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

MARINE REVIEW. VoL. XV. CLEVELAND, O., MARCH 11, 1897. No, 11, | Carnegie Company's Special Ore Facilities. Although the Carnegie Steel Co. will probably not be able to take advantage in any way of the big dock and railway improvements now under way at Conneaut until the first of August, or probably a little later, on account of changes in plans, the force of these special arrangements for handling Carnegie ore will be felt by other interests before the coming season of navigation is at anend. The new slip on whi¢h modern dock machinery is to be erected at Conneaut will be 1,500 feet long and 165 feet wide, and will have, in addition to a car dumping machine for loading coal, such facilities as will admit of the unloading of 10,000 gross tons of ore per day, most of which will go directly into cars. The plans are arranged for unloadng at this new plant two of the Rockefeller ships each day, and it is expected that the cargoes of these vessels with deeper water in lake channels will even exceed 5,000 gross tons each. On one side of the slip will be located the car dumping machine and an ore plant of twelve rigs, the latter arranged for direct loading into cars. On the other side the plant will also be of the twelve-rig kind, but will have storage facilities. The question of introducing electrical power for the operation of the ore unloading machinery has been under consideration. Contracts have not as yet been let for any of the machinery, but proposals will soon be passed upon, and there is little doubt anyhow of this part of the work being in readiness in advance of the railway improvements. Steel hopper-bottom ore and cval cars will be used on the railway and they will have a capacity of fifty tons each. About 200 of these will be built ona first, order. for which specifications have already been issued. The cars will probably cost about $700 each, and orders in- creasing the number to about 700 cars will be given out later on, so that the total expenditure on this item alone will be about $500,000. The new locomotives will be of a very heavy type, capable of hauling twenty to aint of the big steel cars loaded. . Mast of the Gustoms Fees. The government has been gradually removing the fees charged to vessels and officers of vessels by collectors of customs until finally the last item of this kind has been wiped out. An act of the last con- gress, approved on March 3, and which goes into effect on the first of -- next July, provides "that fees for the entry direct from a foreign port and for the clearance direct to a foreign port of a vessel navigating the waters of the northern, northeastern and northwestern frontiers of the United States otherwise than by sea, prescribed by section 4382 of the revised statutes, are abolished. Where such fees, under existing laws, constitute in whole or in part the compensation of a collector of customs, such officer shall hereafter receive a fixed sum for each year equal to the amount which he would have been entitled to receive as fees for such services during said year."' "The fee here referred to is 50 cents, and it has been charged for a great number of years past, in each case of arrival or clearance, to all vessels on the lakes trading to Canadian ports. After July 1 the only charge will be that of 10 cents made by the collector for the blank on which the arrival or clearance is written. Mr. J. C. Ricketson of Milwaukee, who has resigned the manage- ment of the Inter-Ocean Transportation Co.'s fleet of vessels, has the best wishes of a very large circle of acquaintances in all parts of the lakes. Americans, and during his many years of service with the largest of the Milwaukee transportation companies, he has always been held in the highest regard by everybody who had any business with him, He was actively interested in the affairs of the Lake Carriers' Associa- tion and will be missed at the meetings of that organization. The management of the Inter-Ocean company's vessels has been entrusted to David Vance & Co. It is understood that Mr. Ricketson has been in poor health and will take a rest for a time, intending later on to devote his attention to the Ricketson Mineral Paint Co., of which he is the head. He is a gentleman in the best meaning of the term among ~ Low Lake Freights--Iron Ore Matters, With a view to assisting ore dealers in making sales for 1897 oe the best possible prices, Cleveland vessel owners have talked of an- 80-cent lake freight from the head of Lake Superior, and some of them' have hoped that there would be sutlicient improvement in the iron market during the present month to warrant the payment of that rate But now that the opening of aavigation is not far off, it must be admitted, in fairness to vessel owners who are not in on season contracts. close touch with the Cleveland. market, that the best rates talked of among ore dealers are 70 cents to Oct. 1, and possibly 75 cents for the full season. season. This is not an encouraging outlook, and it can be said truth- fully that there are many owners of vessels of the largest class who will take chances on the going rates during the season in preference In most cases the 70-cent rate is spoken of for the full. to tying up to 70-cent contracts, as the general opinion, both among -- ore dealers and vessel owners, is to the effect that business conditions must improve during the spring and summer and that the best freights : will be paid during the latter half of the year. It is admitted aiso that there can be little profit for even the largest steel vessels in such rates, but the ore dealers claim that whether they pool their interests | or not, they must sell ore at prices fully $1 a ton lower than those of © Among other arguments which they advance in support ~ a year ago. of low freights is the claim that the grain movement will be very limited early in the season, as compared with 1896, and that 70 cents _ tae with deeper water from Lake Superior is almost equal to 80 cents at... a draft of 144 feet. It is admitted on both sides that it will be to the best interests of everybody concerned if vessel owners will delay -- fitting out and put off a general movement of vessels as long as it is possible to do so. Developments of the past few days among leading interests in the . ore business give assurance of a continuance of the ore pool, taking _ The general meeting arranged for. in all of the mining companies. Monday last was postponed for another week, in order to arrange more definitely the agreements between the big Mesabi companies, and it is now confidently expected that the whole matter will be closed -- up early next week, but some time will be required in fixing the differ- ent prices and making up the apportionment, so that probably three weeks will elapse before any ore is offered for sale. Failure of the Appropriation Bills. River and harbor appropriations for the lakes amounting to sev- eral millions, an appropriation of $25,000 for gas buoys, $200,000 for : completing two new revenue cutters aud various other items of great importance to lake interests were all lost in the closing hours of the last congress by the the refusal of the outgoing president to sign sev- -- eral appropriation bills, standpoint was the sundry civil bill. The last issue of the Review, which went to press just before the Democratic administraton stepped ~ : out, contained an article congratulating lake representatives in con- gress upon their success in obtaining liberal appropriations from both houses, but the final act of the administration overturned everything ; for which the representatives and the executive officers of the Lake Carriers' Association had been working fora long time past. It is expected that these bills will be passed at the extra session of the new. congress, but a delay of two months or more must occur at the best; © ~ and it is doubtful whether any of the appropriations will now be ~ available for use during the coming season. Capt. Daniel McLeod of Cleveland is no eibunes connected with the publication of the Inland Lloyds Vessel Register. A revision of the register for 1897 is being made at Buffalo with the least possible expense, by Captains George McLeod, Cyrus Sinclair, John Perew and other representatives of the Chicago and Buffalo agents who have published it for a great many years past. It is understood that the new book will contain no valuations in cases where vessels are above © $50,000 in value. the most important of which from a lake -~