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NOVEMBER 8; 1900. \ THE MARINE RECORD. eee AN IMMENSE INDUSTRY. (The Oliver Iron Mining Co. (Carnegie’s) Saturday finished its season’s shipments to Conneaut wharves, whence the ore is carried by Carnegie’s railroad to Carnegie’s furnaces at Pittsburg, to be converted into ‘pig iron, which in turn is manufactured at Carnegie’s mills, scattered throughout Pennsylvania, into steel billets, rails, vessel plates, frames, shapes, and angles; into the scores of variously-shaped pieces used in building construction in all parts of the United States;into armor plate for the new sea fighters being built for Uncle Sam; and into hundreds of other things, the pur- poses ‘of which are multifarious, says the Detroit Free Press. The raw product needed by him to supply the demaud this year, not in this country alone, but .in all part of the world, amounted to 5,509,000 gross tons of ore. Every pound of this was blasted, dug, and pulled out of hills and valleys owned by Carnegie, transported in his own railroad to his own wharves at the head of the lakes, and brought down the lakes to Conneaut. by immense steel carriers owned and chartered by’ Carnegie. So it will be seen that the astute magnate is not compelled to submit to the domination of any man, railroad company, propeller line, dock manager, or mine operator, or clique of operators, in the matter of prices for the ore, charges for transporting it, or charges for storing and transferring it. He'wished to be the whole thing, and, having the money, he is practically ‘‘it.’’ ing element he’ has the same dealings and pays the same prices as his competitors, for not even his money can control the labor market. However, disputes with his men are the least of his troubles, and he is little bothered by them. » This very mastery over all the department of mine and lake manufacturing commerce enumerated allows hima tremendous leeway in underbidding his competitors, not only in this country but all over the world. Where rivals are compelled to accept the prices of others, high or low, he ‘makes his own prices, which are always low to himself, Thus he can undersell rivals in fields monopolized by them for years~-cau undersell them ro to 30 or 4o per cent., and yet.win a greater margin of profit than they could have com- manded at the highest prices. *Not:another concern-in the whole world combining all or part of the elements of iron and steel manufacturing has in this year or any other used up 5,50 ,009 gross tons of the raw material. Not even:the 3,000,000 ton mark has been reached by them, ». Though his mining possessions are immense, he is adding to them while there is yet a chance to secure properties at reasonable prices. He realiz:s that year by year the great and rapidly growing demand for iron and steel is enhancing the value of the ground fro: which come the ore. He wants all'of that ground he can obtain right now. What he can buy isithus forever kept out of the hands of his competitors, They are now, thought big individually, smallin comparison with him, but it looks as though he wished to wipe them out of existence altogether as rivals. So he has General Mana- ger Hulst and Superintendent Cale, of the mining company, and’other experts, negotiating for the purchase of large and valuable iron exploration on the Mesaba range. And it is part of their daily occupation to be on the alert for advanta- geous opportunities to get possession of more. * METHOD OF RECKONING TIME IN SPAIN. ‘Under date of August 4, 1900, Vice-Consul Reed, of Mad- rid, reports: ‘The Queen Regent has signed a decree establishing the métlod of accounting time in this Kingdom, viz: (t)In all railway, mail (including telegraph), telephone, and'steamship service in the peninsula and thé Ballearic Islands, and ‘in all the ministerial offices, the courts, and all public works, time shall be regulated by the time of the Greenwich Observatory, commonly known as western European time. (2) The computation of the hours in the above-mentioned Setvices’will be made from the hour of midnight to the fol- lowing midnight in hours from 1 to 24, omitting the words tarde eet) and noche (night), heretofore in customary use, * ‘Gy ‘The hour of midnight will be designated as 24. (4) The interval, for instance, between midnight (24) and 1 Clock will be designated as 0.05, 0.10, 0.59. regulations are to take effect the ist of January, Igor. GES Government. officials are directed to observe and