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THE MARINE RECORD. "NEWS AROUND THE LAKES. eee BUFFALO. A New Frour LINE From DuLurs To BurFALO—THE GorDON Project NEARLY AT A HkAD—CApPT Gro. McLkEop As A MAScor. Special Correspondence to The Marine Recore. : BUFFALO, Feb. 11, 1896. There is great interest in the efforts to place the sea- son’s ore contracts, Capt. James Davidson admitted when down here last that he had taken 100,000 tons at $1 last fall, but says it is so fixed that he cancarryit all before the end of October, which he thinks is a pretty good thing. Buffalo has very little ore left on dock and Tona- wanda is out, so that for some time it has been brought to the furnace there by rail, probably from Ohio. ‘There is a chance for some good figuring on the Tonawanda business and no doubt some has been done before this time. The doubling of that furnace capacity ought to iasure at least a $400,000-ton ore business to Tonawanda this season. Not a word is said about coal carrying yet, and nothing is likely to be said till the ore rate is made, though the reason is mainly on account of the slow market for coal all winter, consequent on the mild weather. The companies are not likely to be in any hurry to move hard coal. : Capt. George Mcleod went to New York while the American Liner St. Paul was on the beach at Long Branch. Being a veteran wrecker he naturally went down to see her, just as a duck drops into the water -when it strikes any. But Capt. McLeod did not start soon enough to be a spectator to the helplessness of the monster. Just as the boat he was in came in sight of the:steamer she floated. It was aclear case of mascot on the part of the captain. If he had stayed at home it is to be feared that the big steamer would still be on the shore of Jersey. He don’t say much about the af- fair, save that he wasn’t in it. There was a meeting on ’Change Monday to take ac- tion against the proposition to get the State to take the Niagara bridge to Grand Island in hand and build it, as itis all on State property and needs no international diplomacy. But the Warren bill in the legislature pur- “poses to build it 125 feet high, and make it so expensive and carry it so far inland on the low island shore that nobody wants it, so it might as well be killed at the start. There are many ideas on the matter that it -seems certain that the poor islanders must remain sep- arate from the rest of the world a while longer. The ‘Congressional Committee that has the matter in hand declines to come to Buffalo to look the situation over. The Northern Line appointments still hang fire, and “there are a few more guesses out as to the men who are to handle the passenger boats. Captain Brown, who is to make the appointments, is ill, and has not been at his office for some days. There is nothing doing in the harbor but some little shifting of vessels to and from the dry-docks. The steamer Queen of the West, which has been receiving a boiler, comes out now and the Connemaugh goes in. The boiler came out of the Calumet, that was lost below -Chicago some years ago. The change has made it nec- essary to increase the size of the shaft. The Cone- maugh receives only ordinary repairs. Capt. J. J. Clark, the Detroit marine insurance agent, has been here nearly a week, attending the meeting of the western fire insurance agents. It was avery warm gathering at times, especially when the question of agents’: percentages came up. Once at least the meet- ing had to adjourn and appoint a committee to take up the question. It appears that several of the city agencies have enjoyed special privileges in regard to rates and it was thought to be time to bring them into line. Hence these tears. - ‘The new lake line reported last week is not the one John Gordon is looking after, but is a flour line from Duluth to Buffalo, made up of the Ford, Hodge, Sagi- naw Valley and possibly the Nyack, so a third party says. It is to be managed by H. B. Karhart, of Duluth, who used to be in the ship brokerage business-there with John C. Fitzpatrick. The Duluth millers appear to be behind the scheme and may make it go. Mr. Gordon may be ready to make an announcement in a few days. The lake-line managers hold a meeting about once a week, but appear to be making very little progress towards a new combination. There is a lot of sparring going on though, so that they manage to keep upa good circulation by the means, if nothing else. mt 9 2én t day’s meeting there was a chorus of announcen - that the members were getting ready to leave town, so ~ hostilities are likely to be suspended for awhile. The combination is held to be certain enough to happen, but the percentages, which are the real sticking point, are not even reached yet. . Secretary Keep, of the Lake Carriers’ Association, is -helping out a big descent