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Marine Business Statistics Condensed ------ aged 0.3 foot higher than the April level, and 0.2 foot lower than the June level. Lake Ontario is 0.05 foot higher than last month, 1.67 feet lower than a year ago, 1.10 feet below the aver- age stage of May of the fast - 10 years, 3.35 feet below the high stage of May, 1870, and 0.64 foot above the low stage of May, 1872. During the last 10 years the May level has averaged 0.3 foot higher than the April level, and 0.2 foot lower than the June level. Panama Canal Traffic Whole cargoes handled through the Panama canal during April, with com- parative summaries for March and February, follow: ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC No. of Cargoes Tons Cod a ds cee: 13 68,126" Wiel: Ol eos coe se ee 5 41,900 ARO DIL csc eke eieo ces se . 4 24,191 ASHROLING oo ais 5 cc 6s ee cae soe dl 7,534 Phosphate rock .........-- 1 3,820 Mixed and general.......... 64 252,461 PUAN © he oe coe ois wee were sleds # soleieie 398,032 PACIFIC. TO ATLANTIC No. of Cargoes Tons WNAETHTO: oes cee cok wee eee 24 146,035 UGE 6s Sle es een bac ss 8 50,296 Cold storage food products.. 4 24,127 Miscellaneous food products.. 2 14,600 O@Mide Ol ce csccs sce c ee ss 2 18,658 Wheat ci. ces oe sos © 8 x 7,336 DRYCR ss ois, Go cisld sae She's sisiae 1 5,362 Deanutse 2 cat see cas ss 1 5,283 Vamiben, 0. ose ose ceils <6 2 4.312 Mixed and general......... 50 181,522 IAN a esas oles wecciecea acece's oe 7. 4D hel SUMMARY FOR APRIL Number of commercial vessels............ 220 Registered net tonnage of above........... 672,169 Total cargo handled (tons)............-.. 855,563 Wessels, Without . CATZO. «20. sss ce kt ee ee Bul SUMMARY FOR MARCH Number of commercial vessels............ 235 Registered net tonnage of above.......... 676,270 Motal eareo . handled (tons) ..<.0.......... 894,516 Wessels. WithOUl:: CANEO: es cc ac ese ccle 5 42 SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY Number of commercial vessels........... 208 Registered net tonnage of above........ . 579,842 Total cargo handled (tons)....°0.......... 701,799 Ripsnele WILNOUL CATEO: iilie 2% si oie sie ee eee so 33 May Ore Shipments Shipments of iron ore from' the Lake Superior district iast month increase of same month were 6,976,085 tons, an 360,744. tons .over the last year. Detailed figures follow: May, To June 1, Port 1920 1920 MISCAUAIDG! 6. ais ws Sen ce 5 ae 795,673 795,673 Marquette =... spaces es 375,036 * 375,036 ASHIANG = 650; ss ss ee Ce 1,013,049 1,013,049 SUDCUION 46 50s ete 1,983,660 2,189,246 DME es een eee 1,662,971 1,688,239 Pwo "HAMors <. és<cn es ons 1,145,696 1,145,696 Motel Y600.. kee ee 6,976,085 7,206,939 1920... nereage: 360,744 1920 'decrease. ....... 820,641 New Ship Firms Marine companies organized in May bad an authorized capital of $31,983,000, the smallest total for any month this year and far below the huge amount recorded in April, when ship firms or- ganized carried capital of $178,835,000. The number of firms organized in. May, as shown by the compilation of the Journal of Commerce, total 32, equal- ing the high record set in January. In May, 1919, new marine firms were capitalized at $17,200,000. The record of 'incorporations for May follows: MAY, 1920 Arapahoe Navigation Co., Del.......... $275,000 Bee Line Transportation Co., Del...... 2,000,000 Baltic Steamship Corp., N. Y.......... 500,000 Cummins-McDonald Navigation Co....... 50,000 Casco: Bay 'ines; Mev. foc... ces 75,000 HA. S; Line, Inc, The; Del... 02.5... 250,000 First National Steamship Co., Del...... 600,000 Intercontinental Transportation Co., Del.. 1,000,000 Luckenbach Terminals, Inc., N. J...... 2,000,000 Muscoota' Navigation Co., Del.......... 400,000 Mereantile: Lines, Inc:,. Del. 2... 