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Ubc TIlntt>cr0itT5 ot Cbtcaflo
FOUNDED BY JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
TRANSPORTATION
ON THE
GREAT LAKES OF NORTH AMERICA
A DISSERTATIQN SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTIES OF THE GRADUATE
SCHOOLS OF ARTS, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE, IN CANDIDACY
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
BY
GEORGE GERARD TUNELL
[HOUSE DOC, m. .77, FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I. Intkoduotion - • • • - Page 2
Growth of traffic upon the lakes - - 2
(a) As shown by the commerce through the Detroit River - - 3
(6) As shown by the growth of the lake fleet 3
(c) As directly shown by the statistics 6
Development of commerce on the main divisions of lake system - 7
Striking facts concerning character of lake transportation - 8
Changes in lake vessels - - - ■ 12
Discussion of freight rates - 16
Aebangement of statistical mattjer - - 18
APPENDIX I. Tables op Statistics.
(a) A valuation of the data furnished by Treasury and War Depart-
ments 19
(b) TraflBc through Detroit River 20
(c) Traffic through St. Marys Falls Canal - ..... 22
(d) Tonnage tables 26
(e) Freight rates 28
PART II. Floub and Grain Traffic 30
Importance of the water routes 30
How the railroads became competitors 30
Lake and rail traffic eastward from Chicago ..... 34
Total east-bound traffic 38
Traffic through the gulf ports 48
APPENDIX II. Tables kklating to the Flour and Grain Traffic
52
PART III. Lake Transportation and the Iron-ore Industry - - 60
Substitution of Lake Superior for other ore 61
Superiority of Lake Superior ores 64
Ore found in favorable conditions 65
Highly developed facilities of transportation, decks, etc. - - 69
Freight rates -.---_- 71
APPENDIX III. Tables relating to Lake Transportation and the
Iron-obe Industry
72
S-jiTK.-5(^;-
^ ^
?• 'T
(.
PART IV. Coal Traffic.
Growth of the traffic * * * ' , an
Shipping and distributinj? ports ... -
Competition of the lake and rail carriers »*
Development of dock facilities for handling coal ' " . ' . S
Freight rates on coal •••'"■'*
APPENDIX IV. Tables relating to the Coal Traffic - . • • OT
PART V. Lumber Business and Lake Transportation . • - 94
Decline in the movement of lumber .94
Explanation of this decline _.
Significance of change from pine to hardwood
Methods of handling lumber at docks ■■'''' 97
The " lumber fleet " .98
Early exhaustion of pine - '.'',' «.„*„ oq
Exhaustion of pine doubly important because of its secondary eflfects 99
APPENDIX V. Tables relating to the Lumber Traffic - - - lOO
106
ACKNOWLEDGMENT -.--•••
80
80
82
84
86
87
94
94
94
96
97
97
98
Y effects 99
100
106
I
o-Vni CoNditKss, / HOIJSH OF
.'J<l Ncxsioii, i I
UKIMIKSKNTATIVKS.
DOflllMENT
No. 277.
STATISTICS or LAKH (JOMMHItCK.
T. E T T E R
KKO.M
THK SKCRKTAItY -^'F THE TREASURY,
TIIANSJIITTINO
A REPORT MADE TO THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS BY MR. OEOROB
O. TUNELL, OF CHICAOO, ON LAKE COMMERCE.
February 3, 189«.
-Uefurred to tlieCointuittneoii Intcrotiitu uud Kureigii Coniuiorco
and ordered to bo printed.
Treasury Dki'Artmknt,
Office oi* thk Secretary,
Wmhington, D. C, February ,7, 1S9S.
The Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives :
I have the honor to transmit a report made to the Hnreuu ofStatistics,
Treasury Department, on the commerce of the Great Lakes. This
report was prepared by Mr. George G. Tunell, of Chicago, nuder the
direction of the Bureau of Statistics, and embodies tlie first serious
attempt to describe statistically this important branch of the domestic
commerce of the United States. 1 can not too strongly urge the expedi-
ency of making this commerce a .subject of annual record and investiga-
tion. The statistics of railway transportation have become a recognized
branch of the Government statistical service; but the necessary com-
plement, the movement of merchandise on lakes, rivers, and canals,
has been neglected.
Compared with the shipping tonnage employed in the foreign com-
merce of the United States, the activity of the lake shipping is far
greater. The bulk of transactions in the lake-carrying interests is so
large as to rank it among the great conveyers of the world. The con-
centration upon a small number of commodities, as well as in a few
companies, appears to make statistical records comparatively simple.
On the important economic influences of this trade I need not dwell.
They are of vital importance in feeding domestic industries and in
permitting a further extension of American commercial interests in
foreign markets. These influences are becoming stronger each year,
and I believe the time has come when they should be made subject to
official record, in order that they may be intelligently studied and
directed so as to produce the highest benefits to the industrial and
commercial interests of the United States.
KespectfuUy, yours,
L. J. Gage, Secretary,
JU
1
J.AKE COMMEHCE.
[ rr«|>«r«il unilor tlic dlrertlon ol' tlir ItiirrHii ofHIiilliitir!!, Trtuxur) llepnrtnieiit, b) Uvotgf ^i. Tunrll.]
TRANSPORTATION ON THB ORBAT LAKES.
*--
:'-
INTHODUOl'lON.
Many circiiinstaiices have recently direetetl attention to the transpor-
tation facilities of the (Ireat Lakes. The rai»i(l growth of lake traflic,
the increasing size of lake vessels, the rapidity with which ships are
losuled and nnloadcd, and other developments of a similar nature have
interested the curious, wiiile the vital signiticance of cheap carriage to
the milling, farming, and lumbering interests, and to their numerous
dei)endent industries, hits compelled the people engaged in all these
occupations to give careful consideration to the questions of lake ship-
ping; and the whole subject of inland waterways has been forced
upon the attention of men in public life by the appeals that have been
made to Congress for large appropriations to immediately improve
existing harbors and channels and for the speedy construction of a deep
waterway from the (ireat Lakes to the sea. liut, notwithstanding this
widespiead desire for infornmtion about the commerce on the lakes and
its far reaching importance to several of our great national industries,
lake transportation has been well-nigh neglected, not only by writers
on transportation, but by our Government as well; and this in the face
of the fact that Congress is annually called upon to vote large suras of
money to facilitate trartic upon these waters.
Not until the Eleventh Census was taken were full statistics gathered
of the movement of commodities upon the whole lake systeni,! and
since then (1889) nothing in the way of a comprehensive report has
been made or even satisfactory data collected.* This being the situa-
tion, all hope of satisfactorily setting forth the development of lake
commerce in all its aspects may as well at once be abandoned. In fact,
the data are so meager and in part so unreliable that it is exceedingly
difficult even to set forth the growth of the total movement on the lakes.
As has already been stated, no statistics of the traffic moved on the
whole lake system can be obtained previous to the year 1889.
'Ill 1852 aspocial report was 8ul)mittoil toConj^ress, entitled "Andrews' Report o
Colonial and I '•« Trade," bnt this report leaves much to be desired, and besides the
period considt :ed antedates that of thin report. From tliis early date nothing com-
proliensivo w s attempted until the Tenth Census was taken, and even then only
commoditio" jarried in steam vessels were covered, and this portion of the subject
was not fully treated. The bulk of this report was devoted to shipbuilding and to
the fleets and but little space given to the commerce moved.
■^See Appendix I for a criti<al examination of the data furnished by the Treasury
and War Departments. Mr. C. H. Keep's report of 1891 will there be discussed.
2
I IJi'drvr 4J. Tunpll.l
S.
tlie traimpor-
)f lake tratlic,
lich Hliips are
r nature have
ap carriage to
leir uuiiierous
in all these
s of lake ship-
been forced
1 1 at have been
atcly improve
ction of a deep
istanding this
the lakes and
lat industries,
nly by writers
his in the face
large sums of
istics gathered
system,' and
ve report has
iiug the situa-
pment of lake
)ned. In fact,
is exceedingly
it on the lakes,
moved on the
L889.
ilrews' Report o
, and besides the
fitc nothing coin-
even then only
)n of the subject
pbuilding and to .
by the Treasury
e discussed.
STATISTICS OF LAK.S C< (.MMKKCE, 8
For the later years wc have nothing but thv, reports of the Chief
of Kngineers.' In th»' oarlier years, Imwevcr, tlie comnierce pa.ssing
throngli the Detroit River was very nearly e(iual to the total movement
on the lakes, and thus pretty accurately retieetcd the development of
conuner<!e on the whole system, and it is therefore a caiLse for sincere
regret that we do not possess full statistics of thetrallie moved through
this cliannol.^ In recent years business between Lake Superior and
Lake Michigan jiorts has largely increased, with the result that the
commerce through the Detroit River is not now so good an index of
the whole movement on the lakes as formerly. The growth of com-
merce on the (fieat Lakes, as retlected by the amnuntof tratlic passing
through the Detroit Uiver, is disclosed by the following llgures, which
have for the most part been taken from the reports <»f Col. O. M. Poe,
Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. The statement covers the traftlc passing
both up and clown the river:
Commerce mored through the IMroit Itiver. a
Tear.
I{eg1itere4l
tOBIMge.
Freight
tonnsga.
0, 000, 000
1
Tear.
liogUtored
t(iiiu«K*<'
10. 046, (100
21.«84,(KI0
22.160,000
24. 785, 000
26. i26.'("lO(y
Fre-,ht
tonnage.
1873 . . . - -
i 1880..
19,717,860
21,7.'i0, 013
1880 ..
20. 235, 24»
17, 572, 240
17,872,182
17,8B,-). 174
18. 04.1. mn
16, 777, 828
lH,068.06n
18,864.2.'«0
10. OUU, MIO
1800..
1 1891 ..
1881 ..
23, 200, 619
1882 ..
1802..
26,553.819
18H;) ..
1 1893..
1894..
I8B5..
1896 . .
23, 091. 809
1884 ..
•
24 263, 868
1885 ..
1886 ..
/•J.'i, 845, 679
120.000,000
1887 ..
1888 ..
27, 900, S20
n See Ap]H-n(lix I lor tlii) goiircuH of tlieae Itgures.
Assuming now that these figures are approximately correct and that
they all vary to the same extent and in the same direction, we find that
there has been a substantial increase in the traffic passing through the
Detroit River. The traffic statistics show that there was a rapid in-
crease from 1873 to 1>*S0, but that during the decade ending with the
year 1889 there was a isolutely no growth. Inferences from these fig-
ures, however, should be drawn very cautiously. I am forced to be-
lieve that either the figures for 1873 or those for 1880 are incorrect. I
am of the opinion that the remarkable development of traffic from 1873
to 1880 did not take place.
In discussing the points just raised I shall present what upon the
whole must be regarded as the most satisfactory evidence we have of
the growth of traffic upon the Great Lakes. It is the growth of the
lake fleet. We have statistics of the tonnage of the lake fleet from
the year 1868, and their accuracy can not be impugned.'' On one side
changes in the volume of traffic would be reflected slowly by the size
of the fleet. If traffic decreased the fleet would not at once decline, for
■ These reports are bused on the data collected by the custom-house oflBcials. No
atttiDipt is made to give the commerce for the whole lake system— simply the total
number of clearances, with the total registered tonnage.
-This was true because there was very littkt looal traffic on tho lakes, and nearly
the wh(de of the long-distance traffic paBsr>d through this channel. In 1889 the
cargo tonnage carried through the river in American vessels was 19,717,860 tons,
while the shipments from all American lake ])ort8 aggregated but 25,027,717 tons.
(Eleventh Census, Transportation Business, Part II, pp. 275, 308.)
•' That is, they art) what they purport to be. All rigged craft, however, are classed
with the sailing vessels, and conseqat'utly many vessels that are really barges are
classed as sailing vessels. This is to be regretted.
_
:,:l'
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I
4 STATISTICS OF LAKE COM.MEHCK.
tlR' ships would 1)0 ill existence iiiul could not be put to other uses or
removed from the hikes.
If, however, business fell oil for ;i few yesirs in succession, the ton-
naj^e of the fleet would surely be reduced. As the old ships l)ecamc
iiuseaworthy or lis vessels were; wieeked. lunv ones would not be built
to tiike theii''i)laces, and the tonnage would .gradually decline, for i)eo-
pie do not put moiu'yin a losinj; venture. An increase of traflic, unlike
a decrease, is (piickly rellected by accessions to the fleet. Years of
heavy tiaHle are always prosperous years for the shipyards. It then
ap]iears that when the lieet is on the decline or stationary it maybe
inferred that there has been no growth of tialfic, and that when the
fleet is {i'lowin;; business is inercasinj:'.
in order to present the variations in the tonnage of the lleet in such
a way that the chaujucs and the whole movement can be easily and
cleirly aitpri'heiided, the figures have l)een (!harted.' The relative
amounts of sail, steam, and barge tonnage must be noted, tor on the
lakes a steamer is sujiposed to be able to do two and one fonitli times
the work of a sail vessel of like tonnage.' The barges make as good
time as the steamers that tow them, so the carrying power of the barge
tonnage is also much greater than a lik»^ amount of sail tonnage. Tlie
etfective carrying power of all the vessels has been largely increased
by the improved facilities that have been introduced for loading and
unloading vessels.
From the chart just mentioned, which may be found on the page
oi)i»osite, it apiiears that from 18(i.S to 187-! the lake fleet did not quite
maintain its own, and tlien made rapid gains until ISTo, when the total
tonnage stood at .■),S7,'_'.U tons. From this high point the tonnage
steadily declined until l.S7!>, when it stood at .■>r):.',G02 tons. The next
year the tonnage incueased to .~».")7,S)4li tons and during the two following
years jumi)ed tt» 048,815 tons and then increased slowly until 188(>, being
but (IIH),.!;")!* tons in that year. At about this time the new era in lake
transi)ortati(ni began ; the long stupor that had come over the lake car-
riers was broken and lake transportation was transformed from an anti-
(pxated to a modern industry. Since 1880 the tonnage on the lakes has
almost doubled, large accessions having been made every year, the j^ears
]8!)4 and 18!>o excejited.' The growth of and changes in the tonnage
have now been ]iointed out, but the extent to which these alterations
enlarged the carrying capacity of the lake fleet still remaius to be shown.
As has already been stated, it is generally held that a steamer can do two
and one fourtii times the work of a sailing vessel of like tonnage. It
is obvious, then, that sjjecial importance attaches to the increase of this
kind of tonnage, and by the introduction of more powerful engines the
steamer itself became i)rogress,ively a more efficient instrument.
lm])roved facilities ibr fueling, unloading, and loading vessels have
also very greatly increased the carrying power of the whole fleet, to say
nothing of the enlarged carrying power due to better locks and the
Till! lijifures may be I'ounil in Apiieiidix I.
- On tilt' ocejin it i.< .generally licltl that a .steamer can do three time» the work of a
sailiiix veBsel of like tonnape. The, greater superiority of the steamer over the sail-
inj; vessel on the oeean is due to the fact that oeean voya};es are generally longer
than lake i-oyages, and it is while at sea tlnit the steamer gaiu.-t on the sailing vessel.
The sailing vessel is luiloailed.just aliout as rapidly as the steamer.
'In 'xaii'.luu.g the chart two facts should be kcjtt in mind: (I) That the years
given are the liseal years, ami therefore ended on the ISOth of June of the calendar
year; and (2) that \essels are built on contracts that fre(|Ueutly call for delivery at
a distant day, and so building nuiy continue for some time after a period of limited
traHie has set in.
GROSS
I.]
G/ross 2 2 g i^ Ri 15 S
Tonnage. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
■ rTi '
— _ __ —
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: : : _ : : :?
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CHART I.
GROSS TONNAGE ON NORTHERN LAKES. SHOWING ALSO RELATIVE AMOUNT OF BARGE. STEAM. AND SAILING TONNAGE.
. __ _ _ . __ _ _____ - _ X X XXX -i~ .-
.___ _______ .: : __ __: __ _: :_ ii ji r
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STATISTIC8 OF LAKE COMMERCE. O
lighting- of dangerous cliiiiinels so as to permit passage by night. Mr.
A. B, Wolvin int'oruis me that fifteen years ago I't or 10 round trips
were considered a very good season's work in the ore business between
Lake Superior and Ijake Eric ports, whereas -!li round trips are now
considered nothing more tlian a fair season's work. 1 sliall now sliow
how the substitution of steam lor sails, and other improvements, have
enlarged the carrying capacity of the lake fleet. In the following esti-
mates I have assumed that all the iinprovenuMits other than the substi-
tution of steam ftu- sails have increased the efiiciency of the steam
tonnage by 75 per cent.'
It must be conceded that the estimates are conservative. In the
subjoined table account has been taken of the greater carrying power
of steamers and other improvements.
Tear.
Sail anil
barae, plim
stfani ton-
nage, multi-
plied by 3.
742, 28B 1
721,098 ;
881,311
901,848
!W2, 032 ;
1
1885
Year.
1 Siiil and
barfie, pliia
' Hti'ain ton-
1 iia^o, mnlti-
! plied by 3.
1808
i 1.351,516
1870
188'J
1890
2,058,278
2.301,335
1875
1880
1895
2, 912, 855
1897
3,320,592
This table shows that the working power of the fleet was less in 1870
than it was in 1868, but that it increased rapidly from the former date
to 1875, bat actually decreased from 1875 to 1880 and increased rapidly
from 1880 to 1885. From 1885 to 1890 the growth was phenomenal, the
, carrying power of the fleet being almost doubled in a i)eriod of five years.
Since 1890 the capacity of the fleet has largely increased, in spite of
several years of general business depression.
Now let us return to the statement of the traftic thiough the Detroit
River. Can 9,000,000 tons for 1873, and !iO,235,249 tons' for 1880, and
19,717,860 tons for 1J589 be considered as approximately correct? The
chart opposite page 4 shows that from 1873 to 1880 there was ])rac-
tically no increase in the floating equipment on the lakes, the ton-
nage in 1873 being 520,811 tons and in 1880 but 557,942 tons. By the
table above it will be seen that the ettective carrying power of the
fleet was increased by but 100,000 tons, steam having been substituted
I only to a limited extent for sails. With an increase of but 37,131 in
«, the gross tonnage afloat on the lakes, could more than twice the amount
of trallic lie moved in 1880 as was carried in 1873? Under certain cir-
cumatances this feat would be possible. If the season of 1873 was an
unusually dull one and a large portion of the fleet was l^ied up for a part
or the whole of the sea. mi it ^ould be possible, with no large accessions
of tonnage, to carry twice the amount of freight in another season. But
all the filets we have show that the year 1873 was more than a fairly
good season. Rates, while not so high ns during the preceding season,
were nevertheless well maintained; the traffic through the St. Marys
Falls Canal was large, shipments of flour and grain from Chicago and
Milwaukee were heavy, and the receipts of these commodities at Buffalo
' It seemed liest to me to make the increase of steam tonnage the basis of the
estimate, for the other improvements in a rough way went hand in hand with the
increase of this tonnage.
2 It is to be noted that it has been accepteil that the freight tonnage for 1880 was at
least equal to the registered tonnage passing through this channel. Tliis assumption
is generally convedecl to bo entirely safe.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
i i':
r*.
were fully up to the average. Eighteen hundred ami seventy-three was
a panic year, to be sure: but biisiness in general was good up to the
time of the crash, which did not come until well along in the autumn.
This, then, being the situation, it becomes difficult to understand how,
if a fleet of 520,811 tons was kept busy in 1873 in moving »,00(),00() tons
of freight one of .')57,942 tons could have succeeded in moving over
20,()00,(H)0 tons in 1880.
A comparison of the statistics of the traffic through the Detroit
Kiver for the decade ending in 188!) and the growth of the lake tleet
during the same interval seems to discredit the traffic statistics. In
1880 the registered tonnage passing through the river was 20,235,219
tons and the tonnage of the lake fleet was 557,042 gross tons.' During
the succeeding ten years the registered tonnage never in any one year
equaled this amount, and stood at 10,010,000 tons in 1880,' the year of
largest traffic. The tonnage of the lake Heet, on the other hand, stead-
ily increased from 557,042 gross tons in 1880 to 907,064 gross tons in
1889, and the effective carrying capacity grew from 982,032 tons to
2,058,278 tons, or much more than doubled. These diverse facts are
difficult to harmonize. It can not be offered in explanation that only a
small part of the traffic on the lakes found its way through the Detroit
Eiver in 1889, for the traffic of this river stood in about the same rela-
tion to the total traffic on the lakes in 1889 as it did in 1880, Some
change had taken place, but it was not great. Since 1889 the Detroit
Kiver has been progressively a poorer indication of the total traffic on
the lakes, but still stands to-day as a pretty good index.
What the growth of traffic upon the whole lake system has been since
1873 has now been shown in indirect ways. lu conclusion, I shall pre-
sent the scant facts we have showing directly the development of com-
merce upon the whole system. It has already been stated that it was
' not until the Eleventh Census was taken that the total volume of goods
moved on all kinds of vessels was ascertained. The total amount of
shipments from American lake ports for the last census year (1889) was
25,027,717 net tons. The registered tonnage thaf cleared from all the
collection districts on the chain of lakes for the year 1893 was 34,571,208
tons;' for the year 1894 37,5t)5,229 tons, * for the year 1895 44,295,861
tons,* and for the year 1896 53,265,572 tons."
As a rule the cargo tonnage is in excess of the registered tonnage.^
If it be assumed that the cargo tonnage was just equal to the registered
tonnage, there was a gain in the Ave year period under consideration m
the goods movement on the whole lake system of 12,537,512 tons and
for the seven-year period a gain of 28,237,855 tons, which represents a
'To make this graud total every registered ton on the lakes would have to pass
through the Detroit' Uiver 36.2 times, or a little ol'tener than once a w«ek, for a season
" ■' As given by the census, the freight tonnage for 1889 was 19,717,860 tons.
•■'Annual Report Chief of Engineers, 1894, p. 2378. *
<ll)id., 1895, p. 30ti8. , ..,,,-, t
'Ibid., 1896, pp. 2895,2896. Figures for 1891 and 1895 do not include Canadian
tonnage; the report for the year 1893 leaves the pQint in doubt.
"These figures were kindly furnished by Lieut. Col. tt. .1. Lydecker, the Govern-
ment engineer in charge of the iuiproveinents of the Detroit Kiver.
7 In tlio case of the St. Marys Falls Canal the freight tonnage has been con8ldera,bly
in ext-ess of the registered tonnage. Lieut. .J. B. Cavanagh, in a report to Brig. Gen.
William P. Craighill, Chief Engineer, says: "Since 1885 the Ireight toiinage has
exceeded the registered tonnage on an average by about 8 per cent. ' (House Doc.
No. 110, Fifty-fourth Congress, first session.) The figures covering the commerce ot
the Detroit River also show that the cargo tonnage usually exceeds the registered
tonnage.
y^-three was
1 up to the
he autumn,
■stand how,
)0(),00() tons
joving over
the Detroit
e lake fleet
itistics. In
8 20,235,249
IS.' During
iiy one year
the year of
liand, stead-
ross tons in
032 tons to
i»e facts are
I that only a
the Detroit
e same rela-
LS80, Some
the Detroit
:al traffic on
>8 been since
I shall pre-
lent of coni-
that it was
ime of goods
,1 amount of
ir (1889) was
from all the
18 34,571,208
>5 44,295,861
ad tonnage.^
le registered
sideration in
>12 tons and
represents a
cl have to pass
ek, fur a season
) tons.
I
liule Caniulian
ir, the Qovern-
:u considerably
rt to Brig. Gen.
Lt tonnage has
" (Houso Doc.
lie commerce of
the registered
STATISTICS OF LAlvE COMMKRCE, i
gain for the shorter period of a trifle more than 50 per cent and for the
longer period of 112.8 per cent. In 18S0 all the railroads in the I nited
States carried 619,105,030 tons of goods, and in 1894 1)74,714,747 tons,
and in 1896 773,868,710 tons.' T.cre was thus in five years a gain of
55,549,117 tons, a trifle more than 9 per cent, and in seven years a gain
of 154,703,086 tons, or 24.9 per cent. Tlie comparison, tlieretore, is
very favorable to the lakes.
As all the data have now been presented showing the growtii ot tue
total movement of commodities on tlie lakes, the development of tranic
upon the great divisions of the l.rke system will be considered. Here
ao-aiu tliere is a great dearth of information, but the situation is not so
bad as it was in the case just considered. The problem must, however,
be approached in a roundabout way, for there are no data showing the
growth of tlie total movement on any one of the chief divisions ot the
lake system. The traffic on the lower lakes (Lakes lOrie and Ontario)
is pretty accurately reflected by the movement of goods through the
Detroit Kiver. Tli'is is true, because, as has already been said, the local
business on the lakes is comparatively insigniflcaut. The movement
through the Detroit Kiver much more accurately indicates the total
traffic on the lower lakes than the commerce through the river reflects
the aggregate business of the whole lake system, and for the simple rea-
son that the local business is less in a small part than on the whole
system. In 1889 there was a total goods movement through the i )etroit
Kiver in American Vessels of 19,717,860 tons, while the total commerce
of Lakes Erie and Ontario and the St. Lawrence Kiver in American
vessels was but 807,125 tons more, or 20,524,985 tons.- If, now, it be
accepted that the growth of the traffic through the Detroit Kiver may
be regarded as a fair index of the development of commerce on the
lower lakes, it is but necessary to refer to the table, on page 3, of the
traffic passing through the river. , , «.
Just as the Detroit Kiver furnished a statistical key to the traffic on
the lower lakes, so the St. Marys Falls Oanal supplies a key to the cona-
merce of the Lake Superior division of the lake system. In fact, it
affords a better one, for all of the traffic going to and coming from Lake
Superior must passthror'^h the St. Marys Falls Canal,' while the lower
lakes have two outlets. There is also less local business on the Lake
Superior division, and for this reason also the " Soo" is a better key than
the Detroit River.* As the commerce on Lake Superior has attained
large iiroportions, the "Soo" occupies a very important position from a
statistical point of view, and, fortunately, there are vety full statistics
of the traffic moved through it from the date of its opening in ISao.'
1 Statistical Abstract, 1897, p. 335. ^i. * «. ...i
■^This amount is obtained by dividing by 2 the difference between the traffic moved
through the Detroit River and the snni of the receipts and shipments from all porta
on Lakes Erie and Ontario and the St. Lawrence Kiver. In this operation all com-
merce passing to ov from tlie lower lakes through the Detroit River is regardod as
long-distance trsifflc, and tlie reniiiinder (local trafflc) is divubMl by 2 becai ^o it
appears twice— once as shipments and again as receipts. The result thus obtained
is not to be regarded as absolutely correct, bnt it may be taken as a close approxi-
'This gateway is commonly known as the "Soo"— the abbreviation of the longer
name of Sault Ste. Marie, adopted by the .Jesuit pioneers of the soventeenth ceii tui-y.
•I During the year 1889 the local traftic on Lake Superior amounted to 3ol,9a7 net
tons. This amount was obtained by dividing by 2 the difference between tlio siini
of the shipments and receipts of Lake Superior ports and the tonuijge ol the Soo
canal.
»See comments on these statistics in Appendix I, part 1.
rp^
%
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
The following table, taken from a rejiort of (leueral Superintendent
Wheeler,' shows the growth of traffic upon the Lake Superior division
of the lake system:
(Jomvierre of the SI. Marys Falls Ca)ittl.
ISSfi . . .
. I8r)« . . .
1H57 ...
18."*...
185!) . . .
18(1(1 . . .
18111 . . .
18«-.; ...
I8fl;i . . .
1861 . . .
180D . . .
]80«...
1887 . . .
1««8...
18«fl...
1K70...
1871 ...
1872.
Year, a
toiinnKX' toiinugv. 6
Year, a
(lltU, H'JO
752, 1(11
m4, 7:i5
1873 l,'.>()4,44tl
1874 1,()70,H57
1875 l.'J5!),5:i4
1878 ],541,fi7ti
1(11), 2.in 1877 .
10l,4.'iH 1878.
18(), H'.'d 1879.
•Jlll.HlU 18^U .
;)5l',(142 i If81 .
4(i;i,0."i7 1 1882 .
'J7«. «:i» 188:1 .
359, B12 1884 .
507,434 1 1885 .
.'i71,4,m 188H.
4U9,0<I2 ; , 1887 .
4.58,,-.3U I ; 1888.
55(1,8911 I i 188!) .
432.503 i 1890 .
524,885 I J 1801 .
1892 .
1893 .
1894 .
1895.
1896 .