of vessel men on the Detroit River bridge scheme, though the attack is made more under the auspices of the vessel owners at large than through the association. It, appears to be the impres- sion that the bridge is about as good as dead, if argu- ment goes for anything. The wonderful growth of the lake trade is finally brought up by the discussion for it is shown that a bridge of 1,000 feet span is nowa greater obstruction to the river than one of 400 feet span was seven years ago. The vessel men are standing firm against any bridge with piers in the river and seem to have the best of the argument. The following masters will sell the Union Steamboat Co.’s fleet next season: Chemung, Walter, Robinson, Owego, John Byrne, Tioga, W. P. Garden, H. J. Jewett, F. B. Huyck, Rochester; J. N. Clossey, New York; John Dugan. CHAMBERLIN. CHICAGO. A HicHiy APPRECIATED LECTURE ON ‘‘OLD PROBAB- ILITIES’’ TO THE CAPTAINS—MASTERS AND PILOT’S GROWING RAPIDLY. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. CHICAGO, Feb, 11, 1896, Professor Garriott, of the Weather Bureau, gave a very interesting lecture on ‘‘Weather Probabilities’’ to members of Branch No. 3, of the Ship Masters’ Associa- tion, and a number of visitorsin their hall over Le Grand Hotel, corner Kinzie and Wells streets, last Wednesday afternoon. ‘The lecturer described very lucidly the means by or from which the probabilities were ascertained, and entered into discussion. with many members of the association in answer to ques- tions asked by them. ‘Those present were much pleased with the lecture and the professor’s instructive explana- tions and went away impressed that the weather bureau was an excellent institution and of great service to the navigation on the lakes. A vote of thanks was given to the professor and also an'invitation to oblige the Ship Masters with another lecture at on early date. Harbor 33, Chicago, of the American Association of Masters and Pilots, have added nine new members to. the association already this year and two more mem- bers will be initiated-at their meeting next Thursday. The Dunham Tug Co. towed the barge Tasmania to the Santa Feand Indiana elevators to load; the steamers Samoa and Paschal P. Pratt to Armor’s EK elevator; steamer Uganda to the city elevator; schooner J. C. Fitzpatrick to the Iowa elevator; steamer L,. R. Doty: to Armor’s A and B elevators; steamer City of Berlin and schooner A. M. Ash to Miller Bros’. dry-docks. The Independent Tug Line towed the steamer Penob- scot to South Chicago Tuesday afternoon; the steamer New Orleans to the Armour EK elevator to load; the steamer Kittie M. Forbes from the Minnesota elevator, where she re-loaded her cargo of corn, to her winter dock between Lake and Randolph streets. The going grain rates this week are 2%con corn to Buffalo. P. H. Fleming & Co. chartered the steamer Ionia at that rate. Capt. W. H. Irvine who has been here since the close of navigation looking after the repairs on the Millen fleet, left for Detroit Tuesday night. Capt. D. Nicholson is here looking after the repairs doing on the barge J. H. Rutter. : Capt. H. L.. Mills is here looking after the repairs on the steamer John Harper. Capt. C. Wilson is here looking after the repairs to the steamer Uganda. Capt. John Buie is here looking after the repair work to the steamer City of Berlin. John E/berlien has been appointed master of the barge J. H. Rutter for the coming season. WILLIAMS. DULUTH AND SUPERIOR. AN EXTENSION PLANT TO CHANGE ITS BASK—INTER-— ESTING FIGURES OF Last SEASON’S FREIGHTS. Spectal Correspondence to The Marine Record, Asaresult of a visit here recently by J. A. Opper- man, of Bay City, Mich., the Columbia Iron Works, of which he is one of the owners, will shortly be removed to Duluth. The works heretofore have confined their work largely to the marine trade, but upon becoming located here will undertake all classes of iron work. Capt. B. B. Inman is contemplating retiring from the log towing business. He is figuring on the sale of his outfit, and if the deal goes through he will confine his attention exclusively to boats. Freight rates on lumber shipped from Duluth last season ruled as follows, there having been no effort to give the rates after the prohibitive bulge last fall: Chicago. Buffalo. Cleveland. WEATOH UG Cee eee $1.75 $1.62% $1.50 AS tile re es odiomiimcage ¢ 1.75 1.62% 1,50 Miaiyeoard ace .s6 mets 1.75 162% %- 1,50 SMNEAHO.IUIy Sek Ae kero 1.62% 1.50 AUVs tea g vat api nee ae are art IV) 1.50@62% 1.50 DRUS UY s cael tara ee Wes ere 1.87% His 1.62% Ati tistics 25.) 2a. 3 2.00 DS 1.62% ATP STEAM yes eas beset 2.12% 1.87% 1.75 IETS Oe oo cea a acseres 2.12% 2.00 1.87% September 4.00. 00.0 20% 2.12@25 2.00 1.87% September 11.......::.. 