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ao MARINE REVIEW. [October 13 ee GRAIN SITUATION AT BUFFALO. 70 a 7 oI N TO DETENTION MUST BE EXPECTED IN UNLOADING--A DECISION RELATING THE QUESTION OF DEMURRAGE. Buffalo, N. Y., Oct. 12--Grain has already begun to arrive at ae at the rate of nearly 10,000,000 bushels a week. The situation eee - probable delays at elevators again presents some new features, ON ae prominent of which for the present is detention due to cargoes Rese divided up into a great many consignments. Cargoes have Bere cP divided up as they are this season. Vessel men have entered Boat co : plaint on account of the degree of detention thus far encountere Fol of them taking the situation quite philosophically with the remat bal delays are a force of strength in lake freights, but there is probably a por stormy period ahead. As there is no elevator association here Deane no charge for elevating grain and delivering to cars and canal poses, ittle grain is being handled except at the so-called railroad elevators, that. i the elevators controlled by railroads, namely, the City, Erie, Connecting Terminal, Union and Dakota, and the elevators controlled by a few large grain dealing and shipping concerns in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York, which are the Llectric, Export, Coatsworth and Great Northern elevators. There is no direct return in the grain business for the cleva- tors except $1.20 per thousand for use of steam shovels, and with eee ception of the houses named above, there is little or nothing doing. he canal houses, as they are called, that is, those not having railroad connec- tion, 'are none of them doing anything. The result is that vessels ance already beginning to experience in some cases considerable delay in un loading, and as it is expected that grain receipts will increase at a very heavy rate, it is almost certain that there will be very great detention in many instances during the remainder of the season. A crowded harbor throughout the balance lof the season will undoubt- edly bring on discussion regarding demurrage, and it may be well, there- fore, to refer vessel men to a demurrage case brought in the federal courts as the result of a blockade of ships here in the fall of 1891. The case is that of the J. E. Owen and consort Nihcolson and will be found in Vol. 54, Federal Reporter, page 185. The decision in this particular action does not, of course, cover the demurrage question as a whole at Buffalo. Neither would it have any bearing on claims of the kind made at Fairport, where grain was consigned in immense quantities with little regard for the facil- ities of elevators. It is a case, however, from which vessel men, who are liable to encounter delay at Buffalo, may draw conclusions as to what they may expect from the courts under prevailing conditions in the grain trade of the lakes. The:Owen and Nicholson, laden with grain from Chicago, arrived at Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 27, at 6 p. m., consigned to elevators with New York Central Railroad connections. There were twenty-eight boats ahead of them. The amount of grain in Buffalo await- ing transshipment east was unprecedented and navigation was about to close. There was no demand that the consignees or their agents should furnish another elevator, and no claim for damages was made until after the grain was unloaded. The vessels were delayed ten days in unloading but the court refused to hold the consignees liable for damages resulting from the delay. The court held that damages are not recoverable where vessels are detained near the close of navigation, while waiting, in accord- ance with custom, to be unloaded in turn at an elevator, where there was nothing to 'show that the delay was unreasonable. In summing up the case, Judge Coxe, before whom the action was tried, said: "Applying the law to the facts in hand it is clear that the libelant is not entitled to damages for the detention of these vessels. The onus was upon the libelant to prove negligence, but a doubt has simply been raised. The interpretation of the testimony most favorable to the libelant only establishes the proposition that if the consignees had been informed of the exact capacity of the other elevators during the time in question, they might possibly 'have secured the necessary room. This, in no circum- stances, is sufficient to establish negligence. The grain was consigned to elevators having New York Central Railroad connection; this was part of the contract; was well known to the libelant's agent, and, I am inclined to think, exonerated the consignees from providing another elevator: but assuming that they were required to look elsewhere, the proof falls far short of showing that they were guilty of laches in. this respect. They certainly were not required to take a floating elevator or receive the grain for storage on an island or in canal boats. They were at least entitled to have their grain go on to its destination, and it could not go otherwise than by rail. I am not satisfied that they could have provided, during the week beginning Noy. 30, another elevator which could have released the vessels sooner than the City elevator. It is possible that they might have done so, but this possibility is not enough. Certainly the court would be unwarranted in finding that the libelant had established by a preponder- -ance of evidence, that other elevators having railroad connections could have unloaded the vessels sooner than the City elevator. All the witnesses agree that the situation was unprecedented. An immense amount of grain had reached the harbor of Buffalo. Navigation was about to close. Every effort was being made to accommodate this extraordinary congestion. The elevators having railroad connections were being worked night and day. Everywhere there was a blockade of greater or smaller proportions. The