1897.
lti)ji8tiTCil Kri'ij{]it
tuniiii|j;u. I toiiiiai,a. fc
1,439,218 I
l,(l«7,i:i«
1,877,(171
1,734,800
2.(192,757 ! l,.^67,741
2,468, 088 1 2, U2!l, .'■|21
2, 042. 2,59 i 2 207, 105
2,097,837 ' 2. 874, ,557
3,035,037 i 3,256,828
4,219,397 I 4,527,759
4, 897, .598 i 5,404,840
5, i;iO,850 [ 8,411,423
7,221,935 : 7,518,022
8,454,435 9,041,213
8,400,885 ' 8,888,7.59
10,847,203 ■ 11,214,333
8, 049, 754 10, 796, .572
13, 1 10, 366 ' 13, 105, 860
18,808,781 i 15,062,580
17,240,418 18,239,061
17,019,933 18,932,755
(iTho ciiiinl was net opened until June 18, 1855. Tli<> tinlHc tlirougli the Oannrtian Canal, which
WKS opened to conniiene Sejittnilier !l, 1805, is included iu the above statement lor 18!)5-97.
b No roeord wa» ke|)t of tlie lacKo toiinajse, unlil June, 1881.
The very rapid growth of the tonnage passing through the St. Marys
Falls Oaniil is in striking contrast with the very slow increase of that
passing through the Detroit Kiver. The growth of the trallic through
the former gateway has also been much more uniform than that through
the latter. Since the year 1S8() business through the St. Marys Falls
Canal has increased wi\h surprising rapidity. This has been due for
the most part to tlie a.stonishing development of the iron mines of the
Lake Superior region during the last fifteen years. In 1880 but 077,073
net tons of iron ore were moved out of Lake Superior. Since 1884 the
business has grown rajadly, and during the season of 18{tr» shipments
slightly exceeded 8,()0(»,00() net tons and constituted a little more than
one-haif of the total movement of freight through the canal. In 1896
the large business of the previous year was not realized, but the move-
ment of iron ore during the season of 1897 surpassed all records, and
amounted to 10,<>;{3,715 net tons. Lumber, grain, Hour, and coal are
the other items which have made the largest contributions to the
increased movement.
There still remains of the lake system one division to be considered;
it is formed by Lakes Michigan, Huron, and St. Clair, The growth of
commerce on this group can not be set forth, even approximately. The
traffic through the Detroit River conveys some idea of the development
of the business of this group, but not a very good one. This is the
case because the local traffic upon Lake Michigan is too large to be
ignored, and because there is now a large movement of iron ore and
lumber from the ports of Lake Superior to those of Lake Michigan.
Several striking facts concerning the character of lake transporta-
tion are brought out by the traffic statistics. Probably the first to
arrest attention is the celerity with which cargoes are loaded and
'Mr. Wheeler is the Government engineer in charge of the canal.
>>»-MtM«aM«tia
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
#
eriiitendent
ior division
■red
Krflulit
216
i:;(i
ii71
81)0
i,r.n7,7ii
11x8 ' 2, 02'.l, Ml
25!) I 2 207,105
837 2. 874, Ml
i»:i7 I ;i, 256, 028
:i97 ! 4, S27,75»
ri!l8 : 5,404,6411
85'.) 6,411, 4211
iWS 7, 516, 022
435 0, 041,213
685 8, 888. 759
20,3 11,214,3.13
754 10, 796, ,572
366 13, 105, 800
781 15,062,580
418 16,239,061
933 18,982,755
iiiii Cnnnl, wliich
)5-»7.
le St. Marys
ease of that
^tie through
;hattlir()U}?h
Marys Falls
)eeii due for
nines of the
but 077,073
tjce 1884 the
n shipments
e more than
al. In 1896
It the move-
records, and
.nd coal are
tions to tlie
considered ;
16 growth of
lately. The
levelopment
This is the
hirge to be
ron ore and
[ichigan.
transporta-
the lirst to
loaded and
lual.
unloaded. Instead of losing days in receiving and discharging cargoes,
as was once the case, only honrs are now lost. I'erhaps this statement
is not strong enough, for if averages conld be (ibtained it w(mld juoba-
bly be found that it does not now reqnire so many honrs to load and
unload as it did days some years ago. Vessels lose almost no time at
the docks. It is almost literally tnie that they are constantly going or
coming; that is, they arc nearly all the time engaged in tiic work for
which they were designed, namely, carrying goods. This great dis-
patch is in a large mea.sure gained by building vessels and docks
adapted to each other. It uiust not, however, be understood that this
development has reached its final phase, for in the handling of certain
commodities much yet remains to be accomplished. As the iron ore
business has become concentrated in a few hands, with the result that
the oie is now conveyed from its natural bed in the mines to the fur-
nace by the same party, it would be expected that here would be found
the ujost harmonious and complete development of machinery for the
cheap and expeditious handling of freight, and such is the (-ase. The
docks have been so constru(!ted that ore may be spouted into all the
hatches of the ship at the same time, and just recently a dock has been
completed equipped with such a large number of hoists as to permit ore
to be raised from all of the hatches simultaneously of even the largest
vessels.' Much progress has aLso been made in the expeditious han-
dling of other commodities, particularly coal.-
Another change which has materially reduced the time vessels lo.se
in port is the new method of fueling. Instead of the vessel going to
the docks to.bfe coaled, at a great sacrifice of time, the fuel is now
brought alongside the vessel on a scow or barge and put on board while
the ship is being loaded or unloaded.
The importance of these two changes can not easily be overestimated.
They largely account for the fact that while fifteen or sixteen round trips
from the head of Lake Superior to the foot of Lake Erie were regarded
as a good season's average fifteen years ago, nothing short of twenty-
two would now be consideied as satisfactory in the iron ore traffic;. Our
interest does not center in the mechanical improvements that liave
made this greater number of trips [)ossible. It lies rather in the influ-
ence the larger number of tri[)s may have upon the cost of transporta-
tion and ultimately upon rates, and when these are taken up in detail
tiie imiirovemeiits that have increased by more than one-third the
eftective carrying power of vessels will again be considered.
Another striking fact of lake traffic is its extreme simplicity. It
is in the main made up of but few commodities. The articles which
constitute the great bulk — almost the whole — of the commerce moved
are the crude products of the extractive industries. The mines, the
forests, and the grain fields of the territory about the Great Lakes are
the sources in which, the mass of the traffic originates. During the
last census year the three commodities — iron ore, lumber, and coal —
contributed 75.73 per cent of the tonnage of the lakes, and grain and
mill products contributed 16.1.5 of the remaining 24.27 per cent, thus
leaving but 8.12 per cent undistributed.''
During the navigation season of 1896 there jmssed through the St.
' ThiH dock is located at Conueuut, and is the property of the new minerul railroad,
the Pitttsburg, KeKm-nier and Lake Erie.
^Notliing more ou tliis ]ioiiit will be said at this time, for ns encli of the lending
conimoditicH that go to make up lake coiuuiorce is studied the niachinery used in
moving it will be cousiden-d at length.
'Eleventh Census, Transportation Basiness, Part II, p. 308.
m
n
10
S'l'ATlSTICS OF LAKK COMMBRCR.
Marys Falls Canal 16,L'31),(Mn net tons of freight. To this amount iron
ore, lumber, coal, grain, and Hour contributed 15,i32,y9;{ tons.
In a very largo measure the tratlic of the Detroit River presents the
sanie simplicity ns that of the St. Marys Falls Canal. Several of the
articles, however, which were rather insignificant among the commodi-
ties sent through the St. Marys Falls Canal attained some degree of
importance among the items of freight passing through the Detroit
liiver. During the navigation season of 1895 iron ore and finished
iron, coal, grain and tlour, and lumber (not including logs) contributed
-»3,104,2;«> tons to the lir),.S45,679 net tons of freight passing through
the river. In order to more clearly set forth the simplicity of lake
traihc a detailed statement of the commerce i>a88ing through these
two channels will be inserted.
Stutenwnt of the freight tvaffio through the St. Marii» Fulls Canal for the staHon of 1896. a
ItemH.
Coul lie t tons .
Flour Imrrt'la.
Wheat bimhelN.
Uraiii, lixHudiiiK wheat ilo...
Maniiractiiroil ami pig iroii.uet tons.
Salt barrels .
Total i,
traffic. ]i
;!,023,:!40 1
8,882,8.18
0:(, 2M, 463
27, 44H, 071
121,872
237.315
Items.
Total
traffic.
f'opiier net tons.. 116,872
Iron ore do.... 7,009,250
Liiinber M I'eet.ll.M.. 084,880
Silver ore. in bullion net tons..! 240
lliiiliUntJ stone ilo 17,731
Unclas«iHe<\ freight do. . . . ] 520, 851
oThe commerce passing through the Canadian Canal is hiclndcd.
Commerce of the Detroit River during the season of 1S96, romprising staples only, and only
audi staples as were shipped on vessels that cleared from United States ports. a
Commodity.
Iron ore and finished iron,
per ore
Amount.
8oa^r-
Silver ore
Building slone : • - ■
Cement .Imrrols.
Wheat bushes.
Flour -barreU.
Corn bushels.
Rye, barley, and oats ''**• •
Flax and grass seed ...do....:
Salt barrols..
Shingles and laths pieces...
Telegraph poles -, - - ■ ••}";; " ' i
Logs .. teet,l.M..|
Lumber ......Uo....,
Provisions hogsheads..:
Unclassified freight ;
711,078
59, 425, 842
n. 536, 240
47. 334, 981
39,116,202
3.410,461
703,078
199, 170, 000
165, 734
05,000,000
, 098, 040, 400
609,000
Total.
Net tons.
8,451,688
107, 147
7, 834, 942
100
347,000
106, 677
1, 865, 735
1, 153, 620
1, 314, 403
8i4, 701
77, 516
98, 000
50, 000
42, 000
152, 500
1.639,000
130, 500
1,630,000
25, 845, 670
o Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1890, Part V, pp. 2895-2896.
Another of the conspicuous features of lake transportation is the
great preponderance of east bound over west-bound tonnage. In 1890
the total east-bound traffic through the Detroit River in American ves-
sels was 15,G70,1.'>6 net tons, while the west-bound traffic was but
6,080,757 net tons.^
Although the excess of east bound over westbound is very large m
the case of the Detroit River, it is still more characte ristic of the traf-
' Internal Commerce of the United States, 1891, p. xxxix. This is the latest year
for which we have official statistics which distinguish between east and west-bound
traffic passing through the Detroit River.
Jil
STATISTICS OF I.AKK COMMERCE.
11
nount iron
8,
eseiitH tlie
ral of the
coinniodi-
degree of
le Detroit
fiiUHiied
oiitrihuted
g tlirough
ty of lake
ugh tliese
iMoii of lS96.a
Total
traflic.
8..
118,872
7, IKW, 250
i..
0«4,g8Q
H..
240
17, 731
...
520, 851
only, and only
portta
Xettoni).
8,451,688
107, 147
7. 834. 942
100
347,000
)78
106, 677
M
1, 865, 735
UO
1, 153, 620
m
1,314,463
2U2
844,791
161
77,518
»78
08, 000
KK)
50,000
•34
42, 000
JOO
152, 500
iUO
1,639,000
100
130, 600
...
1,630,000
...
25, 845, 679
itiou is the
B. In 1890
erican ves-
c was but
iry large in
)f the traf-
e latest year
I west-bound
lie passing tlirough the St. Marya Falls Canal; moreover, present indi-
Ccations go to show that the e(]iiilibriuin will be still further disturbed,
for the east-bound niovenient tlirough the canal has recently been
inoreaaing at a more rapid rate than the west-bound. For the naviga-
tion season of 1806, the east-bound commerce passing through the
United States and Canadian canals at the Falls of St. >Iary amounted
to lli,7.'57,(MW net t^)ns, while the west-bound tonnage was but .■{,.")(U,9!)S)
net tons,' or somewhat more than one fourth of the east-bound.
The ditterence in volume between che east and west bound movements
is not so great in the case of the business to and from Lake Michigan
as it is in the case of the other lakes. The great disparity which
exists between the east and west bound commerce on the lake system,
as a whole, is largely due to the fact that as a nation we ship by all
routes much more freight to the East than we receive from the Fast.
Inequality of east and west bound shipments is not peculiar to lake
transportation; it also characterizes railroad trattic This diapropor-
tion is explained by the fact that in e.xchange for its heavy i)roduct8
of the mine, fleld, and forest, the West receives the manufactured
products of the Bast and of foreign countries. The finished products
received in exchange do not of course even remotely approa(;h the
crude products in weight and bnlk.
Local traffic on the Great Lakes is comparatively insignitlcant.
Nearly the whole of the commerce moved is carried from one end of the
lake system t(» the other. About four-fifths of the iron ore mined in
the Lake Superior region is transported to Lake Erie ports, and nearly
the whole of the remaining fifth is taken to Milwaukee and Chicago.
The shipments for tlie year 1896 amounted to 9,934,446 gross tons; of
this amount 8,026,432 tons, or about four- fifths, were received at Lake
Erfe ports.^
Nearly all of the grain and flour moved on Lake Superior is shipped
from Duluth, West Superior, and Ashland, at the extreme western end
of the lake, to Buffalo, at the extreme eastern end of Lake Erie, or a
distance of approximately 1,000 statute miles. And the bulk of the
grain and flour and other mill products transported on Lake Michigan
originates in Chicago and Milwaukee, at the southern end of the lake,
and is transported to Buffalo, at the other end of the lake system. The
total shipments of wheat, corn, and other grain in the last census year
(1889) aggregated 3,401,881 tons, and of this amount 3,008,901 tons
were shipped from the ports of lakes Michigan and Superior. The
receipts at the ports of Lakes Erie and Ontario and the St. Lawrence
Biver aggregated 2,902,378 tons. It must not be inferred, however,
that the whole of the difference represents local traffic, for upon the
whole lake system shipments exceeded receipts by 421,421 tons, and
a large part of this excess found its wjiy to Canadian ports on the lower
lakes. The total shipments of mill products amounted to 894,123 tons,
and of this amount 825,637 tons were shipped from the ports of Lakes
Michigan and Superior. Receipts at the iK>rts of lakes Erie and Ontario
and the St. Lawrence aggregated 861,187 tons.^
Lumber, the one large item remaining of the east and south bound
freight, is also, for the most part, long-distance freight, but its places
' These figures were kindly fnrniahed by the officers in charge of the canal.
' See Appendix III for detailed statement of shipment and receipt of iron ore by
ports for a series of years.
^ It is to be noted that the receipts of mill products exceeded the shipments by
97,943 tons. There were some importations from Canada, but it seems hardly prob-
able that they equaled this amount.
19
STATISTICS OF LAKK C(»M.MERCE.
of origin and destination are .so nnnu^rouH that tliis fact can not easily
be pointed out. The west bound tradic consistH sthiiost entirely of the
one artii'le coal. It i'()nn.s cargoes for vessels on return trips up the
hikes, and as it is shipped from Lake I'irie ports and in the nuuu is
carried to the ports at the far ends of lakes .Michigan and Sni)erior, it
too is long distan<'e freight. In the hist census year the total niove-
nient of coal and coki^ was (»,1()."),7!M> tons.'
The shipments from Lake l^rie ports aggregated .■»,iy(J,181i tons, and
the receipts at the ]>orts of lakes Mii higan and Superior were 4,fJll>,(»!)0
tons. The total shipments on the lakes exceeded receipts by 1»4;{,32S
tons, and ])robably the bulk of this excess represents exportations to
Canada, some ol' wiiich was carried well up the lakes. All the large
items of lake eoninierce have now been con.sidered, and it has been
fiMind that in general they may be regarded as long distance freight.
This is ecpially true of most of the smaller items and of the pai kage
freight, lint limitations of space forbid a detailed examination of the
various items. I n conclii.sion, some general evidence of recent date will
be submitted to show the preponderance of the through traflic. (leii-
eral Sni)erintendeiit Wheeler reports that the average distance that the
l(i,l.'3}),(Kil tons of freight which i)as.sed through the St. Marys Canal
in 189(5 were carried was S30.4 miles. And in the brief recently pre-
pared by Mr. C. II. Keep for the Lake Carrier.s' Assiiciatiou it is stated
that the average length of haul for the L'9,(>00,()U0 tons of freight that
pa.ssed Detroit in LSIK") was 750 miles.
Far-reaching changes in the instrumentalities employed in the move-
ment of lake commerce have lately taken place. Not (mly has there
been a very rapid increase in the size of the vessels, but there has also
been a revolution in the materials u.sed in their construction and in the
motive power emph>yed. In 1S1»8 the avei age size of the sailing veslfels
on the lakes was LjS gross tons; in 1870 it was L")0 tons; a decade
later it had increaserl to 20!> tons, and two decades later to 258 tons,
while in LS97 the average tonnage of the sailing vessels was .330 gross
tons. Steamers have increased in size even more rapidly. In 1808
their average gross tonnage was "31 tons, and in 187(), 223 tons.
During the next ten years it remai. .bout stationary, being but 228
tons in ISSO. The folh)wing decade, however, witnes.sed a very rapid
increase, and the average admeasurement of the steamers that plied
on the lakes in 18JK) was 427 gross tons. There was still further
progress during the succeeding seven years, and in 1897 the average
gross tonnage of the lake steamers had reached 551 tons, or almost
two and one-half times what it was in 1870.
Owing to the comparative absence from Lake Superior of small craft
engaged in passenger and local freight business, the average size of
the vessels in the heavy and long-distance freight traffic of the lakes
is much more accurately indicated by averages covering the vessels
employed in the commerce of this lake than by the figures tliat have
just been presented. In 1870 the average registered tonnage of the
various kinds of vessels passing throi' /"^ the St. Marys Falls Canal was
approximately 375 tons; in 1880 it was about 495, and by 1890 it liad
increased to about 800 tons. In 1890 it had much more than doubled as
compared with 1870, and was 920 tons registered. Figures showing the
progressive increase of the average size of the vessels constituting the
whole lake tieet have now been presented. These averages do not, how-
ever, convey an adequate idea of the change which has taken place, and
for the obvious reason that because the life of a ship extends over a con-
I Coke is a very small item.
T i f t 'in a t^'-' nrnT-"- r-*-^!^ — ■ -■ —
I not easily
iiely of the
trips up the
he nuiiu is
8iii)erior, it
total movo-
iw tons, mid
rc4.(il!t,(;!>0
by !»4a,3L>8
ortatioiiH to
II the larfje
t has bcoii
nice freight,
he package
ation of the
Mit (late will
atlic. Geu-
nco that the
larys Canal
[>cently pre-
1 it is stated
freight that
a the move-
ly has there
ere has also
n and in the
ilingvesSBls
s; a decade
to 258 tons,
as 330 gross
ly. In 1808
70, 223 tons.
Bing but 228
1 very rapid
:'8 that plied
still further
the average
s, or almost
f small craft
irage size of
of the lakes
the vessels
es that have
tnage of the
Is Canal was
1890 it had
n doubled as
showing the
jtituting the
do not, how-
m place, and
8 over a con-
:f
%
.*2 --M ^
tf
f6 . iS)
asi'
CHART II.
AVLRAOC QROSS TONNAGE OF SAILING AND STEAM VESSELS
ft
1868
1863
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
I87S
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1683
\ ..._..-_. .- .. --._-_ _
_
t
t
1 1
1 , , , I P , . ,_,,._,,,_ .. _ i >
IL u^^^jiuZ. L ^
3on IL Z _!ifcS' ' Z^-
^°° — -/_ :_$£___ — _::e::'^ s
^1 — ^ ..— 'j .sM^r-?"..:::^:::::
200 ::::::::::::?^::::-:->^::::::::i::::::::::51^^:::::-::J^:::: !s:;s
-•■^Ifi-'i. ¥t ^ ^c-k- J^'--^^ 'Is
ITTTr=M4Hl 1 l>N LtW Kl T
± ^» \Vt T
,00 -- -- Si»^,:l 4\.
1 ^ ^ ^ '^
J.1 ^""i — «''
„ "" " T T "^ " ""■ ~"~ ::::
CHART II.
I OF SAILING AND STEAM VtS&CLS BUILT ON THE NORTHERN LANba,
X" "^ - _'^_"",_H--_ 4-
__L - _ If
,. „ _ J
_^ i
_ _ 1.
__ __ j_
[_
J
i.
_ __ L.
_ .. J
_ _ _ _4_X
t
__ ^
":::_::::::":::":::::::::::" "" :::~ :::_: _ i ~
L
_ . :_:::::::::":::::::::: ::::~^i" i: ----- -^--
:::::::::::::_::::::::::_:::3^_:::_s::::_:::_:: :^_::__:
_ __ __:__: i::::::::""!^: ::::}::::::::: 14::: —
kl-AAi Wm /
^ i ^^
::: ::_ :":::::::::::::: _:::^::~':~::~" — ± " l~i — ^ :it
:__:_: :::: ::::::::: : jr ~ : i~ i 1\
:__:::::::_::^::::::::_:_:::__:::t:- t : l. -.t t-t-i
:: : 12: 3 ^. ^"z t it S
__ i_ !_:_ _iit:::""i"_ '" — h- - -- - .-^-- + \ -
^; I 1:^:11 — "!:"'"": " i -ti
11 _ ::::_:i::::_"_ :::__:::"::~"ij~ :5: ~ " t St
_ a--\ i_:i — ' i!zs 1 — X
- L i^ -- ii±i i: _ii:i::i_ii_iii i:"i"" ~ "._ ^ ~ i ~±i~ i
.. ^_- _S^ ,c 2^^ ^ ^.^ J A
__ / :- ___i:i:ii ^>:::i::::::::5z_:s^:: — i' '5' . 2 : _.-
^^ ?^ -.i-i^i^^t::: jCzs ±t s 1
2 -.-.^^ -- - rfC-i-i z: 5_ : — lit 2 s ~ ^ ~ ^z ~JL "■ ~"
•'^L /""^i^ ,(S^5i iii'^ _ii::i:ii355^ - * - t - ^~"± — ~
1 f f T rllJ^l N W N 1 '♦"kT T IN / \ /^
^ 52 --%■; — :nj^ I : :s""'t ^zt
Z - ^^Z_ \l£^Z I ^. JZ S'
2 V _!__: w ~"
-^ :::::::::::s;f-::::_::::::. :::_::
::: 11::::
STATISTICS OF LA.KE COMMERCE. W
siderable period of time, tlie small vessels constructed in the earlier
periods are still in existence to depress the averages of the later periods.
To eliminate this source of error, statistics will be given showing the
average size of the new construction year by year.' In order to show
clearly the trend, these statistics are presented in the form of a chart,
which appears on the opposite page.
The chart clearly shows that the average tonnage of the sailing ves-
sels has uot greatly iiK-reased, and the average tonnage of the steamers
shows no remarkable change up to the fiscal year 1887. From 1887,
however, the average tonnage increased by leaps and bounds. The
average gross tonnage of the steamers built in 188() was but 20JL10 tons,
while in 1891 it was 758.72 tons, and in 1897 l,'t;i6.91 tons. This is equiv-
alent to an increase in size of 534 per cent in the twelve year period under
consideration. To enable one to form an accurate conception of the
size and carrying capacity of the propellers now being constructed, I
shall give the dimensions of a steamer now being built for the Bessemer
Steamship Company by F. W. Wheeler & Co. This vessel is larger
than any vessel afloat on the lakes or any other vessel now building.
She will measure 475 feet over all, and will have a beam measurement
of 50 feet and a depth of 29 feet. Her carrying capacity will be between
6,500 and (3,750 gross tons on a mean draft of 17 feet.^
These dinieusions and capacity will probably very soon be exceeded,
for the tendency seems to be toward still larger vessels. To give the
reader some idea of the relative size of lake and ocean vessels, I shall
compare the dimensions of the U rgest vessel about the lakes with those
of two of the largest ocean ye? mis— Kaiser Wilhelm der Orosae, which
is the largest stfeamer now in service, and the Oceanic, now building —
the largest steamer either in service or building.
Uimcnsions.o
Bensemer
steamer.
Eoiser
Willielra
tl«r (JrosBe.
Oceaiilo.
I Feet. Feet. Feet.
Xengthovernll ' 1!5 848 704
LonKthofkeel ■-■--; "I'S -.-: 685
Si::::::::::::::::::-"---"------""----"--'- | 20 «, 46
a The dimenBions of theae ships were furnished by Mr. L. M. Bowers, general manager of the BeHse-
mer Steamship (Jompauv; Oolrichs & Co., New York agenta of Nortli German Lloyd, and the >ew
York agents of the White Star Line.
It appears by this table that the Oceanic, the largest ocean vessel,
surpasses the largest lake vessel in the matter oi length by 48 per cent,
in breadth of beam by 36 per cent, and in depth by 58 per cent. The
great disparity in the matter of depth is explained by the shallowness
of the water in the harbors and channels which connect the lakes.
Another conspicuous feature of the history of the lake fleet is the
rapid substitution of steam for sails as a motive power. In 1808 there
were in the waters of the Great Lakes 624 steam vessels, with a meas-
urement of 144,117 gross tons, and 1,855 sailing vessels, with a measure-
ment of 293,978 gross tons. The saihng tonnage was thus a trifle more
than double that of the steam tonnage. The relative importance of
these two classes of vessels changed very slowly during the next fifteen
years, and it was not until 1884 that the steam exceeded the sail ton-
' Those statistics may be found in Appendix 1.
' These facts were kindly furnished to me by Mr. L. M. Bowers, general manager of
the Bessemer Steamship Company.
14
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
' 11%
uage. Since 1884 the spoiling tonnage, as it appears on the records of
the Bureau of Navigation, has remained about stationary, being 307,733
gross toiiH in that year and 331,104 gross tons in 1897. Tlie steam ton-
nage, on tlie otlier hand, has increased with great rapidity since 1884,
and is now nearly three times as great as the sail tonnage. In reality,
however, the sailing tonnage is very mnch less now than it was in 1884.
Many of the vessels classed as sailing vessels have really been trans-
formed into barges, tor they are now habitually towed. These vessels
are diHicult to classify, as they have not been dismantled. If their
rigging were taken down, they would be classified with the barges.
The law requires the Commissioner of Navigation to document and
report vessels by their rig. Whether canvas is occasionally or never
stretched is a matter into which he can not otHcially enter. "The rig's
the thing," The acts of Congress assume that where a vessel has
motive power of its own it uses it, though it is generally known that
towing is resorted to, and to a very great extent.
The tonnage of sailing vessels on the records of the Bureau of Navi-
gation also includes a number of vessels almost always spoken of on the
lakes as barges. These vessels form a very respectable tonnage, as most
of the new steel barges fall within this group. These barges are otlicially
classified as sailing vessels, for the same reason that many of the ves-
sels that were once sailing vessels, but are now barges, are still otticially
grouped with the sailing vessels — namely, for the reason that they are
rigged. Most of the new steel barges can spread a limited amount of
canvas, but they are habitually towed, and only raise their canvas when
si favorable wind blows. The statistics without explanation, therefore,
convey but a very imperfect idea of the extent to which business is
now being done by sailing vessels. Sailing vessels, in the true sense,
have practically disappeared from Lake Superior. When at St. Marys
Falls Canal, I was informed, on the Dth of September, by Mr. Andrew
Jackson, one of the oflflcers in charge of the canal, that but six sailing
vessels running independently had been passed through the locks
during tlie season of 18!)7.' Mr. A. B. Wolvin, a vessel owner and
one of the largest shippers on the lakes, told me about the middle of
September that he had seen but one sailing vessel on Lake Superior
running independently in six years.'' Sailing vessels have also largely
disappeared from the lower lakes. More of them remain on Lake Michi-
gan than on any other lake. They are largely engaged in transporting
lumber, ties, and posts, and do not often traverse the narrow chan-
nels connecting the different lakes through which it would be neces-
sary to be towed. With the disappearance of sailing vessels, the large
fleets of tugs stationed at the St. Marys, St. Clair, and Detroit rivers
have lost a once profitable employment, and have now practically
disappeared.
Perhaps the best evidence we have of the favor in which sad and
steam vessels are now held aretiie statistics of construction for the last
two years. The reports of the Commissioner of Navigation show that
the steam tonnage constructed on the northern lakes during the last
two fiscal years was almost eleven times that of the sail tonnage— the
' This mny surprise one faniiliiir with the annual reports of the commerce passing
tlirouuh the St. xVIarys FsiUs Canal. For instance, the latest report gives the number
of sailing vessels passed through tlie locks iu 18t)« as 4,391. It seeras straiige that
80 few shouhl use the locks in 1897. The situation is made elear by an explanation
of the classitioatioii adopted in the report. In the canal report, all vessels not pro-
pelled Ity steam power, snch as schooners, barges, and eonsorts of all kinds, and
which are registered by the United States, are classed as "sailing vessels.'
