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Se ee MARINE REVIEW. | q- Need of a Firm Stand Among Vessel Owners. In a letter to one of the Cleveland ore sales agents the president of one of the largest steel concerns in the country says that he thinks the ore dealers should now announce their prices. 'Although not just ready myself to open up negotiations for the purchase of ore," he says, "I think that an announcement regarding prices from the ore men would have the effect of strengthening the entire iron situation." Within the past two or three days a few representatives of moderate purchasers of ore have visited Cleveland to talk over the situation. This would indi- cate that there is some cause for the ore dealers to consider the matter of announcing prices, which has been deferred in accordance with the plans of the ore combination to not make prices or attempt to force sales until conditions seemed to warrant such a move. Now as to the vessel owners' side of the question. None of them are disposed to take ore at $1 from the head of Lake Superior. If they were ready to do so, they would very probably to-day find ore shippers willing to speculate somewhat on the outcome and take some tonnage at $1 from the head of the lakes or 90 cents from Marquette. These are the figures which the ore men have fixed in their minds, whatever may be the opin- ions of vessel owners to the contrary. Who will be aleader among the vessel men and effect an agreement among 60 per cent. of the tonnage to hold out for $1.10 or $1.15? Sixty per cent. of the tonnage, without any reference to vessels controlled in the offices of ore companies, could carry out such an undertaking. There seems to be necessity for such a move on account of the danger of the dollar rate being established through some owner less confident than his brethren being induced to accept some ore at that figure. Duluth grain freights remain unchanged. Owners are asking 3/ cents on wheat, first trips to Buffalo, and shippers are trying to get ves- sels at 3 or 3% cents. Lumber dealers at the head of the lakes are offer- ing $2 for first trips to Buffalo but are unwilling to make any contracts on conditions other than going rates, and this vessel owners are unwill- ing to accept. Lake Vessels vs. Ten Trunk Lines, Although in previous years lake vessels carried out of Chicago 58 to 63 per cent. of the entire shipments of freight eastward, such was not the casein 1895. High freights on iron ore and grain from the head of Lake Superior, as well as other coarse freight, attracted vessels to these lines of trade, and the grain business of Chicago was left largely to the rail- ways. Inthe following table the business of ten trunk lines, running east from Chicago is compared with the business taken out of that city by lake vessels for five years past. The railways are the Wabash, Big Four, Michigan Central, Lake Shore, Fort Wayne, P.C.C.& St.L.,B.& O, Grand Trunk, Nickel Plate and Chicago & Erie. The figures are from Chicago board of trade reports: EAST BOUND SHIPMENTS OF FREIGHT OF ALL, KINDS, LAKE AND RAIL, OUT OF CHICAGO DURING THE NAVIGATION SEASON, MAY TO NOVEMBER INCLUSIVE, FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS. | Moved by Lake. Moved by Rail. SEASON OF. | Total Amount, Per Amount, Per net tons. net tons. cent. net tons. cent. ieee ch eee at USD eheeseeee cpus. 928,001 33.7 1,817,642 66.3 2,745,643 SOR eeecaspecc sess 570,584 62 348,333 38 918,917 1898...... Bak eancneoun 3,187,622 63.3 1,846,128 36.7 5,033,750 BOO eee eesceeecconete 3,052,014 58.7 2,145,180 41.3 5,197,194 BOM eceewsccsicesseeenes 2,705,084 63.4 1,560,850 36.6 4,265,934 Appointments for Vessels Managed in the Office of Pick- ands, Mather & Co., Cleveland. Minnesota Steamship Co., Cleveland: Steamers--Maricopa, Capt. G. B. Mallory, Engineer A Arnold; Mariposa, Capt. F.D. Root, Engineer F. A. Smith; Maritana, Capt. C. H. Bassett, Engineer Geo. Arnold; Massba, Capt. F. Hoffman, Engineer A. L. Wilcox; Marina, Capt. J. W. Morgan, Engiueer D. A. Black; Matoa, Capt. A. McFarland, Engineer W. Tyler; Maruba, Capt. A. H. Reed, Engineer B F. McCanna; Mariska, Capt. H Zealand, Engineer P. Canton; Manola, Capt. H. C. McCallum, Engineer M. Jamieson. Schooners--Manda, Capt. Wm. Holly; Martha, Capt. F. J. Crowley; Malta, Capt. H. Culp; Marcia, Capt. E. L. Sawyer. Huron Barge Co., Cleveland: Steamer--Pathfinder, Capt. W. B. Mc- Gregor, Engineer C. A. Heisner. Barge--Sagamore, Capt. John Weeks. Interlake Co., Cleveland: Steamers--Victory, Capt. J. P. Cottrell, Engineer Wm. Densmore; Kearsarge, Capt. R. McDowell, Engineer P. P. June. American Steel Barge Co., Cleveland: Steamers--Frank Rockefeller, Capt. John McArthur, Engineer Irwin Marshall; John B. Trevor, Capt. A, P. Chambers, Engineer Geo. Blauvelt; Thos. Wilson, Capt. M. A. Boyce, Engineer