energies of those engaged in the work of transferring these cargoes were taxed to the utmost, their time was occupied with the daily routine of this busy period. To 'hold men so situated responsible for the greatest care and diligence, to charge them with every item of information and knowledge which was only elicited by a protracted judicial investigation, would be to-establish a new rule of law for the guidance of consignees,: Indeed; after an examination, which was intended to be thorough, I -have' failed to find a single authority allowing damages in circumstances' like those developed in the case at bar. Vessel owners can stipulate for lay days, if they so desire, but if they prefer not to do'so they must take 'the risk*of delays occasioned by such phenomenal circumstan¢es - as: 'those. which 'occurred at Buffalo in November and December, 189%, -It follows that® the: libelant is not entitled to damages, but 'is entitled: ito recover freight in each action and interest from' Dec. 9, 1891, besides COStS. 25 2 Wz W. Ogilvie, the Manitoba flour miller has begun the erection of a grain elevator of 2,000,000 bushels Capacity at Montreal, Canada. _ West bound freight of all ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SEASON. MOVEMENT OF FREIGHT, EAST AND WEST, THROUGH ST, MARY'S FALLS CANALS NOW MORE THAN TWO MILLION TONS IN EXCESS OF LAST SEASON, The movement of freight, east and west, through the American and Canadian canals at the Sault did not quite hold its own last month, as com. pared with the corresponding month last year, but nevertheless the excess over last season's movement, which on Sept. 1 was approaching the 2,000,000 mark, has now passed that figure. It is noticeable, 'however, that both the vessel passages and aggregate registered tonnage show hard- ly any increase, this circumstance being due, of course, as has been ex- plained heretofore in the Review, to the advent of larger carriers and the availability of deeper channels. The figures for three years past are as follows: FREIGHT VESSEL REGISTERED PASSAGES. TONS, TONS. iy Oct 10ers 13,486 13,777,982 15,631,855 PomOcr tt (eure 13,256 13,516,107 13,589,183 Tor OCe Tabor a ee 15,150 13,998,075 12,793) 441 Several distinctive characteristics of this season's traffic are still apparant. One is the doubling up of the volume of soft coal shipments, which aggregate 2,550,452 tons to Oct. 1, as against only 1,145,822 tons up to this time last year. It is understood, of course, that on Oct. 1 a year ago the coal shippers were trying to make up for time Jost in the strike, The iron ore record from Lake Superior still shows an excess of about 850,000 net tons (made early in the season), notwithstanding the restricted movement of the past six weeks. Shipments of wheat, despite the activity of the month just closed, are away short thus far this season, the total to Oct. 1 being 21,414,527 bushels, as against 30,874,381 bushels to Oct. le 1897. Grain other than wheat shows an increase, however, of more than 2,000,000 bushels, and in passing it may be noted also that the passenger traffic, which is now practically at an end, shows a significant betterment compared with either 1896 or 1897 figures. A full statement of the com- merce of both canals follows: MOVEMENT OF PRINCIPAL ITEMS OF FREIGHT TO AND FROM LAKE SUPERIOR. To Oct. 1,:| To Oct: 1, | To-Oct. 1, Se -. 1898. 1897. ~ 1896. Coal, anthracite, net tons............... 352,668 862,171 297,582 Coal, bituminous, net tons............ 2,550,452 1,145,822 2,045,740 IromioreMetetOnssnscncssese ce cee 9,434,493 8,589,702 6,811,765 Wiheat, bushelsi.s.. c0s:.<cc:sess sce neese 21,414,527 -- | 30,874,381 | 42,553,060 Plows bartels s.ccesssssscsstcssceewee nes 4,541,807 8,578, 862 5,766,039 REPORT OF FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO AND FROM LAKE SUPERIOR, FROM OPENING OF NAVIGATION TO OCT. 1 - OF EACH YEAR FOR THREE YEARS PAST. EAST BOUND. : aes To-Oct. 15 |. To:Oct,.1; |: Ta:Oct. 1; ITEMS. Designation. 1898. 1897. 1896. Copper eae Net tons.... 87,938 93,098 | ~ 98,201 Grain, other than wheat) Bushels..... | 16,641,400 | 14,369;367 | 16,211,057 Building stone............ Net tous... 4,670 4,641 16,439 EM OMI reise pect eases Barrels...... 4,540,880 5,765,789 5,078,725 Tom One. eka ee ee Net tons 9 434,493 8,589,702 6,811,765 Tromp Ose estore. < .....|Net tons... 26,165 6,687 18,866 TMI DET eae ae eieaseee ce: Mista oe tne 660,488 580,043 537,571 Silvereores. hes NetstOnS!.. [secs re os 5 240 Wilt Gataccnencncs tracer aac Bushels..... | 21,414,527. | 30,874,381 | 42,553,060 Unclassified freight .....; Net tons... | 174,122 180,659 141,789 Passenpetsercc omen. Number.... 18,435 V7 vi5, | a hinous WEST BOUND. Coal, anthracite.......... Net tons... 352,668 | 362,171 297 ,582 Coal, bituminous......... Net tons ..| 2,550,452 | 1,145,822 | 2,045,740 I LOMLES evematrcee sere aiesce Barrels ..... 927 250 137 Grain ico ke eon Bushels..... 19,205 | ps tag es 2,209 Manufactured iron...... Net tons... 166,242 | 84,167 67 ,256 Salt eter oe Beare Barrels.....| 199,755 | 172,509 171,838 Unclassified freight.....) Net tons...| 278,159 | 256,751 233,418 ASSEN pense nee Number ... 21,920 | 19,843 18,095 - SUMMARY OF TOTAL FREIGHT MOVEMENT IN TONS. To Octe.1, 1898. | To Oct. 1, 1897. | To Octe 1, 1896. Po Binds Snel tons: asc. CS 87 14674 1,883,801" hs 2,676,101. East bound freight of all) ee | ace "heh Ba ee kinds, net tons...........:. 12,255,709" "? 11)705,882°-- 10}117,340"" Bg lesa S pibae nieolt Vteos ie } i Mare i : ] \ 2201 SHI ra Lieut.' R. P? Hobson 'has' suggested to the mavysdepartment theoad) | visability of pulling the sunken Spanish cruiser' Colon around Go that2she? wilblie'parallebto the shore ifistead ofostem on. 2sEis plan for floating fhe' vessel contemplates the use of both air bags and dynamite. It is now claimed that the Reina Mercedes can be raised without any great trouble.