carry out the decree in each and all of their respective departments and bureaus. With the labor-. . Coffey, Thos. J., CHICAGO COMMERCE. Chicago leads the world as a shipping port. The tonnage of the river and that of South Chicago exceeds by many tons that of either New York or London. The advantage of the lake during the period of open navigation is shown by the shipments of grain from ,week to week that have been shown in these colums, and the destination. For the week grain clearances were 4,945,000 bushels, including 953,000 bushels of wheat, 2,720,000 bushels of corn, and 1,270,000 bushels of oats. aa A comparison with the previous week showed a gain of 823,000 bushels, The distribution of the grain was 64 per cent. to Buffalo, or 3,167,000 bushels; Erie got 371,000 bushels, and Ogdensburg 92,625 bushels, and Canadian ports 19 per cent. 922,000 bushels. There isa rush of corn to the East, and shipments were 2,720,000 bushels. The total shipments of corn were 55 percent. of the aggregate movement. For the months of October and November there is a rec- ord that has seldom, if ever, been broken. a business that not only shows the growth of lake shipping but the readiness with which grain can be handled. The shipments were 40,980,000 bushels including 10,973,000 bushels wheat, 20,612,000 bushels of corn (for 50 per cent. of total) 9.697,000 bushels oats, 79,567 bushels rye, and 252,- 444 bushels barley. Of this vast quantity 67 per cent. cleared for Buffalo, causing a partial Pipciade there fora time. ee ANOTHER SHIPBUILDING CONTRACT. Mr. W. L. Brown of Chicago, president of the American Ship Building Co., yesterday wired General Manager J. C. Wallace that he closed ja contract with C. W. Elphicke of Chicago for a6,o000-ton steamer, to be a duplicate of the steamer ordered by Mr. Elphicke about two months ago and which is now being built at the South Chicago yard: The new boat will. cost about $295,000 and will come out next July. She will be 450 feet over all, 430 feet keel, 50 feet beam and 28% feet deep. She will have triple expan- sion engines, cylinders 23, 48 and 64 inches by 40-inch stroke. Steam will be furnished by three Scotch type boilers 13 feet in diameter and 13 feet long. This order makes 24 vessels, including the big car ferry steamer that the Americau Ship Building Co., has under contract. or or or LETTERS AT DETROIT MARINE POST OFFICE. November 7, 1900. To get any of these letters, addressees or their authorized agents will apply at the general delivery window or write to the postmaster at Detroit, calling for ‘‘advertised”’ matter, giving the date of this list and paying one cent. Advertised matter is previously held one week awaiting delivery. Itis held two weeks before it goes to the Dead Letter Office at Washington, D. C. Anderson, Leo, Moonlight Kull, Fred Akar, Jos., Rust Laricy, J., 4, Moonlight Brion, Robt., J. N. Moore La Treile, Wm., Rause Basting, Jacob Lawrence, Jno. Burns Capt. Wm. Lecuyer, Aibert F,, Bentley, Frank Miller, Gus. Barnes, O. L. Manders, Geo. Brown, Jno. W. Moore, Robt., Maytham Millian, Chas. Mallory, Will McGann, Hugh McMillian, Dick, Wyandot Olson, Thos. O’Connor, Wm., Maryland Rexford, Roy Rabidue, Capt., Monticello Rush, J. F., J. B. Ketcham Stoam, Frank, O.O.Carpenter Scanlon, Jno., La Fayette Schrepperman, Jas. Broadbent, Lew, M. W. Page Campbell, Chas., Berlin Carlson, N. P., Algeria Chenard, Dell Omaha Everett, John O. Fettetto Swan, M. Marshall Fowler, Peter, Berlin Grant, Major, Business Griffin, Thos., Spokane Hicks, Arthur, S. Minch Hamilton, Jno., Berlin..- Hineline, Lester Torrell, Wm. Jackson, John, Coralia RU oleh as James, Armour Kristianson, Konrad, Algeria Waring, D Kelley, Dan, Andaste White, James, Thomeon F. B. DICKERSON, P. M. _—_[—_—— eS Se Se OCTOBER TRADE AT BAY CITY. The shipments of lumber by water from Bay City during ‘ October reached the low water mark, for only 913,000 feet went out by boat and this was consigned to Cleveland. Salt shipments were 21,892 barrels, of which 17,892 went to Du- luth and 4,000 barrels to Sandusky, Ohio. The shipments to date thiSyear will not average well-with the smallest month in any of the years when the lumber industry was at its prime. There has been a slight increase in lumber car- rying rates during the month, and another is due today, but It represents © M4 that will not affect the carrying capacity, for there is no stock moving by the water route. The receipts during the month were very light, Souicered with previous