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MARINE REVIEW. VoL. XIV. CLEVELAND, O., AUGUST 27, 1896. | No. 9 Deep Water and Big Ships--Lake Freights. An increased export demand, causing an active movement of grain to the seaboard during the fall months, is now the only hope of lake vessel owners. The freight situation has grown worse from day to day, until it is absolutely impossible for vessels of less than 2,000 tons capacity to clear expenses. Eighty per cent. or more of the ore business of a big season has been cared for in four months. Deep water and big new ships have done it. The political disturbance and the fear of free silver entertained by investors and business men generally has brought on general demoralization. But few vessel owners have stopped to consider the practical side of present conditions in the lake trade, or to take a view of another season when there will be 18 or 19 feet, at least, of water in all parts of the rivers from Lake Erie to Lake Superior. Vessels drawing 17 feet of water and cargoes aggregating 5,500 net tons are now realities in the lake business. This new order of things, which will double itself in extent next season, is not whole- some to contemplate, but it must not be lost sight of as a factor in the present low range of lake freights. More ore by about 750,000 tons was moved up to Aug. 15 of this year than had been shipped at a cor- responding period a year ago, and the grain movement out of Chicago, even to this writing, has been heavier than it ever was ina previous season. The same holds true of soft coal shipments up to the first of August. These statements should be convincing as to the effect of deep water and new tonnage on lake freights. Of all the big ore mines in the Lake Superior region, the record of the Oliver, on the Mesabi range, will stand out this year as most re- markable. This is a Carnegie property, and its heavy product has been used to a certain extent by the Carnegie company to oppose the ore pool. The Oliver has already produced 600,000 tons of ore, and will very probably quit shipping about Oct. 1 with a record of 800,000 tons. It is understood that this mine's allotment in the Bessemer pool was 500,000 tons, so that the balance of 300,000 tons is non-Bessemer. Of the total of 800,000 tons, the Carnegie company will take about 600,000 tons. This big block of Mesabi ore taken in connection with the Carnegie purchases of high-grade Bessemer ores from the Minne- sota and other companies last spring, is referred to as an explan- ation of conditions that have permitted the Carnegie company to re- main out of the ore market. It is said that the big Pittsburg interest secured nearly enough of the high-grade low phosphorus ores, added to what they had on hand, to "sweeten" Oliver to an amount that would closely approximate their requirements for the year. During July the Oliver mined and shipped 180,000 tons. In one day recently two large steam shovels at this pecpOrty mined 10,750 tons. Efforts of the Lake Carriers' Association to secure gas buoys for numerous shoals on the lakes are gradually meeting with success. New buoys of the Pintsch type, recently provided by the United States light-house board, have replaced spar buoys at the following points on the St. Lawrence river, and will be of special advantage to vessels in the Ogdensburg trade: Bay State shoal buoy No. 5 at S. W. end of a small-5-foot shoal, 14 miles below Cross-Over island, EH. side of the channel; Empire shoal buoy No. 6, marking outer edge and upper end of an 8-foot shoal, N. side.of channel, just below Sister island light- house; Chapman shoal buoy No. 14, marking 8. E. point of a shoal 1,370 feet W.S. W. 4 W., from the W. end of North Colborne island. Notwithstanding numerous reports of the sale of the fast river Steamer Unique to representatives of the Cuban insurgents, the Re- View received a telegram, Wednesday, from C. McElroy of St. Clair, Mich., owner of the steamer, saying: "The sale is not closed; time allowance has not expired." Negotiations for the sale of the sescel are pending, but it would seem that the purchasers, whoever they may be, are slow in coming to conclusions. Toronto and return--Low rates via the Nickel Plate road routed through Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Tickets sold Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to 11, returning until Sept. 14. Canada's great fair. 288 Sep 10 Lake Superior Iron Co, Treasurer W. D. Rees of the Lake Superior Iron Co., Cleveland, issued recently a report to the stockholders dealing with affairs of the company during the year ending April 30, 1896. . The company paid dividends to the amount of $3 per share during the year. Its gross receipts, excluding sales of real estate, for the year were $973,655.03, and expenditures $969,036.56, leaving net profits for the year after crediting depreciation account with $30,000 to offset reduction in yal- uation of vessels, of $203,975.22 The company's six steel steamers are now valued on its books at only $665,000. There was in stock at the company's mines on April 30, 1895, 287,409 gross tons of ore of all kinds; mined during the year ending April 30, 1896, 390,964 tons; shipped from mines, 354,789 tons; delivered to customers, 363,007 tons; in stock at mines April 30, 1896, 323,584 tons. A balance sheet, date of April 30, 1896, shows the following items: Real_ estate and mining property, $1,264,722.06; steamships (six) $665,000; iron ore, $857,772.99; agent's eerie etc., $64,732.94; bills receiy- able, 856, 333.538; aeons receivable, $55, 065. 82; cash, "$240, 778.06; aon Boston office, $662.96; Atlantic Iron Co.'s stock, $25; prone Beane Tron Co.'s cone $3,950: office furniture, $200; Excelsior fur- nace, $96,342.39; treasury stock, $400,000; steamship operating account, 1896, $25,828.18; total, $3,731,413.93. Against the foregoing items are the following: Accounts payable at mine, $104,623.88; advance payments on ore undelivered, $416,275.33; capital stock, 62, 500,000; guaranty, $258,754.16; depeecinions 8417, 098.33; profit and loss, $34,662.23; total, $3, 731, 413.93. : Vessel owners on the lakes are probably not all aware of the fact that the newspaper reports of vessel movements, accidents, ete. have for some time past been furnished through one central office in Chica- go, and by an association known as the Lake Marine News Association, of which Homer J. Carr, Western Union building, Chicago, is the manager. This association has systematized marine reports for news- papers, and has no competitor in the work. At the Sault, Mackinaw and Detour the association has its own stations and reporters, but re- ports from Port Huron are furnished by Lynn and from Detroit by , Westcott. Cleveland vessel owners and shippers know of the value. of this association through the bulletins furnished several times each day by the Marine Review. They probably do not know, however, that the stations of this association at Mackinaw City, Sault Ste. Marie « and Detour are open to commercial business. Any vessel owner wish- | ing to communicate in any ;way with a ship passing at. these points can do so by simply addressing the Lake Marine News Association at Detour, Mackinaw City or the Sault as the case may be. The Review recommends the use of this service, at the points referred to, for the reason that enterprise in establishing these stations, and in consoli-. dating the work of vessel reporting as a whole, has brought system into the business and has reduced, very largely, the charges to vessels from this source. The Lake Marine News Association is a substantial corporation that has been dealing with the newspapers of lake cities for some five or six years and its management is of a responsible and ha reliable kind. On Aug. 6 the Review published a long list of steamers fined by Capt. Davis of the revenue cutter service for violation of rules govern-. ing the navigation of St. Mary's river. Since that date more fines, - aggregating $2,600, have been imposed as follows: City of Grand Rapids, violation of rules 1 and 2, $400; Centurion, rules 1 and 6, -- $400; Osceola, rule 1, $200; Thomas Maytham, rules 1 and 8, $400; Arabia, rule 1, $200; Kearsarge, rule 8, $200; Ira H. Owen, rule 1, $200; Manitoba (Br.), rule 3, $200; Sunbeam, rule 2, $200; Ossifrage, rule 3, $200. It is quite generally agreed among vessel men who have a knowl- edge of wrecking business that Capt. James Reid will be about as far from raising the Cayuga when the present season is at an end as he was when it opened,