-It needs hardly to be said that plieasure boats are not included in this discussion.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
15
he records of
jeiiig 307,733
le steam toii-
fcy since 1884,
III reality,
fc was in 1884.
y been trans-
riieae vessels
ed. If their
the barges,
ocunient and
illy or never
"The rig's
< vessel has
known that
reau of Navi-
)ken of on the
niige, as most
s are oHicially
ly of the ves-
still otticially
that they are
;ed amount of
canvas when
ion, therefore,
h business is
le true sense,
1 at St. Marys
1 Mr. Andrew
tut six sailing
igh the locks
el owner and
the middle of
jake Superior
e also largely
n Lake Michi-
I transporting
narrow chan-
inld be neces-
sels, the large
Detroit rivers
>w practically
hich sail and
on for the last
ion show that
iring the last
tonnage — the
iminerce passing
;ivestlie niiniber
tins Htraiige that
au explnnation
vessels not pro-
f all kintls, and
essels."
this discussion.
former being 137,530.80 tciipi and the latter 12,001. 11 tons. The .sailing
tonnage, as here given, doe.s not include the steel sailing vessels, all of
which, I am informed by Mr. W. I. Babcock, manager of the Chicago
Ship Building Company, are really barges.
Steam is relied upon as a motive i)owertoeven a greater extent than
the statistics which liave been given would indicate. The barges are
towed by the steamers, and so the barge tonnage is moved by steam
powi'r. The barge tonnage on June 30, 18U7, as reported by the Com-
missioner of Navigation, was 00,783 tons. This statement does not
include any of the sailing vessels that are always towed but have not
been dismantled. Nor does this statement include any of the rigged
barges of new construction that now form a respectable tonnage; in
the single year 1897 there was a gross tonnage of rigged steel barges
constructed of 34,()30.37 tons. The statistics of construction and of
the lake fleet are likely to be progressively misleading if continued
according to the classification which now obtains, for transportation by
tow barges seems to be gaining in favor. This is in part due to the
fact that the dock facilities have been so enlarged that the steamer and
her consort or consorts may be unloading at the same ti»ne. Formerly,
as a general thing, the boats could only be unloaded in detail, and the
steamer lost valuable time in waiting for the barges.
Circumstances decidedly favor the substitution of steam for sails.
Steamers are operated on the Great Lakes under conditions the most
favorable for steam navigation. Good steaming coal can be bought in
the ports of the lakes at a very low price, and the voyages are very short
in comparison with the long ocean voyage, a fact which makes it unnec-
essary to carry a great amount of dead freight in the form of coal. The
comparatively limited extent of the lakes is favorable to steam naviga-
tion for still another reason. In severe storms sailing vessels are helpless
and drift with the wind. On the ocean this is not dangerous, because
there is sea room, but on the lakes vessels are soon driven ashore and
wrecked. This danger is not so great in the case of steamers, for they
can run against the wind and usually succeed in standing off from the
shore.' These facts, together with the general desire of the modern
business world for dispatch, sufliciently explain the change from sails
to steam.
The increased size of ships and tiie substitution of steam for sails —
two of the three radical changes we have to consider — have rendered
desirable, in order to secure strength with lightness and elasticity, the
third change, namely, the substitution of steel for wood as the material
for con8tru(!tion. In lake vessels the machinery is placed far aft, and
as the vibration is in most cases very much increased by the machinery
being in this position, the hull must be made unusually strong. The
hulls of lake vessels are also subjected to unusual strains, because of
the machinery being placed far aft, when the boats are running light —
ttiat is, without cargo, the explanation being that the weight of the
machinery and coal sinks the stern, and in rough weather the forward
end of the ship is thrown very much out of water, producing a heavy
" hogging" strain. This has been materially lessened in more modern
vessels by increasing the depth of the water bottom, and thus the amount
of water carried when light, but is at times very much aggravated by
the practice of admitting free water into the cargo holds aft in order to
get the wheel well down into the water so it will work effectively.
' During the navigation soason of 1896, of the 14 vessels which were stranded and
were a total loss, onlr 2 were steamers; the others were schooners. (The Marine
Review, Vol. XIV, No. 24, p. 7.)
^T.r •"iniiiiiiii
iiiaii
16
STATISTICS 01' LAKE COMMEHCE.
With ti.e VBS8.1 10,1.10.1 the stral..* are K.« .• itb «'» "f ';•'' '™S' of
ts:•':ST,rr:,rs;^'So„l^^^^
«n7v ind dur biSy, the prelercnco for steel has bei^ome very deculed,
•S^;8 the nr ce (^^f steTluts falleu very rapidly and that of wood has
r i it ha becMH ne pr<>titable to substitute steel for wood. There is
3 nblv ii'tluMVorld today no place at tide water where ship plates
??be ifii . low. for a less price than they can be manufactured or pur-
Phased It the lake ports. Then' is, therefore, every reason tor steel
hehi?substHuS for wood. In 188(5 there were but six steel vessels,
iTfV.^.n a^. rS^^^^^^^^ <S+"'5> tons afloat in the lake; since
Ss l^?lha^ Kn a rovZl^ in Ihe material of the rtoating eduip^
ISSu tiiere nas ueeu <i i^^> tonna<>-e of steel vessels on the
site naoe shows the wood and metal tonnage by years since 1880.
L™ of the more etfective organization and use o labor ai I
mfteri lt.rce8 and the use of improved facilities for handling freight
Iw imn, .vprnents wUuh the railroad liavo introduced tor tlio expe-
d tiou/l Si ng of fS't »t terminals have been n.ore than equaled
Sy r oek and steamlhi,. com„anie., and the 'f '>a>'y "'f^j/''^
fe^r,tritit^?.,sr?oirSe:':^rtr'r„r^^^^^^
I si al now endeavor to show to what extent rates have follen I^ust
lent fluctuations that characterize ake f»*««- J^.^^.^V^^^
evils of an injudicious starting point, and also the inore ^i^^-^ij ^» 1'"^
,The«ettgur.,8 include tho ivou vessel., which have a gross toauage of about 30,000
tons.
al arraiigeimiiit
coustructetl of
of wood. It is
f of 30 per cent
1 hull. Steel is
IS inticli better,
elasticity, buoy-
le very decided,
lat of wood lias
,vood. There is
lere ship plates
ifactured or pur-
leasoii tor steel
ix steel vessels,
the lake; since
s rtoating e(iuip-
1 vessels on the
one half that of
Steel was the
s of the tonnage
lart on the oppo-
since 1880.
Lse of labor and
handling freight
iTient of the per-
I etticient instru-
possiblc to lower
res have been in
e also have made
s, heavier rails,
interpart on the
•e ettective locks ;
;ed for the expe-
lore than equaled
idity with which
IS the marvelous.
trains, and simi-
1 to increase the
he improvements
g charges on the
firiff on the lakes,
ave fallen. First,
th those of other
iting to do this we
lamely, the period
rioda shall be con-
ways a perplexing
)ecauseof thevio-
avoid some of the
lore clearly to por-
long ijferiod. The
;ween Chicago and
nge. The charges
sauage of about 30,000
CHAR1
FREIGHT RATES ON WHEAT (CENTS PER BU8»
Cents.
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
12
11
10
! 1
>
<
/
\
J
r ■
V
r-
/
■^
\
j
f-
\
Jl
/
y
\
K
\
'
/
\
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
\
/
\
\
]
\
\
/
\
\
/
V
\
,1
/
\
f
\
1
\
/
\
/
/
V
I
/
/
\
r~
,
[
/
/
\
/
V
/
\
/
\
/
V
r
\
\
1
I
\
i
i
I
/
\
\
,
1
i
\
I
f
\
V
li
1
/
>
L
\
I
/
V
f
\
>
\
\
i
/
Jl-
^
a
•■
/
\
/
v
/'■
-
"*
—
\
i
f
>r
/
I
J
I
f
\
1
^
^
s,
s
s
\,
i
s
r
1
1
1
j 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
\
1
—
.,.
r
i
1
, 1
1
-
1
\ ■
1
I
1
1
1
!
L
L.
—
_
_
_
^
^
CHART IV.
ATE8 ON WHEAT (CENTS PER BUSHEL) BY LAKE FROM CHICAQO TO BUFFALO.
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1
1 —
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
S
4
3
2
1
\
\
\
;
\
V
\
\
\
V
\
\
1
1
V
V
1
\
/
I
V
J
\
*
\
i
f
\
r
i
>
\
I
/
\
\
i
'
\
^
L
1
/
V
/
1
1^
r
)
'
1
r
>
VJ
/
sj
k
V
A
k
J
V
s
J
^
s
N
L
i
r
\
*
f
1
L
\
■~1
/
f
s
/
V
J
V
s
f
s
/
N
f
>
V
J
s
k
^
"^
>
^
^
f
>
^
^
y
s
v
>
"^
i;
N
s
/
^
s
/
-
1
' 1
1
i
-
i
1
1 1
J
_
^
J
— 1
-J
_
_
^
__
^
_
_
_
STATlSTirS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
17
for tbis commodity alotie were charted, because wbeat ia a representa-
tive freight, and fairly reflects the general movement of rates.'
The chart shows that the trend has been very decid« dly downward.
I shall not attempt to describe more minutely the downwr ' movement,
because it is quite impossible to select representative > rs, and the
chart presents the matter very clearly and forcibly. The first feature to
arrest attention is the exceedingly violent fluctuation of the lake rates.
The very erratic movement of the rates is explained by the method of
fixing rates adopted by the lake carriers, who introduce an entirely
new schedule at the opening of each season of navigation and alter it
many times during the season. When business is heavy the rates go
up, and when business is light the rates go down.
The following table shows the fluctuations of a single season :
Current iceekh) freiuhta, per bushel, oh wheat from Chicano to Itupilo by lake durinii the
eeanon of 1895.
[Keport of Clilcttgo Board of Trade, 1806, p. 113.]
These violent fluctuations serve to show the flexibility of the lake
charges, the readiness with which the rates are adjusted to what the
traffic will bear, and stand in striking contrast with rail rates, which
respond but slowly. . , ,. « * _
As a general thing, the discussions of lake rates are misleading. Kateg
have sometimes been so selected as to give one the impression that
charges have fallen very rapidly and continuously. The following is
an example in point: "In 1857 the average rate by lake and canal on
a bushel of wheat from Chicago to New York was 25.29 cents ; in 1870 the
rate for the same service was 17.1 cents per bushel ; in 1880 it was 12.27
cents per bushel, and in 1890 5.85 cents per bushel." Now note what a
change is introduced by selecting the rates prevailing in 1858 instead
of 1857, and in 1871 instead of 1870:
Tear.
18S7
1870
1880
1800
Bates.
Tear.
Oenti.
25.29 Jl 1858.
17.10 I! 1871.
12.27 ; 1880.
5.85 |i 1890.
|i
Rate*.
Cent!.
16.28
20.24
12.27
S.85
These examples show how important it is, if it be desired to communi-
cate a correct impression of the movement of rates, that the greatest
circumspection be exercised in the selection of the points of the move-
i These rates and those for several other commodities may be found in the appendices.
H. Doc. 277 2
IH
STATISTirS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
iiiuiit that are to be compared, and particularly in the choice of the
initial point.
Another method of presenting hike frei|<;lits in a very favorable
light is by contrasting them with rail rates, which is usually done
in the following manner: The average charge on all the railroads in
tlie United States for hauling 1 ton 1 mile for some year is compared
w'*^^h the average amount exacted for a siuiihir service on the lakes.
Obviously this sort of i)ro(!edure is unfair to the railways, for the serv-
ice they perform differs from that rendered by the lake carriers. The
railroad tonnage is largely nmde up of local freight, while tlie freight
tonnage of tlie lakes is through traffic, and is composed of but few com-
modities, all of wiiicli are handled in large (luantities. This character-
istic of lake commerce is of the greatest moment, for it makes sjicciali-
/aticm in the sliipping busin(ss possible, and assures a full cargoof one
article at one jjort. It is needless to say tl.at rates on the lakes would
not be so low as they are if it were necessary to so (tonatruct vessels as
to enable tliem to carry a variety of commodities, and if tliey were com-
pelled to go to a number of i>orts to collect the (sargoes; and then, too,
it is to be remembered that the lake hauls are usually very long ones —
a fact that has a most important bearing on rates.
Another way of showing the relative cost to the public of lake and
rail service, that is often resorted to, is the compariAju of lake and rail
rates on some commodity which is transported ir. large quantities,
and for long distances, by both carriers. Wheat and corn are such com-
modities. Have we here proper conditions for comparison? Clearly
the circumstances are much nearer what they should be than they were
in the case of the comparison of ton-mile charges; but even in this in-
stance the conditions are not exactly fair. Allowance should be made
for the fact that the National Government not only provides the lake
carriers with channels and harbors free of charge, but also maintains
them in good condition without compensation. In addition, there arb
minor factors that favorably affect t*'c cost of the service rendered by
the lake carriers, such as the liberality displayed toward the shipping
interest by some of our State legislatures in the matter of taxation,' and
the fact that the railroads continue their service during the winter,
when the cost of service is manifestly much greater than during the
summer. Thus it must be granted that even in the case of com^mrison
of the lake and rail rates for some commodity whieb is transported in
large quantities and for long distances by both carriers, we have not
found a fair basis upon which the freight charges of the two transporta-
tion agencies can be contrasted, because the community as a whole
comeB t«) the assistance of the lake carriers, and because the service is
rendered by one of the (iarriers at all times and by the other only at
certain seasons when conditions are favorable.
As far as possible the statistical matter has been arranged in the
appendices to correspond with the main divisions of the text. — for
example, in Appendix I will be found the tables that should accompany
the introductory part of the report. Freight rates for any commodity
may be found in the appendix corresponding in number to the part of
the text in which the particular commodity is treated.
'Minnesota is a good example. By an act recently passed, its shipping on the
Great Lakes is practieally exempt from taxation. Vessels pay a State tux of hut 3
cents per net ton, and are entirely exempt from municipal taxation. (Report of
Commissioner of Navigation, 1895, p. 202.)
s,
choice of the
cry favorabhf
UHually (lone
e railroads in
r is (*oinpared
on the lakes.
for the serv-
carriers. The
ile the freight
f but few com-
Miischaracter-
iiil{(>s spcciali-
11 cargo of one
iikcs would
met vessels as
they were coui-
and then, too,
ry long ones —
lie of lake and
f lake and rail
•ge quantities,
I are such com-
ison ? Clearly
than they were
3ven in this in-
lould be made
•vides the lake
also maintains
ition, there arb
ce rendered by
d the shipping
f taxation,' and
ing the winter,
lan during the
B of comitarison
transported in
'8, we have not
two trail sporta-
lity as a whole
le the service is
le other only at
Eirranged in the
' the text. — for
)uld accompany
any commodity
' to the part of
i Bhipping on the
State tux of but 3
ation. (Report of
STATISTICS OF 1,AK« CoMMKRCK.
Appendix I.
A VALUATION OF THE DATA FKRNISHKI) HY THK TKKASIUY AND WAR
DEI'AIM'MF.NTS.
The data collected by the Treasury Department fall under three
heads, (1) that concerning tlie fleets; {'2) that concerning the foreign
commerce; (.'<) that having to do with the coastwise trndc. Hut little
fault can be found with tlie fa(;ts concerning the fleet collected under
the supervision of the Commissioner of Navigati«»n. The accuracy of
the facts he iniblislies can iu»t be questioned, but they might in (me
important parti(!ular give more inforniati(m than they do; in many
cases it is impossible to ascertain the motive power employed. Vessels
on the lakes are now (classed as sailing vessels, steamers, barges, and
canal boats. All rigged craft are grouped together as sailing Acssels.
As a result of this classitication most of the vessels (commonly known
as barges are called sailing vessels, although they are regularly towed,
and simply because they are rigged to carry a limited anunint of canvas.
Two sources of error result from this grou])ing: (1) Wind is made a more
important motive power than it really is, and (-) the new sailing ves-
sels are made to ajqiear very large, wliile in fact they are generally
very small vessels. I'erhaps these sources of error could be eliminated
by introducing a new group to be known as schooner barges. To do
this, the statute;^ would first have to be altered.
Most of the vessels of the old schooner fleet are now regularly towed,
but as they are still rigged they are classed with the sailing vessels,
with the result that wind, according to the statistics, still appears to
be relied upon to a very large extent as a propelling force. This source
of error can not apparently be removed from the classitication, for
most of these vessels are in a position to run independently at any
moment. As these vessels are not replaced by similar vessels as they
become too old for service, or are wrecked, errors due to their exist-
ence will gradually disappear. The statistics of our foreign trade car-
ried on over the lakes leave little, if anything, to be desired. The laws
seem to be sufficiently stringent, and they appear to be rigidly enforced.
Our foreign commerce over the lakes, however, is comparatively small,
so these wise regulations only cover a small portion of the lake traffic.
For several reasons tiie custom- house records of the coastwise com-
merce of the lakes are unreliable.
First of all, the laws governing the filing of manifests are not what
they should be. They are faulty in three respects, and these were
pointed out by Mr. C H. Keep, in his report of 1891 on " The Commerce
and Shipping of the Great Lakes." They are as follows : Under exist-
ing laws vessels carrying goods from a port in one collection district
to another port in the same district are not required to report or clear
at the custom-houses, and there is, therefore, no record in the custom-
houses of the comrao(iities so carried. But as the local business on the
lakes is very small, this does not seriously impair the accuracy of the
records. Second, there are a number of small ports on the lakes where
there are no custom-houses, but at which a large lake business is done.
Third, under the regulations that now obtain, a ship may clear from a
port on the lakes for another port, and may stop at one or more inter-
mediate ports, where she may receive and discharge cargo without
reporting at the custom-houses of the intermediate ports.
The records of the custom-houses at the intermediate ports will show
only the business done at such ports by vessels which make them
■■uy«ew«»aMH
20
STATIHTICH OV I.AKK COMMKKC'E.
their orif^inal port of deiiaitiire oi- iiltiinut^ port of (Icstiiiiitioii. To
tlie cxU'iit to wliirli tliii ports iiic iiitvriiicdiatv portH, the records of
the custom house will fall short of the business transacted at these
ports. Krrors due to this cause seriously al!cct the value of the records,
au<l will |)rol>ahly do so to an increasing; extent, for the tralllc of the
intermediate ports seems to be growing. The inaccuracies resulting
from these three sources of error seriously impair the value of the
records of t he coastwise commerce of the (ireat Lukes. There are, how-
ever, still other sotirces of error, and in comparison with which tiiose
just enumerated are unimportant. The re(|uirement8 of the law are
not always acrui>ulously lullilled. The nuinifcsts<'overing cargoes that
are tiled in the custom-houses in compliaiute with the law do uot always
give the cargoes <'orrectly.
lnacenra<Mes are due to the following causes: (1) Masters are per-
mitted, under certain circumstances, to (tlear at the same time they
enter — this custom is productive of error because masters luay not, for
a variety of reasons, take aboard what they supp«)sed they would when
they cleared; (2) masters do not often know what they have on board
when they clear, even after their vessels are loaded — in some cases the
statements on the basis of which freight is collected are nnide up after
the ship has lelt port, and forwarded to the captain by uiail or tele-
graph, and in nnmenuis instances ca])tains never know what they have
on board, as they are simply directed to go to a certain place and load
(the manager of the dock being informed how much to put on), and
then ordered to depart for a certain port, where the nuimiger of the
dock assumes all responsibility for records; (■'{) in the case of miscella-
neous cargoes, it would be necessary to delay the departure of the boats
in some cases in order to give a correct statement of the cargoes, so the
manifests are likely to be the captains' estimates of what they have on
board, and (4) some errors are due to indittierence— in the minds of
some captains the filing of a manifest is a mere form, for statistics, in
their opinion, have no value.
Any attempt to remedy these evils should take cognizance of the fact
that vast sums of money have been expended in terminal facilities, ii.
order to secure dispatch in loading and unloading, and, therefore, regu-
lations that would detain vessels would undo that which has been
gained at an enormous expenditure of money and energy. Jf captains
are forced to file correct statements of cargoes, vessels would in many
cases be detained for some hours, and captains put to great incon-
venience and to considerable expense. The docks are usually scattered
over an enormous extent of territory. If a vessel finishes loading at 1
o'clock at night, the captain may be forced to walk several miles to the
custom-house, as the street cars have probably stopped running, or
secure a carriage at no little inconvenience and expense. Perhaps ac-
curate statistics could be obtained and greater dispatch given to ves-
sels by making the shippers instead of the captains responsible for
reports.
Before leaving the data furnished by the Treasury Department a word
must be said about the report on "The Commerce and Shipping on the
Great Lakes," made by Mr. 0. H. Keep, secretary of the Lake Carriers'
Association, and which formed a part of the "lieport on the Internal
Commerce of the United States for the year 1891." Mr. Keep, wherever
possible, went back of the returns of the custom-houses, and so in a
measure eliminated the errors of these returns. Especial value, there-
fore, attaches to his statements.
The facts furnished by the Department of War fall under two heads,
cstiiiatioii. To
the records of
acted at these
ot the records,
e tralllc of the
acies residtiii;;
e value of the
rhere are, how-
tli wliicli tiiose
oC tlie hiw are
\iii cargoes that
f do not always
asters are per-
aiiie time they
IS iiMiy not, tor
ley would when
have oil hoard
some cases the
' made up after
)y mail or tele-
ffliat they have
place and load
put on), and
nanager of the
i8e of miscella-
ire of the boats
cargoes, so the
it they have on
1 the minds of
ar statistics, iu
nice of the fact
lal facilities, ii.
therefore, regu-
hich has been
y. Jf captains
would in many
to great incou-
mally scattered
168 loading at 1
ral miles to the
led running, or
1. Perhaps ac-
sh given to ves-
responsible for
artment a word
Shipping on the
Lake Carriers'
>ii the Internal
Keep, wherever
is, and so iu a
al value, there-
ider two heads,
WTATI«TI< H Ol' LAKK COMMKKOE.
21
(1) tliose based iipcm the oiistom-house lei-ords. and (-') those collected
indc|ieiitl» iitly. For the iiKtst part the statistics piildislicd by the War
J)epartmfiit are based upon tlu' custom Ikmisc rcinrris, and no attempt
is made to eliminate the errors <»t these rctiinis. The statements of
tralllc tliioiiiih tlie Detroit Kiver and of the biisiiiess traiisuctcd at the
lake i»oits me always, I believe, based 'ip(Mi the records of the custom-
houses, and are liit'refoie subjet-t to all the (criticisms that have just
been pa sed upon these records. The statemeiitsof tiic trallic through
the Si. Marys Kails are based upon data collected at tlici canal by the
otlhiers in charge. These statements should, therefore, accurately
rellect the coiiimerce passing through this gateway. Hiifortuiiately,
liowi'ver, they do. not, and this in spite of t\w fact that great care is
taken by tlu?" otilcers in charge of the canal to secure accurat<' infor-
mation. The etlbrts of the ollicers are balked because of the failure
of the .lake carri<ns to cooperate with them. As has already been
stated, iu many cases masters do not know what they have (Ui board,
and can not, even if they would, give a correct statement of their
cargo. Many of the captains, however, have a au[)reme (Mmteinpt
for statistics, and so do not atremi)t to (ill out the forms furnished to
them correctly. IgnoraiK^e on the part of the captains also produces
inaccuracies. For example, the blanks furnished by the ollicers of the
canal call for a statement of the anthracite and bituminous coal on
board, but in some cases these items are not given correctly, because
the masters do not know that these forms of coal corresjiond with hard
and soft coal, respectively. After all criticisms have been made, how-
ever, it must be said that the "Soo" canal statistics are the best on lake
trattic collected by the (lovernment.
Jiefore leaving this subject 1 must say that the statistics o' traffic on
the (heat Lakes collected by the National Government arc sinqdy an
object of contempt and ridicule among those engaged in lake transpor-
tation. It scarcely needs to be said that the shippers and carriers are
fully aware of all the criticisms that I have maile. The methods of
collecting tliese statistics ought to be radi<:ally changed, if for no other
reason, simply because the ( Jovernment can not attord to permit its work
to be held up to scorn. Lake shippers ought gladly to cooperate with
the Government, for an accurate knowledge of the situation is abso-
lutely necessary in order to enable Congress to make a wise appropriation
of money to facilitate commerce on these waters. Without a positive
basis of facts it is impossible to plan a judicious scheme of improve-
ments. Any change in the regulations governing the collection of
statistics which will delay traffic may be expected, in the future as in
the past, to meet the opposition of the lake carriers. If the shipper
instead of the carrier were called upon for a statement, there need be
no delay.
|i
\ I
*
m
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tabi.k I.
Commerce moved through the Detroit River,
Year.
I Rejiistoroil ' Freight
' touuage. toiiunge.
l873o
18806 20, 235, 249
1881 17,572.240 [
1882 17,872,182 !
1883 17,B95. 174 I
1884 1 18,045,949
1885 1 16,777,828 I
1886 ; 18,968,085 I
1887 ; 18,864,250 ;
1888 I 19,099,080 |
9,000,000
Year.
1889..
1890 . .
1891(1.
1892 e.
1893^.
18949-
189.S..
Kegistored freight
tonnage. tonnage.
646,000
684,000
160,000
785, COO
26, 120, 000
e13,
21,
23,
26,
23,
24,
A 25,
i29,
27,
717,860
750,913
209, 61B
553, 819
091,899
263, 868
845, 679
HOO. 000
900,520
a Brief of the Lake Carriers' Aasuriation in opposition to the placing of the bridjie piers in the
Detroit Kiver, p. 19, Tliis lUx-uineut wnn prepared by Mr. C. U. Keep, who for some years has been
■eoretiiry of the Lake (Jurriers' Association.
b Report on the internul commerce of the United States for the year 1891, p. xxxix. The ftgurea
do not in uuy case include the tonnage of Canadian vessels, a large number of wliich use this channel.
During tlie year 1890, according to t)ic estimate by Colonel I'oc. 3,500 Canadian vessels, having an
aggregate regiHtei-ed tonnage of 350,000 tons, pusseif tlirougli the river.
e For tlie cargo tonnage of 1889, see Eloventli Census, Transportation liusiness, Part II, p. 275.
dAnnual Report of thn Cliief of Engineers, 1892, p. 2482.
«Ibid., 1393, p. 3036.
/Ibid., 1894, p. 2378.
olbid., 1895, p. 3068. ■
A Ibid., 1896, pp. 2895,2896.
i Brief of the Lake Carriers' Association, p. 15. These are Mr. C. H. Keep's tigures.
j The statonioiit for 1896 wan furnialied by Lieut. Col. G. J. Lydecker. The freight tonnage for
1891-1896, as given l>y the Government engineers, includes staples and only such staples as were ship-
ped on vessels that cleared from some Tnited States ]iort.
Table II.
Statement of the commerce through St. Marys Falls Canal for each calendar year from
ila opening in 1855.
Year.
18S5.
1850.
1857.
1858.
1859.
1860.
1861.
1862.
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1807 .
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
1873 .
1874 .
1875.
1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884.
1886.
1886.
June
May
May
Apr.
May
May
May
Apr.
Apr.
May
Mav
iliiy
May
May
ilay
Apr.
May
May
May
May
May-
May
May
Apr.
May
Apr.
May
Apr.
Slay
Apr.
May
Apr.
Date of
closing
canal.
Si.iling
vessels. \
i
Nov. 23
(/.)
Nov. 28
(0)
Nov. 30
(a)
Nov. 20
W \
Nov. 28
(o)
Nov. 28
(0) i
1 Nov. 14
(a) '
' Nov. 27
(a) I
i Nov. 24
(0)
1 Dec. 4
1,045 1
Dec. 3
602 i
I Dec. 3
655
Dec. 3
839
! Dec. 3
817 i
Nov. 20
939
Dec. 1
1,307 i
Nov. 29
1,064
Nov. 26
1,'212 1
Nov. J8
1,519 1
Dec. 2
833
Dec. 2
569 !
Nov. 20
684 1
Nov. 30
1,401 !
Dec. 3
1,091
Dec. 3
1,403
Nov. 15"
1,718
Dec. 5
1,706
Dec. 3
1,603
Dec. 11
1,458
Dec. 10
1,709
Dec. 2
L689
Dec. 4
2,634
Tonnage and class of vessels.
Steamers.
