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rr MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 409 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohlo, . by John M. Mulrooney and F. M. Barton. Surscription--$2.00 per year in advance. Single copies10 cents each. Convenient binders sent, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second class Mail Matter. The books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1895, contained the names of the 3,342 vessels, of 1,241,459.14 gross tons registerin the lake trade. The number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons,and over that amount, onthe lakes on June 30, 1895, was 360 and theiraggregate gross tonnage 643,260.40; the number of vessels of this class owned in all other parts of the country on the same date was 309 and their tonnage 652,598,72, so that half of the best steamships in allthe United States are owned on the lakes. The classification of the entire lake fleet on June 30, 1895, was as follows: Gross Number. Tonnage. BTCAIMEV.CSSCISistcceteteccec.tiarasccsuetovenetactccevessnetocdossesass 1,755 857,735.13 Sailing vessel 1,100 300,642.10 NUT ne erence heer cre nena cbitrc scat cocsonvalessthoees 487 83,081.91 MOA ese cctsortebeustestcccwne sisscntecses 3,342 1,241,459.14 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on the Jakes during the past five years, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is 'as follows: Year ending June 30, 1891 pee ie 204: 111,856.45 oe 66 " 1892. 169 45,968.98 " " 1893 175 99,271.24 oe "sé "cs 1894 106 41,984.61 " " "ec 1895. 93 36,352. 70 Motalee 347 335,483,98 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ GANAL TRAFFIC. (/rom Official lteports of Canal Officers.) St. Mary's Falls Canal. Suez Canal. 1895* 1894 1893 1895 1894 1893 No. vessel passages,,............ 17,956} . 14,491 11,008 3,434 3,352 3,341 Tonnage, net registered...... 16,806,781] 13,110,366} 9,849,754|| 8,448,383) 8,039,175] 7,659,068 - Days of navigation.............. 231 _ 284 219 365 365 365 * 1895 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie, which was about ¥ per cent. of the whole, but largely in American vessels. Tuus far the slump in lake freights has not been connected with the political condition of the country, except by the general assertion that presidential years are not conducive to good business health. During the past week there has come to the notice of the REVIEW two important matters that assume to bring the lake business into direct connection with the political situation. Holders of heavy interests in other lines have stated in a general way that they would withhold in- vestments or shut down manufactories if their confidence was destroyed by the election 'of a party whose policy they believed would injure such interests. In all these cases nothing is apparently as definite as the announcement made by Alexander McDougall, general manager of the American Steel Barge Co., West Superior, Wis. After giving details of plans involving the building of a new steamer and dry dock and lengthening two barges, amounting to something like $1,000,000, he says that the prosecution of all this work depends upon the effect of the free silver agitation. He is quoted as follows: "We are going right ahead with the plans for the new boat and the new dock, " said Capt. McDougall, "but how far we will prosecute our plans will de- pend upon the result of this silver agitation. We have the money ap- propriated for this work, but how far it will be spent depends upon the election and the sentiment of the people on the money question. The matter is left entirely with our executive committee and it will use its judgment in the carrying out of the plans which have been outlined. We are going ahead here, but the committee is liable to call the turn on us at any moment."' The other instance is given in an editorial in the New York Tri- bune, marked and mailed to the Revimw. It says that the free silver agitation is responsible for the closing down of the important iron mines in Michigan, which but for this it is claimed would. be operated as usual, In this case the fact of the mines being closed would seem to indicate that it is not the result of political fever, for men do not close up capital producing concerns to make political capital. As to the proposed withholding of a $1,000,000 investment in case of the triumph of free silver, that is in the future, and workingmen in the West Superior and other lake ship yards can heed or ignore it if their own political conscience so dictates, but it involves the responsibility