A. J. Smith; Samuel Mather, Capt. John Dunn, En- gineer A. McKenzie; J. B. Colgate, Capt. W. H. Kilby, Engineer J. eee. son Pierce; A. D. Thomson, Capt. Wm. Hoag, Engineer ..........cs00000 H. B. Bartlett, Capt. R. Jones, Engineer W. Harsant; Colgate Beye Capt. J.S. Parke, Enginear G. Patterson. The felicia masters have been appointed for the twenty-one tow barges of this company but assignments not yet made. Otis Holdridge, Geo. Gallant, F. E. Johnson, Louis Leonard, John Nahrsteet, Robt. Brooks, Samuel Wright, A. Mc- Arthur, Neil Campbell, Jas. Bere John Sprowell, Geo. Trotter, E. Eman- uelson, W. H. Dick, Jas. Leahy, M. C. Cameron, John Gillis, Wm. Hold- ridge, F. J. Cadotte, Chas. Grant. OTHER APPOINTMENTS OF MASTERS AND ENGINEERS. H. J. Webb & Co. Cleveland: Steamers--Samuel Mitchell, Capt. Thomas Wilford, Engineer James Clancy; J. H. Wade, Capt. C. M.Swart- wood, Engineer Geo. Monagle; J. H. Devereux, Capt. Charles R. Cleve- land, Engineer George B. Milne; Wm. Chisholm, Capt. Richard Call, Engineer Silas H. Hunter; Roumania, Capt. Lewis W. Stone, Engineer Martin Burns ; Iroquois, Capt. Thomas Jones, Engineer Edw. W. Prince; J.H. Outhwaite, Capt. E.J. Burke; Engineer R. A. Davidson. Schooners-- John J. Barlum, Capt. John Mekerpnant H. A. Barr, oe Harry Ww. : Phillips. Great Northern Transit Co.,Collingwood, Ont.: Steamers--Majestic, Capt. P.M. Campbell, Engineer W. Lewis; Pacific, Capt. R. D. Foote, Engineer J. B. Aston; Atlantic, Capt. James Wilson, Engineer J. Aston ;. Northern Belle, Capt. C. Jaques, Engineer S. Wilson. Hopkins Steamship Co, St. Clair, Mich.: Steamer--Centurion, Capt. P. L. Millen, Engineer Charles Blauvelt. 'Charles Blauvelt, who is to be chief engineer of the steamer Cen- turion during the coming season, brought out the whaleback passenger steamer Christopher Columbus and was chief engineer for the American Steel Barge Company. For a year or more past he has been in eS steamer ce of Everett in the Panama trade. ; Charts of the Sault River--Sailing Directions. New charts of St. Mary's river have finally been issued by the army en- gineer corps. They are excellent charts, and the care indicated in every detail of them is sufficient exuse for delayin getting them out. The- river from the entrance to Mud lake clear up above point Iroquis is covered in twocharts, one of which contains all ranges and all other essential features of Hay Lake channel. These charts may be had from _ the MARINE REVIEW, either upon application or by mail, at 35 cents each. The last of the books of sailing directions for the lakes, covering Lakes Erie and Ontario, St. Clair and Detroit rivers and Lake St. Clair, has also been published by the hydrographic office. This book, which ~ sells at $1, completes the series of sailing directions for the entire chain of lakes. Horatio Davis of the Sewall & Day Cordage Co., writing Mr. J. W. Walton of the Upson-Walton Co., Cleveland, says: "We are in receipt of your most attractive bill of fare and wish we could have been with you | at your glorious twenty-fifth anniversary. We should judge from the varied contents that you must have entertained your people from early morn until very late at night. Weare pleased to note that the Sewall-_ Day brown bread wasa great success, also that the ice cream, Fitler . flavor, was the only article that did not go well. May you all live to have another celebration twenty-five years hence, and the writer will - agree to be with you at that time." The steel steamer which is being built in England for the Montreal Transportation Co. will be brought through the St. Lawrence canals to the lakes shortly after the opening of navigation next season. She will be named Rosemount and will be sailed by Capt. Archie McMaugh of St. Catherines. The new vessel is similar to the Bannockburn but of one foot more beam and amore modern ship. She will have tripleexpansion | surface condensing engines, with cylinders 204, 34 and 57 inches diameter . by 39 inch stroke, and two boilers 13 feet 9 inches diameter by 9 feet 9 inches long, allowed 180 pounds steam pressure. The new Hamburg-American line steamer, which is to have engines of 28,000 horse power, is to be fitted with vertical twin air pumps of the Blake type, similar to those furnished for the big cruisers built by the Cramps. It is something of acompliment to this American firm to be called upon to furnish pumps for a ship that will have ercates Perk than any craft as yet afloat. 8 Pigiron production has dropped below the 200,000-ton mark and there © is some accumulation of iron, but in ths latter respect January always ~ presents an appearance that is worse than the true circumstances. The | weekly capacity of the furnaces on Feb. 1 was 198,599 gross tons, against -- 207,481 tons on Jan. 1, 216,797 tons on Dec. 1 and 217,306 tons on Nov. 1. i ae ata