3 we. 500,000 Mount Shasta Steamship Co............ 1,556,600 Neptune Shipping Corp; N. Y.......... 200,000 Nyanza Steamship Co., Ltd., Del........ 1,000,000 Pacific Motorship Co., Del......... "or 3,290,000 Paragon Navigation Corp., Del.......... 100,000 Pitt: Navigation €o:;, Del... 235... kh. 51,000 Rhode Island Steamboat & Lightering Co., eM Se sacks so te icine ne es 100,000 Steamship & Shipyard Equipment Corp., TDG) os ee ae ee oe tess ee 100,000 Spindrift Shipping Corp., N. Y......... 80,000 Tonawanda Navigation Co., Del........ 275,000 Talbot Steamship (Co.,. Del,.........-; 2,200,000 Wnsinkable' Boat Co:, Del......;.--...-- 2,000,000 U. S. Mail Steamship Co., N. Y......%. 200,000 Ti S. Ocean: Services, Inc:, No Yo... 32.... 1,000,000 Willsolo Steamship Co., Del........... 2,200,000 Western Steamship Co., Del............ 500,000 Westbrook Steamship Co., Del.......... 1,857,600 Willhilo Steamship Co., Del............ 2,910,000 Willfero Steamship Co., Del....:....... 1,000,000 Westlake Steamship Co., Del.......... 1,837,800 Yellowstone. Steamship Co., Del......... 2,225,000 MOtA 6 aes oc ee cle wee a's 9's $31,983,000 U.S. Ship Sales Can Be Financed (Concluded from page 370.) aroused no objection. With respect to ocean vessels, however, the exist- ence of this law has always been one of the chief obstacles to interesting capital in marine securities. From the financial viewpoint an- other important provision is that ex- empting owners of American. ships engaged in foreign trade for a period of 10 years from excess profits taxes, provided they invest out of earnings a sum, to be fixed. by the treasury department, in shipbuilding or in ship- yards in this country. Also during the 10-year period a citizen selling a ship built prior to 1914 would be ex- empt from income tax on the profits from the sale if he invested the entire proceeds in the building of new ves- 888 sels placing the order in American yards, Of great importance in connection with the sales is the price per ton to be fixed by the shipping board. Instruc- tions to the board that it must con- sider replacement costs are regarded as a victory for the shipbuilding in- terests, who have been insistent upon that point. Some inkling of the value placed by the shipping board upon its first rate tonnage is found in the fact that under the new agency agree- ment the ships are carried on the books at $200 a ton. Under this plan, which gives the operator a share in the net profits, the operator is obliged in his operating expenses to figure in fixed charges of 23% per cent includ- ing 10 per .cent depreciation. If the results prove unprofitable, the ship- ping board holds itself ready to adjust the book value downward, and by this method it is hoped to ascertain whether or not the boats can be op- erated profitably at present rates on an. original. capital cost: of $200 4 deadweight ton. Shipping board of- ficials estimate that at existing rates the steel cargo vessels should earn $36 a ton a year. The board now is holding its best ships for from $180 to $214 a deadweight ton, after figur- ing in a graduated scale of deprecia- tion agreed upon in February, 1920, in order to stimulate sales. The pres- ent construction cost in American yards is estimated at about $165 to $1754 ton. Financing the transfer of the war- built commercial fleet from govern- ment to private ownership is a prob- lem which requires only proper man- agement to insure certain solution. In the judgment of shipowners, ship- builders and bankers congress has 'finally offered a working basis for the successful operation of American ves- sels. The shipping board has the op- portunity to hasten the exchange of ownership and thus assure the perma- nent strength of American shipping. As a result of a collision between the steamer LARAMIE and the Boston owned schooner, FLORENCE THURLOW, 75 miles off Sandy Hook, in May, the schooner had to be abandoned, the crew of 14 men being rescued by the LARAMIE. The schooner was owned by Lewis K. Thur- low, Boston, and was a 4-master of 946 tons, 191.6 feet long, 39.2 feet beam, 12.1 feet built at Rockland, Me. in 1906. deep,