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a MARINE REVIEW. IRON PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. Nothing reflects the general prosperity of the country in a more 8 . . he striking manner than the condition of the iron and steel industry. In the (ortheomity volume of the "Mineral Resources of the United i issued by the geological survey, James M. Swank, the acknow / on expert on the subject, discusses the statistics of the American iron, . for 1901. Mr. Swank says that the era of unexampled prosperity in ae industries of this country, which may be said to have ushered in at the beginning of 1899, when an active demand for iron and ee a developed, accompanied by a raising price, has continued from that day to this, and at no time has been more fruitful of good results than at the time of his writing in May, 1902. He maintains that the use of iron and steel in almost every form increases at a greater ratio than the increase in population, and the use of steel for high buildings, for the manufacture of steel cars and for the construction of steel vessels is sure to call for an increasingly large tonnage from year to year. It may not be generally known that steam and trolley railroads consume in rails, cars. locomotives, bridges, buildings and electrical machinery fully one- third of all the iron and steel made in the United States. The leading statistical results of the year 1901 concerning the iron and steel trade and the related industries are given below, compared with the statistics of the same industries for 1900--the first year of the twentieth century, com- pared with the last year of the nineteenth century. ae Tn 1901 the United States produced 15,878,354 long tons of pig iron, 8,713,302 long tons of Bessemer steel ingots, 4,656,309 long tons of open hearth steel and 13,473,595 long tons of steel of all kinds, and rolled, in all, 12,349,327 long tons of finished iron and steel, including rails. The comparative figures for 1900 are: Long tons. Pig Wom Firs cules... Pe a a. oa 13,789,242 Bessenict Stee) TAOS oe ee eee ce eter a eee' -- 6,684,770 Open hearth steel... 6... cece eee eee eet eee e ee an es 3,398,135 Steel of all Winds 66d Ra ie be ee ee es 10,188,329 Rolled iron and steel, including rails ............+.- 9,487,443 In 1901 there were mined 28,887,479 long tons of iron ore, and there were shipped 20,589,287:long tons of Lake Superior iron ore, 12,609,949 short tons of Connellsville coke and 1,279,972 short tons of Pocahontas coke. For 1900 the comparative. figures are: Long tons. Total proquction Of ifOfl OTE 2... eee ees soy 27,553,161 Siipmicnts GF Fake Superior Ore... eee eee eee 19,059,398 Short tons. Connellsville coke shipments ......... See tie 10,166,234 Pocahontas coal SHipments -cveciscccs oo" eee ens 1,341,444 It will be observed that in 1901 the total production of iron ore ' increased 1,334,318 long tons, the shipments of Lake Superior ore increased 1,529,844 long tons, and the shipments of Connellsville coke increased 2,443,715 short tons; that the production of all kinds of pig iron increased 2,089,112-long tons; the production of Bessemer steel increased 2,028,532 long tons; open hearth steel, 1,258,174 long tons; all kinds of steel, 3,285,266 long tons; structural shapes, 187,989 long tons, to a total of 1,013,150 long tons; plates and sheets, 459,897 long tons, to a total of 2,254,425 long tons; Bessemer steel rails, 487,162 long tons, to a total. of 2,870,816 tons; iron and steel wire rods, 519,643 long tons, to a total of 1,365,934 long tons, and all kinds of rolled iron and steel, 2,861,884 long tons, - _ There was a small decrease in 1901 in the production of iron and steel cut nails, but an increase of 2,569,848 kegs in the production of iron and steel wire nails. The increase in the production of tin plates and terne plates amounted to 96,626 long tons, The increase in the mileage of new railroads was 5,368 miles, as compared with 4,157 miles of new railroads built in 1900. The total value at the mines of the iron ore produced in 1901 was $49,256,245, or an average value of $1.71 a long ton, as compared with a value for 1900 of $66,590,504, or an average value of $2.42 a long ton. The average price in 1901 of grey forge pig iron at Pittsburg was 414.20 a long ton, as compared with $16.90 in 1900; of Bessemer pig iron, $15.93 a ton in 1901, as against $19.49 in 1900; of steel rails at mills, in Pentsyl- vania, $27.33 a ton in 1901, as against $32.29 in 1900. The production