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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg., by the Marine Review Pub. Co. VoL XXL. CLEVELAND, ©. OCI. 11, 1000 Foreign 84.50 a year. No. 15 DULL CLOSING OF LAKE NAVIGATION. SHIPS HAVE MADE MONEY ON CONTRAOTS OF LAST WINTER AND WILL NOT TAKE CHANCES ON LOW FREIGHTS--SPECULATION AS TO TOTAL ORE OUTPUT. Unless a decided change occurs as regards the movement of grain from the northwest, the month of November will certainly be a very dull month in lake navigation. The great bulk of the lake fleet is engaged in carrying iron ore on the high basis of freights established by the contracts of last winter. Nearly all of these contracts expire with the first of No- vember. Ore shippers are predicting a big falling off in the November movement compared with previous years, and there is every reason to expect that they are right, on account of the present condition of the iron and steel industry as compared with the boom that was. on when the lake freight contracts were made. It is not now expected that there will be grain sufficient to take the place of restricted ore shipments in No- vember, and therefore the prospects of a dull and early closing of naviga- tion. The vessel owners who have made money on contract ore will not be disposed to keep their ships running on low freights late into the fall. They will certainly make no trips that do not offer an assurance of profit. This condition would be very unfavorable to shippers of bituminous coal if they were behind on their calculations as to the move- ment of coal. If freights on down-bound trips were not sufficient to attract the vessels, it would be necessary to bid up coal rates. Most of the shippers claim, however, that they are well up to expectations in their shipments, notwithstanding a shortage of cars during the past few weeks. Hard coal shipments are, of course, short of other years on account of the strike of miners. On the first of the present month hard coal ship- ments out of Buffalo were 315,000 tons less than on the same date last season. Practically no coal has been moved out of Buffalo since the first of the month. The cargoes all told would probably not aggregate 10,000 tons. But the volume of hard coal moved by lake is now so small as compared with ore, coal and grain, that a shortage does not usually affect the general situation. Hard coal shipments by lake have in fact shown no increase in recent years. The railroads, on account of the advantages of all-rail delivery, have been adding to their share of the business each year. Rail shipments of hard coal to Chicago are more than double the lake shipments. Buffalo's record year in lake shipments of hard coal was 1887 when 2,800,000 tons were shipped. That figure was not reached again until last season when the shipments were again 2,800,000 tons, but this was due Jargely to the car famine. The coal went by lake on account of the shortage of cars and not on account of a regular increase in the lake movement. The fact that iron ore shipments last month exceeded the shipments of September, 1899, has again caused speculation as to the total output of the Lake Superior region this year. Last year the total, including 350,446 tons of rail shipments, was 18,251,804 tens. If the pace of the early part of the season had kept up the total would very probably have been 20,- 000,000 tons, and it is even yet probable that more than 19,000,000 tons will be produced. As shown by the accompanying table, the shipments IRON ORE OUTPUT, LAKE SUPERIOR REGION, 1900 1899 Months. Gross tons. Gross tons, April and May. 027.0323 3,265,888 2,125,061 June So ee a a 3,149,952 2,628,895 Wy 3,038,560 2,902,867 AUSUSE 66 a ee 2,911,622 3,018,645 September 2.3.02 25 2,519,043 2,374,406 'EOtal tOs@ct. a. ee oc 14,885,065 13,044,874 to Oct. 1 aggregate 14,885,065 tons, compared with 13,044,874 tons on the same date in 1899. In October of last year the shipments were 2,543,859 tons, and in November and December, 2,301,424 tons, or a total of 4,845,- 988 tons. Add this to the present total of 14,885,065 tons and we have 19,730,348 tons as a possible output for 1900, but of course it is not ex- pected that shipments for the balance of the season will be equal to the October and November movement of a year ago, and it is therefore more reasonable to expect that the final figures may be even a little short of 19,000,000 tons. Secretary Long has completed his estimates for'the expenses of the navy during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, and notwithstanding his vigorous pruning of the recommendations of his chiefs of bureaus he is. unable to reduce them below $75,000,000. None but absolutely necessary works are provided for in the estimates. The estimate for increase of the navy is large, but it is not excessive in view ofthe number of ships under construction and projected. It amounts to a little more than $21,000,000. It is not considered