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Me A Rode i no ships; why it is that its great export trade should enrich the coffers of foreign ship owners. They don't have to travel far to get at the reason. It lies in the higher cost of construction and higher cost of opera- tion that obtains in the United States by reason of the protective system. It lies in the fact that other nations subsidized their shipping until trade lanes were estab- lished. Great Britain went about it magnificently and fairly threw money away until its steamers were touch- ing at every port in the globe. Has she got it back? Her steamship earnings are her glory. Even the rail- ways of the United States have not in certain years earned more than the ships of Britain. Even the great wheat crop of the United States, which raises to pros- perity a considerable portion of our entire population in years of fine yield, is not much greater than the earnings of the great fleets of steamers flying the Brit- ish flag. But.the earnings of the steamers are only part, and a very small part, of the aggregate wealth created. Look at Britain's export trade in manufac- tures. It is wonderful; but it has been made so simply because her customers have known that she could de- liver the products. It is not an idle thing to say that the manufactured exports of the United States would increase one-third had this country the same facility for delivering them that Great Britain has. What would it mean to increase our manufactured exports thus? It would mean huge dividends in the pockets of every person in the United States. No one could escape its benificence. All would be included--capitalists and laboring man; but the laboring man would get the ereater part for a manufactured article is chiefly labor. It was a good thought to create the Merchant Ma- rine Commission. It has done much to bring this im- portant subject to the attention of the whole people. It has got them thinking and talking. One has only to look over the diverse interests that have appeared be- fore the commission to realize that. Men in all walks of life have testified, and it is not the ship builders and ship owners by any means that have given the most in- valuable testimony. The commission is now in the Pacific coast, where it will be for the next two weeks. It will have framed its report by the time congress con- venes. Meanwhile the mass of data obtained will be put in readable form for public digestion. The key- note of the report should be: 'Don't give up the ship." GRAIN SITUATION AT DULUTH. Duluth, July 26--Freights to Buffalo have been 1% cents this week with little or nothing doing. There are only about 800,000 bu. of Duluth spring wheat available for shipment east before new crop comes along unless receipts continue large. They have improved materially the past week or so, and sales of to arrive by the country continue, but are ab- sorbed in eastern purchases. Of the 970,000 bu. wheat in store here 250,000 are macaroni, and a large part of the rest is sold for eastern mills. These sales are frequent, though in rather small amounts, from day to day. The grain men of Superior think new steps under the commission rule at Duluth are calculated to force them out of business. That new rules may have the effect of making R Boe E ow 23 it hard for men not. members of the Duluth board of trade to conduct a grain business at the head.of the lake is undeniable, and new firms starting will doubtless be located at Duluth. But of the three active grain firms at Superior two are mem- bers at Duluth, and memberships are not hard to get, if one has the price. These memberships have advanced. in the past two weeks from about $600 to $1,500 each, and. several have been sold at the latter figure. That they are sure to go such higher before long is believed by Duluth grain men. Aside from any trading privilege there is value in the association's property that makes these memberships worth about $2,000 each, and in a couple of years this value will be shown in a change from annual assessments to annual dividends. The Amenia and Sharon elevator at Superior, of about 50,- oco bu. capacity, has been bought by McCabe Bros. of Duluth, who will conduct it as an hospital and private house. They are active receivers on the board of trade and are personally in- terested in considerable wheat acreage in northern North Da- kota, Nothing is done here in export sales of grain, the local ex- porters are continually selling a little Manitoba wheat on the other side. With present lake and ocean rates it is possible to put Duluth wheat alongside at Liverpool at about 7 cents, or a shade under. While this' is.a very low rate' it is not especially unusual of late years. IRON ORE SHIPMENTS GROWING HEAVY. Duluth, July 26--July ore shipments from Minnesota mines will foot up about like this: Duluth, Messabe & Northern docks 900,000 tons, Duluth & Iron Range 675,000 tons, Great Northern 650,000. This will possibly "be>-sonrewhat~-under the record for the following month, but there will probably be slight differences. It is evident enough now that ship- ments are sure to be far above the early prophesies all along the line, Old Range roads are now quite busy, but are not hav- ing any such tonnage offered them as the three Minnesota roads. There is almost no change in iron conditions and the in- creased shipments is an evidence that steel people look for a very much more active winter and a good year throughout 1905, so that accumulations of ore on lower lake docks will not be burdensome at the opening of navigation that year. As a general proposition ore men hate to have a lot of stock on hand at lower lakes at the opening of navigation and this heavy shipment for 1904 will surely result in an enormous accumulation if the fall, winter and spring business is not very much above that of the summer. The Zenith Furnace Co., Duluth, is now making coke and will blow in its 250-ton furnace in a few days. The company is supplying the city of Duluth with gas from its United Otto ovens and will supply Superior also. These sales, though at low prices, will enable the company to make pig iron at an especially low price and insure a great success for the enter- prise. : RIVER CONGESTION AT CLEVELAND. | During the past three or four years, or since the 6,000 and 7,000-ton boat has been common, the river in Cleveland above the Superior street viaduct has become so congested that when two vessels are lying at opposite docks it is impossible for a third vessel to pass them. Vessels have constantly to be shifted and this occasions much delay. The river above the viaduct has become an important shipping center, having three ore docks, two coal docks, a general freight dock and a num- ber of lumber docks. At the request of the vessel owners Mayor Jehnson and a number of city officials will take a trip up the river to day (Thursday) to determine what can be done to remedy this condition of affairs. The little steam barge, Ida, wrecked off the Catawba islands a short time ago, has been abandoned as a total loss.