of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania in 1901, including coal mined. for colliery consumption amounted. to 60,242,560 long tons, as compared with 51,221,353 long tons in 1900, The total production of coal in 1901, as at present ascertained, amounted to 261,525,435 long tots, as compared with 240,965,917 tons in 1900. The total production of coke in 1901, as at present ascertained, amounted to 21,789,945 short tons, as compared with 20,533,348 short tons in 1900. The average price of coke ee ee it a ot a o ee with $2.31 in 1900, and the otal value of the coke produced in 1901 was $2 are with $27,448,832 sn 1900, Pp was $24,589,400, as compared The total imports of iron and steel, including machinery, cutlery, fire- arms, etc., for which weights are not obtainable, amounted in foreign value to $20,394,995 in the calendar year 1901, as against $20,443,011 in 1900 and $15,800,579 in 1899, a decrease in 1901 as compared with 1900 of $48,916. The total exports of iron and steel, which include locomotives car wheels, machinery, castings, hardware, saws, tools, sewing machines, stoves, printing presses, boilers, etc., amounted in the calendar year 1901 to $102,534,575, as against $129,663,480 in 1900, $105,690,047 in 1899 $82,771,550 in 1898 and $62,737,250. in 1897. Exports of iron and steel more than doubled in value from 1897 to 1900, but there was a shrinkage in 1901, as compared with 1900, of $27,098,905, or over 20 per cent. In the early part of the calendar year 1901 exports of iron and steel 'were well maintained, but there has been a great decrease in exports, caused entirely by the decline in prices abroad and the revival of an active demand at home. Exports of agricultural implements, which are not included in the iron and steel exports already given, amounted in the calendar year 1901 to $16,714,308 against $15,979,909 in 1900 $13,594,524 in 1899, $9,073,384 in 1898, and $5,302,807 in 1897. These exports incregsed in value three fold in the five years from 1897 to 1901, inclusive | In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1900, there were built in the United States ninety steel. vessels, with a gross tonnage. ;of, 196,851, and in the fiscal year of 1901' there were built 119 steel. vessels and one iron vessel with a gross tonnage of 262,699. In the first nine months of the fecal year 1902, ended March 31, there were built eighty-four steel vessels, with [July 31 a gross tonnage of 151,340. Vessels for the United States navy are not included in the figures here given, | oS aa Counting the metric ton as the virtual equivalent of the long ton, we obtain in round figures approximately accurate totals for the world's production in 1900, as follows: Long tons, a PE ee BOAT OE ds 90,000,000 ae fei sectcees 760,000,000 Pig sifOn «sees sweeties i eros eeser enone oceads eae es >: 40400009 Steel alee: Cah ete Werte EES AU OKCh bie ME EAN GS Pee Fst es 8 secs 27,480,000 Of the total world's production of iroti ofe it 1900 the United States contributed over 30 per cent.; of coal, over 31 pet cetit.; of pig iron, over 34 per cent.: of steel, over 387 per cent. It is almost unnecessary to add that the United States produced in 1901 a much larger percentage of the world's production of iron ore, coal, pig iron and steel than it did in 1900, its production of iron ore in 1901 having increased . 1,334,318 long tons; its production of pig iron, 2,089,112 long tons; its production of steel, 3,285,266 long tons, and its production of coal, as at present ascer- tained, 20,559,518 long tons. LAKE SHIP YARD MATTERS. Some doubt is now expressed in lake ship building circles as to whether the two large side-wheel passenger steamers planned for the Detroit & Cleveland line will be built for next year. No positive an- nouncement regarding the closing of a contract has been made by either the Detroit Ship Building Co. or the steamboat company, but statements from the officials of both organizations still leave the impression that the vessels will be built and that they will be considerably larger than any of the several magnificent side-wheelers which the Detroit company has built of late years for the Detroit & Cleveland and Detroit & Buffalo lines. Even if the construction of these steamers is put off for another year, the Detroit yard, alike to all other yards of the American Ship Building Co., will, of course, have plenty of work in the building of freighters, for which orders are already almost sufficient in number to keep all