likely that the secretary in his forthcoming report will recommend the authorization of more ironclads, though it is believed he will urge the construction of twelve gunboats of about 900 tons, sheathed and coppered, for service in the Philippines. When the American Ship Building Co. (consolidated yards of the great lakes) gives an order these days for windlasses, puinps or other auxiliary machinery it is worth looking after. The American Ship Wind- lass Co. of Providence, R. I., has just made arrangements with the con- solidation to furnish twenty-one No. 8 steam capstan windlasses to handle 1%-in. chain, two No. 6 steam capstan windlasses to handle 15-in. chain, twenty-one steam capstans of various sizes and two No. 2 steam towing machines. Such an order as this is certainly the strongest kind of an endorsement of the machines made by the Providence company. LAKE SUPERIOR COMMERCE. TOTAL TO OCTOBER 1 IS PRACTICALLY 20,000,000 TONS--GAIN IS IN IRON ORE AND SOFT COAL--LESS WHEAT AND LESS FLOUR. Probably the most interesting features of canal reports from Sault Ste. Marie regarding Lake Superior commerce are the figures dealing with the coal movement. Hard coal shipments are, of course; less than they were a year ago, on account of the miners' strike. 'The total to Oct. 1 is only 422,375 net tons, against 565,301 tons on Oct. 1 a year ago. September shipments of soft coal were 114,251 tons less than in August, but the ag- gregate to Oct. 1 is 3,178,113 tons, against 2,202,821 tons on Oct. 1, 1899, and 2,550,452 tons on Oct. 1, 1898. : Notwithstanding the voluntary idleness of most vessels of one of the large lake fleets, and the small amount of business that is offered aside from contract vesels, the total movement of freight of all kinds to and from Lake Superior to Oct. 1 is very close to 20,000,000 tons. To be exact, it is 19,901,473 tons, against 15,477,876 tons on Oct. 1, 1899, and 15,081,528 tons in 1898. The principal gain, of ccurse, is in iron ore and soft coal. The movement of wheat is only 2,000,000 bushels less than it was Oct. 1, 1899, but at this time a year ago the shipments of grain other than wheat footed up 18,422,016 bushels, while the total now is only 8,421,640 bushels. Flour shipments are also short of what they were in 1899--about 400,000 barrels. Full summaries of the canal reports follow: MOVEMENT OF PRINCIPAL ITEMS OF FREIGHT TO AND FROM 3 LAKE SUPERIOR. o Oct. 1, | To Oct. 1, To Oct. 1; | 4h ITEMS. | 1900, =| = 1899. 1898. | | Coal, anthracite, net tons... 422,375 | 565,301 352,668 Coal, bituminous, net tons............ 3,178,113 | 2,202,321 | 2,550,452 Tronore, Net tOns..6% 0c. scce secre 13,102,470 | 11,095,316 9,434,493 Wheal, bushels... 00 31,294,217 | 33,211,799 | 21,414,527 flour, barrelac 460 4,341,946 | 4,752,717 | 4,541,807 REPORT OF FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO AND FROM LAKE SUPERIOR, FROM OPENING OF NAVIGATION TO OCTOBER 1 OF EACH YEAR FOR THREE YEARS PAST. EAST BOUND. : ee To Oct.1,-| To Oct. 1, |: to Oct. 1 ITEMS Designation. 1900. 1899. , 1898. , COP. iis cise Net tons.... 95,518 80,618 87,938 Grain, other than wheat|Bushels.....| 8,421,640 | 18,422,016 | 16,641,400 Building stone............ Net tons... 26,759 21,984 4,670 Hlour soe ee Barrels...... 4,341,734 4,751,142 4,540,880 THOM OLE sissies oeece oo Net tons...| 15,102,470 | 11,095,316 9,434,493 TOM, PiGecscscs scsi Net tons... 15,069 19,556 26,165 Tm ber. istecr ces cesee ss M. ft. b. m. 624,645 735,389 660,488 Silver oré)......6..2..0... Net tons... DLO eee ce are Wheaties cece: Bushels..... | 31,294,217 | 33,211,799 | 21,414,527 Unclassified freight .....| Net tons... 49,725 99,352 174,122 PaSS€ngers..........0.s0000 Number.... 25,778 21,586 18,435 WEST BOUND Coal, anthracite.......... Net tons...| .. 422,375 665,301 352,668 Coal, bituminous......... Net tons... 35178,118 2202-321 2,550,452 PIOULE icici suis Barrels ..... 212 1,575 927 Grain cack Bushels..... 21,984. 38,500 19,205 Manufactured iron...... Net tons... 97,317 128.339 166,242 Salt 3 cccucecccsccrecseceseees Barrels ..... 200,456 242,837 199,755 Unclassified freight.....| Net tons... 294,079 298,521 278,159 Passengers................--| Number ... 26,445 | 23,665 21,920 SUMMARY OF TOTAL FREIGHT MOVEMENT IN TONS. | To Oct. 1, 1900. | To Oct. 1, 1899. | To Oct. 1, 1898. West bound freight of all | | kinds, net tons.............. 4,020,388 -- 3,222,167 | 3,376,146 East bound, freight of all| | | kinds, net tons.............. | 15,881,085 | 12,255,709 11,705,382 | a | | 19,901,473 15,477,876 | 15,081,528 Vessel passages. Registered tons. To Oct. 1; 1900.2. ee, 14,919 17,366,783 To Oct. 1, 1899... a 14,544. 15,574,263 To Octi 1, 1808 c2 5.0 ee tase cece tea soc ene 13,486 13,777,982 It has been decided finally by the navy department to retain the flag- ship New York in commission. It was thought she might have to be laid up at the New York yard for general overhauling, but this will be deferred until next spring.