(o)
(0)
(o)
(o)
(o)
(a)
(a)
«i)
(a)
366
395
453
486
338
399
431
573
792
908
901
1,464
1,733
1,050
1,476
1,618
1,735
2,117
2,739
2,620
3,609
3,354
4,584
Unregis- ,,, , .
t«™'l nasaaSes
craft. passages.
m
(6)
(6)
(6)
(ft)
(fr)
(*)
(ft)
(ft)
(6)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
(6)
(ft)
(ft)
(6)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
(ft)
100
50
181
372
237
371
337
306
(a)
(a)
(a)
(o)
(a)
(a)
(a)
(a)
(a)
1,411
997
1,008
1,305
L165
L338
1,828
1,637
2,004
2,517
1,734
2,033
2,417
2,451
2,567
3,121
3,503
4,004
4,774
4,315
6,689
6,380
7,424
Registered
tonnage.
106, 206
101, 458
180, 820
219, 819
352, 642
403, 657
276, 639
359, 612
507, 434
' 571,438
409, 062
458. 630
5.'->6, 899
432, 583
524, 885
U9U, 826
752, 101
914, 735
1, 2U4, 446
1, 070, 857
1, 259, 634
1, 641, 676
1, 439, 216
1, 667, 136
1, 677. 071
1,734,890
2, 092, 767
2. 468, 088
2, 042, 259
2, 997, 837
3, 035, 937
4, 219, 397
* Excluded from calculation of average dates.
a No record kept until 1864. ft No record kept until 1879.
•iiTft,nf*rh^"'i;
igistored
[>nnage.
Freight
tonnage.
, 646, 000
, 684, 000
,160,000
, 785, COO
c:3,717,8flO
21,750,913
23, 209, 619
28, 5.'>3, 819
2;i. 091 899
, 120, 000
24, 26a. 868
A 25, 84,^,679
i29, (u)O.OOO
27,000,520
) bridjie piers in the
' some yeurs has been
XXXIX. The flgiirea
liich use this channel,
m vessels, having an
), Part II, p. 276.
giires.
s freight tonnage for
staples as were sliip-
tlcndai year from
essols.
'otal
Kegisterctl
aagt's.
tonnage.
(o)
106, 296
(a)
101, 458
(a)
180, 820
<«)
219, 819
(a)
352, 642
(O)
403, 657
(O)
276, 639
(a)
359, 612
(a)
507, 434
1,411
' 571,438
997
409, 062
1,008
458, 530
1,305
556, 899
1,165
432, 563
1,338
524, 886
1, 828
UOU, 826
1,637
752, 101
2, 004
914, 735
2,517
1, 2U4, 448
1,734
1, 070, 857
2,033
1, 269, 534
2,417
1, 641, 676
2,451
1, 439, 216
2,567
1, 667, 136
3,121
1, 677. 071
3, 603
], 7.34, 890
4,004
2, 092, 767
4,774
2. 468, 088
4,315
2, 042, 250
5,689
2, 997, 837
6,380
3, 035, 937
7,424
4, 219, 397
11 1879.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Slaiemeni of the commerce through St. Marys Falls Canal, «i,..-Contmued.
23
Year.
Date of
opening
canal.
Date of
closing
canal.
1887 1 Mny 1
1888 j May 7
1889 1 Apr. 15
1890 Apr. 20
1891 ^P'?!
1892 1 Apr. 18
1S93 May ,i
1894 ; Apr- 1^
1895 1 Apr. 2,5
1896 \ Apr. 21
1897 i Apr. 21
Dec.
2
Dec.
4
Dec.
4
Dec.
3
Dec.
7
Dec.
6
Dec.
5
Dec.
6
Dec.
11
Dec.
8
oDco.
14
Tonnage and class of vessels.
Sailing
vessels.
2,562
2,009
2. 635
2,872
2,406
3,324
2,955
3,678
4,790
4,301
4,438
Steamers.
1 Unri'gis-
I terod
craft.
Total
passages.
5,968
6, 305
6,501
7, 288
7,339
8,737
8, 379
10, 208
12,495
13,404
12, 020
825 I
489
443
417
447 ;
519 I
674 1
807
871
820
704
0, 366
7,803
9,570
10, 557
10,191
12, 580
12, 008
14,491
17, 956
18,615
17, 171
Registered
tonnage.
4, 807, 598
5, 130, 869
7, 221, 036
8,454,435
8, 400, 685
10, 617, 203
8, 940, 754
13,110,366
16, 808, 781
17, 249, 418
17,619,933
~ ~ oDate of closing Canadian canal.
Average dat« of opening np to close of «e"»°" »//a*"„^' ,^^"y J,- , ,
Average date of closing up to close of season of 1893, December l.
Year.
1855...
1868...
1857...
1868...
1869...
1880 . .
1861 ..
1862..
1863..
1864..
1866..
1880..
1867..
18U8 . .
1869..
1870..
1871 ..
1872..
1873 ..
1874 ..
1875..
1876 . .
1877..
1878..
1879..
1880..
1881..
1882 . .
1883.
1884.
1885.
1888.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890
1891.
1892 .
1893.
1894 .
1896.
1896.
1897 .
Passenger and freiglit trafBc.
Passen-
gers.
Coal.
Xet tons.
4. 270 i ■ 1, 414
4,674 1 3,968
6, 850. ' 5, 278
8, 230 I 4, 118
. ...; 8,884
8,816 I
8,468
18.281 ;
16,985 j
19,777 1
14,067 i
15, 120
10, 590 I
17,857
17, 153 I
15,859
26, 830
30,986
22, 958
19,685 I
30,288 I
21, 800 !
20,394
18, 979
25,766
24, 671
29, 266
39, 130
64, 214
38, 147
27, 088
32, 868
25, 558
25,712
24, 856
26,190
25,896
18, 880
27, 236
31, 656
37, 068
40, 213
11,507
11,346
7,805
11,282
Flour. I Wheat.
19, 015
22, 927
25,814
27, 850
15, 052
46. 798
80, 815
06,780
81, 123
101,280
124, 734
91,575
91, 868
110,704
170, 501
295, 647
430, 184
714, 444
706, 379
894, 991
1, 009, 999
1, 352, 987
2, 105, 041
1, 629, 197
2, 176, 925
2, 507, 532
2, '104, 286
3, 008, 120
2, 797, 184
2, 574, 362
3, 023, 340
3, 039, 172
Barreli.
10,289
17,886
16,680 '
13,782 1
39,459 :
60,250
22,743 ;
17,291
31,975 1
33,937 i
34,985 '
33,803 I
28. 345
27,372 i
32,007 !
33,548 i
26,060 <
136,411 ;
172,692 j
179,855 j
309,991
315,224
355, 117
344, 599
451,000
623, 860
605,453
344, 044
687, 031
1, 248, 243
1, 440, 003
1,759,385
1,872,735
2, 190, 725
2, 228, 707
3. 239, 104
3, 780, 143
6, 418, 136
7, 420, 874
8, 965, 773
8, 902, 302
8, 882, 858
8,921,143
Grain, Manufac-
otber than turedand]
wheat. pig iron. I
Salt.
BuiheU.
(a)
(a)
(o)
(a)
(a)
(o)
(O)
(o)
(o)
(o)
(a)
(O)
(a)
(o)
<"> ^
49,700
1,378,705
567, 134
2,119,997
1,120,016
1, 213, 788
1,971,549
1, 349, 738
1, 872, 940
2, 603, 866
2,105,920
3,456,965
3, 728, 866
6,900,473
11,986,791
15, 274, 213
18, 991, 485
23, 006, 620
18, 596, 351
16,231,864
16, 217, 370
38, 818, 570
40, 994, 780
43,481,862
34, 889, 483
40,218,260
83, 258, 463
55, 024, 302
Bushels.
33,908
22, 300
10, 500
71,738
133, 437
76,830
59,062
78,480
143, 560
i
Vet tons.
1,040
781
1,325
2,597
5,504
Barrels.
687
464
1,500
950
2, 737
229. 926
249, 031
285, 123
323.501
304, 077
308, 823
445, 774
309, 646
149,999
250. 080
407, 772
343, 542
264, 874
051, 498
2, 547, 106
367, 8:18
473, 129
778, 652
517, 103
422. 081
715, 373
775, 186
2, 022, 308
2, 133, 246
2, 044, 384
1,032,104
1,666,690
2, 405, 344
1, 545, 008
8, 328, 694
27, 448, 071
24, 889, 688
4, 194
6, 438 '
6,681 I
7,643
7,346
13,235
20,602 I
22,785 I
23,851
42, 969
54, 984
86, 194
44, 920
31,741
54, 381
64,091
39, 971
14, 882
39, 218
48, 791
87, 830
92, 870
109, 010
72, 428
60,842
115, 208
74,919
83, 703
57, 581
116, 327
69, 741
101,520
89,462
60,859
100, 337
121, 872
135, 164
3,014
2,477
1.500
1,776
3,175
4,464
6,316
4,624
5,910
11, 089
38,199
42,690
29, 335
42,231
43, 089
46,660
63,188
63, 520
92,245
77, 916
65,897
176, 612
70,898
144, 804
136, 365
168,877
204, 908
210, 433
188,260
179, 431
234, 528
275, 740
228, 730
237, 401
269, 910
237, 515
285, 449
a None shipped from Lake Superior until 1870.
a none Buippou i*wi" ^nM^v .J",.
The traffic through the Canadian Canal, which was opened to commerce September 9, 1895. I.
included in above statement for seasons of 1895 and 1898.
24
STATISTICS OK LAKE COMMERCE.
Statement of the commerce throuyh St. Marys Falls Canal, p/f.— Coutinued.
Y(!ar.
]«77,
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881 .
1884.
1885 .
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1892.
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
1897.
Copper. I Irim oro. Luniber,
I'aaseiiKL'i' ami I'reiglit triilHc.
Hiiildiiis
I
Silver
(ire and
liiilliuii.
stone,
luplasai.
lied
IVii^llit.
Total
iroiL'lit.
Xi'tlonn.
18')5 ;i, I'jii
1850 .-,,727
1857 5, 7110
1858 (1,744
1859 7,247
1880 9. 000
I8(n 7,045
1882 e, 881
1803 1,044
1804 5,331
1805 9,935
1896 9, 550
18B7 10,585
1808 12,222
1869 18,062
1870 11,301
1871 14,502
1872 14,.'>91
1873 15,927
1874 15,346
1875 18,396
1876 25,756
16. 707
22, 529
22, 309
2I,7!.3
29. 488
1882 25,409
1883 : 31,024
30, 002
31,927
38, 027
34, 886
28.900
33, 450
43. 729
69.190
64. 993
87, 530
99, 573
107, 4.52
110,872
122, 324
\ettutiK.
1,447
11,5117
20,184
31,035
65, 7(i»
120.000
44, 830
113.014
181,. ->67
213,753
147,459
152, 102
222, 801
191,939
239,308
409, 850
327, 461
.;83, 105
504, 121
427, 0.-i8
493,408
OOit, 752
508,082
555, 750
540. 075
677, 073
748, 131
987,000
791,732
1,136,071 j
1.23,5,122 '
2, 087, 809
2,497,713 !
2,570.517 I
4,095,855 ,
4,774.708 I
3,500,213 :
4, 801, 132
4, 014, 5,50
6, 548, 876 i
8,062,209
7,909,2.50 i
10,633,71'
reef, It. M.
•20,000
395. 000
572, 000
185,000
394. 000
190,000
1,411.000
2,001,000
822, 000
144, 000
300, 000
1, 119.000
1.200,000
722, 000
1,072,000
1,742,000
1.102,000
038, 000
5,391,(100
17,701,000
4, 143. OHO
24,119,000
35, i>i>8, Olio
4 4, .539. 000 •
58, 877, 000
82, 783, 000
87,131,000
122,389,000
127,984,000 :
138,688,000 '
105,226,000
240,372,000 :
315, .554, 000 I
361,929,000
366, 305, 000
512, 814, 000
588,54,5,000 ,
722. 788, 000
740.700,000
084,980,000
80.5,612,000
\ft lOllH.
id)
(rt)
(d)
to)
(a)
(o)
(a)
(a)
(a)
(a) ■
(")
(«)
(n)
(o)
(«)
92
404
300
580
443
847
885
087
650
3'.'4
00
22'
814 '
9, 731
3,669
2,009 j
350
3,385
5, 947 j
3,432 i
1,731
1.930
2, 470
412
100
240
V« tout.
A'el ton:
AX tons.
li)
(«)
irf)
ib)
(<■■)
(d)
lb)
(«)
(d)
(b)
(c)
((/)
(b)
(c)
(rfl
<'')
(0)
(rf)
(6)
(c»
(d)
(b)
(0
id)
('')
(c)
(d)
ib)
(c)
(d)
(b;
(0
(d)
('')
(<!)
(d)
ib)
(c)
(d)
Co
(c)
<d)
(fc)
(c)
(d)
2,917
(0
(d)
5, 228
(c)
(d)
,5,213
(<•)
(d)
2.218
(c)
id) -
401
(c)
(d)
2,978
(c)
(d)
2, 102
(c)
(d)
2, 506
{«)
Id)
2. 754
(c)
(d)
2, 226 !
(c)
(d)
2,283
(e)
(d)
1,400
121), 031
1,507,741
5,428
172,167
2, 029, 521
2.405
191,571
2, 267, 105
6, 047
207, 173
2, 874, 557
8, 189 1
184,963
3, 256, 628
9, 449
230, 720
4, 627, 759
13, 401
344, 580
5, 494, 049
33, 541
34.). 854 '
0, 411, 423
33, 538
312,410
7, 510. 022
47,973 '
371, 294
9,041,213
44,080 i
417, 093
8, 888, 759
39,098 ;
459, 140
1 1, 214, 333
19,420
415, 180
10, 790, 572
21,417 1
451,185
13,195,860
23,876 !
463, 308
15, 062, 580
17,731
520, 851
16,239,061
6,249 1
579, 048
18,982,755
a No record kept until 1870.
6 Noiio shipped from Lake Superior iintil 1870.
cNo record kept until 1881.
dSo record kept until June, 1881.
-Continued.
I'lirlimai-
lii'd
iri^ifilit.
Total
freiglit.
Net font.
AV« toni.
(«)
id)
(<-■)
(d)
(«)
(d)
(c)
(rf)
(0)
(dl
(0)
(rf)
(<•)
Ci)
(«)
UD
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(0
(d)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(<-•)
(d)
(c)
(d)
«•)
(d)
(c)
fd)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(<-■)
(d)
(«)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(d)
12!l,031
1,567,741
172, 1«7
2, 029, 521
191,571
2, 267, 105
207, 173
2, 874, 557
184,963
3, 256, 628
230, 726
4, 627, 759
344, ,580 !
5,494,649
34,j. 854 '
6, 411, 423
312,410 1
7, 516, 022
371,294 '
9,041,213
417,093
8, 888, 759
im, 146
11,214,333
413, 180
10, 796, 572
451,183
13,195,860
463, 308
15, 062, 680
520, 851
10, 239, 061
579, 048
18,982,755
1881.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
IMimatetl lalne of freight, hi, items, through St. Miiriin luilh Canal, Mivhigan.
25
ItomB.
Ciml (li.ird ami soft)
Flour
Wlicat
Grain (other than wheat I
Manufactureil iron
Pid iron
Salt
Copper
Iron ore
Lumber .
Silver oro ami hnllion —
liuihliujr stone
Uneiassltled tii'i(iht
Total
1887.
«4, 735, 454
7, 803, 075
22, 634, 590
759. 65;i I
3,033,750 !
241,408 i
2ii4,B08
0, ft77, 2IHI
8,741.993
2.1174,068
53. 826 I
134,010 !
20, 075. 100 ;
1888.
$7, 3«7. 644
1(1, 9.'i3. (125
18,224,424
1,981,862
2. 442, 9311
2.32, 3-18
210,433
,3, 7'.12. i;«o
8, Olio, 8IW
4,320, ono
520, 379
33,3,410
20,751,240
1889.
*3, 702, 190 ■
11.143.535
1.3,907,217 ;
2, 0!Mi, 580
1, ,377, 230
442,272 ;
108.230
(i, 6iM,2HO
14,335,492
5.079.972
914,589
333, 380
18,744,000
1890.
»7, 019, 238
10,103,320
15.893,022
2, Ou3, 4ilO
4, fiSO, 750
380, 101
179,431
8, 745, 8(MP
16,711,()88
0,514,722
527, 807
470. 730
22, 277, 040
1891,
»8, 776, 362
18.900,713
38, 040, 239
1,011,402
2, 128,000
402, 077
234, 528
13,838,000
12.400,744
6, 393, 490
260,211
440. 800
23, 025, 580
79,031,757 I 82,156,019 83, 732, ,327 \ 102,214,948 128,178,208
Items.
1892.
1893.
Coal ( linrrt and soft ) .»! 0, 104. 931
Flour 21,072.540
Wheat 30,740,083
Grain (otiier than wheat) ..
Manufactureil iron
Piit iron
Salt
Copper
Iron oro
Lninhnr
Silver ore and hullion
liuilding Htone .
933, 346
2, 088, 600
709,716
275, 740
12,998,600
17, 153, 962
9,231,192
290,815
396, 980
UnclassTtied fi ei)?lit 27, 548, 760
iH0,.32a,
29, 082,
32,611,
1,340,
2, 852,
550,
228,
17,506,
14,050,
10, ,593,
379,
194.
24, BIO
420
090
239
993
30tl
902
730
000
940
810
861
260
,800
1894.
$8,191,917
33,621,049
22.310.469
772,504
1,805,330
331,4,32
237, 461
19,914,600
17, 027, 078
11,564,608
40, 144
214, 170
27,071,100
1890,
$0, 993, 331
33, 383, 632
30,041,863
4.164,347
3,083, 130
346, 788
202, 439
21,490,400
22,332,319
8, 888, 400
11,200
238, 700
27, 798, 480
$8, 452,
34. 199
47, 442,
10,704,
4, 690,
377,
178,
23, 374,
25, 705,
8, 562,
26,
177,
31,231,
072. 50
OOS. 30
347. 25
747. 69
200. 00
298. 00
136.25
400. UO
062. 50
325. 00
8i<0. 00
310.00
060. 00
Total 135,117.267 14.3, 436, 957 143,114,502 i 159, 575, 129 : 195,146,842.49
Besulis obtained frovi discussion of traffic statistics.
Seasons.
Cost of
'I' . 1 -I *„.. Total eost of ' carr.ving
lotal mile tons. tr„,|8p„rtation. per mile-
ton.
A verage
distanec
freight
was
carried.
I
I
1887 ' 4,458,544,804
1888 5,173,132,972
1889 5,940,646,352
1890 7,207,299,415
1891 7,292,462,269
1892 9,222,773,938
1893 8,980,310,240
1894 10,927,871,324
1895 12,502,548,892
1896 13,582,641,880
i
»10, 075,
7, 833,
8, 634,
9, 472,
9, 849,
12, 072,
9, 957,
10, 798,
14. 238,
13,511,
Value of
Amerioan
craft.
«17, 684, 550
20,381,100
25, 328, 600
27, 8.57, 700
820,4 I 31.947,300
822. 4 j 36, 220, 100
30, 017, 400
41, 124, 200
40, 858, 800
43, 006, 200
Value of
Canadian
craft.
$2, 080, 400
1,514,300
1, 597, 000
1,777,800
2,119,500
2, 108, 700
2,115,700
1,959,800
2,037,000
2, 135, 300
Propor-
tion of
freight
carried by
Canadian
vessels.
Per cent.
8
1
3.S
3.75
4
26
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE.
Table III.
Number and gross tonnage of sailing vessels, sleam vessels, and barges, respectively, on the
Xortheiit Lakes, a
Fiscal year.
Sailing vesaela.
Tons.
Num-
ber.
18S1..
1862..
1868..
1809. .
1870..
1871..
1872..
1873..
1874..
1876..
1876..
1877..
1878. .
1879..
188U..
1881..
1882..
1883..
1884..
188S..
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1802.
1893.
1804.
1805.
1896.
1807.
Steam veaaels.
Tuns.
Bargoa.
152
8S5
752
600
662
654
6li3
696
710
643
604
546
473
450
417
412
373
333
322
235
286
277
285
272
243
226
205
130
100
044
003
> Num.
j ber.
138,000
2S7, 689
293, 978
277, 893
264,600
267, 153
270, 051
298,002
336, 801
330, 787
331, 408
321, 394
315,909
317. 078
301,932
30t:, 436
313, 652
310. 454
307, 7.33
313, 120
282, 310
315. 079
314, 765
32.~i, 083
328,656
325. 131
310,617
317, 780
302, 985
300, 642
300, 152
334,104
350
624
636
642
682
708
802
876
801
921
923
918
896
931
988
1,101
1,149
1,165
1,175
1,280
1,225
1,342
1,455
1,527
1,592
1,631
1,731
1,731
1,755
1,792
1,776
Num-
ber.
Tons.
Num-
ber.
Total.
Tons.
74,000
125,620
144,117
146, 237
142, 073
149, 408
162, 523
180, 250
198, 121
202, 307
201, 743
201, 085
201,550 :
203,298 I
212,045
260, 115 ;
202,257 ;
304,642 >
322, 456 I
335, 859
381, 908
390, 398
480, 138
575, 307
652, 923
736, 752
763, 063
828,702
843,240
857, 735
924, 631
977, 236
64
103
114
132
161
177
216
103
1H8
102
183
170
165
162
164
156
126
111
101
84
78
44
54 I
62
60
82 I
85 I
81 !
81 I
101
15,0!)7 !
22,072
27,570
31,208 '
37, 863
42.569
46, 323
46, 140
46,585
47, 207
45,206
42, 226
40,965
41,453
42,006
43, 576
34,000 !
30,810
20, 132
21,758
18, 194
7,274 I
13,910 I
20,472 '
25,321 I
87,732 ,
30,215 i
39,008 1
45, 175 1
60,783 {
l,5t>2
2,543 I
2,401 I
2,456 I
2,476 :
2, 523 !
2,642
2,788
2,794
2,752
2,719
2,647
2,539
2, 555
2,567
2,677
2,678
2,624
2,608
2,616
2,595
2,697
2,784
2,853
2,897
2,926
3, 018
2,955
2,936
2,917
2,869
214,000
383,300
454.063
446, 202
435, 153
147, 820
470, 437
520, 811
681,246
687,234
578,826
572,686
562, 766
552, 602
557, 942
608, 004
648, 816
658, 671
664,288
679, 798
690,359
727, 236
813,097
907,664
995, 489
1,082,365
1,108,001
1, 184, 223
1, 186, 440
1, 197, 386
1,278,95P
1, 372, 122
o These figures, witli the exception of those for the years 1851 and 1862, were obtained either
directly from the Commissioner of Niivigation or from liis annual reports. Those for 1851 were
obtained from Andrew's Report on Colonml and Lalte Trade (1852), Thirty-second Congress, second
session. House Executive DiHuiment No. 136, p. 49; and those for 1862 from Interniil Comtaerce of the
Unitoil States (1891), p. X. As has been explained in tlie text, all rigged vessels are classed with the
sailing craft. Thus moat of the vessels commonly regarded as barges are grouped with the sailing
vessels, for most of ihcm carry some canvas. Nearly all the old schooners are now regularly towed,
and therefore can not be regarded as sailing vessels, in the old sense of this term.
, respeeiively, on the
Total.
1
Nuin- I
ber. 1
i
Tons.
214,000
.1
l,5t>2 '
383,300
2,543
454.063
!
2,401
446, 203
1
2,455
136, 153
1 !
2,478
147, 820
1
2.523
470,437
1 '
2,642
520,811
1
2,788
681,246
1
2,794
687,234
5
2,762
578,826
7
2,719
572,686
I
2,647
562,765
1
2,539
552,602
5
2, 555
557, 042
i
2,567
608, 004
1
2,677
648, 816
i
2,678
658,871
»
2,624
664,288
)
2,608
670, 798
i
2,616
690,859
i
2,596
727, 235
i
2,697
813,097
1
2,784
907,664
)
2,853
995, 480
2
2,897
1,082,»5S
1
2,926
1,108,001
2
3,018
1,184,223
5
2,955
1, 185, 440
i
2,938
1, 197, 386
i
2,917
1,278,958
3
2,869
1, 372, 122
were obtained eitlier
Those for 1851 were
cond CongrflHS, second
eriiiil Comlnerce of the
lis are classed with the
[luped with the sailing
t now regularly towed,
ui.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tablk IV.
gf
Statement shouting class, number, and gro,, tonnage of vessel, huilt and docmented on the
northern lakes, a
Fiscal year.
Sailing vesselH.
Steam vessels.
Num-
ber.
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
Tons.
129
83
60
80
57
112
130
62
35 ;
.13 >
30
48
52
66
84
29
30
15
36 I
48 I
32
36
30
41
21
la
22
19
26
22,490
14,462
10, 322
13,839
12, 962
40,840
43,851
12,269
2,507
2,086
1,605
1,173
5,447
12, 936
16,164
8, 437
7,667
3,861
5,232
4,001
9,131
8,098
12, 803
7.240
3,474
9,277
5,473
8,166
21, 825
39, 151
Num-
ber.
20
20
41
73
167
48
45
. 38
64
77
49
46
60
106
09
70
79 !
39 !
55
44
05
100
130
j 100
I 80
i 64
47
75
! 140
145
118
123
93
126
71
58
75
43
Tons.
Barges.
Num-
ber.
Tons.
Total.
N^jp- I Ton..
5,011
2,377
9,308
13, 578
70,669
6,426
4,761
8,595
11,282
13, 339
7,196
12, 293
16,926
21,418
24, 487
12.400
8,972
3,802
8,644
11,542
14,306
49,080
34. 100
17.253
20,206
20,229
12,648
47, 183
87.459
93, 707
86, 023
93, 323
34,129
76, 161
34. 889
26, 516
75. 744
81, 787
28 I
4,238-
36 1
6,468
9
3.280
19
3,795
16
4,019
23
6,818
22
4,733
11
1,820
8
2, 469
4
551
2
130
5
570
8
1,366
14
3,111
6
1,988
8
1,158
1
10
5
768
5
412
8
378
<»
468
5
678
12
6,739
11
8,853
8
6,449
11
11,867
6
429
2
446
14
10, 185
28
12, 722
221
195
127
126
132
240
251
143
120
72
90
79
121
176
201
137
110
90
67
118
190
182
164
164
142
168
96
82
108
95
38, 010
33, 250
20,807
29 927
32,007
89,076
73, 071
26, 379
13,948
7,030
10,270
13, 204
21,100
66,127
52,252
24, 848
27,883
24,858
18,293
52. 552
07, 058
102, 483
105. 566
107,416
43,063
97, 306
40,791
35. 128
107, 754
113,660
Commissioner Sf Navigation or obtained from his annual reports.
Table V.
Average gross tonnage of sailing and steam vessels huilt «» the northern lalea.
Fiscal year.
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1888
1884
Sailing
vessels.
Steam
vessels.
Sailing I Steam
vessels, j vessels.
364.64
203. 99
337. 31
247.84 1
197.88
178.20 i
71.62
113.67 i
92.60
97.48 j
! 45.60
157. 15
39.10
262. 32
113. 47
220.09
248.77
450.28 ■'
244.90
262.31
189.31
172.53 1
284.39
262.56 1
316. 07
269. 10
629. 10
624. 70
846.26
741.57
758.72
366. 98
604.46
491. 30
467. 17
1, 000. 91
1, 436. 91
aThe^flgureVofthevears 1895-189^^^^
of the sailftg vessels after the tonnage ot the »t««i «»'"" Vhe averaBe should ^stm further reduced,
K1?:l^^geTo'SSe%SYa"vhr l^^^^^^^^^^^ P"vlous to 1806. ste.1
SSiUng vesselMbrge.) were oon»truot«d, but I do not know their tonnage.
9S STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Taiile VI.
Grots tonnage cotmlriicled on the northern lakes, showing material iiaed.a
Fiscal year.
I Iron and
|'»°"''8«-!tonn"Ji«.l
Wooden
Fiscal year.
1880.
1881 .
1882 .
1883 .
1884.
1885.
1886 .
1887.
18H8 .
80,082
67, 673
5'.', 041
28, .'■i03
20, 233
l."), (178
14, 071
46, 475
2, 817
.'>, I^ll
6, 328
45
l,6.-)0
i), 180
4. 221
6,078
1889.
1890.
1891 .
189;; .
18»:j .
1894 .
1805 .
1896.
81,085 20,018 1807,
Wooden
tonnage.