months during the season, only 1 ,685,000 feet coming in from Laké Superior ports and 3,465,247 feet from Canada. From the Dominion there also came 100,000 lath. Other receipts by water were 1,500 tons of coal, 108 cords of stone, 200 net stakes and 1,500 cedar posts. The value on Canadian lumber and lath was $47,343.40, and the duty amounted to $6,955.49 for the month. The collections to date this year for imports at this port are $266.55 in excess of the entire year of 1899. The arrivals during the month were: Steamers, 13, ton- nage 6,781; schooners, 12, tonnage, 6,868. Cleared: Steamers, 18, tonnage, 6,106; schooners, 12, tonnage, 5,412. a TOWING AT SEA. We notice continually articles and notices in the Ameri- can press commenting on the development of towing, both on the Great Lakes and the ocedn, and as the question is fraught with great interest to the shipping community we have made some inquiries as to the methods used and the results. It appears in 1886 two American inventors, one of | whom was a master mariner, and the other an engineer, brought out a machine which they claimed made it possible to tow a number of barges in exposed situations with safety. The machine was constructed and placed with the consent of the Boston Tow Boat Co., on their steam collier Orion in February, 1888. It was adopted by the company, and has remained in use ever since, and proved to be the precursor of some hundred others now in use on the Great Lakes, the Pacific and the Atlantic. One has even found its way to Europe, and has made it possible for an enterprising Swed- ish company to towimmense rafts of timber with great economy. Aninquiry was made recently from this com- pany, the Ohrvikens Aktiebolag, as to their experience, which now extends over two years. They reply in terse English that they could not do without the machine, as they would not dare to run the risk of towing in the old fash- ioned way. They also state that they have had the same hawser in use for two years, and see no reason why it should not last a number of years longer. It will be understood in a matter like this, while it affects, at the moment, a limited number of people, owing to the slight extent that towing is used in Europe, it may result ina radical reductionin. freight rates for bulk cargoes, It is quite possible that in the next few years we shall see barges being towed to the coaling stations in the Mediterranean, not tospeak of the coast of the United Kingdom. Itis quite possible fora steamer to carry 3,000 tons, and to tow three consorts, each carrying 3,000 tons, with very little increased engine power ata slightly increased coal consumption, and with perfect safety. The Shaw and Speigle towing machine has been shown to handle these immense weights with the skill and tenderness that a skilled whip will handle a team of horses. This simile gives as good an idea uf the working of the ma- chine as we can suggest. It practically gives and takes to the surges of the tows, as the driver keeps the touch of the mouths of his charges. This action is entirely automatic, — and renders it possible for a wire hawser to be used on which there is little wear and tear. All practical tugboat men agree that a great deal of energy is saved if a manila hawser can be done away with. The drag of heavy manila line in the water alone represents a great loss of power. Which of our shipping men will be enterprising enough to afford us an opportunity of inspecting this new wonder at work? Weare now ten years behind America and two be- hind Sweden, and, although it is acknowledged that Ameri- can capital is now being invested in English ocean-going steamers, we would be sorry to see it make an entrance into our home trades. The machine is manufactured by the American Ship Windlass Co., of Providence, Rhode Island, whose celestial-sounding trade mark, ‘‘Providence,’’ is so well known to shipmasters. While referring to them, they must be congratulated on securing an only gold medal for steam windlasses at the Paris Exhibition. Surely this is an award that might have been secured for England.—Liver- pool Journal of Commerce. —— OO SOS It is now known unofficially that there is no expectation of a compromise between the two warring tug lines, no matter how much money is lost. The Maytham line banks on the idea that the exclusive contracts of the trust, made last spring at fair figures when it was not known that there would be opposition, cannot be made, next season at any figure.