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EXUNAOAAAAA u<es ald What's Doing and Who's Doing It fi cnc % Y) ZA. IZ IA I OSE TAYA SONS, Inc; a Span- ish firm, with New World head- quarters in New Orleans, has pur- chased three steamers in New York to handle a part of its lumber trade. The plans of this firm to buy these vessels were: described previously in The ~ Marine Review, and John G. Oriol, American president of the company, announced the purchase on his return recently from an extended trip to Spain‘ and New York. The Taya line oper- ates directly between New Orleans and Barcelona, and will load with lumber and cotton. The three ships purchased are Luisa, 6,000 tons; Asuarca, 5,000 tons and JoserA RaicH, 4,700 tons. AsuaRcA, which was discharging cargo at Sa- vannah when purchased in October, came immediately to New Orleans, and sailed _Nov. 8 from New Orleans for Spanish ports. The second sailing will be JoserA RaicH, in December. The date of sailing of Luisa has not been set. According to Manager Henry Plassan, the company plans to purchase three more freighters soon, and _ will maintain monthly sailings out of New Orleans. e+. * Lumber companies of Memphis, Tenn., and Gulfport, Miss. have formed a $100,000 company to establish a steamer line between Gulfport and Europe. Promoters of the company are Henry Piaggio, Gulfport and Genoa, Italy, and Hunter Benn of Mobile and Gulfport. Other backers of the company are hard- wood lumber exporters who have been “using Gulfport for shipment of their products to Europe. General cargoes will be handled, when possible, as well as lumber, but special attention will be . paid. to, the latter, . Among. the stock- holders are Henry Piaggio,. Hunter "Benn & Co.; Woodford T. Stewart, Russe Burgess; Gayoso Lumber Co.; May Bros.; E. Sodenheimer & Co.; Dudley Lumber Co.; Anderson Tulley & Co: R. J, Dornell, Inc.; S.J. Duhn; Penrod, Jordan & McGowin; and A. L. Staples. a The one-time private yacht, STRANGER, which was converted into a river gun- boat during the war with Spain, and later turned over to the Louisiana naval militia, is to be sold. She was sunk while moored at the New Orleans naval station during the storm of September a. ve Steamer lines, both passenger and freight, operating between New Orleans and Mexican ports, refuse to fix definite dates of sailing to or from either New Orleans, Vera Cruz or Tampico, owing ASUS, By Harry H. Dunn to the inhospitable attitude toward American shipping assumed by _ the Carranza authorities at the two Mexi- can ports. * * * Direct steamship service to handle the annual crop of Mexican hemp, better known as henequen, is to be established shortly between New Orleans and Merida, Yucatan, as, a result of the securing of $10,000,000 credit from two -banks of .New Orleans by the Hene- quen Growers’ Association of the Mexican state. Through this loan, the entire crop of henequen, valued at be- tween $100,000,000 and $125,000,000, an- nually, from the states of Yucatan and Campeche, will be marketed through New Orleans, instead of through New York and. Boston, as. heretofore. Merida, the capital of Yucatan, hitherto has been. the distributing center, the fibre being sold from there by agents in the United States, but beginning with this year’s crop, the henequen will be brought to New Orleans and distributed from here. The $10,000,000 to be ad- vanced will be secured by warehouse receipts on henequen stored here, and it is planned to keep at least $15,000,000 worth of the hemp on hand at all times in. New Orleans. ~-A. factory for the making of cordage and bags from the Up and Le PQ Sail AAA fibre is also planned. The loan agree- ment was signed by Sol Wexler, presi- dent of the Whitney Central National Bank, and Lynn H. Dinkins, president of the Interstate Banking & Trust Co., of New Orleans, and by Victor A. Ren- don and Julio Rendon, Merida, Yucatan, representing the henequen association. The latter two have returned to Merida to make preparations for the establish- ment of the steamer line and the erec- tion of the cordage mill. . ee _ Steamer, men on the river are fight- ing the proposed reduction to a barge line basis of freight rates on sugar and molasses, which has been asked of the Louisiana state railroad commission by Capt. J. E. Comeaux. Capt. H. M. Carter, of the Carter Packet Co. and Capt. Charles W. Brown, traffic man- ager of the Steamboat Traffic Associa- tion, went to Baton Rouge late in October to protest the reduction: Pres- ent river rates are 65 cents per barrel on molasses and 10 cents a hundred- weight, about 35 cents per barrel, on sugar, the routes covered being between Bayou Sara and intermediate points and New Orleans. The new rates sought by the barge men are 40 cents per bar- rel on molasses and 25 cents per bar- rel on stigar: Lakes By A. A. Eiben y HE largest amount of grain to pass through the Soo canal in one opera- tion was recently locked down when the steamers W. GRANT Morven and Wo. P. Snyper Jr. passed through the Davis lock. Both vessels were loaded with wheat, SNYDER Jr. carrying 460,- 000 bushels and Morven 450,000 bushels. SNypER Jr.’s cargo established a new record load, exceeding the previ- ous record held by Morpen of 456,000 bushels. x ee It is believed that Dock No. 4 at Conneaut has established a new rec- ord for unloading vessels in a_ sea- son when it unloaded its eight hun- dredth boat recently. In addition to this, the dock has assisted other docks in finishing numerous cargoes. A recent announcement is to the effect that the Duluth & Iron Range railroad will build a new concrete dock at Two Harbors, Minn. The new pier will be located south of dock Ne. 1 and will. be 80° feet hich, 463 equipped with 288 pockets arranged to handle four steamers simultane- ously. Bids will be asked for at once and it is expected that work can be carried on this winter. Dock No. 6 will be remodeled and the combined cost of repairs and the erection of the new dock is estimated at $1,635,000. W. A. Clark is chief engineer of the - Duluth & Tron Range railroad. x oe According to a recent ruling by the board of supervising inspectors, tar- paulins must be kept on hatches until vessels reach port, and notices will be sent out stating the ruling. must be observed. Ke The steamer Morrts Apter, building for Atlantic coast owners at the Ash- tabula yard of the Great Lakes En- gineering Works, will leave for the coast during the latter part of No- vember. x * x A score of the largest lake freighters will be moored at Toledo during the