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ARINE REVIEW. VOU. 1h: CLEVELAND, OHIO, THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1891. No. 20. Corsolidated With a Capital of Five Millions. The Cleveland Iron Mining Company and the Iron Cliffs Company, two of the largest iron mining companies in the Lake Superior district— they produced 556,000 tons of ore last season—have about completed ar- rangements for a consolidation. The Iron Cliffs Company has agreed to the consolidation through its trustees, who have full charge of its affairs, and, as shown by the following circular and reference to the letter that ac- companies it, the deal is practically settled : : CLEVELAND, O., May tst., 1891. To the stockholders of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, and to tholders of trustee certificates for Iron Cliffs Company stock:. Gentle- men :—The trustees holding the legal title to the 14,005 shares of the cap- ital stock of the Iron Cliffs Company, purchased by syndicate in February 1890, (which syndicate all the stockholders of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company were offered an opportunity of joining), under the powers con- ferred upon them by the trust and subscription agreements, and with the approval of the subscribers owning a majority interest therein, and also with the consent of those owning a large majority of the stock of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, have perfected the following plan. for the combination of the two companies, which plan has greater advantages than a consolidation, under the Michigan law: A corporation is now being organized, under the laws of the state of West Virginia, to be known as the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, with a capital of $5,000,000, divided into 50,000 shares of $100 each. The stock of the Iron Cliffs Company, held by the trustees, will be transferred to the new company, and one and one-fourth shares of its stock, full paid and non-assessable, will be issued in exchange for each share of the Iron Cliffs stock, to be distributed among the holders of trustee certificates, on the surrender of such certificates; that is to say, the Iron Cliffs stock will be exchanged on a basis of $125 per share for the stock of the new com- pany at par, being a total valuation of $2,500,000 for the entire stock of the Iron Cliffs Company. Stockholders owning a lage majority of the stock of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company have already agreed to transfer their stock to the treasury of the new company, on a basis of $20 per share, and to receive in exchange therefor the stock of the new company at par; that is to say, for each five shares of the stock of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company so transferred, one share of the new stock, full paid and non-assessable, will be issued, making a total valuation of $2,000,000 for the entire stock of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company. An opportunity is hereby given to all other stockholders of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, to exchange their stock for the stock of the newcompany, on precisely the same terms. The Cleveland Iron Mining Company and the Iron Cliffs Company will not be dissolved, but as the stock of each will be owned by the new company, its capital stock will represent the stock of the two constituent companies, transferred to its treasury, and the respective values of $125 per share for the Iron Cliffs, and $20 per share for the Cleveland, are adop- ted as equitable, for the reason that they were the market values of those stocks, at the date when the purchase of the Iron Cliffs stock was made. Such an arrangement will insure the joint and harmonious working of the contiguous properties of the two constituent companies, and will inure to their mutual advantage in many ways, chiefly in the saving of adminis- trative expenses, in the elimination of competition, in advantages in pur- chasing supplies and in transactions with railroads and other transporta- tion companies; a large corporation, in these days of consolidations, hav- ing more power and influence than a small one. For your information we would state that the Iron Cliffs Company has four producing mines, aud also a large undeveloped acreage in the mineral belt, andin the year 1%90 it produced from its mines 295,000 tons of iron ore, and from its furnaces 25,000 tons of charcoal pig iron, and made anet profit. (The figures that appear in the circular are for private information. It is enough to say that the company is paying dividends and has a good surplus.) The acquisition of the entire capital stocks of the two companies by the new company will require $4,500,000 of its stock at par, thus leaving unissued $500,000 in its treasury, which will enable it to acquire other ‘property and engage in other enterprises, favorable opportunities having already presented themselves. In addition to the above advantages, the new company will have much more liberal corporate powers, and greater facilities than are now pos- sessed by either of the constituent companies, and it is therefore expected that its stock can be made more valuable and profitable than that of either of the other companies under their present organization; and that through its cash receipts, obtained from dividends on the stock in its treasury, and from its other earnings and resources, a surplus can be accumulated, which will enable it to pay a regular quarterly dividend on its stock, thus giving it a stable value in the market, independent of any temporary de- pression in the iron trade. As it would be inequitable to make this exchange of stock, at the above figures, after the stock of the new company has enhanced in value, this opportunity for transfer will not be held open later than May 25th, 1891. E. R. PERKINS. . J. H. WADE, JR. Wo. G. MATHER, trustees, The circular is accompanied by a letter from T. P. Handy, E. R. Per- kins, Samuel Mather, Peter White, J. H. Wade, Jr., William G. Mather and E. R. Perkins, executor for the estate of Selah Chamberlain, in which ap- proval is given to the plan and it is recommended that the stockholders of the Cleveland send their stock forexchange. These gentlemen are all heavy owners of Cleveland stock. In fact, Mr. W. J. Gordon and the Hales, of Cleveland, seem to be the only other holders of any large quanti- ty of the stock whose names do not appear in the letter of recommenda- tion. Prices on the Best Grades of Ore. It has been said in connection with the few sales of ore already made for delivery during the coming season that they will have no bearing on prices. for the Lake Superior product in general, the claim being made that unfavorable ‘‘conditions” surround the sales. This is not true, as there are no conditions other than one that has become a custom in the trade of late. The sales of the Republic company are of most importance, and certainly that company will loose nothing by an understanding with its customers to the effect that if any contracts were made at a price lower than the figure established a few weeks ago—$5.50 for No. 1 Specular—they should receive the benefit of the re- duction on such ore as had not been delivered. It is well known to the trade that the demand for this ore is such that there is not enough of it to go around and there was accordingly no risk taken in the sales. ‘These sales certainly have an important bear- ing on the market for the best grades of ore. Suggestions for Entering Racine Harbor. Geo. Breckenfeld keeper of Racine life saving station fur- nishes the following information: ‘Vessels loading coal for Ra- cine should not load over 13 feet. Five hundred feet east of the north pier, out side of the harbor, is a sand-bar which runs north and south across the entrance of the harbor. On the north end of this bar is only 14% feet of water, when a little past the range of the south-pier you will find but 11 feet. On entering this harbor, which for deeply loaded vessels only can be done in fine weather and smooth. water, keep well to the north, say in the range of the north pier. Keep the north pier pretty close until, abreast of the south pier, then keep a little to southward of the middle of the river, until abreast of the Goodrich steamboat depot. From there take the middle of the channel all the way up the river.” “To run a 12,000 ton ship across the Atlantic at an average rate of twenty-four knots an hour,” says C. H. Cramp, “‘which, it is said, is a part of Mr. Corbin’s scheme, would necessiate the burning of about double the amount of coal consumed by the City of Paris, and the capacity of even a 12,000 ton ship would hardly allow of her carrying that enormous quantity. There would positively be no room for passengers or cargo.”