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MARINE REVIEW. Worl ow V LT, CLEVELAND, O.; JUNE 16, 1808. No. 24. The Hemp Market. Speculators are busy in the hemp market, and with prices in London higher than they are in this country some hemp has been bought in New York for foreign account. A Cleveland concern, the Upson-Walton Co., which engages largely in the rope trade on the lakes and in the sale of binder twine, was fortunate enough to have part of a cargo of Manila hemp that arrived in New York on Saturday last. The cargo was that of an American vessel that left the Philippines in February last. There was, of course, considerable doubt as to the safe arrival of the vessel in New York. Mr. J. W. Walton of the Upson-Walton Co. makes the fol- lowing statement in answer to a request for information regarding the market: "The market for rope fibres is in a very demoralized condition. I have lately visited the brokers in New York and find that no one has any idea as to the future of Manila hemp. All reports to the contrary not- withstanding, no one has any definite advices from Manila. Whether hemp which was loading at the time of the battle of Manila will be allowed by Admiral Dewey to sail or not, is one of the problems. Strong efforts are being made by the administration at Washington to allow this to be done in the interest of the farmers and of the navy, but so far no definite answer has been received. The prices of Manila hemp today are merely nominal, as there is no transfer possible under the circumstances. No doubt if hemp were on hand for sale, the price would go higher than that now quoted. As it is, the abnormal condition is seen of an inferior fibre being sold at a higher price than the Manila. This, however, has been the case several times within the past decade. The higher prices at pres- ent are not due entirely to the war. An advance in Manila hemp was observed before the war broke out. For instance, on Jan. | last the mar- ket price in New York was 334 cents; Feb. 1, 41%4; March 1, 436; April 1, 454; May 1, 6. Sisal hemp meanwhile has been quoted: Feb. 1, 334; March 1, 4%4; April 1, 5, and May 1, 5% cents, and since then Sisal hemp has actually advanced above Manila. For some time past it has been ob- served that the Manila hemp has been coming over shorter and shorter in length, showing conclusively that the trees were being cut before their full period. I have no doubt that this has its bearing upon price. It is also clear that the half-civilized natives who produce this material are disinclined to work, as most dwellers in tropical climates are, and will not do so unless driven to it by necessity. The methods of administering taxation have been a great drawback to progress on the islands. Not more than 30 per cent. of the taxes ever get into the royal treasury. But in order to keep up the taxes the people are compelled to go out into the woods and cut hemp. What the United States will do in the way of taxa- tion is a problem, but the burdens will certainly be far less onerous than they have been under the Spanish rule, and it may thus take years to in- duce the natives to produce as much hemp as they have in the past. "The amount of Manila fibre that goes into binder twine, which is of entirely modern origin, is now a big item. It is variously. estimated at from 50 to 60 per cent. of the entire product. Our firm just got in a load in one single shipment from New York to Cleveland of over 6,000,000 pounds. With a fine harvest, such as we are blessed with today, the de- mand is very great for both Manila and Sisal for this purpose. The im- portations of Manila last year were about 122,000,000 pounds, and of Sisal in the same period about 116,000,000 pounds. The following table in a document of recent date from the state de- partment gives the destination of hempen exports from the Philippines: Great United Continent Year. Britain. States. of Europe. Total Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. NSOReie eee SPS 347,854 DAG EAS ee 2.861 597,152 NSS ORNS: SI Ga eee Tee 322,022 199,707 FTO 522,968 OOO MRE Arte HIRE Coe OSes 341,993 109,726 1,968 453,687 SOIR Sse SS eS 443 142 132,267 4 206 579,615 1 OD Ei Ss ee 357,744 384,076 - 3,304 745,174 NOOR mars MAIER ert Ons 373,041 212,463 3,548 589,052 NS OA Rita t os ae ere a este: 335,372 387,045 11,691 734,108 NOU neers te Bees AS 493 801 273,918 3,981 771,700 NOOR. ey Se Pei, 407 522 290,327 2,632 700,481 OOM ee wee ee ee 385,182 417,473 22.373 825,028 It will be noted from the table that about 41 per cent. of this trade in 1898 was with the United States. An Explanation by Col. Lydecker. Col. G. J. Lydecker, United States engineer at Detroit, is inclined to differ from Capt. D. Nicholson of the steamer Tom Adams, whose letter to Capt. Geo. P. McKay, treasurer of the Lake Carriers' Association, complaining of obstructions in the lower channel through Lake St. 'Clair was printed in a recent issue of the Review. In a letter to Capt. McKay under date of June 14, Col. Lydecker says: _ ; "A very careful survey of the locality designated by Capt. Nicholson was made May 3 to 9, 1898, which revealed nothing less than 19 feet of water in this part of the channel. Since the completion of the lower por- tion of the channel in 1895, many hundred vessels drawing 17 feet and over have passed through without any difficulty, and it seems strange that such obstructions as mentioned by Capt. Nicholson should have ex- isted all this time without having been struck on previous occasions. However, I will have a sweeping scow go over this locality as soon as the necessary arrangements therefor can be made, and should any obstruc- tions be found, an attempt will be made to remove them in the very near future." eer -- a ee ee ee ee a ee ae Transatlantic Lines Finally Agree. A rather unexpected denowement came the other day when the con- ference of