the works employed until the opening of navigation next spring. Berths in the Globe yard, 'Cleveland, will not be fully employed through- out the winter with the new work thus far assigned to them, but it is probably the intention of officials of the American company to use the Cleveland yard as far as possible for repairs. The new dry dock of the Collingwood Ship Building Co., Ltd., Col- lingwood, Ont., on which work was started a few days ago, will be slightly over 500 ft. long by 78 ft. broad at top, and will have 15 ft. of water over the keel blocks. This dock will be ready for operation in the spring of 1903. Two steel freight steamers to be built by the Collingwood com- pany. for Canadian interests, and which are to be completed for-the open- ing of navivation next spring, will be modern in all respects. The first, for the St. Lawrence & Chicago Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., Toronto, will be 875 ft. over all, 858 ft. keel, 48 ft. beam and 28 ft. depth. The sec- ond vessel is for the Midland Navigation Co. of Midland, Ont. (James Playfair), and will be 369 ft. over all, 352 ft. keel, 48 ft. beam and 28 ft. deep. Both vessels will be fitted with triple-expansion engines having cylinders of 20, 83 and 54 in. diameter and 40 in stroke. Steam will be supplied in each case at 180 lbs. pressure from two 14-ft. Scotch boilers. SHIPPING PERSONNEL IN SEABOARD TRADE. Reports to the bureat of ee show that during the past fiscal year shipping commissioners at the seaboard shipped 108,554 men on Americati vessels. Of this number 65,859 were shipped on steam vessels, 42,695 on sail veSsels. In the foreign trade 49,060 men were shipped; in the coasting trade, 59,494. These figures include the repeated shipments of the same meh ori different voyages of the same vessels. The number of individual seameti involved did not exceed 20,000. The nationality of the tmett shipped was: Borri Americans, 34,957: naturalized Americans, 14,915; Norwegians, Swedes and Danes, 16,315; British, 13,897; Germans, 5,640; Italians, 2,297; French, 576; other nationalities, 19,957. The prin- cipal "other nationalities" are Spanish, Russiaris, Porttigttese, Atistraliatis and unclassified West Indians. These figures also include repeated ship- ments. Chinese are not shipped on American vessels in American ports, but 521 were shipped at Hong Kong before United States consuls, The amount of wages disbursed during the year under shipping commission- ers' stipervision was approximately $2,500,000. The average monthly wages paid to men of all ratings, excluding masters, during the year on American vessels was: Passenger steamers, $36.88; freight steamers, $42.46; square-rigged vessels, $28.94; schooners in the foreign trade, $29.12; schooners in the coasting trade, $33.63; the average wages for all being $35.11, or usually $316 a year. In American ports 3,993 men, or less than 4 per cent., failed to join their. vessels. Secretary Moody's reported purpose to take into account the cost of educating naval officers at Annapolis, as well as their average receipts on retired pay, in estimating the cost of their services in supervising the con- struction of the battleship Connecticut at the Brooklyn navy yard, indi- cates no disposition to put tle present experiment to an unfair test. This consideration, he believes, should be taken into account in all work which navy officers do, in competition or by comparison with the work of civil life, and when it is often remarked that things could be done cheaper by the navy officer, full account is not always taken of such difference in the terms of compensation as these. Mr. Moody's aim is to secure exactness in bookkeeping, in order that the present experiment may have an abso- lutely fair trial. It is acknowledged, even by its opponents, that con- ditions are much more favorable to a successful result now than when the Maine and the Texas were built. The equipment of the government navy yards is better and the efficiency of the service has been increasing. The Brooklyn yard, as noted at the time of its selection, promises better than others on the coast. The present estimate about the department is that the cost of construction in the government yard will be about 20 per cent. higher than by private contracts. The William R. Trigg Co., Richmond, Va., has just been awarded a contrac - ae = nee See ol, steel tug for the New Wark iladelphia orfo ailway. imensions of the tug are: Length, 122 ft.; beam) /25.ft.;,depth, 12 ft, : : :