73, 068
66, 961
40, 428
14, 594
34 48(1
20,851
11,032
27, 330
13, 281
I Iron and
StOfll
tonnaK'''
29,415
38, 602
.'^i7, inf}
28. 459
62, 825
19, 950
23, 195
80, 424
100,379
aTlieae flgnicR were obtaineil either directly from the Conimisslonor of Navlpation or from his
aiinnal reports. Iron lias been used only to a'very limited extent about thn great lakes ; the third
column is composod almost wholly of steel tonnage. The total iron tonnage now afloat jirobably does
not exceed 35,u0u tons.
Tadlk VII.
Average freight rates on wheat (per bushel) from Chicago to Xew York by lake and canal,
bji lake and rail, and by all rail.
Calendar year.
By lake
and
canal, a
By lake
and rail.
By all ,
rail.
Calendar year.
By lake
and
canal, a
Cent».
11.24
0.15
11.00
12.27
8.10
7.89
8.37
6.31
5.87
8.71
8. SI
5.93
6.89
5.85
5.86
5.61
6.33
4.44
4.11
d6.19
By lake
and rail.
Cmts.
15.80
11.40
13. 30
15.70
10.40
10. 90
11.50
9.55
9.02
12.00
12.00
11.00
8.70
8.50
8.53
7.55
8.44
7.00
6.95
6.61
B: all
rail.
1857
Ceiiti.
b 25. 29
16.28
17.59
24.83
28.55
26.33
22.81
28.36
26.62
29.61
22.36
22. 79
25.12
17.11
20.24
24.47
19.19
14.10
11.43
9.58
Otnti.
Cents.
1877
Cents.
20. 50
1858
C38.61
34.80 '
34.80
41. .58
48.00
49.20
60.00
44.88
46. 20 i
44.75 ;
37.84
35. ,57 ;
.30.00 :
31.80
34.99
31.02
26.25
24.00
16.86
1878
1879
18S0
1881 ,...
17.70
18.19
17.74
1860
19.80
1861
14.40
1882
1882
1883
\**i
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
14.47
1863
16.20
1884
13. 20
1865
13.20
1886
15.00
1867
15.75
1868
1889
1870
1871 .. .
629.00
25.00
22.00
25.00
28.00
26.90
16.90
14.60
11.80
14.60
16.00
14.30
15.00
1872
1892
13.80
1873
1893
14.63
1874
1894
13.20
1875
1805
11.89
1876
1896
12.00
(I Including canal tolls until 1882, but not Buffalo transfer charges.
b Statistical Abstract, 1898, p. 327.
c IJeport of the Chicago Board of Trade, 1895, p. 116.
d The rates for 1896 were obtained from Report of the Chicago Board of Trade, 1896, p. 115 ; the lake
and canal rate for 1896 includes Buffalo charges.
rial iised.a
! Wooden 'l'-»f„»I"l
73,068
29, 415
66,B64
38,602
4U,428
57, «l?0
14, n94
28,459
34. 480
62, 826
20,861
19, 951)
11,932
23, 196
27, H30
80,424
13, 281
100,879
avlfialioii or t'roiii his
lireat liikos; the third
w nfoat ]irobabl.v does
1° by lake and canal,
,
By lake
Bj bU
I
aud rail.
rail.
Cents.
Cents.
i
16.80
20. 50
■>
11.40
17.70
>
13.30
17.74
7
16.70
19. 80
»
10.40
14.40
»
10.90
14.47
7
11.60
16.20
1
9.65
13.20
7
9.02
13.20
1
12.00
15.00
1
12.00
15.75
1
11.00
14.50
t
8.70
16.00
)
8.50
14.30
J
8.53
15.00
1
7.56
13.80
J
8.44
14.63
4
7.00
13.20
1
6.95
11.89
6.61
12.00
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
wheat (per bnthd) hji lake from Chkaiio to Huffulo.a
3d
Cur-
rency.*
Cental. I
9.80 ,
3.70
6.08
9.89
U.63
10.49
7.61
0.58
9.78
12.34
6.67
7.14
6.81
5.88
7.02
11.46
7.62
4.03
3.42
2.90
3.72
(Jold.i!
Cents.
t¥m
10. 234
5. 175
6.160
4.523
8.)<08
4.995
5.155
5.022
4.847
6.883
10. ,504
6.7B1
3.017
3.040
2.570
3.5U2
1878
1M9
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
' 1890
1891
, 1892
: 1893
1894
1895
1896d
1897e
Cur- •
remy.
Cents.
3.U7
4.74
5.76
3.44
2.50
3.41
2.18
2.02
3.68
4.13
2. !>6
2.51
1.96
2.38
2.19
1.66
1.27
1.92
1.63
1.56
Gold.
Cents.
3. 027
), 1896, p. 115; the lake
January of each year in the American Almanac for 1878.
dRe™rt of ChfcaEO Board of Trade, 1896, p. 113.
eMarine Record, Dec. 16, 1897, p.8.
13
•4
vf
■ !>, < * ) ■ — , l tf» Hl lM PuHH >>^ll y. «!M
. ., . PART 11.
I.— FLOUK AND (}HAIN TRAFFIC.
Previous to 1850 the importance of the great interior water routes
can not easily bo overestimated. The commerce of the grejit agricul-
tural States of the West drilled to the two great natural waterways, the
Mississippi River running to the south, and the Great Lakes and their
eastern outlets, the Erie Canal and the Welland Canal, in conjunction
with the St. Lawrence River, running to the east. Although the West
possessed these two unrivaled waterways, yet there were but few locali-
ties which could choose between the two. Physical conditions usually
left no choi(!e. To the settler near the lakes the eastern route was the
only available highway, and to the farmer living near the banks of
the Mississippi the river was the only possible route. This was the case
because land transportation was well-nigh impossible. The value to
the States bordering on the (^ireat Lakes of the lake and canal route
from the date of the opening of the latter in 1825 down to the middle
of the century, and even for a number of years thereafter, is incomput-
able. Over the Gre it Lakes and through the canal passed the bulk of
the surplus products of the West and practically the whole of the
merchandise shipped from the East to the West.
To realize fully the importance of the water routes, even up to a
comparatively late day, it is necessary to understand the services it was
intended the early railroads should render. They were designed to con-
nect waterways, not to compete with them. Before the constraction of
railroads the traffic of the country that was other than local in character
moved upon and to and from one of our four great waterways. These
were the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Great Lakes and the Erie
Canal and St. Lawrence on the north, the Mississippi River and its
tributaries on the west, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. This
being the situation, the railroads which were intended to serve anything
more than local needs sought to cooperate with one of these waterways,
and the projectors of nearly all the railroads which it was hoped would
become trunk lines sought to connect two or more of the four great
water routes. The construction of the great trunk lines clearly shows
this, and nothing could more strongly emphasize the importance of the
lake route at this early day than the uniformity with which the rail-
roads sought it. A glance at a railroad map of the later fifties will also
clearly show that the water routes formed the base of all the great trans-
portation systems. In some cases, it is true, the water routes were
I)jvralleled, but these instances were comparatively rare, and even in
these cases the railroads were not regarded as competitors of the water
routes for through traffic in heavy commodities. Passenger traffic,
local business, and through freight in the more valuable commodities
were the main reliance of the railroads.
This state of affairs, however, was very much changed in the twentj'^
years covered by the period from 1860 to 1880. These two decades
were replete with improvements in rail transportation. Advances, to be
30
■ llnwTiiiiiniiniiiiij
STATISTICS OF LAKK COMMERCE.
31
T water rontes
great agricul-
[waterways, the
akes and tlieir
in coujnn(;tion
ougli the West
but few locali-
ditions usually
I route was the
tlie banks of
lis was tlie case
The value to
md canal route
to the middle
T, is incomput-
sed the bulk of
whole of the
, even up to a
services it was
lesigned to con-
conatruction of
cal iu character
jrways. These
i and the Erie
River and its
e south. This
serve anything
ese waterways,
fcs hoped would
the four great
ii clearly shows
[wrtance of the
fhich the rail-
fifties will also
he great trans-
ir routes were
3, and even in
rs of the water
senger traffic,
e commodities
in the twentj'
i two decades
dvances, to be
sure, were also nuide in water transportation, but the progress made in
land carriage during this interval was much the greater. Limitations
of space forbid a detailed presentation of the improvements introduced
that made the railroads effective competitors of the lake carriers. Noth-
ing more than an enumeration of the most important advances can be
attempted. Progress was made in all departments. The ])ermanent
way was im])roved by reduction of grades, better alignment of track,
improved drainage and ballasting, and better bridges, liut far more
important tlisiu these improvements was the introduction of steel rails.
It is doubtful if the railroacls could ever have become effective competi-
tors of the hike carriers without steel rails, for the latter, altliough of
transcendent importance in themselves, became doubly significant be-
cause of the advance along various lines that they made possible. The
greatest of these improvements was made in the rolling stock. With
stronger tracks much heavier engines could be built, and cars c(mld be
loaded more heavily. Steel was in a measure substituted for iron in
the construction of locomotives. A great saving was made by the change
from iron to steel tires. With a very sliglit increase iu the dead weight
of cars, the carrying capacity was doubled. There was also great prog-
ress made in making up and running trains.
The consolidation of connecting lines (and the extension of other lines
by lease or by purchase or by new construction) which had set in before
18(»() became a feature of railroad history during the period covered by
the years intervening between 1860 and 1880. By consolidation the
cheap and expeditious movement of freight between distant points was
greatly furthered. About the largest expense of transportation in the
early days was the transshipment charges. Consolidation did much to
obviate the necessity of frecjuent transfers of freight. But even after
consolidation had made considerable progress the extended movement
of bulky freight remained subject to many delays and charges, due to
transshipment at connecting points. These evils were in a large measure
overcome by the organization of through freight lines. But one more
advance can be mentioned — it is scientitic rate making. This has revo-
lutionized railroad transportation. In the primitive days of railroading
the toll sheets showed but little differentiation of charges. The prin-
ciple of charging what the traffic would bear was never applied with
anything like thoroughness. The decisive change in rate making came
when it was recognized that it may be profitable to establish a rate
which will result in a net gain, however small, above the expenses aris-
ing strictly from the mere handling and moving of freight and such
incidental expenses as are properly applicable to it. In other words, it
is not always to be insisted upon that any given traffic must bear its
full share of the total expenses of the road. The question is, rather,
Will this traffic form a profitable auxiliary of the existing traffic?
By the early seventies the long list of improvements which have been
enumerated, and others of less importance, but nevertheless of great
moment iu the aggregate, had progressed so far as to change flTe rela-
tion existing between the lake carriers and the railroads.^ The latter
were now in a position to enter into effective competition with the lakes
in the transportation to the seaboard of the agricultural products of
the West. As a very large portion of the east-bound traffic from the
West was at this time composed of agricultui-al products, nearly the
entire east-bound business now became competitive.* In 1876 it wao
Long before this the railroads had demonstrated their ability to compete with
canals.
'In this statement is not included the lumber and ore traflBc of what is known as
the Lake Superior region.
n
STATISTtCS OF LAKK COMMERCK
estiiiiiited that gniin ami Hour constituted about '»<) [tor ceut of the
eiitirt^ ea."' .vanlinoveuient ot'tlirough freights.'
It uiust not be ui»ler8too<l tliat rail rates— Iroui Cliicago to New
York, for example — were now as low an tlio lake rates, for siicli was not
the (!ase. Kail rates had, however, fallen so much that, taken in con-
ne«tion v/ith several advantages ottered by rail transportation, rail
rates were as favorable as the lake rates, even though the latter were
slightly lower. It may be well at tiiis jmiut to state that the published
transportation chaiges are not to be accepted without moditicatiou.
The lake (;harges are ai>proximateIy correct; but the rail charges are
generally too high, and often very much too high. The latter are aver-
ages of the ollicially published tariffs; but men in a position to speak
authoritatively say that practically no grain is shipped at these rates.^
When grain moves eastward to the seaboard in large «iuantities by rail
during the navigation season it may be assumed, with considerable
assjirance, that the through rail rate is very nearly as low as the lake
and rail rate. This must be the case, because the advantages of
tlirough rail shipment over lake and rail are not suttlcient to offset any
large ditference in rates. These advantages will be briefly stated.
Itailroads are responsible for the safe delivery of goods placed in their
care. The shipper, therefore, does not insure his property, which he
would feel obliged to do should he send his property by the wjiy of the
lakes.'
Grain carried in cars duri.<g the seasons of the year when grain is
likely to heat arrives in better condition than if sent by water. Grain
already out of condition goes better by rail, but not much importance
is now to be attached to this point, as grain is generally put in good condi-
tion before it is shipped.'
Expedition is sometimes desirable, and railroads deliver commodities
with greater dispatch than the lake carriers. The terminal facilities of
the railroads are better than those of the water lines, and by patron-
izing the railroad shipi)er8 can occasionally save considerable sums in
the form of cartage charges. This is more true of flour, corn, and oats
than of wheat, for the last is not delivered directly to cousuniers, but
is first delivered to millers, who have terminal facilities. Flour, corn, and
oats, on the other hand, although generally not delivered directly to con-
sumers, are, liowever, delivered to persons at least one step nearer the
consumers than are the millers who receive the wheat. During the
process of transshipment there is some loss of grain, but as the lake
carriers deliver the amount for which they give receipts the shipper loses
nothing. In t'lis particular the shipper rather favors the lake ro ute,
for the railroads refuse to receipt for a definite amount, and as a conse-
quence any loss in transit falls upon the shipper unless he can clearly
prove that there was a loss in transit, which he usually finds very
difficult to do
In case the ijrain is not forwarded on a through bill of lading a por-
tion of the cost of transshipment falls upon the shipper, and thus
enters as one of the deciding iuflueuces in the selection of a route.
' Internal Commerce of the United States, 1876, p. 67. The total shipments east
from Chicago during the year 1878 amounted to 4,862,385 tons; to this sum grain,
flour, seedH, and feed contributed 3,137,032 tons, or a little more tlian 64 per cent.
Almost the whole of the balance was made up of animals and their products. (Ibid.,
^«'.79. p. 99.)
*For transportation rates see Appendix II, Table VII.
In 1872 the rate of insurance was about $1 on $100. (Transportation Koutes to
the Seaboard, vol. 1, p. 17.) It is now about 30 cents on $100.
^ All the modern elevators are equipped with apparatus for airing and drying grain.
er cent of the
I it'll go to New
>r such was not
, taken in con-
ilMutrttion, rail
the IntU'v were
the publinhed
niodiiication.
*il chai'gcH are
atter are aver-
sition to speak
t these rates.^
antities by rail
» considerable
ow as the lake
advantages of
it to offset any
briefly stated,
placed in their
I'lty, which he
the way of the
when grain is
water. Grain
«!h importance
t in good coudi-
jr commodities
lal facilities of
md by patron-
erable sums in
corn, and oats
onsiimers, but
'lour, corn, and
lirectly to con-
tep nearer the
. During the
t as the lake
e shipper loses
he lake ro ute,
nd as a conse-
he can clearly
lly finds very
' lading a por-
ter, and thus
n of a route.
shipments east
this Slim grain,
lian 64 per cent.
■odiicts. (Ibid.,
Ektiou Eoutes to
Jd drying grain.
STATISTICS (»K LAKK COMMKUCK.
33
tlrain i'iirrii'<l by "wild" vissels,' that is, vessels which have no rail
(MHini'ctions and an> not running iiiid<-r contract, bnt li\ their rates
tVoin day to day as Ixisincss may determine, is not carried on Miroiigh
bills of lading, and tlie owner of the grain wonid therefore pay the
elevator charges.-' Terminal charges have nndoubtedly been in stune
nieasme responsible for the diversion of the grain trallic from the lake
route; they may be found in A])|>endi\ II, Tables 1 an<l [l.
When tlie lailroads found that they eoidd smicesslnlly compete with
the waterways it was discovered that the lack of snitable terminal
facilities at tiie seaboard cities for transferring grain from cars to ocean
vessels and for storage became a serious hamlicap. Down to about
IHii't none of the trunk lines p(>.ssessed elevator facilities on the Atlan-
tic Coast. At this time there was an elevator built at a wharf on the
Delaware, in IMiiladelphia, under the patromige of the I'eiuisylvania
Railroad Company, an<l tiiis was probably the llrst stati<uniry elevator
ere)!ted on tln^ Atlantic (Joast.' Up to the close of the year 1870 the
Baltinmre and Oiiio Kailroad (Jompany was the only road which had
already provided ade(|uate terminal facilities for the handling of grain.'
New York City, although the chief port of the export grain business,
did not possess a single stationary elevator.
The use of elevators would liave necessitated the adoption of the
western nu'thod of handling grain by "grades." The custom of selling
grain on sample had become too tirmly tixed by fifty years of habit to
be easily uprooted, and esjiecially so as such a departure would seri-
ously impair the value of enornn)us vested interests of the very i)er-
sons who were ex[)e(!ted to make the change. The great expense
involved in the old method of handling grain if ship|)cd in bulk at the
railroad terminals, and tlie great reductions made by the introduction
of v^evators, will be seen by the f'oUowing statement made up by the
general freight agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad:
"Previous to January, 187li, all grain shipped to Baltimore in bulk
was unloaded by I .ml, at an expense of from 4 to 5 cents per bushel.
At this time the company completed an elevator of 0(M),00(> bushels
capacity and reduced the charge for receiving, weighing, wharfage,
delivering to vessels, and storing for ten days to 1'^ cents per bushel,
by which means also the detention to vessels in loading was reduced
from five or ten days to as many hours.""
Two years later, when the Baltimore and Ohio entered Chicago and
became an aggressive competitor for a share in the movement of agri-
cultural i)roduct8 from the West, all the other trunk lines were for(?ed
to improve their terminal facilities. Without proper facilities for
handling grain at the seaboard no road could meet the competition of
the lake and canal route, for this line possessed fairly satisfactory
terminals. The transfer charge of from 4 to 5 cents was sufficient to
turn grain to the lake and canal route. Not only was the movement
of grain by rail checked by the high charges at the seaboard terminals,
but it was at times entirely inhibited by the lack of facilities for removal
of gl^in from cars. Mr. 0. M. Gray, assistant general freight agent of
'The "wild" vessels of the lakes are the trump vessels of the ocean.
^Charges for shoveling and trimming the grain in the hold of the ship are paid by
the vessel.
Devtdopment of Transportation Systems in the United States, Ringwalt, p. 211.
■•Report of the Select Committee on Transportation Houtos to the Seaboard, Vol. I,
p. 27.
■Ibid., Vol. II. p. 346.
Ibid, Vol.1, p. 27.
H. Doc. 277 3
•|'
84
STATlSriCS OF KAKi: ( OMMKUCK.
the liik*' Sboiji and Micliiyuii Soutluirii Kiiilnnul, in tf^stir.\iiiK liot'orc
tlit^ St'iialf (;<ininiitti'e on Trans|)(»i tiitinii IJoutos to tin* Soaboiu<l,
stated tliat tilt' lacU of tt'iininal lacilitifs at tlu' st-alxjanl U>v |Hoiii|»tlv
unloadin;; ears liad n'snlled in siu-ii a .sliurinjicdl' faiH<»n tlie rittslmijj,
l-'nrt \Va\ nt' anil <'hita},'o, and Mieliijian ( U'litrai in tluMviiitcrnf 1S7- 73
that Ilii'Si' roads well' |.raetirall,v loieed to suspend tiie iiiovenu'iit of
bulky I'reiylit lor a period id' six \vi'ek> leeaiise of a lack of cars. His
(twii road, till' Lake Shore and Michij-an Sitiithein, was reduced to such
straits h\ lliedearth ol ears that it wastbrccd •> to cut oil all lrei^;ht west
of Cliicaj^o and receive nothinji- excej)! tlii' local I'reiKht ol' <'hica},'o."' '
I'p to within very recent limes our (loverninent has taken hut little
interest in oiii internal coumierce, and has therelore collected but little
int'orination loiicernin;; it, and thus it is imimssible to set fortii as deli-
uitel.v anil accurately as nii;,'ht be lU'sired the diversion of the i^rain
business Iroin the (ireat f-akes to the railroads and t'loin the latter hack
to the lornier. We shall in the main be forced to rely hu- statistics
upon the reports of the commercial liodies of the cities chielly con-
cerned ill the j^raiii business, and unfoitiiiiately ihey have not cidlected
as full or accurate iiilormation as could be desired. From the iwo
sources, however, enough information can be obtained to [tresent in a
rouyli way the chanjie that has taken place; but this can not always
be done in the simplest inanuer.
The diversion of the lloiir and {jraiii trallie from the lakes to the rail-
roads and from the railroails back to the lakes will be considered under
the followintj heads: (1) The diversion of the Hour and yraiii business
as shown by the move.iient of these commodities by lake ami rail from
(Miicafio;- (2) the diversion (if any there be) as shown by such data as
we liave of the total eastward movement; and (.'i) the export move-
ment from the Wvst through the (iulf ports will be examined — it is not
only a diversion from the lake line, but also from the east-bound trunk
lines,
II.— rill': LAKK AND KAIL TRAFFIC EASTWAliU FUOM CHICAGO.
In the early sixties the railroads began to make serious inroads into
the Hour traftie. from Chieago, and during the eighth decade seemed
the lion's share of this business. Flour was the Hrst heavy eoinmodity
of eom]mratively low value that the railroad carried in eouiiu'tition with
the water lines. The railroads gained this tratlie, partly because f ..p-
ineiit by lake to i)oints not accessible to lake craft involved a trans-
shipment, and Hour could not be transferred with the same ease and
facility that grain could be trans8liii)ped; partly because exi)ed.tioiis
delivery is frequently demanded, the element of time being of much
greater importance in the movement of Hour tha-n that of grain, and,
linally, because Hour can not be stored without considerable loss, so it
would not be held during the winter for the opening of navigation to
so large an extent as grain. To these causes may be added a fourth-—
the cost of marine insurance. The diversion fiom the lakes to the rail-
roads of the trattic in Hour will be seen from the table in Ai)pendix II,
Table HI, Fart I. It will be noted that fiom the opening of the seventh
decade the railroads rapidly monopolized the business, and continued to
do so until the year 188(). Since 1885 the relative importance ol the
rail lines has diminished. In 1885 they carried almost seven-eighths of
' Transportation Rnut«8 to the Seaboard, Vol. II, p. 280.
^ A table showing the lake and rail movement of flour and grain from Milwaukee
may be found in Appendix II, Table IV.
'Sm
> tlu' Soiiboiinl,
lid fur proiiiptlv
Ml tilt' rittsbmK,
viiitvriif l.STli 7;{
111' lllirVtMIUMlt 1)1'
fU of curs. His
. rctliu'cd to siudi
Vail IVfijilit west
ht III' <'liicii},'().""
titkoii but little
•llectt'd but littlt*
wt't fort!) us di'li-
oii (>r tlu; ^I'iiiii
II flu' latter back
t'ly tor statistics
itics c,lii«'l1,v c(»u-
iive not collected
Fioin the 1\v»>
I to jtreseiit in a
1 can not always
lakes to the rail-
•onsidercd under
d yraiii business
ke and rail from
by such data as
le export niove-
iiiiiiied — it is not
^ast bound trunk
)M CHICAGO.
ions inroads into
I decade secured
leavy eouiinodity
co!Ui)etitiou with
tly because f ..p-
nvolved a trans-
e same ease and
ause exi)ed.ti(>u,s
e beinj>' of much
at of jiraiu, and,
erable loss, so it
of liaviaation to
added a fourth —
lakes to the rail-
in Appendix II,
ng of the seventh
and continued to
luportance ot the
. seven-eighths of
ain from Milwaukee
CHART III.
GROSS TONNAGE CONSTRUCTED ON THE NORTHERN L
ToftNA9£. 5555 5555555
'
: : ~ _ _ i*^^
- - - t ^K
:____: - _ _ ±
:i_ __ _ __ _ J
:::_-"_:: : i
iiiici :jt
:: _J3: _ 4: _ _
: ii L _ ij :
--- it 5 --
:::_± l. _,:
I 5 ± 1
I _ ii __" : : : iii :
: i: :t _ t
F -5 - T
- -t- - A - - - t lit
- -4 -t : JL :
I t_± jr :
_ _r \ — : 1
- JL _ _ I
_ it- _L : _ _ _
s^ooo jH -:--::-3---::--::--j:i:: — : — ^
__; _ ^-^- - _ _ i ^
_ i I "SI i_r ,'
_llt __I I_v--I--II-- -^ -
::3~ :ii :: 7
I s^ 4 4.
- - \ t
— — y _
_ _ J, _
■?r, r -
-- __^^-S----;p---
-^'■"^ ^ -,' "^^
^^ ^Z .. IL
i»;L:I__
l/VOOOet* TOMNAOE.
Iron and Steel
CHART III.
NSTRUCTEO ON THE NORTHERN LAKES, SHOWING MATERIAL USED.
X
f
i
1
. f
---'----- f—
- T
- - ^ - '
-J ^^ _ H -
Z S - 3
-t--s^ : :_ J
JL s: : 1 : — 1
i-S _ _t
31 N^ _ : _ r
f ^:--it ~ — --
: JL : — ^: : : "
j_ _ _ _^ :_ : :)
i:_ : _i
:: : 7_: __: :r - j, _ __ _: a__
: — : t 13 1\. : : i
_ i-iZ iX : L_
: 5/L ^ L : __
i: i.-^^A ±2
-f--- — 2\^ 1 — _ _
. _ :r : t ^^ i r _ j__
± : ^'^_~i t I _ J -
TT _ i ti I :_i_:
_^ J ^^_L4 J _ ^_.___--
. . / :^ jt 7 ^ I - I
JL I ±v- t --- ii^iii I —
jl : :: jt^iit :: iiii:
iij z x^z ":t:^::::_:
/ -.^ i k.j " X -iij _: ::
:__ ^z J XI i\ T_ -4 --- -
. __. , .. f.,. .. ,, . „„i Jl f \ J , ._
— X — : 2 : tjt^^iii — !:::_
i_ ^- - \ t Zr- -t nf -- -
t ,' 3iT ^^ - t% -
~ — 17 if 3u^' t iS
4 2 ti JS -, -\-
I '^ I W 1% ^ --- A
_:_ ___i _:__j£ :__v,--.L l_
--_ " : : — :: ^.z . >
-t - — > r
- J. _ _ _ _
______ _ _- _ -
C P'^
/RON AND SretL T0NNA6E.
■,»,Vl»tf» ii'j^Bi,
a'
OB
<HHwau i n pi w i Ml l rtB n i|i a i >w i
'ilrtttiTix-'-rt-i,
. 1 1
4 .^..
Tll::SXllJ'l^'
^- .-|..^-L,»
1
^>«i-5i<i
■^Qjyt
• ' L
■1 . . I {it '-j4 ^
t ^ i I i t
^fcsn'^ if^-*" ^^^^^ft ia ^ ^^a frj* ^ •v^-'y-^'A
'■■'s^Jim i
, ,'.X: ■?-•&
X
\ mm a u ii m- i mmtiUmM t
'tj
il^
idiiliilii
C;t>^$%
i
m^m. \
i^^\ ■?>
4%Cj|it
STATISTICS OF LAKE C()MMEK(;K.
35
the flour shipped eastward from (Jhicago, while in 18% they carried
but a little luore thau three fifths.'
For many years the loiiy distance traffic of the railroads was almost
wholly cou'tiiied to the transportation of live animals, i)rovisions, and
general merchandise. As we have seen, however, at a comparatively
early day the railroads secured a large portion of the Hour business.
In 1872^ they became in the fullest sense competitors of the lakes for
the wlieat trattic. ITp to this time, althougii they had in various years
carried considerable quantities of wlieat, they had never been regarded
by the lake carriers as serious rivals.
In the spring of 1872 the railroads entered the held for a i)art of the
grain trattic and secMired a liberal i)t)rtion of it tliroughout tlie season
■ of navigation. In the following year the struggle was continued, the
railroads securing a large share of the business. Since 187.". ihe con-
test has been maintained. In some years the railroads have made
great encroachments into the trafiic, and in other years tlie lake carriers
have almost mono|)oIized the business. Shipments by rail exceeded
those by lake in 1881, and again in ISS"). Since the latter year the
lakes have more than held their (»wn, and in some years have cajttured
nearly all the wheat. The yearly movement by each mode of transpor-
1 It will be seen bv the tiible in the appendix that the east-bound movement of Hour
from Chicago readied its maximum volumf in 1887. I'ntil 1S8S most of the Hour
shipnrd from the Nortliwest jiasstMl throiigli Cliicago, but in 1H88. by tlie c.omi.Ietion
of the Miiiu.'apolis. St. Paul and Siiult Ste. Miirie Railway, niucli of the dour business
was diverted from Cliicajno. Krom 1882 the constructicm of a riiilroad irom Minne-
apolis and St. Paul to" the north of Lake Muhisan and the lower lakes to the seaboard
•id been much diseu88ed«l)y the millers and shippers of tlii'se two cities. Snch a
'+, was hoped, would be of signal advantage to the inlerewts of these two cities
. ;■ the entire Northwest, for by this road not only the distance to the seaboard
I ii be materially shortened in "comparison with the circuitous route around the
' . . of Lake Michigan, but the uncertainty <d' a speedy movement tlirongli the
freight yards of Chicago would also be obviated. This line, commonly known as
the '' So'o," in connection with the Canadian Pacilio and lake vessels, on its omiple-
tion at once became a strong competitor for the flour and grain business of the North-
west. During its first year it forwarded from Minneapidis l):n,500 barrels of Hour,
and since then shipments have rapidly increased, as will be seen by the suljjoined
table.