representatives of the transatlantic passenger lines, which has been in session in London for some time past, adjourned with the an- nouncement that a uniform rate had been agreed to, after pretty nearly everybody had come to the conclusion that a disagreement with a conse- quent season of rate cutting was inevitable. Among the lines which have been regularly represented in the conference are the Cunard, White State North German Lloyd, American, Red Star, Hamburg-American, French and Holland-American. One of the main accomplishments of the meeting, which has just adjourned, was the accession of the Atlantic Transport and Wilson-Furness line, together with several other organizations which have all along been favorable to the conference but have nevertheless remained outside its membership. The threatened disruption also had the effect of inducing closer affiliation. To this the only dissenting voice was that of the representatives of the French line. One of the main questions at issue in the conference was the relative difference in passenger rates on express and single screw steamers. The North German Lloyd line was willing, according to report, to agree to a $100 rate for a single first-class passage on twin-screw vessels, but wanted the rate fixed at $10 less for single-screw vessels, whereas a conference last November placed a minimum saloon rate of $100 on all express steamers during the summer. There is good reason to believe that in addition to the renewal of old agreements there are several new ones, the immediate effect of which is to be an advance of fromm 15 to 20 per cent. on the minimum rate for a first-class cabin ticket. The advance, if made, will undoubtedly be to protect the companies against the stamp tax of the war revenue measure, which imposes from $3 to $5 on each steamship passenger ticket issued. The Effective Vessel in Future Wars. That the naval engagements of the present Spanish-American war are expected to prove object lessons of inestimable value is proven by the interest with which naval architects and students of naval warfare gener- ally are following the conflict. The struggle now in progress is expected also*to succeed, where the Chinese-Japanese war failed, in the demonstra- tion of what type of naval vessel is possessed of the greatest degree of - effectiveness and efficiency. It may be readily seen that geographical location and conditions may preclude the possibility of the same interpre- tation of the lesson for all countries. Naturally, it is with the deductions affecting the naval progress of the United States that Americans are most concerned, and if we are to select one seemingly paramount to all the rest it would seem to. be found in the pre-eminent adaptability of the armored cruiser to our purposes in preference to the other types of naval vessel. Speedy armored vessels are so manifestly necessary to a country such as ours, for both offensive and defensive purposes, that a failure to supply a sufficient complement in our navy would appear a strange oversight, and yet there was needed the merry chase which the less powerful but swifter Spanish fleet has led our squadron in the Caribbean sea to impress upon us the extent of our weakness. Strange as it may seem the Brook- lyn and New York are our only armored ships possessing sufficient. speed to hunt down the Spanish cruisers, and in such an event the Spanish ves- sels would assuredly prove more than a match for the American duo. In discussing this question, the Scientific American says: "Affairs of the past few weeks have taught usa lesson They prove the usefulness of speed as an offset against mere defensive power, and the inestimable value of speed and offensive power when combined in a fleet composed of iden- tical armored vessels. We have taken occasion to read carefully through - the lists of the world's navies and note what is the general character of the ships which have lately been built or are under construction or are author- 'ized to be built, and we are impressed with the fact that the coming war- ship will be of a type between the battleship and the swift armored cruiser, a vessel with heavy battery, medium armor protection, high speed and exceptionally large coal supply." Launch of the Hendrick S. Holden. Invitations will be issued the latter part of this week by the Globe Iron Works Co. for the launch, at their yard in Cleveland, at 2:30 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, June 25, of the steamer Hendrick S. Holden, build- ing for Capt. John Mitchell and others. The selection of a recipient for the honor of christening the new vessel has not yet been made. The choice will be left to J. J. McWilliams, the well-known Buffalo coal mer- chant, who is a stockholder in the vessel and who suggested that the new vessel be named for Hendrick S. Holden of Syracuse, N. Y., who is also a stockholder in the craft. Work on the new steamer will be pushed, with a view to, if possible, having her go into commission earlier than stipulated. Why I Bought the Quito. "Why I Bought the Quito" is the title suggested to Joseph Gilchrist of Cleveland for a prize article that would be read with a great deal of interest by vessel men 4n all parts of the lakes. Since he gave W. J. White of chewing gum fame a house and lot and something else for the Quito, Mr. Gilchrist has put up with considerable fun from the wags in vessel circles. He takes it in good spirit. When pressed for an answer as to what additional consideration is covered by the term "something else," he is said to have declared that it was just an old cat that had been hanging around the house which he turned over to Mr. White. The sale of a vessel like the Quito at any price has, of. course, caused considerable talk among the vessel men. Some of them are reminded of old times, "RRS Rn TRC ee gee moa ve) hose ates ggpaoe ae: ae, Rar 2G ORR ao Lager Soe er nce