of gambling with employment for the winter. If the election of a sil- -ver man does :jeopordize the ship-building and mining capitalists' in- terests and they do withhold investments through lack of confidence they can say to the workingmen "T told you so,"' and "You made your _ bed, now lie on it."' Tar continuation of low freights gives weight to the suggestion of W. A. Livingstone, that unloading charges and fuel ought to bear 'part of the burden of the losses sustained in the present crisis. He is quoted as follows: 'One of the factors which is contributing to the hard times which the vessel operators are experiencing, is the fact that unloading charges and fuel are away up. Last year when the freight market was down nearly to where it is now, unloading charges on ore went down to 13 or 134 cents almost universally. Later when the boom came the charges were put up to 15 and 16 cents and in some places to 18 cents, and no vessel owners kicked, because they were getting good freight rates and were willing that others should share in the good times, But this year, with the market way down, the unloading charges re- main where they were during the boom last fall and fueling charges are correspondingly high. It seems to me that it is time for the cost of unloading and fueling to be cut down so that the vessel owners may have a little chance."' THE additional draught of 14 feet to be obtained soon through the | opening of the new Soo lock and other improvements, will add from 200 to 500 tons capacity to some 400 hundred vessels of the modern lake fleet. Estimating that only half of these vessels 200 will haye the advantage of this through engaging in the Lake Superior trade, _and figuring that the average increase of cargo capacity at 300 tons there would be a total increase of 60,000 tons capacity each trip. The new Rockefeller, fleet will have a total capacity of 40,000 tons per trip. Thus for the last two months of navigation there will be an in- crease of 100,000 tons capacity per trip in the lake fleet. Figure five round trips during this two months, and 500,000, a half million tons more grain and ore than was' produced last year, will be needed to sat- isfy the fleet for the down trips and 500,000 tons more coal and com- modities for the up-bound trip. This is not figuring on 16 feet draft until October 1, nor is the Rockefeller fleet capacity figured until that time, although a number of them are now in commission. '"A correspondent writing to the secretary of Lloyds says he is in- formed on yery good authority that the Spanish government contem- plate augmenting the 'navigation tax,' an export duty on ores and minerals, which at present ranges from 1 peseta per 1,000 kilograms on smelted metal to a minimum on 25 centimos on crude ore. This tax falls on the shipowner, not on the merchant." If the same tax is levied on vessels carrying Cuban ore it may reduce the difference in price between that and Lake Superior ore at eastern furnaces. Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store in regular eleva- tors at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes on Aug. 8, 1896: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. CHICAGO...........00eeeesceescvcerececveeeseee 13,093,000 6,402,000 DU Uthissrcesecwestecessecesneesseadsondes seas 0,201,000 12,000 Mil Wattke@s onic .cscccccccsccasecucsensccecsenl 101,000 1,000 DetrOltescccsscesvsssosscssescsrscdesteseseccsce =) OO1Z000 14,000 MOEA Oc scescavccccossencsececostsvecveccornss . O10,000 71,000 iaiealOltecrcecsteteecsranscasndesestsacncerss eee) 100,000 452,000 Totall......r.ssecceesssccceseseevconeeee- 22,020,000 6,952,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show at the sey- eral points named a decrease of 1,195,000 bushels of wheat, and an in- crease of 1,080,000 bushels of corn. Go to picturesque Mackinac island via the D. & C. coast line. It only costs $13.50 from Detroit, $15.50 from Toledo, $18.00 from -- Cleveland for the round trip, including meals*and berths. Tickets good for 60 days, bicycles carried free. One thousand miles of lake and river-riding on new modern steel steamers for the above ates. Send two cents for illustrated pamphlets. Address A. A. Schantz, G. P. A., Detroit. Special train excursion to Niagara Falls via the popular Nickel Plate road, Saturday, August 8. Train leaves Broadway depot at 10 p.m. $3.50 for the round trip. Tickets good returning until August 10. 221-Aug. 8. The Y. P. C. U. of U. 8. Convention will be held at Omaha, and the Nickel Plate road will offer excursion tickets for sale, August 16th to 24th, 934 Aug. 23. en ates