The yearly shipmests of flour from Minneapolis over the " Soo," as given in the
reports of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, have been as follows:
Year.
Barrula.
Tear.
Barrels.
1888 1 931,502
188B 1,367,792
1890 l,156,.Me
1891 i 1,200,642
1802 • 1,B84,00.'5
1898 j 1,720,166
Year.
1894.
1805.
1896.
Barrels.
1, 468, 148
2,111,455
2,419,914
Since 1887 shipments of flour to the ports at the head of Lake Superior have also
greatly increased, and the combined rail and water routes through Wisoonsm and
across Lake Michigan have secured a large traffic that formerly passed through
Chicago. , , , J. 1 ,
-The following table covers the period in which the great change took place:
Eastward shipments of wheat from Chicai/o.
Year.
1870
1871
1872
By lake.
BwiheU.
13, 429, 069
12, 120, 923
8,831,870
By rail.
Buihelt.
2, 621, 699
576,468
2,363,810
Year.
By lake.
Bvuhels.
1873 ; 15. 628, 984
1874 1 16,974,149
By rail.
Jluihelt.
8, 149, 209
9, 725, 251
0f STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCK.
tatioii since 1800 is shown by the Hgnies given in Appendix U, Tuble
III, part 1. , ,
III the years previous to 1873, with some exceptions, most of tlie wheat
taken from Chicago by the railroads was secured in the winter months,
when hilce navigation was closed. Since 1873 the largest rail shipments
have often been made after the navigation season had fully opened.'
In shipping by rail the marine insurance is avoided, the grain is less
liable to damage in transit, is moved more rapidly and marketed more
readily, thus giving «piicker returns and thereby saving interest charges.
But these advantages combined were not sufficient to overcome the
additional rail charge which was frequently exacted. It is safe to say
that the marine insurance in all but exceptional cases was considerably
less than 1 per cent per bushel, and the difference in time between the •
all rail and lake and rail was not a large factor. The danger from
heating in special cases would be very great, but in most cases it would
(piite disappear. During May, 1875, the difference in rates amounted
to 10 cents, and with such a variation it is surprising that the railroads
should have secured any wheat at all. With a fuller knowledge of the
situation, however, this will be readily understood. The published
rates were not the real rates. Says Mr. E. U. Walker, statistician of
the New York Produce Exchange: " During a portion of the year 1875,
the transportation by rail has been by the agreed schedule of rates.'"*
The implication is that rates were generally not maintained, and
such- must have been the case. From January to October the rates
given in the Internal Commerce reports remained stationary at 24
cents per bushel, then fell 1 cent for October, but recovered for Novem-
ber, and rose to 2S cents for December.^
The statistician of the New York Produce Exchange^ says that rates
were very low from the opening of the year until October, when they
advanced very sharply, but the published rates do not show this
movement. He also informs us that flour and grain were carried in
large quantities from St. T-ouis to New York by all rail at 24 cents per
» The seriousness of the competition offered by the railroads at times during the
navijjation season will be made evident by the following table:
I Shipments rturinf; tlia
month of May.
Vcar.
By lake.
By rail.
! fereiice of
: r-ites in favor
i of the Inke
land rail route
iaa againHtthe
' all-rail route.
Bvshelt.
,U7<> * i 272,591 !
itnt : l,82;t,310
\„i 2,367,798
\ll;r, ■. J,18().«5
1870 ;;;!;!!!ii'i'i^^i^- -■•■--■■-- 1.810,340
1 0171T ___ 755, 962
1878 .
002, 958
Bushels.
340, 584
947,902 '
1,210,352 :
735, 666
1,114,137 i
270, 110 I
1, 369, 733 i
Cent*.
2
6
7
10
1
3.
For this data see Internal Commerce, 1876, charts 2 and 3, ard Internal Commerce,
1879 AT)pcndi\, pp. 246-247. The third column of the tabic shows a Bnrpnsing
amount of freight secured by the railroads in view of the great diftereuce which
frequently obtained in rates. Perhaps the published rates were not adhered to.
^ New York Produce Exchange, 1874-75, p. 231.
:< Internal Commerce of United States, 1876, chart No. 1.
<New York Produce Exchange, 1874-75, pp. 231-236.
mmMmmmsmm
mumtim
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
37
dix U, Tuble
of the wheat
liter months,
111 shipiueuts
y opened.'
! grain is less
sirketed more
'rest charges,
(verooiiie the
is safe to say
considerably
! between the •
danger from
ases it would
tes amounted
the railroads
wledge of the
he published
itatistician of
he year 1875,
le of rates." *
iitained, and
ber the rates
tionary at 24
)d for Novem-
ays that rates
sr, when they
ot show this
ire carried in
b 24 cents per
men (luring the
the
Xoiiiinal ilif-
fereiice of
rates in favor
i of the lake
I and rail route
ail. aHagninHtthe
i all-rail route.
hell.
), 584 I
1. »02 i
),:!52 i
5, 6C6 I
I, 137 I
9, IIU I
9, 732
Centi.
2
6
7
10
1
3.6
1.1
jrniil Commerce,
•w8 a Bnrprisitig
iiftereuce which
t adhered to.
1(»0 jiouuds, which would be equivalent to la cents per bushel.' It
is iiardh- to be supjjosed that the rate from Chicago to New Vorli
was maintained at 24 tieiits, with a rate of 15 cents from St. Louis.
That railroad rates were not stable during the year 1S7.') is also testified
to by Mr. Charles Randolph, in his report as secretary foi the Chicago
Board of Trade.^
In a general way it may be said tliat the corn traflic lias followed the
same course as the wheat traffic. The railroads appear, however, to
have secured a considerable share of this business at an even earlier
time than they obtained a large part of the wheat traffic. During the
years 1S(»,S, I8i»!), and 1870 the railroads (tarried considerable ([uanti-
ties of corn, and then for live years transported but little of this com-
modity. In the movement of"^this important crop the year 1870 was
the decisive turning point. The croi)of com grown in 1875 was large
and of good (piality and the export demand was steady and strong, so
the grain was moved rapidly forward by rail. Throughout 187<» the
rail routes competed vigorously with the lake lines and obtained a large
share of the traffic. During the months of May and June (i,208,70(>
bushels of corn were shiiiped from Chicago by lake, and 5,588,8.'{0 bush-
els by rail.' The amount of corn carried by rail during the year 1884
was almost equal to that transported by lake. During the following
year the shipments by rail aUain almost eijuah-d those by lake, the
amounts being, respectively, 28,082,864 and 2t»,a82,.J91 bushels. Since
1885 the lakes have regained much of the east bound traffic lost in the
earlier years In 1890 they carried more than six times as much com
as the railroads. .
We have now (lonsidered the partial diversion from the lakes to the
railroads of the Hour, wheat, and com shijiped from Chicago to the Kast.
There yet remains to be considered the movement of oats, the one grain
not yet taken up that is shipi>ed eastward in large (luantities. Kve and
barley, the other important cereals, are not tiansiiorted in sufficient
amounts to warrant separate treatment. During 180(5 the aggregate
shipments by lake and rail from Chicago amounted to but 11,142,217
bushels.^ Their movement may be inferred in a general way from the
discussion of the transportation of the other grains.
At a ve-y early date, as will be seen by an examination of Table III,
part II, Appendix 11, the trausportatitm of oats by rail assumed an
important pi>sitioii. During 18(52, 1803, 1804, and 1 05 a very large por-
tion of the oats carried out of Chicago was taken by the railroads. This
was largely due to the exceptional conditions which prevailed. The
principal contracts let all over the United States for supplying the
armies in the South with oats were filled in Chicago. As a result, the
shipment of oats from Chicago during the war increased with surpris-
ing rapidity; for the year 1801 they amounted to only 1,492,507 bush-
els, while for the last nine months of 1864 and the first three months
of 1805 they reached the large total of 15,020,792 bushels.
As a natural consequence the railroads leading from Chicago were
called upon to transport much of this grain, and as there were no rail-
roads runiiiiig far to the South west of the Mississipjii, and but a sin-
gle road crossing the Ohio River aud running to the Soutli througU
Kentucky, it became necessary to send commodities to the southeastern
points by the roundabout eastern lines. After the war closed the
' New York Pntduco Exchange, 1874-7.5, p. 232.
2 Report of Chicago Board of Trade, 1«75, pp. 18. li».
' Internal Commerce, 187(5, chart No. 3. Navigation opened before the Isfc of May.
^ Report of Cliicago Board of Trade, 1896, p. 3. .
Si
STATISTICS OF LAKK COMMERCE.
«!•
movement of oats by rail diniiuished somewhat, but very shortly
increased at a rapid rate, and in 1873 the shipments by rail greatly
exceeded those by lake. From 1873 to 1880 the railroads secured
almost th« whole traflic, and in some years left but an insignificant
amount to the lake carriers. Since the latter year the vessel men have
reentered the Held for this business and now obtain a large portion ot
it, but the railroads still hold the larger share.
The statistics of the movement of oats show that the railroads -ar-
rie<l a larger proi)ortiou of this than of other grains. This is surprising,
for oats is a commodity of comparatively low value and large bulk, and
it is generally held that this class of goods is best adapted to water
transportation. The explanations of the larger rail movement of oats
are not far to seek; one of them, however, runs counter to long estab-
lished opinion. Oats take up moisture more readily than other grains,
and as a very small amount will cause oats to become musty and thus
unfit for horse feed, it is sometimes found advantageous to ship this
grain by rail. But there is another and far more potent cause for the
surprisingly large rail movement of oats. It is the lake rates; these
are fixed more upon the basis of bulk than ot weight, and as oats is a
bulky ' product, the freight per hundred pounds is considerably higher
than on wheat and corn. , . , ,. ....
Enough oats can not be stowed away in the hohl ot a ship to secure a
car'-o equal in weight to that of the same ship loaded with wheat, and
therefore it is necessary to fix a higher rate per hundred pounds upon
oats than upon wheat. The grain car, on the other hand, is so large
that there is no ditticultvin loading it to its full carrying capacity with
the bulky product oats, and as a coiisetiuence the rail rates on oats are
no more per hundred pounds than those on wheat and corn. 1 he larger
lake movement of oats in recent years is perhaps in part explained by
the tact that since the agitation for deeper channels began vessels
have been constructed, to draw more water when fully loaded than the
existing channels would permit. This being the situation, many vessels,
so to speak, would have extra cargo room or unoccupied space when
transporting heavy commodities. These vessels, to a certain extent,
would sutler no loss in carrying the bulky product oats, for if they car-
ried wheat or corn a part of the hold would remain empty.
III.— THE TOTAL EAST-BOUND TRAFFIC.
An almost entire absence of statistics of the grain and tlour trans-
ported over the railroads that tap the surplus grain producing regions
stretching far out to the south, west, and north of Chicago, makes ,t
wholly impossible to present anything approaching a satisfactory ex-
position of the general movement of these commodities. Thus tar
nearly all the facts we possess have been gathered under the direction
of the commercial organizations of the cities in which the graiii and Hour
business is centered.^
'ThTnmnberH 32, 56, and 60 represout, with a fair degree of accuracy ,*the weights
of a like bulk of oats, corn, and wheat, respectively. The measured bushel of oats
"4rKh8 about 32 pounds, thit of shelled .orn 56, and that of >vheat 60 ?t^e measured
busf el of oats, however more frequently exceeds 32 pounds than ^of that of wheat
exceed 60 pounds. Recently there has been a machine invented lor "clipping oats.
By "clipping" the weight of the measured bushel is increased by one-halt to one ana
""n'he^stati'sWes published by these organizations are generally in part based upon
the custom-house records. For the sources of the grain statistics see Appendix II.
Tf
■B WflV-W ll U.J ' JIiB' "
) ' ' B>ynwwwML« » i iBw n'
ery shortly
rail greatly
ids set'ured
nsigniticiiiit
el men have
e portion of
Eiilroutis :;ar-
8 surprising,
ge bulk, and
ted to water
neiit of oats
long-eatab-
ther grains,
ity and thus
to ship this
a use for the
rates; these
1 as oats is a
rably higher
I> to secure a
I wheat, and
)ounds upon
1, is so large
apacity with
s on oats are
The larger
exi)lained by
egan vessels
ded than the
nany vessels,
I space when
irtain extent,
r if they car-
L tlour trans-
icing regions
igo, makes ;t
tisfactory ex-
s. Thus far
the direction
'aiif and tlour
G,y,'the weights
I bushel of outs
) ,* the ineasured
8 thiit of wheat
clipping'' outs,
'halt to oue aud
»urt baxed upon
) Appendix II.
STATISTICH OF LAKE COMMERCK.
39
While these data are complete enough for many pui'iioses, they are
not sutticiently comj)rehensive to. disclose the characteristics of the
general movement of the cereals from the interior producing regions to
the consuming districts of the East and Soutli, and to foreign countries.
Thus far, our General (lovernment has devoted but little attention to
inland commerce; the reports on our internal commerce whiiih have
appeared up to this time have t;oiitaine(l but little statistical matter
which had not previously appeared in re|)ort8 of transportation com-
panies, boards of trade, produce exchanges, and chambers of commerce
of our great trading centers.
1 shall now attempt to show, but in a soinewiuit roundabout way,
what siiare of the Hour and grain tratHc; from the West to the Kast lias
fallen to the lakes, ami what portion has been secured by the railroads.
The figure-' which will be given should in no case be wrested from their
context. (3(mditions which obtained at the beginning of the |)eriod
under consideration no longer exist, and thus the statistics standing by
themselves would be very misleading.
The transportation of Hour and the chief three cereals — corn, w beat,
and oats — will be investigate*!. In the case of each oue of these com-
modities, the receipts at the principal eight Atlantic ports will be com-
pared with the receipts by water at the chief lower lake ports. If the
receipts at the Atlantic iiorts increased at a more rapid ratio than those
of the lake ports it may be legitimately inferred, if all circumstances
except those of transportation remain unchanged, that the raiimails
were proving the stronger competitoi", and vice versa. The conditions,
however, as will be shown as each commodity is considered, have not
reuuiined Axed.
Attention is first invited to the movementof wheat ; the transportation
of Hour will next be taken up. The order of consideration has been
purposely changed, because the movementof Hour is partially explained
by the wrcumstances which have aifected the alterations in the ship-
ment of wheat. A very large portion of the grain shipped by lake is
received at Butfalo and Erie, and therefore the receipts of these two
ports may be regarded as fairly representing the lake movement.'
Moreover, the relation between the receipts of grain at these ports and
the other lower lake ports has not materially changed ; so, for comparative
purposes, the amounts received at Buffalo and Erie maybe assumed as
reflecting the whole movement by lake. In the comparisons which will
be instituted, the total receipts at the lower lake ports by lake have
not been used, for the reason that such statistics can not be had except
for the census year 1889.
The impossibility of securing statistics of the entire movement to
and through the Atlantic States' and the eastern portion of Canada has
forced me to accept the receipts ^ at the chief centers of the grain and
Hour business on the Atlantic Seaboard as indicative of the whole move-
ment into the regions Just mentioned. It thus appears that the value
of the comparison turns (1) upon the accuracy with which the lake
movement is reHected by the receipts at Buffalo and Erie, and (2) upon
the permanence of the proportion existing between the total movement
' Insufflcient duta make it difBcult tu ^ive an eHtimate of the relation between the
receipts of Knflfalo and Erip and those of all the low^r lake ports, but it is probably,
safe to say that the recei;its of Butfalo and Erie are 80 per cent oif the total.
- Instead of the receipts at Newport News and Norfolk, I have used the exports,
for the latter alone represent the tralBe which may be regarded as competitive between
the lakes and the railroads. The other ports selecteu are Montreal, Portland, Bos-
ton, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
m
STATISTICS OF LAKK roMMEHCK.
to the Beaboavd and that to tlie selcctiMl porta. As lias already l»een
stilted, the receipts at I'.iinalo and Eii«> reflect, with coiisiderahle exact-
ness, the total iiioveinent by vessel to the lower lakeporta. As towhetlier
the i)roportioii between the total movement to the seaboard and that
to tiie selected jtorts has remained the same, we can not speak with the
same assurance, for we have but few statistics to assist us in forming
opinions. As the exports of wheat seem to have maintained a fairly
constant relation to the total producttion of wheat in the United States,
yearly fluctuations being left out of acicount, it may be assumed that
the receipts at the seaboard ports of wheat for export have not varied
greatly. The (piestion then remains as to whether or not the total
receipts at the seaboard ports, less the (piantities exported, have
increased at as rapid a rate as the receipts at all the other points com-
bined. This question must pr(»bably be answered in the negative, and
for two reasons: In the earlier years of the period under considera-
tion the smaller iutericu- cities sehlom eti.joye<l as favorable freight rates
as the larger cities, and so the former often obtained their supplies from
the latter; and in the earlier years, when the Eastern States produced a
large portion of the wheat consumed, tlie smaller cities of the localities
where the grain was raised would be sure to obtain the surplus, leav-
ing the larger cities to look to the more remote region.^ for the satisfac-
tion of their necessities.
By examining Table V, Part I, in Appendix II, it will be seen that from
the beginning of the period under examination (1S(W) down to the year
1S7(1, the combined receipts of wheat at Buffalo and ICrie by lake were,
altlKmgh varying from year to year, somewhat more than one-half as
large as those of the selected Atlantic ports. In 1S7<» tliis relation was
slightly changed, and for the first time the i( ceipts of the Atlantic
ports were more than double those of the two lake ports; there was,
however, no great change, as the receipts at the former i)orts were
4:.' 881,()0(> bushels, and at the latter L»l,147,Oi»(». During ISTT^ihe lake
ports regained their fornrer position, the receipts being 2u, 791, 191
bushels, while the receipts at the Atlantic ports were 4<;,8'J8,00(> bushels.
Thus far the relation existing between the receipts at the lower lake
ports and at tidewater on the Atlantic Coast have remained fairly con-
stant, although the aggregate receipts have increased appreciably. A
great change took place during the next five years. The ratio between
the receipts at the lower lake ports and the Atlantic ports was very
much altered ; instead of being about as 1 to 2, the ratio was now a,bout
as 1 to 3i; for the five-year period the aggregate stood at 17'J.(» million
and r>48.d million bushels, respectively. For the year 1881 the receijjts
at the Atlantic ports were more than four times as large as the re-
ceipts at Buttalo and Erie. In 1883 there was a partial return to the
relations which formerly obtained, and in 1884 there was a still further
change, so that for this year the receipts at the Atlantic ports lacked
just a trifle of being double those of the lake iwrts. For the three
succeeding years there was no great change. But in 1888 and in the
following year the situation changed so much that for the year 189.5
the receipts at Buttalo and Erie almost equaled those of the selected
Atlantic ports, the re(!eipts of the former being 49,033,100, and of the
latter 49,lior),000 bushels. This proportion during 189(1 was changed
■ somewhat in favor of the Atlantic ports.
Thus far nothing but the superficial facts have been presented. 1 hese
seem to show that the railroads and the lakes maintained a pretty even
struggle during the decade beginning with 18G8, and that for five years
mtm
. ill l i H I M H*tmWJI4^lW W Hi] l lfM i ,W 1 1l lll
Irciidy l»e»»ii
LTilbU^ I'XlKif-
s towln'tlier
u'd and that
oak with the
s ill t'oniiing
iiied a fairly
iiitod Stntes,
ssiiincd that
not varied
ot the total
>orted, have
points (!om-
t'gative, and
r coiisidera-
freifjht rates
supplies IVoin
s i)rodiu!ed a
tlie localities
urplns, leav-
the satisfac-
een that from
n to the year
by lake were,
I one-half as
relation was
the Atlantic
s; there was,
iv iK)rts were
ISTT^he lake
!}•• 25,791, 491
•i,0()(» bushels,
he lower lake
led fairly con-
)reciably. A
ratio between
jrts was verj'
as now about
i 172.(i million
I the recei])t8
ji'e as the re-
return to the
a still further
ports lacked
i'or the three
SS and in the
iie year 1895
F the selected
0, and of the
was changed
snted. These
a pretty even
for five years
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMKKCK.
«t
thereafter the railroads p:aiMed a decisive iidv anta<;e iind then for ii few
years wnged a stnbboi ii <'onte8t, but only to l>e utterly driven from the
field in the years from ISSS to 1S9(». The facts thus far presented, iiow-
evor, are wholly inadequate tor an understanding of the events wiiich
have taiu'ii place. Conditions have radicali,. changed. Tlie striking
fact in the history of wheat growing in the I'nited States during the
jmst thirty years has been tho westward and northward movement of
the surplus wheat-producing areas.'
At tlie beginning of the period nniler consideration, New York and
PeniLsylvaiiia held pr«»iiiiiient places among tlie wheat producing
States, and the great wheat raising States were for the most part on
the southern shores of the chain of (ireat Lakes, liy the middle of the
eighties all this was changed and a large proportion of the surplus
wheat grown in the Tiiited States was harvested in the far Northwest,
the Dakotas and Minnesota being the principal wheat growing States.
The last column of the foregoing table disclo-^es the ine.seiit imjiortance
of these States, two of wiiich produced no snrjilus wheat until the
middle of the period -'nder examination. The westward and north-
ward movement of the wheat raising areas has had a very decisive
intiuenc(^ in the selection of the agencies employed in the movciient
eastward of the grain produced. When the grain to be shiiiped was
raised in i)hio and Indiana and in the southern jiortions of Michigan.
and Illinois it was almost sure to go by rail, for in nearly all ca.><es sliip-
ment by water would involve a short rail haul to the lakes, with its
high local rales, and in some cases, after the grain reached the lake, it
would be only slightly advanced in its eastwanl journey by lake .ship-
ment. Charges of transshipment in the case of the short lake ship-
ment would be of relatively greater importance than in the case of the
larger lake slii]iinent. In the early days the grain grown in the West
was produced in regions or carried! to i)laces where the railroads were
in a favorable position to c(uni)ete for it. Most Western wheat found
its way to Chicago or Milwaukee.
' In Kpeakiiij; of the greiit wlieat-prodncing areas, I refer only to tbe wlieat-growiiig
rojjfions ouHt of the Rocky Monntnins. The sbii iiig of nreiis is maile clear liy tlie
following; table:
I'mdnclion of wheat.
1,000 omitted.]
1869. a
State or
Territory.
Yield.
BM»h.
lUiiiois 80,128
lowo 20. 4:16
Oliio 27,»82
Indiauii 27,747
WiBCoiisin 25,«16
Feuimvlviiuiii... 19,073
MinneHota 18,806
Mitliigan 16,205
Missdiiri 14, 31.'>
NewYorlt 12,178
KQutiickv .5, 7J1)
Kiiiisiis .'. 2. 3«0
Nebraska 2,125
Dakota 171
1879. 6
State or
Territory.
Yield.
Ituth.
Illinois
51,111
Indiana
47, 285
Ohio
46.015
Miuliiiiau
1)5, 5;i:!
Minnesota
114, 001
Iowa
31, 154
Missouri
24,967
Wisconsin
24, 8K5
Pennsylvania..
10, 462
Kansas
17, 324
Neliraska
13,847
New York
11,588
Kentucky
11,350
Dakota
2, 830
1880. c
State or
Territory .
Minnesota
Dakotas
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
Kansas
Missouri
Michigan
Pennsylvania. -
Wisconsin
Kentucky
Nebraska
New York
Iowa
Yield.
Ilttth.
52. 300
40, U45
37. 389
37,310
35, 5.59
30, 399
30,114
24, 771
21,, 505
11,009
10, 707
10, .571
8, 305
8,250
1895. d
State or
Territory.
Dakotas
Miuncsota
Ohio
Kansas
I'cnusv Ivania
Indiaiut
Illinois
Missouri
Mlchican
Nebraska
Iowa
Kentiuky
Wisconsin
Now York
Yield.
JIush.
90.310
65. 584
32, 21«
22, 019
20. 456
•.'0, 294
19.001
1«. 499
15.238
14. 787
13,655
9,501
8.016
7, 301
a Ninth Census: Industry and Wealth, p. 83.
6 Tenth Census i Vol. Ill, p. 177.
cKeport ou the .Staiistics of Agriculture in the Tnited States at the Kleventh Census. |>. 10.
(/Keirort ol' the (Chicago Board of Trade, 1893. |i. 182.
■DWMMMa
"•W
42
STATISTICS OF I.AKK COMMKRCK
From these |»t>iiit8 the rivihmuls possess a decitled iulvantafje over
the lake (;arriers in the point of distance, lor tlie hitter tniist round the
lower peniiisnhi of Michigan, while the former run directly atiross
(MHintry to their destination, hroni Chicago to Buflfalo by lake is 8.S9
iiiilcH,'' while the distance from Chicago to New York City by the
shortest rail route is but !>l-5 niiles.-'
Krotn Buffalo to Xew York ( 'My by the sliortest rail route is 410 miles. '
It tlius ai)'>ears tiiat every mile covered in the passage to Buttviio by
lake results in an elfective eastward movement of 0.r»t54 mile. By the
westward and northward movement of tiie surplu wheat-jtrodiu-ing
region the situation has been wholly changed. ?. J districts which
forujcrly produced the surplus that was almost »;ertaiu to go by rail now
grow but little if any more wiieat than will satisfy their own necessities,
but tiie location of the new wli' at growing areas is the important factor.
These districts are located directly west of Lake 8uperior. This fact
is clearly sliown by the crop maps of the Kleventh Census.^ The pro-
duction of wheat iii the far North has been greatly increased since these
maps were published, as will be seen by an examination of the table <m
page 41. As a result of this northward and westward movement of
the wheat lields, tlie raib-oads have lost the advantage in point of dis-
tance which they formerly possessed. By the siiifting of the wheat
growing districts the lake carriers have been placed upon terms of
substantial equality with railroads. In shipping by lake from Ciiictago
it was found that every nule tiaversed in the i>aasage to Buffalo resulted
in effective eastward movenu'nt of but 0.r)04 mile. Shipment by water
from the head of Lake Sui)eiior is not accompanied by this wasteful
cxi>enditure of energy. Kvery mile the grain is moved results in its
being practically I mile nearer one of our great exi>orting ports.'
The increased importance of the shipments of wheat from the far
Northwest, in the receipts at Buffah) and Erie, is made clear by the
'Elfveiitb reiisus: Trunsportjitioii HuNiiies8. I'lnt II, p. 200.
■Chiiago to New York <'it,v over r\ie PeimsylvHuia Railroiid.
from Chicago to the dirt'erent seiilxiard cities ino im follows:
Hv mil the distances
Milt^s.
1,001)
'l"o Newport News ,
To Norfolk
Miles.
8iK5
5184
To Hoston
To Baltimore W:
To Philadelphia 822
• (Raihoad Ga/.ette, Vol. XXIX, No. 13, p. 215.)
•' From Hiiffalo and Erie the distance to the sealward ports by the shortest routes
is as follows :
Milex.
Buffalo to New York 410
Buffalo to Boston 481
Buffalo to Philadelphia 418
Buffalo to Baltimore 402
Milps.
Erie to New York 512
Erie to Boston liW
Erie to Philadelphia 506
Erie to Baltimore 490
(Ibid., p. 216.)
^ Eleventh Census: Statistics of Agriculture; Crop Map No. 13.
' In comparison with certain rail routes, however, the lake route from the head of
Lake Superior does not appiai in this favorable light. Either the Duluth, South
Shore and Atlautic. or the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie, in connec-
tion with the Canadian Pacilic, affords a nuich shorter line to an oceau port (Mon-
treal) than do the lakes and the railroads to any of our Atlantic ports. T'hese all-rail
lines may in the future effectively compete with the lake carriers in the transporta-
tion of grain to (certain legions.' It does not follow because these roads have not
done so in the past that they will not do so in the future. The discussion of this
point, however, would lead "us too far afield, and therefore it will not now be
taken up.
vantajje over
UHt round thu
irectly iit!ro«8
)y lake is 8S9
City by the
B is 410 miles. '
to Buft'iiio by
mile. By the
eat-i)ro«liic.iiig
istricts whicli
\io by rail now
HI necessities,
)ortaiit factor,
or. This fact
18.^ The pro-
ied since tiiese
if the table <m
m()vement of
I point of tlia-
of the wheat-
ipon terui.s of
from Ciii<!ago
utt'alo resulted
inent by water
' this wasteful
results ill its
g ports.'