2.25 2.1246 2.00 Septembers18sc win te: 2.50 2.12% @25 2.00 From this time on there was practically no lumber rate. The rate demanded was away and beyond the possibility of shipping lumber, and there was only a charter or two made after this time, so that there was practically no freight market. Assistant Secretary Hamlin, of the Treasury Depart- ment, will probably report in favor of continuing the practice of storing Canadian wheat in bond in Awteri- can elevators until wantedin Canadian mills, to which some.objection has been raised. The Treasury Depart- ment will provide regulations for such storage, thus giving the practice official endorsement. There is now in store here 9,914,020 bushels of wheat in elevators, and 512,000 afloat in the harbor, an aggre- gate of 10,426,020. That not afloat isapportioned as fol- lows ainong the various terminals and elevator lines: Belt Line, 1,238,007; Consolidated, 2,563,043;) Globe, 3,645,999; Great Northern, 683,953; Superior Terminal, 1,403 290; Consolidated B, 250,122; Consolidated H, 128,- 516. Wheat in store at Minneapolis is 20,144,395 bushels. PORT HURON, LAKE HURON AND ST. CLAIR RIVER FULL, OF ICE—FITZGER- ALD BROS. BUILDING. A NEW MACHINE SHOP—REPAIR WORK SLACK. Port Huron, February 11. The river is full of ice up to the mouthof Black River and there is ice in Lake Huron as far as the eye can see. Fitzgerald Bros. are at work with a full gang of men, building a new machineshop. It will be located on the old Fitzgerald Dry-dock Company ground. The build- ing will be 100x50 feet, and three stories high. They will remove the machinery from their old shop, below Mullen’s coal dock, abandoning the buildings. The long contested suit went against them. The establish- ment will continue to be known as the Dry-dock Iron Works. The Jenks Ship Building Co., began work Monday morning with a big gang of men on Loud & Son’s new tug. There is very little repair work being done now in the local shipyards. H. E. Runnels and Capt. Dan. Sinclair have purchased thesteainbarge Maggie Duncan. She will tow the Fav- orite and Tyson in the lumber trade. Capt George J. Bennett is at work putting the steam- barge Cleveland in first-class condition for the lumber trade. She will ply between Alpena and Ohio ports. : KENDALL. CLEVELAND. RUSHING WORK ON NEW COAL SHIPPING AND FUEL DOCKS— CAPTAINS AND ENGINEERS ENTERTAIN. Cleveland & Buffalo line appointments are as follows: City of Buffalo, master, Capt. John Kdwards; chief en- gineer, J. Y. Rendall; purser, A. D. McLachlan; steward, W.H. Thorp; State of Ohio, master, Capt. W. H. Smith; chief engineer, Antnony Melroy; purser, C. W. Piner; steward, H. Boyds; state of New York, master, Capt. H. McAlpin; chief engineer, William Steen, purser and steward not yet appointed. The Marine engineers of Cleveland, Branch 2, M. E. B. A., enjoyed a huge time with their friends at Merrill’s Hall, on Pearl street, Monday evening. The fifteenth annual ball was even more successful than its predeces- ors and the three hundred people present. All report it a most enjoyable occasion and wish it came twice a year. Come to think of it, the lake-faring men ought to give a farewell reception in the spring as in these days of quick trips and many of them they hardiy have an opportun- ity to visit their familes, much less to call upon their . friends durlng the season. The Cuddy-Mullen Co., the well-known coal shippers and fue! men, have opened an Office on the fifth floor of the Perry-Payne building. Capt. Mullen, of Mullen & Gatfield, fuelers at Am- -~ herstburg, was in the city Monday. It is probable that increasing business will force this: firm to enlarge their plaut. The extensive repairs of the hoists of the Huron Dock company, at Huron, under the supervision of A. S. Williams, the efficient master mechanic of the company, are being pushed to completion rapidly, though some time will elapse before completion owing to the damage done the machines during the storm a month or two since. i Osborne, Seager & Co., will construct a fueling dock on the west side of the river a short distance below the Long car dumping machine. They expect to have it ready for work by the opening of navigation. The new Cuddy-Mullen dock on the lake front, just east of the river, is finished, and the construction of ’ the new coal-loading machine on that dock has begun, It isa McMyler machine, but entirely different from that which isin operation at Ashtabula. Its capacity is said to be 3,000 tons per day. : The Ship Masters’ ball is a feature of the annual grand social functions of Cleveland, and Wednesday evening’s reception was no exception to the rule. The gathering at Army and Navy Hall was a most brilliant one, and taxed the the capacity of the hall. Credit for the grand success scored is due to allthe members of the local lodge. Capt. Hi. Henderson has purchased the schooner Typo from W. H. Hargrave, of Detroit, for $5,000.