that this big concern, with the Minnesota company and the several corporations which it represents in the transportation business, should call for bids on a new steel steamer and two consorts, in addition to ten ships already under its control, and two others under construction. This firm's shipments of ore in 1894 are full half a million tons greater than they were in 1893, and with the spec- ial advantage given to its boats, through control of docks at both ends of the ore route, there is no doubt of its transportation charges being reduced to a figure at which no outside tonnage could compete for the business. It is understood that according to an outline of plans for the big 400-foot steamer on which lake builders have been asked to submit figures, the boat is to have twelve working hatches and be constructed without a between deck. The matter of letting a contract for the new boats, will be settled in a few days. The Conneaut-Port Dover car ferries are again talked of in connec- tion with a rumor that the Craig Ship Building Company, of Toledo, has been awarded a contract for them. This contract might be had by any of the lake builders who would take stock in the boats to the extent of $100,000 or more, but it is not probable that the Craig company has gone into the project on any such basis. Mr. Hingston, of the firm of Hings- ton & Woods; Buffalo, was in Conneaut a few days ago, considering the scheme with Col, Dick, Mr. Blair, and other officers of the Pittsburg, Shenango & Lake Erie Railway, and he had thought of taking an interest in arrangements for the construction of the ferries and the necessary terminals at Conneaut and Port Dover, probably in conjunction with the railway company and the Toledo builders. The owners of the railway at Conneaut are very enthusiastic over the project, but their present plans, with the firms referred to, may amount to no more than previous negotia- tions with other builders, on account of the big money question involved. General Manager Newman and other directors of the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company, who seemed set on having a side-wheel steamer for the Lake Erie service, have modified their ideas, after consulting some of the builders,and are inclined now to a screw steamer, so that there is reason to look for a magnificent twin-screw ship of 17 or 18 miles speed, on the Cleveland-Buffalo route. It is hardly probable that the kind of boat contemplated by this company can be gotten ready for service before June next. Mr. F. T. Hodgson, of Collingwood, Ont., directs attention to an error in the list of new contracts printed in the last issue of the REVIEW. The large passenger steamer for which the Great Northern Transporta- tion Company has let a contract, isto be built in Collingwood by the Collingwood Dry Dock and Wrecking Company, and not in Owen Sound. The transportation company is also a Collingwood company. It has its headquarters in that town and all of its steamers are laid up there during the winter. Out of several prospective contracts, upon which the firm of F. W. Wheeler & Co., of West Bay City, have been figuring, it is understood that one for a steel steamer, is about certain to be closed in a few days. This contract, if secured, will give the Wheeler'yard two big boats to be turned out next spring. Work is progressing rapidly on the boat being built for Capt. John Mitchell and others. The type of passenger boat now talked of for the Graham & Morton company of Chicago is a wooden steamer to cost not more than $60,000. Her dimensions would be about 180 feet keel, 33 feet beam and 14 feet depth. Burger & Burger of Manitowoc have submitted plans and figures on the boat. Burger & Burger, of Manitowoc, Wis., will build a tug 85 feet long for Leatham & Smith, of Sturgeon Bay. The boat will have a compound engine with cylinders of 15 and 30 inches, by 24 inches stroke anda boiler 8% feet diameter by 12 feet long. The Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railway Company will probably build this winter a new tug to care for increasing harbor work at Lorain. A Forcible Document. Secretary Keep of the Lake Carriers' Association has prepared for submission to congress a brief covering the whole subject of aids to navi- gation, for which appropriations are sought at the present session. The brief is addressed to the chairman of the house and senate committees on appropriations, and is one of the most complete and persuasive documents ever sent to Washington from the lakes. It is an admirable summary of the whole matter of appropriations for lights, fog signals, etc., and reflects great credit on work of the secretary. Original copies of it will be signed by President Corrigan, Mr. Keep and Capt. McKay, who is chairman of the committee on aids to navigation. _Chicago's grain ficet now in winter quarters,is the largest ever known. If all the vessels are loaded before the opening of navigation they will carry away 12,800,000 bushels of grain. The fleet consists of one hundred and nine steamers and-eighty two schooners and barges. The capacity of twenty of the steamers is more than 100,000 bushels each. Last December the fleet consisted of 207 boats of all kinds, but the aggregate capacity was only 11,269,000 bushels,