, from the far
I clear by the
rnil the (listancps
Miles.
896
J)84
le shortest routes
Milan.
512
fiW
506
, 490
iVoiu the head of
lio Duliith, South
ifarie, in connec-
x'cau port (Mou-
8. 'I'hose all-rail
a the tvansporta-
le roads hsive not
liscnssion of this
will not now be
STATISTICS OF LAKK COM.MERCE. W:
foliowiiig table, covering the movement of wheat through the 8t. Maiy»
Falls (Jaiial:
Morenieiit of wlitfil.
|(UOuiiiiti<'il.|
M"^ 7'» i;.M,.ii.i«.ii
St. MiiijB
KuIImChiiiiI.
Hiitlieh
IHSll '-MOII
IHH'.' ;i.7'.'ll
1MH4 1I.»H8
18811 \ii ua\
1888 IS.BlHi
1M»0 l>i,'.'17
Vciir.
uiiil Krir.
SI .MalVH
KiiIImCiiiiuI.
Ill Krit".
/(„.,/„/». Itlishtll.
44,477 18111 ;m,817
27. tlWI 180C 40. Ot'O
:t4, (iii'J i(t'i;i 4;i, 482
4-.'.5T.-. 18114 :W.8«9
27,8tM I8»S 46.JI8
2r..o:i4 l8Bti «:i.2!M)
8:i,74»
nil. (183
7l..t78
I'i. 4no
411. 0»»
IK). 11.14
By the above table it appears that the movement of wiieat through
the St. Marys Falls Canal now just about eipials the combined receipts
of the two juominent lower lake ports — Hntt'iilo and Krie. Were the
receipts of the lower lake ports no larger than the shipments from
the lake ports other than those of Lake Superior the receipts of the
selected Atlantic ])orts would have nmch more than held their own with
the receipts of Buffalo and Erie. A (comparison up<m this basis would
be worthless, however, becnuse the whole situation has clianged. That
the railroads aie less able to compete with the lake route than formerly
can not be inferred from a comparison of the receipts of the lower lake
ports and of the Atlantic ports, for the railroads never were competitors
for the traltie of the far otf region which now produces the bulk of our
surplus wheat. The existing status of the struggle between the rail-
road and the water lines will not be discussed further at this point.
The statistics for the tiansportati<m of tlour show that the movement
of this commodity very much resembles that of wheat. For the first
three years (18(58-1870) of the period under consideration the receipts
at Buffalo and Erie were about one-fifth of those at the selected Atlantic
ports. Then for several years, but not without occasional setbacks, the
receipts at the seaboard ports gained on the receipts of the lower lake
ports, nntil in 1877 the receipts of the former ports were more than ten
times as large as those of the latter. After 1877 there was a reverse move-
ment, and in 1883 this had gone so far that the relations which obtained
at the outset were about restored. During the next two years there
was practically no change, but in 1880 the lake ports made a decided
gain upon the seaboard ports, and in 1889 increased this gain so much
that the receipts of the lake ports were more than one-half as large as
those of the seaboard porta. Since 1880 there has been no change of
note. The yearly alterations which took place are shown in Appendix
II, Table V, I'art I.
A strong resemblance in the movement of flour and of wheat will V)e
noticed on comparing the figures (in the Appendix) covering the move-
ment of flour with those presenting the movement of wheat. The gen-
eral tendencies have been in the same direction, but the movement has
not proceeded so far in the one case as in the other. The shifting of
the surplus wheat producing districts has been accompanied by a cor-
respondinu movement of the great milling centers. From 1878 Minne-
apolis has, with but few interruptions, steadily increased her output of
flour, reaching the enormous total of 12,874,890 barrels in 1896. At the
44
STATIHTICS OK LAKK COMMKIUK.
ln'a<l «»f' LaUt' 8iiitt'iiur, 'ii tlu' <-iti«'«nf Dulutli iiiul \V«'.st Hu|MMi(>r, tlmr«',
liiis ifcciitly spiiiiif; ii| aiiotlin iiiiportaiit milling;' foiitei.'
An tin- inilliii!;' iiHliisii.v lias in a lai;;(' measure folldwwl tlic \vlit>at-
/iinwiii^j ii'fiioii wj'stwiinl aixl mntliward, it IdllKws tiiat th«' iaiii's are
iinw ill a iiiorc lavorahl** ])(isitioii lor <'(>iii|ic'tiii<; tor tiielloiir trallic Mian
(ornM'i ly. That a laifi*' portion of tiic iiicn'ascd receipts of lliitlalo and
Jh'ie (.rininate in I lie N(»itli\vest is evidenced by the statistics of the tlour
moved tiroiiuli the St. Marys Kails Caiial.^
The sliiiimeiits t'roiii .Minneajiolis by the IMiiineapolis. St. I'aiil and
Saiilt Ste. Marie Railroad Imve t\\v same elVect, since the bulk of the
(lour carried by this road is transshipped to hike vessels at (ilads tone, a
port on the northern shore of Lake !\Iichi<;an.
It appears, then, that the shipinents of Hour through the St. Marys
l''all8 Canal, i)liis the shipments of Hour from Minneapolis by the Min-
neapolis. St. i'aiiland Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, are now about as large
as the total receipts ol IliifValo and lliie. For 1S!>.") the Ibrmer were
actually larjierthan the hitter.' This brinjfs us to the main consitlera-
I'hc Hiilijoinril tulilc will hIiow the tli'vi'lopinent of tlu'so two iiiillliiK (liHtricts.
.tinnitil proiliiflioii {iKiirrh).
iuOO uiiiiltud.l
1H7«.
IHHII.
IMMa .
1H8H .
1K8!I.
Tear.
I Mlnneapo-
li«.a
Diiliith.ti
041 i IHllll.
•2.i)r,2 iHni .
;), 17B IHO-J.
5.;ii8 i8»;i.
(1,1(W 181t4.
7.(1." IHK.J .
U, U8il M 18116.
Tear.
Miiiiii'iiiiii-
Uii.a
e,B8Q
7,878
9. 75(1
l),;i78
e. 4U1
lU, 581;
r.', 87.".
Ddhali 7<
4:11
(17:)
I . UII4
87(1
01 H
(•2,1178
oKi'liorlK of till' 'Iriidc' iiiiil ("oimmTcp. of MliiniMi|i(ili8.
/) l!('licirtM cif the 'rriiili' iiiid ('oniiiicriio of DLilntli.
I'Tlli' nH(|«lll of tllr Dlllntll llllcl Wr.U .Sll|Hrl(l|- lllill.4.
(/Fldiiiiiiiiiiirnrdin'il at tin- " lli'iid of tin' hiiki'S. ' (Uivlew of tlio Trailu iilid (Joiiliiieri'n of Dilllltli,
roiii)ii1i'd li.v (III' iMiliilli I 'liaiiilii'i' III' I'oinint'rci'.l
■ Mofi ment of Hour {harifh).
[000 OMiitt(3d.]
It
Veai'.
I TlirouBli
tliv I'liniil.rf
Ki'iini Miii-
ll<'U|loliH, liv
MiiMii'>i|io-
liH, St Plllll
iiiiil Saiilt
St«. Miu'lo
K. HO
Tear.
1880.
188:; .
1884 .
188(i .
1888 .
1890.
524
:i44
1,218
1,7.'>'.)
2. 1111
a, 239
I,:i68
1891 .
1892 .
189:) .
1894 .
189.1 .
I89ti.
1
'rlilull);ll
tliK i^aiiiil.a
3,780
.5,418
7,421
8, wm
8, 90'>
S, 883
From Mill-
IK'IIIIoli.'i. bj'
Minui'upo-
liH. St.I'lllll
and Siiiilt
Ste. Miirii'
K. 11.0
1.201
1,684
1,720
1,458
2,111
2.420
nStateineni of the oomiiiercp thronsh the St. Mar.vs Fnll8 Cunal, u doiMiineut .prepared b.v Mr. E. S.
Wlioelt T. till' (JiiveniiiKMit ollirrr ill iliai'ne of llie ('liiial.
/i Ki'lHiita iif the (Jliaiiibcr of 1 loiiiiiicrce of MliineapoliB.
■'This fact does not, liowevcr, throw (lisRredit ujiou the mi'tliod of a])pr(iaRhiiig
the ])rolil('iii ol' the gciienil I'iistward inovfiiient of the several coiiiniodities under
iiivestijiatiou, for the total Bhiimieiits of Hour from Miiiiieupolisliy the "Soo"' Rail-
road are not transHliipped to lake v'essels. And the receipts at liutt'alo and Erie do
not represent the total receipts of the lower lake ports as fully as the shipinents
throuf{h till' "Soo" Canal, phis the shipinents over tht^ "Soo" Haihoad, represent the
shipnn-nts from the ui)iH'r lake ports. It should also be reineiubercd that at the out-
set I discliiiineu all intentions of making au exact uiathematical demonstration.
111.1-1 114 I .I.".'."-!.*. »»^WJjMJJIiai.*iJW91'*^'t'i«JJ^''!
^iilM'iior, tluMc
vil tlio wheat-
t the lakes are
iir trallic tliaii
of Itiitlalo and
icNcdtlio Hour
Ht. Paul aiitl
li«- l*ulk ot tlie
t (iladntoiie, a
the St. Marys
s by t\w .Miii-
iihoiit as larjjo
le loiiiu'r were
lain consideru-
lliii^ ilistrii'ts.
llliciltin-
IJu
u\UI,
6,089
4:11
7. H78
673
It. 7511
l,UU4
U, ;i7H
87(1
0.401
HI 8
lu. nn:'
(•2,078
rj, K7.'i
<r.i.\-2i>
.'oiiiini'rcc (if Diiliiili,
I Fr<iiii Mill-
Ini'njioli.s, by
and Minlt
I 8t«. Marie
1!. It.^
3, 780
5,418
7, 4L'l
8, IMUI
8, O0-2
.S, 88:1
1.201
l,ti84
1,720
1,458
2,111
2,420
opureil by Mr. E. S.
of a])pr(ia(!hing
nniodities under
the '-Soo'' Rail-
fttlo mid Krie do
H the shipments
ad, represent the
Itbiitatthe oiit-
muustration.
HTATKSTICS OF L\KK CO.M.MKHCK.
45
tion. We lin<l in tho t-a-sc of Hour, as in tlu' case of wlieiit, tliut tli«^ sliift-
ini; of the idact's of production has put tlut water carritMs in ii more
fiivoraldc position to meet ttie competition of ilie railroads. 'I he lake
carriers are no ionfji-r handicapped by an ext'essively <'irinitons ronte.'
In striking contrast with llie niovenient of wheat and its manut'ac-
ture(| ]irndin-t,tlonr, is the eastward nntveinent of corn. It appears from
Aftpendix 11. Tald*^ V, I'art ll.showiiifi the receipts of the selected
hike and seaboard ports, that the receipts of these two };roiips of ports,
altliou^h they have varie«l ^^rt>atly diirin<; tiie period under consid(>ru
tion, have moved to;;cther and at about the name rate, i'roiii JStiH to
187<i the lake receipts were about one half as lar^e as those of the s«'a-
board, tlu-n for half ado/en years the .seaboard receipts (gained .some-
wliat upon the receipts of the lake ports. The year l^sj was, in .some
reape(!ts, anomalous. Tin- receipts of the lake ports alnmst equaled those
of the seaboard ))orts, the tbrnier bein^; a little more than L'l,(>0(l,()(M)
bushels and the lattei' .sonsewhat nune than 2f<,(l(K>,(MM».^
For the next tour years there were wide variations, and Iron tlu'ii
(1887) the lake receipts, with the ex<reption «.*' 18!tL', were some v hat
more than one half us lar{{e as those of the sen' nard eceipts. 1 fining
18S)6 the Heal)oard ie»!eipts were more than (i mble f'lose »!' the lake
ports, the former beiufr li;J.."> million and the latter but a-M niillloTi
bushels.
The eastward movement of corn thus stands o-r in str nn' contrast
with that of wheat and Hour. In our investigation of thete breads) ufs
we found that after the opening of the eighties the trausportatio' if
these commodities by water gained very raphlly upon the mo « .1 ent
by land, and that at the close of the period tiie qiumtities recei .ed at
Buffalo and Krie by water were practically eipial to t'». -uvl quanti-
ties received at the leading seaboard cities. The exp mat 'mi of this
divergence of tendencies is not far to .seek. It is fouim in tlie fact that
the shifting of the surjilus corn iirodu«!i''.T region has been westward,
and not northward as well as westward; it has been along the parallels.
Our surjilus wheat, as was seen, is now largely grown in tie far North-
west — in Minnesota and in the IJakotas. The great wheat helds are
now back of Lake Superior, and thus in a fav»)rable position for the
movement by lake of the crops gathered from them. These States
have thus far produced but little suri)lu8 corn, and will jirobably never
produce much, as they lie almost wholly without the corn belt. In the
southern portions of Minnesota and South Dakota corn can be grown
successfully, but these areas are limited in extent. The great surplus
corn region now lies to the west and southwest of the southern portion
of Lake Michigan,' falling within the States of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri,
Kansas, and J^ebraska, and, as a consequc: ^ '. if corn is to go by water
to the Bast it must be carried from the ; fcs at the head of Lake
Michigan on the circuitous journey around tlie lower peninsula of Michi-
gan. The advantages of the rail lines running to the Atlantic ports
in point of distance will not be further discussed, as this matter has
already been dwelt upon.
As the surplus corn produciv.g regions now lie to the southwest of
the head of Lake Michigan rather than directly to the west of it, there
'For qualificatious, see t. ite on page 42.
' The receipts of this year were far below the normal, and in this faot is to be found
the explanation of the variation of the relation. .Junt why a siuiill movement should
affect the seaboard receipts more than the lake receipts will bo shown later.
^This is very clearly shown by Crop Map No. 9, Eleventh Census: Statistics of
Agriculture.
46
STATIBTICS OK LAKK COArMERCP:.
,V '^ V,
liiis been a very decided teiideii(;y to ship corn for export i>y tlie all-ruil
lines totlie south Atlantic ports, notably Baltimore, I'hiladelphia, New-
port News, and Norfolk. !Shi|nneiits by the iill-rail routes totiiese ports
will i)rol»al)ly increase. The distances lrt»m the corn jj:rowing districts
to the south Atlantic ports are less than to the north Atlantic ports.
There is anotiier reason, and a mnrh weightier one, for the nioveinejit to
the southern ]»orts from Chicago. Philadelphia lias a differential rate
in its favor of li cents, and the otiier ports one ni'li cents per 1(H» pounds
as (;oinpared with New Vork. W hen these ditt'erentials were agreed
upon, April .">, 1S77, they were given to Southern ports to offset the
advantage New York possessed in the inattcM- of ocean rates.'
Since 1877, however, the situation has radically changed. New York
has, in good i>art, lost the advantage she tlien possessed in the item of
ocean rates, and thus the reason for the existence of these differentials
has disappeared. The differentials, however, not only remain, but have
bec()nie much niore effective than when adopted. Nominally the differ-
entials remain as they were fixed in 1S77, but really they are much
higher than they were then. This is true because the rates have fallen
very decidedly, while the differentials have remained absolutely sta-
tionary. Had the differentials been fixed upon a sliding scale, falling
as the rates fell, the Southern i)orts would not have the advantage
which they lutw possess. What irdght have been easily arranged in
1.S77 can now be brought about only by a serious struggle, and one which
the Nortiiern trunk lines are not likely to make. The grain traffic is an
important item to the Southern roads, and they will wagie a desperate
struggle to retain it. This is fully recognized by the more i)rosperous
Northern roads, which have a more profitable miscellaneous business.
We have here a case of a wide difference in marginal utility of a certain
traffic to two different sets of roads. The Baltimore and Ohio, the
Chesai»eake and Ohio, and the Noifolk and Western — roads hungry for
traffic — set a much higher value upon the traffic in corn, which at best
yields but a small profit, thati do the New York Central and Pennsyl
vania roads, whose terminal yards are already crowded and can only
be enlarged at a great outlay of mo?iey.
As these Southern roads also tap the territory to the south and west
of Chicago, it may be expected that they will also, to an increasing
extent, divert grain directly to the Southern ports, instead of permitting
it first to go to Chicago and then to take it to those ports. A large
portion of the surplus corn being produced in the territory to the
south of Chicago, this diversion may seriously affect the corn trade of
this city.
The table covering oats shows that its eastward movement differs
widely from that of each of the other commodities considered. For the
lirst four years ot the period under investigation, namely, 18G8 to 1872,
the receipts by lake at Buffalo and Erie were almost equal to one-half
the receipts of the eight selected Atlantic ports, the former being 33,8
million and the latter 68.r» million bushels. Beginning with the year
1872 the receipts of the lower lake ports not only declined relatively,
but even absolutely, and in the year 1880 reached the very small aggre-
gate of l,(iu4,3o(> bushels. For the next four years the receipts were
somewhat larger, but in 1885 they again fell very low, being less than
the small amount received in 1880. The receipts at the Atlantic ports,
on the other hand, steadily ro°.e Trom 23.7 millions in 18S0 to 40.4 mil-
lions of bushels in 1885. in 1886 the lake receipts increased slightly,
' Procoodings of the itpecial comiiiittee on railroads appointed under a resolution
of the New York assembl}' to investigitte alleged abuses in the uianagenieut of rnil-
roads chartered by the State of New York, 1879, Vol. Ill, pp. 3041, 3042.
(ort 1)3' tlie all-rail
liihuU'Jpliia, New-
ites to tiiese ports
iJfrowiiig districts
til Atlantic i)ort8.
the movciiie.iit to
I (littbreiitial rate
s per 1(U> poiuids
iais were agreed
)rta to otl'set the
II rates.'
ifted. New i'orlt
sed in tiie item of
hese ditlereutials
reiiuiiii, but liave
iiiiiially theditfer-
ly they are much
rates have fallen
m1 absolutely sta-
dinj; scale, falling
ve the advantage
asily arranged in
gle, and one which
grain tratfic is an
wage a desperate
3 more prosperous
ilaiieoHS business.
utility of a certain
ore and Ohio, the
-roads hungry for
orn, whicii at best
tral and Pennsyl
(led and can only
lie south and west
to an increasing
tead of nermitting
!e ports. A large
) territory to the
the corn trade of
movement differs
isidered. For the
oely, 18G8 tol872,
t equal to one-half
former being 33.8
dug with the year
eclined relatively,
I very small aggre-
the receipts were
V, being less than
be Atlantic ports,
a 18S0 to 40.4 mil-
ncreased slightly,
i under a resolution
uianagenient of rail-
041, 3042.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMKKCE.
m
and those of the seaboard ports fell off somewliat. Since l.S8(i tiie
receipfs of the lake ports have grown much more rajtidly tiian those of
the Atlantic ports, the receipts of tlie former i)orts for 181U5 being 4(>.ij
million and tliose of the latter 78.t> million busliels.
Wliile investigating the transportation ot' wlieat and (!orii, it was
found that the shifting of the great producing areas was a factor of prime
importance in determiuing tlie route by which the crops would go to
market. In the case of oats, the movement was very largely westward
and but slightly northward; so the situation lias not been so greatly
changed as in the case of wheat. Mostid the surplus oats is now grown
in territory directly west of Chicago. There has been, however, some-
thing of a nortiiward movement of the o its-growing districts, an<l the
shipnuiiita by the northern routes — by lake I'lom the head of Lake Supe-
rior and by the Miuneai)olis, St. I'aul and Sault Ste. Marie Uiiilroad —
have increased very rapidly, and in a measure e.\])lained the unusually
large receii>ts at Hutfah* and Erie in I.s;t6. It may be expected that
ahii)ments over the nortiieru lines will increase larg«'ly, and therefore
Chicago may lose the prominent position siie has so long maintained in
the handling of this grain.
It has now been shown to what extent the railroads encroached ujxtn
the Hour and grain traffic once monopolized by the lakes, the causes
have been briefly dwelt upon whicii enabled the railroads to make these
inroads, and the |)eriods have been given when the gi-eatest imiursions
were made. Attention was also directed to the fact that since the mid-
dle of the last decade the lake carriers have regained much of the (raf-
fle lost in the earlier years. Hut this was not fully explained; in jiart
it was shown to be due to the shifting ot the surjilus grain lu'oducing
regions. But nothing in the way of an explanation was attempted of
the fact that the lake carriers had been more successful in their strug-
gle with the railroads for traffic from the ohl competitive points, such as
Chicago and Milwaukee. This was done designedly, as it was thought
best to postpone examination of this matter until this stage of this dis-
cussion had been reached.
Antiquated methods of doing business prevailed on the lakes until
the middle of the last decade. It is not to be understood that there
had been no progress in any of the departments of lake transportation,
for such was not the case. Upon the whole, however, lak(5 transjiorta-
tion had not availed itself of the advances made in science and the
mecdianical arts. The railroads, on the other hand, had been alert to
introduce one improvement on the heels (»f another. For example,
the railroads had profited fully a decade and a half by the series of
inventions which resulted in cheap steel before the lake carriers began
to use steel to any appreciable extent. Methods of doing business ou
the lakes were also out of date; modern methods have only recently
been introduced. It took the lake carriers a decade to realize that the
railroads had become worthy competitors. No attempt will be made to
show in detail the revolution that has taken place since 1885; the
improvements will be discussed in their proper setting. Suffice it to
say that the era of metal ships of great capacity propelled by steam,
Mid dock and harbor facilities for giving these vessels dispatch in load-
ing and unloading date from tliis period. It is needless again at this
point to dwell upon the importance of proper dock facilities. A vessel
in port is not performing the function for which she was built — namely,
carrying freight — aad therefore earns nothing. It is not to be under-
stood that there was a great and sudden improvement in lake transpor-
tation in the year 1886 and that as a result the lake carriers obtained a
much larger share of the east-bound traffic than in 1885. The improve'
48
STATISTICS OF LAKK COMxMERCE.
meiits were uot far-reaching enough to iiccount for the change. The
sudden success ul" tlie hike carriers was rather due to the termination,
in November, l.SSr>, of a ruinous struggle between tlie trunk lines, dur-
ing wliidi tlu'y had at times carried goods at far beU)W remunerative
rati'S.
IV.— THE TRAFFIC THROU(iH THF (iULF I'ORI'S.
Not only have the east and west trunk lines diverted traffic from the
lakes, but the Mississippi Uiver and the railroads leading to the (Julf
have done so as well. This southern movement, however, never assumed
large propcn-tions until the year ISIX'., and for this year the growth was
largely accounted for by tiie iiicreased movement of corn. Our total
exports of corn last year having been unusually large, it may be sup-
posed that the sudden prominence of the Gulf ports' in the shipment
of grain is ephemeral. But such a view is hardly .justifiable. If the
Mississippi River were the oidy competing route to the (xulf ports, the
southern route wouhl not greatly encroach on tiie traffic now moving
over the lakes and the east and west trunk lines. But the Mississippi
is no longer the only line seriously competing with the great east and
west routes to the Atlantic ports.
The railroads leading to the Gulf are in certain sections competing
witii the great east and west routes. As regards the railroads east of
the Jlississippi River, this is especially true of the Illinois Central,
which has recently completed very excellent terminal facilities at New
Orleans for handling grain. The small export movement of grain via
New Orleans in past years has been largely due to the inadequate ter-
minal facilities at that point. Although there may be an increased
grain traffic over the Illinois Central, this enlarged business will not to
any great extent be at the expense of the lake route. Grain grown in
the territory but a short distance south of Chicago and east of the Mis-
sissippi River does not go east over the lake route, for this is ettectually
])revented by the high local rates for the short haul to the lake ports. It
need hardlv be said that if the lakes can not monopolize the tlour and
grain traflic from points situated immediately upon the lakes, such as
Chicago and Milwaukee, they can not successfully compete for the ship-
ment of these commodities from points south of Chicago. The Senate
select committee, appointed in 1872 "to investigate and report upon the
subject of transportation between the interior and the seaboard," took
theposition that " the railroad interests practically control the transport
of grain from all that part of the States of Illinois and Indiana situated
south of a latitudinal line 60 miles south of Lake Michigan."^
The railroad interests here referred to did not include the railroads
running to the Gulf, but merely the lines running to the seaboard. The
grain produced in the region some little distance south of Chicago for
the most part has been, and in all probability will continue to be, carried
to the Atlantic ports. Tl railroads leading to the Gulf have no advant-
age over some of those running to the Atlantic in point of distance '; and,
1 For I lie exports from the leading two Gulf ports, Now Orleans and Galveston, see
Appendix II, Table VI. The exports rather than the receipts are given, because the
foruiiir aione represent competitive business. ^ ^, „ i i
^ Report of the Select Committee on TrauHportation Routes to the Seaboard, page
2i (I^>rty-third Congress, first session). Mr. Windoni was chairman of the com-
'Froin Chicago to New York, 912 miles; from Chicago to Philadelphia, 822 miles;
from Chicago to Baltimore, 802 miles; from Chicago to Newport News, 896 miles;
from Chicago to New Orleans, 926 miles. (The Railroad Gazette, quarto vol. xxix,
No. 13, p. 21.5.) The distance to New Orleans is that given in the folder of the IIU-
nois Central Railroad, and is the distance over that line.
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE.
i9
B cliaiiye. The
iie tei'iniiiiition,
ruiik lines, <liir-
w reiuiiiu'iiitive
IM'S.
ti'iillic from tlie
iiig- to the (xnlf
, never assumed
tlie growth was
orn. Our total
it may be sup-
in the shipment
tifiable. If the
(xulf ports, the
rtie now moving
i the Mississippi
e great east and
tions competing
railroads east of
Illinois Central,
acilities at New
ent of grain via
) inadequate ter-
be an increased
nness will not to
Grain grown in
east of tlie Mis-
this is effectually
le lake ports. It
ize the tiour and
lie lakes, such as
pete for the sliip-
?o. The Senate
report upon the
> seaboard," took
rol the transport
[ndiaiia situated
ligan."-
:de the railroads
> seaboard. The
1 of Chicago for
me to be, carried
hayeno advant-
f distance''; and,
1 and Galveston, see
I given, because the
the Seal)oar(l, page
irniau of the com-
ulelphia, 822 miles;
rt News, 896 miles;
e, quarto vol. xxix,
B folder of the lUi-
as ocean freight rates to European ports are materially higher than those
from Atlantic ports, and as the Gulf railroads obtain but little return
freight, it is difficult to see how these lines are going to draw much traffic
in the territory east of the Mississippi River and north of St. Louis from
the northoi ': f I'unk lines, and it is still much more difficult to understand
how the sontibouud lines will encroach upon the traffic which has
gone over tne lakes. The south-bound lines have easy grades and are
not troubled with snow and ice; but these advantages are not sufficient
to offset the disadvantages under which they operate.
An entirely different problem is presented by the movement of Hour
and grain from the regions west of the Mississippi. In this territory
the railroads leadin^jc to the Gulf will probably carry a great deal of
grain to the Gulf ports that formerly went to the Atlantic ports over
the rail and lake route and the all-rail lines. Roughly 8])eaking, the
grain grown in the territory iiortli of the east-and-west line passing
through the southern boundary of Iowa will continue to go over the
eastern rail and water line. And probably the grain produced in
northeastern Missouri will continue to move over the old routes. On
tlie other hand, the grain grown in Missouri south of the Missouri
Iliver and in the southern halt of Kansas, and in all the region lying
south of these two States, will probably go, if intended for export, by
the south-bound lines to the Gulf. Between these two regions lies a
district of debatablje territ<ny, formed of the northern half of Kansas,
the southern iiart of Nebraska, the extreme southwestern part of Iowa,
and of northwestern Missouri. This region includes muck of the best
agricultural, laud of the country west of the Mississippi River. It
may therefore be expected that the eastern lines will not relinquish the
traffic of this territory without a struggle.
As the railroads leading to the Gulf have erected or are erecting ter-
minal facilities for the handling of grain on a large scale, particularly
at their southet-n termini, they may be expected to wage a spirited con-
test for the traffic of the disputed territory, and, as a consequence,*
grain rates to the Atlantic Seaboard and to the Gulf will probably fall
in the near future. The most southern of the east-and-west trunk lines
of the Central Traffic Association were pressed by the association to
maintain rates, and as a result they saw much of the traffic wliich they
at one time handled go to the Gulf by the river and rail lines. The
southern lines of the Central Traffic Association did not regard this
traffic as valuable enough to warrant them in breaking loose from the
association, and the association preferred to lose some traffic to the
Gulf lines rather than reduce rates on all east bound grain traffic to
such a point as would prevent grain from the southern limits of their
territory from tiuding an outlet through the Gulf ports. Although the
Central Traffic Association viewed with equanimity the diversion of a
portion of its traffic to the Gulf ports, it does not follow that the asso-
ciation will much longer permit the diversion to the Gulf ports of the
traffic originating in the territory which has supplied the railroads
forming the association with much of their east-bound Ireight.
Up to the present time the rail and water lines and the all-rail lines
to the Atlantic Seaboard have regarded themselves as the natural heirs
to the whole of the traffic originating in or destined for the entire
West. To the lake carriers and the managers of the east-and-west
trunk lines the westward course of empire has always presented itself as
new traffic for them. For many years there was an increasing tendency
of commerce to move on east-and-west lines. The opening of the Erie
Oanal, in 1825, gave the first decisive impulse to commerce to move
H. Doc. 277 1
50
STATISTirS or LAKE COMMEKCK.
across flie country instead of down the Oliio and Mississippi rivers
In latefi- years tlie cunstrnction of the great trunk lines, parallel to tli
northpn water route formed by the Great Lakes and Erie Caiia
strengthened a movement which had already become firmly estab
lishew. On the Atlantic Seaboard, New York, Boston, and Thiladel
phia liad come to be looked iipon as the natural outlets and inlets for
the commerce of the whole country; and, in a like manner, Chicago,
by reason of its favored position on the lakes and its excellent rail-
road facilities, had come to be viewed as the natural distributing and
receiving jjoint for the entire West.
This idea that Chicago was to be the gateway through which the
commerce to and from the West would move received a severe shock
some years ago. As the farmer has pushed westward and still farther
westward, it has become easier and easier to make a flank attack upon
the old lines of commerce. This has been rendered doubly easy where
the new regions settled have been either north or p >uth of the grefit
eastand -west line of movement. It has already be -hown how, with
the westward and northward migration of the wheat fieldH, the wheat
and flour trartic avoided Chicago and sought the more northern routes.
Most of this business still goes through our chief Atlantic ports, but
with the rapid enlargement and improvement of Canadian transporta-
tion facilities now in progress it will be surjjrising if Canadian ports,
notably Montreal, do not secure a larger portion of the export grain
business.
Let us now return to the movement of flour and grain through the
Gulf ports. The old east-and-west routes have recently been brought
face to face with a new and serious situation in the central West and
Southwest. The lines extending northward from the Gulf are not dis-
posed to allow the east-and-west lines to control this great traffic of
the transmississippi region. The Gulf roads hold that the central
.West and Southwest should export their surplus products through the
Gulf ports and receive imports through the same cities. This proposi-
tion is nothing short of revolutionary. It means a breaking away
from the old channels of shipment through Chicago and New York and
the other eastern cities; further, it means that the northern water
route and the eastern trunk lines are no longer to be the dominant
power in moving the prodw^ts of western farms. During the past year
the railroads running to the Gulf have been increased in number by
the construction of the short line — the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf
Railroad.' This line, which was designed to make Kansas City inde-
pendent of the eastern routes, extends from Kansas City almost due
south to Port Arthur (Tex.), at the head of Sabine Lake, an arm of the
Gulf. In the contest which is already on with the east-and-west lines
this route will be found in the van. The distance to tidewater from
Kansas City is much less by the Port Arthur route than by the eastern
rail routes, and therefore very much less than by the way of the Great
Lakes.* But too much must not be expected from this route simply on
the ground of its being much shorter than the eastern lines to tidewater.
' It is commonly known as the Port Arthur route.
^The following table of short-line rail distances from Kansas City will make this
clear :
Miles.
New York 1,303
Philiulolphia 1,228
Baltimore 1.198
(Mannfactarers' Record, February 19, 1897, p
MilM.
Galveston 799
Port Arthur 767
2.)
y-I^Ji^it
b^r. Wf * -^*
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
m
jsissippi rivers
I, pariillel to th
nd Erie Caua
le tirmly estab
I, and I'liiladel
ts and iulets for
laiiuer, Chicago,
i excellent rail-
iistributiug and
oiigh which the
a severe shock
and still farther
ink attack upon
ubly easy where
nth of the great
•hown how, with
aeldi*, the wheat
northern routes,
lautic ports, but
idiau transporta-
Canadian ports,
the export grain
•ain through the
tly been brought
entral West and
Gulf are not dis-
3 great traffic of
that the central
ucts through the
18. This proposi-
fc breaking away
id New York and
i northern water
be the dominant
•ing the past year
ed in number by
ittsburg and Gulf
Kansas City inde-
i City almost due
ke, an arm of the
st-and-west lines
o tidewater from
an by the eastern
way of the Great
is route simply on
lines to tidewater.
It need hardly be said that cost of service does not vary as the dis-
tance and that rates are not fixed on a mileage basis. ,E'*8y .^^l^^^
straieht tracks, a large traffic in both directions, and cheap fuel are
jilTy as i-nportant as the question of distance So far as the hrstWj
items are concerned, the I'ort Arthur route will compare very tavoraby
wXanyot- the Eastern trunk lines; it can also secure fuel as cheaply
Is most of them. In the remaining point, however, the Eastern trunk
iTnes have the advantage. Not only will the traffic over the new line
brmmfhfess, at least for son.e time, than over the Eastern trunk lines,
£ut7 will also be very largely m one direction unless this particular
railroad is more successful in securing north-bound traffic than tl e
othe? gulf roads. If no freight can be found for the cars going north,
the trSc gohig south must pay the cost, not only of its own movement,
but that of hauling back thi empty cars as well It °"^«* ^« ^dmi^
that the outlook for this road's securing a double haul is better than that
of most, if not all, of the other railroads running north from the Gult.
The Port Arthur ^ute passes through some of the bes timber land on
the continent, and it may therefore confidently expect a large north-
bmind traffic in ties and lumber. As it P^^^^.^. *^'T^n\r AsTd^e ft om
fields, it may also hope to move large quantities of coal. Aside tiom
thSe main items, the managers of this line expect to.hajil a portion ^
the imports consumed in the territory tributary to their railroad, and
also hope to develop a considerable traffic in early truits and vegetables.
But even supposing that the Port Arthur route can haul grain from
Kmisas City to the Gulf for less than the east and-west roads can
Tarry to tie Atlantic seaboard, can this line develop a ^rge export
business? Are there not adverse circumstances which will fully
counterbalance the advantage of a low rate to the Gulf? Will not
higher ocean rates from the Gulf ports and the unfavorable climate of
thfculf reeion prevent the growth of the Southern export movement?
In answer tTthraS of thesi questions, it may be said that ocean rates
a?eTess unftworable from the Gulf ports now than they weie formerly
and that as the amount of freight which is being offered to vessels is
hicreasing, there will be more steamship lines to Southern ports and
rates will be still further lowered. The second question «eem8 to have
hLn answered bv the facts. The large amount of capital that has
Sitty been inve^sted in Southern termhials for handling gram by per-
sons familiar with the climate and the immense movement of grain
Sugh Gulf ports during the year 1896 should be deemed sufficient
proof that the climate of the Gulf does not rise as an obstacle t» pre-
sent the development of an export trade through the GuU Ports. How^
ever, the most circumspect persons make errors, and the experience of
a single year does not afford a sufficient basis for a/ound inference, so
perhaps this point is not even now to be considered as definitively set-
tled in the affirmative.
J City will make this
Miles.
799
767
■iOail
m
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Appendix IT.
TABLKS RELATING TO THE FLOIR AND GRAIN TRAFFIC.
Tahi.e I.
Eleralor charffes at Chicago and Buffalo and lakefreiyhu ou wheat from Vhica,io to Buffalo .
Klevator cliargeH.
Year.
1870
1871
1872
187;t
1874
1875
1876
1877
3878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
188C
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
Ohlongo I Huffalo Chicagu
wheat per wheat per and
busbel.a I biiBhol.& ! Bulfalo.
Oenti.
Lake
fr«lgUU,
Cliicftgo
tuButlal
alo.
2.00
2.00
2.00 i
2.00 ;
2. 00 1
2.00 '■
1.26 I
1.25
1.25 !
1.25
1.25 I
1.25 !
1.25
1.25 i
1.25
.75 ■•
.75
.78
.75 '
.75
.75 j
.75 I
.75 I
.75 I
.75 1
Vents. ;
Oentt.
Oents.
1.25 ;
5.88
1.25 ,
7.62
1.25
3.25
11.46
1.25
3.25
7.6?
1.25
3.25
4.03
1.00
3.00
3.42
1.00
3.00
2.90
l.UO
3.00
3.72
1.00
2.25
3.07
1.00
2. 25
4.74
1.00
2.25
5.76
.875
2. 125
3.44
.875
2. 125
2.50
.876
2. 125
3.41
. 87.1
2. 125
2.18
.875
2.125
2.02
.875
2. 125
8.68
.875
1.U25
; 4.13
.875
1.625
■ 2.56
.876
1.625
2.51
.875
1.625
1.96
.875
1.625
2. 38
.875
1.025
2.19
.875
1. 625
1.68
.875
1.G25
1.27
.875
1.625
1. 92
.875
1.625
1.63
i
a I'nblislied rates; from 10 to 20 duys' storage included.
l'^^;n'&"u orlolurB'4't^d t:^A.i tl,o el-a,or cUurgeB hav^^^^^^^^ fallen so rapidly as the
traiisportatlon rates; the tenner have therefore become an increasing burden.
Taule II.
Elevating and storage rates at Buffalo.
' [InternalCommeroe, 1885, p. 489.]
Years.
i , ^ .r,!- i ' Number
ICharge to Charge to ^f days'
1 grain. | vessels, gtoiage.
1855 and 1856 o.
1867 to 1860 o...
1861
1862 to 1864 ....
1865 and 1866...
1867 and 1868...
1869
1870
1871
gral
Genu.
1
1}
1}
li
1
1
Cent.
5
5
5
6
10
20
10
10
5
Years.
1 .1 Number
Charge to Charge to -.fjavs'
grain.
Cents.
el
1
1872 and 1873 b..
1874
1875 and 1876 b . .
1877
18786
1879 6
18806 and ...
18826 di
1883 and 1884 .| I
11881....; |tO(
vessels.
Cent,
i
storage.
5
10
5
6
6
5
5
5
6
.Eetimated. Elevators running wUd greater part of^the year. No record, kept, figures obtained
from old residents in the grain and vessel intereata.
6 Running wild part of the year,
e About.
dAverage.
STATISTICS OF LAKE OOMMERCK.
68
riJAFFIC.
Chicai/o to Buffalo .
Lake
o i
Chloagu
frBigUU,
Cbivngo
ler
.6
aud
Bult'alo.
toButtolo.
,
Oentt.
Omts.
■)
5.88
1
7.62
->
3.25
11.46
U.25
7.6?
A
3.25
4.03
It
U.OU
3.42
3.00
2.M
lO
3.00
3.72
n
2.25
3.07
tn
2.25
4.74
(1
2.25
5.76
<75
2. 123
3.44
m
2. 125
j 2.50
ns
2. 125
3.41
^75
2. 125
2.18
^7f>
2. 125
2.02
^Tf)
2. 125
3.68
K7S
1. 025
4. 13
R7f)
1.625
2.56
R7{)
1.625
2.51
R7B
1.625
1.96
875
1.625
2.38
875
1.025
2.19
875
1. 625
1.68
875
1.025
1.27
875
1.025
1. 92
875
1.025
1.63
1
t fallen so rapidly as the
. L, . i Number
•eetoChargeto „j days'
vessels
NOTK8 ON TlIK KOLLOWlNt* TAIILES.
they really were, for »'' ^^""'*''«',?'^,."^'|' \" ,f„ Ti.'l railroads Receipts of llcnr niul
aasociation cover more tlmn halt the
liiinaio wiin, u..nD,,,., = T"! „"i^i... onnvnvinintBlv correct for tlic years for which
Association, and pronounced hy hnn anpiox iinteiy cone, n y ^, _ ^ ,^. ^,_^
his association has records. The records ot the asi
years of the table.
•" Tabu III.
Kast-boiiiitl ghiiments of flour and wheat from Chicago.
[C.nU.ili-a IVoni diKii fiiini.slied l),v (Jporgo
F. Stone, .scoieHiry "f Cliiciigo Board of Trade.]
Year.
Year ciidiug Uecoraber .11—
1800
1801
1802
18«:) ;
Year ending March 31—
1804
1805
1800 -.
1867 ••-
1868
1809 v:,v
Yearfnding December 31-
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876 -
1877
1878
1870
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
Flour (barrels).
Lake. Kail. Total.
Wheat (bushels).
Lake. Rail. Total.
218,741 ' 408,082
54-J,927 1 1,001,018
,1)57,803 ! 072,901
026,823 11,817,470
1 544,545 15,1105,735
l,730,7ti4 13,400,325
377. 647
730, 873
176, 322
12,19,5,123
15,730,608
13,641,647
, 207, 343
, 0:i4,793 i
(WO, 350 ;
481,491 ;
0,J0,3fl7
774,550 ,
574,393 i
488,705 I
223,4.57 I
428,321 i
55,5,152
328,283
236,591 :
148, 779
321, 048
330,257 i
527,873
150,415 j
792,764 I
801, 099 I
753,357 i
652,373 I
1,391,235 '
1, 544, 196 I
1,711,370 !
1,811,467
1,757,745
1, 640, 738
2,456,006
1,471,060
1,630,345
791, 620
1,006,951
1,060,734
270, 855
208, 747
721,008
1,585,770
1,187, .182
1,749,973 ;
989,160
094,274 I
1,022,968 '
1, 773, 467
1,672,037
1,872,943
2,309,530 :
2,229,720
2,371,623 1
2,675,402 !
2,264,886 1
4,235,559 !
2, 887, 603 i
3,067,276 '
3,930,576
4,450,0.51
2,244,376
4,682,546
3, 613, 922
1,961,274
2,172,761
2,244,280
3, 123, 663
2,493,206
1, 926, 285
1,597,496
1, 666, 730
1, 557, 342
1, 478, W8
1,243,540
1,307,424
2, 007, 207
1, 837. 949
2, 524, 520 '
1,503, .553
1, 182, 979
1,240,425
2,201,788
2, 227, 189
2,201,226 ;
2,546,121 ;
2, 378, 508 ;
2,693,271 I
3,005,059 I
2, 792, 759
4, 394, 974
3, 680, 367
3, 868, 374
4, 683, 933
5,103,424
I 3,636,611
6,226,742
6, 325, 292
3,762,741
3, 930, 606
3, 885, 018
5, 678, 669
3,964,266
3, 656, 630
2, 389, 115
2,673,890
2,618,076
10,640,052
9, 983, 507
0,502,575 ,
5, 827, 84tl
8, 492, 187
a, 890, 047
13, 429, 009
12,120,923 ,
8, 831, 870
15. 528, 984
16, 974, 149
1 10,001,054
; 7, 390, 869
1 10,345,983
i 12,903,481
i 17,622.796
16,685,046
7,688,072
i 14,944,258
! 7,067,657
11,518,884
5, 436, 461
10,613,126
17, 313, 361
5,895,379
10,330,676
6,966,834
31, 102, 888
33, 498, 647
19,720,776
15, 016, 804
13,268,440
13,232,818
18,449,628
39,768
114,075
1,147,510
3,005,018 ',
1,072,078
2,114,300
2,621,099
570,048
2, 363, 810
8, 140, 209
9,725,251 ;
5,9.50,609 ;
,5,378,792
2,9,")7,250
10,018,880
12, 232, 323
4, 742, 343
7,728.124
2, 920, 5'J6
2,696,071
6, 322, 493
5,496,544
2, 462, 918
6, 893, 504
3,998,998
4, 814, 978
2,953,826
5,470,333
6,792,284
; 2,618,327
' 940,202
i 5,666,397
; 9,846,117
6,611,774
10, 085, 820
10. 007, 642
7, 650, 085
9, 433, 464
9, 504, 265
11,010,947
16, 050, 768
12, 607, 571
11, 195, 680
23, 678, 193
26, 609, 400
22, 017, 663
12, 775, 161
13, 303, 233
22, 922, 361
29, 855. 119
21,427.389
15,410,196
17, 804, 784
9,703,728
17,841,377
■ 10, 933, 006
12,976,044
24, 206, 866
9, 894, 377
16, 145, 663
9,910,660
36, 673, 221
40, 290, 831
22,339,103
15,»57,00«
18,926,437
i 23,077,986
23,961,402
I
54
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
EaHt-boimd nhiimenh of corn and oaUfiom Chicago.
IComplli-d from lUtii fiirnlibad by George F. Stone, »e«retary Cbl(a«o Boanl ol' Trade
I OatH (busheli).
Corn (buihoU).
ITMF.
Uk:
Tear ending December ai—
18(10 i8,oo:i,04:i
1881 23,987,240
1862 !». '•;■««, «77
Year ending Mareb 31—
1884..... 24,749,400
1865 ll,l«»8,475
1888 24,421,600
1867 31,467,855
1808 1», 940, 172
1869 21,671,071
Year ending December 31— !
1870 ' 13,598,387
1871 34,200,878
1872 41,689,508
1873 34,487,205
1874 30,242,811
1875 21,850,652
1876 28,104,285
1877 1 38,807,611
1878 48,388,853
1879 41,6ei,;<38
1880 72,400,769
1881 ' 44,164,571
1882 31,394,281
1883 47,738,117
1884 ■ 27,360,924
1885 29,382,591
1886 40,958,177
1887 ' 38,710,858
1888 47,759,708
1889 83,200,754
1890 67,265,486
1891 ' 40,069,786
1892 43,020,570
1893 62,967,955
1894 37,148,719
189B ' 47,857,550
1896 ' 74,379,206
1897 : 85,250,780
Rail.
ToUl.
577,811 ' 13, 640, 664
:i62, 044 : 24, 339, 284
125,182 29,373,839
120,094 I
618,077 '
674,053 !
1,452,162
1. 612, 851
3, 307, 718
4, 018, 479
2, 435, 220
6, 388, 402
2, 194, 361
2, 364, 833
4, 321, 659
17, 299, 232
7, 667, 511
13,504,458
19,711.615
21, 100, 84»
29,825,348 .
16,985,706 1
22,766,746 \
24,526,517 '■
28,682,864 :
13,903,051 ;
10,874,781 I
20,520,599 '•
20,070,032
31,834,558
25,282,038
19, 900, 596
15,055,015
16, 171, 144
10,384,628
12, 063, 390
11, 482, 004
24, 870, 094
12, 614, 552
25, 095. 653
32, 910, 017
21,653,023
25, 038, 780
17, 616, 868
38, 8.S8, 096
46. B77, 010
36,681,566
32, 607, 144
26,172,211
46, 403, 497
46, 265, 122
69. 873, 111
01,872,051
93, 501, 618
73, 789, 919
48, 369, 967
70,604,862
51, 887, 441
58,065,466
64, 859, 228
49, 386, 637
68, 280, 307
83, 270, 786
89, 000, 024
85, 352, 724
63, 821, 166
78, 022, 970
53, 319, 863
58,242,173
86, 442, 596
96,732,764
Lake.
005.304
1,422,776
2, 470, 745
6, 808. 800
i:^ 1108, 000
H, 719, 900
7,;'95, 113
9, 746, 205
12,755,929
6, 339, 220
8, 797, 599
6, 370, 784
5, 985, 964
4,741,088
4, 579, 248
2, 097, 335
5, 013, 278
6, 256, 003
1, 589, 939
2, 139, 473
4, 807, ,581
3, 833, 638
4, 938, 648
5, 444, 889
1, 571, 481
3,219,833
10,215,112
13, 784, 336
24, 948, 459
18, 622, 884
17,832,976
19, 127, 616
22, 663, 294
13, 913, 761
17,694,345
23, 798, 409
60,192,982
Kail.
242, 580
69, 731
367, 4.51
2, 213, 068
2, 922, 792
1, 688, 383
1, 911, 864
388,114
2, 004, 191
2,084,333 i
3,312,421
6, 863, 319
9, 669, 835
5, 874, 137
6, 612, 812
8, 166, 165
7, 424, 788
10, 149, 386
11,880,719
18, 402, U90
17, 844, 017
18, 968, 513
28, 372, 849
27, 780, 317
29, 925, 784
27, 756, 006
24, 812, 448
25, 761, 204
24, 814, 104
60,604,576
48,518,064
44, 567, 610
41, 425, 300
32, 719, 788
46, 472, 686
55,992,649
63, 340, 236
Total.
847,884
1, 492, 607
2, 828, 19«
7, 909, 858
15, 020, 792
10, 258, 283
9, 306, 777
10, 133, 319
14, 700, 120
8.403,551
12, 110, 020
12, 224, 103
16, 645, 689
10, 415, 226
10, 092, 080
11,183,490
12, 438, 066
16, 404, 389
13,470,658
20, 542, 469
22, 861, 598
22, 000, 161
31,311,196
33,226,206
31, 497, 266
30,975,838
34, 827, 660
39, 525, 540
49, 782, 663
69,127,459
68,361,030
63, 696, 026
83, 988, 694
46,633,649
64,167,031
79,790,958
103,633,218
arti of Trade
(buBhels).
Kail. Total.
847,884
1, 492, 507
■J, 828, IM
7, 909, 858
15, U2U, 792
lU, 258, 283
9, 30(1, 777
lU, 133, 319
14, 700, 120
8,403,551
12, 110, 020
12, 224, 103
16, 545, 589
10, 415, 22S
10, 092, 060
11,163,490
12, 438, 066
16, 404, 380
13,470,658
20, 542, 469
22, 651, 598
22, UOO, 161
31,311,195
33,225,206
31, 497, 266
30,975,838
34, 827, 560
30, 525, 540
49, 762, 563
69,127,459
66,351,030
63, 696, 025
63, 088, 694
46,633,649
64,167,031
79,790,968
103,633,218
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tabi.k IV.
55
Kant-bound ihipmenln of flour and wheat from Mihvanhe.
[Prepared from data furul.he,. by W.J. ..ang.on, ...cr.,t.ry of Ml.wauk™ C.an.Uer ... Oo.„„.erce.l
Year.
Flour (barrels).
Kail.
1860.
1861.
1863...
1884...
1866...
1866..
1867..
1868..
1869..
1870..
1871..
1872..
1873..
1874..
1876,.
1876..
1877..
1878..
1879..
1880..
1881..
1882..
1883..
1884..
1886.
1886.
1887.
1888.
Traiiait
liiies.a
1890..
1891..
1892..
1893.
1894.
1896.
1896.
1897.
11,464
76, 371
10, 183
3,43»
5,265
69,662
242,681
324, 048
359, 721
340, 493
233, 540
127, 722
306, 076
757, 805
854,584
990, 038
1, 289, 147
102,675 i
170, 084
333, 118
230, 415
473, 340
218, 241
162, 678
200, 398
5;iU, 636
153, 609
328, 538
413,418
268,819
196, 389
407, 912
467, 728
417,405
336, 526
416, 172
410,710
449, 330
Lake.
118, 307
224, 632
260, 947
127,468
52, 251
47, 953
83, 812
111,536
104, 882
188, 864
209,201
362,606
421,757
257, 608
330, 271
353, 300
719,268
555, 700
533, 439
821, 728
859, 066
6<t8, 825
971,366
1,236,932
1, 272, 860
883, 476
1, 495, 500
1, 306, 791
1, 167, 660
1,114,446
1, 379, 389
1,643,120
1,525,035
962, 694
928,000
1,149,781
2,164,016
1, 395, 355
327, 782
373, 471
440, 275
472,619
357,317 1
449,961 !
303,872 i
486,080 I
652,995
690,701 I
783,200 '
719,921 1
507, 168 i
789, 787
1, 032, 724
810, 047
643,977
493,026
734, 54.-I
728, 639
938, 575
717,707
1,540,549
1, 402, 181
1,681,997
1,370,922
2, 344, 673
1,66.3,914
1, 820, 123
1, 836, 308
1,613,728
1,858,027
2, 312, 673
1,677,033
1, 889, 686
1,790,653
1,975,166
I 2,077,146
Total.
457,543
674, 474
711,405
603, 526
414, 833
667, 676
720, 366
921, 663
1, 017, 598
1, 220, 058
1,225,941
1, 210, 249
1, 236, 001
1,806,200
2,217,579
2, 162, 385
2,652,392 ,
1,151,401 I
1,438,060 I
1,883,485 I
2,028,666 I
1,859,872 1
2,730,159
2,801,791
3, 055, 205
2, 785, 034
3, 993, 782
3, 299, 243
3, 401, 201
3, 219, 673
3, 189, 504
3, 809, 059
4, 305. 436
3, 057, 132
3, 154, 211
3, 356, 606
4,549,891
3,921,830
Wheat (bushelH).
Transit
lines.a
27,756
8,160
2, 280
03, 170
29, 543
10.401
19, 530
70, 752
24, 078
168, 043
481), 247
193, 786
374, 140
751,211
930, 687
, 330, 795
, 205, 229
286, 462
403, 062
189, 548
8,780
66,209
41,757
4,146
98, 463
35, 115
91, 382
122, 395
165,910
454, 101
47,691
13,665
262,303
370, 350
166,646
7, 532, 554
13,201,715 I
14,908,907 i
12,835,864 i
8, 980, 598
10,166,903 1
10, 876, 391
0. 24<J, 448
0,411,888
13,040,748
15,766,025 '
13,082,990
10,616,975
22, 802. 693
17,889,429 ,
19, 474, 2Tv)
12, 754, 087
16, 098, 525
10, 510, 017
9, 955, 085
7,025,059 i
5,000,589
825, 570
1,871,995
2,083,817
3, 228, 934
4, 205, 470
4, 213, 006
1,759,508
973, 035
•■ 1, 389, 714
1 1, 247, 724
; 1, 833, 994
i 1, 971, 776
231,227
I 858,600
i 797, 873
1 1, 106, 604
ToUl.
7, 508, 608
13, 3110, 406
14,015,680
12, 837, 620
8, 902, 470
10, 479, 777
11,634,749
9, 598, 452
9, 878, 099
14,272,299
16.127,838
13, 400, 467
ll,.'i70, 576
24. 904, 266
22, 2.'>5, 380
22, 668, 667
16,771,572
17,597,784
14, 777, 922
13, 002, 202
8, 333, 911
6, 197, 613
1,189,234
2, 004, 476
3, 200, 089
5,378,631
4,717,311
4,865,960
2, 477, 118
1, 5U1, 262
1,715,984
2, 572, 321
3, 587, 794
3, 323, 187
469,642
2,640,266
2,253,123
2, 028, 849
";::^„;;;.^nes" are the ro^^^rm^ by vessel, across Lake Mlehlgan and railroads running to
the east and southeast.
56
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE
FdMl-hoiitiil ikipmenlK nf rorn and oalnjrom Milwaider.
[Prpp«re.l f.oni .liit.i lurnUlHa l,v W. .1. l.«i.K»oii. H«crH«iy of Mlhvu.ikM.(;i.«i.i1pei»f (.'ommer.e.J
Oats (huHhi'lH).
Trniuit
line*, a
2,'J57 '
Corn (himlielH).
Lake.
:i4, 947
1871.
1878.
1878..
1874..
187B..
1876..
1877..
1878..
1879..
1880..
1881 . .
188J..
188.1..
1884..
1885..
1880..
1887..
188.S..
18WI..
IHltO..
1891.
1892..
18!i:i..
1894 .
189.->..
1896.
1897..
e:iu
fi,'i()
2, 11)8
18,»\MI
l,2fll
r., 45H
'J. 5U((
7,U51
32, 44(1
25,509 ^
21, im
3. 97(1
.5, 884
7:1.514
2H. 1*18
(19, liri,^
108, 2I«)
HI, 0(1(1
;iO, lUU) ;.
49.440 I
7U,840 (
92,onii i
43,080
8,000 j
59.040
200.220 !
172,2110 ;
10,'). 9,10 j.
20,650
77,600 1.
139, .TOO I
31,846
35, 0,57
29,001
(ill, 290
5(1. 707
42, ,579
30, 9115
20. 774
30,210
740
3, 2H0
8. 583
7, tlTH
18,943
2,744
1.854
51), K13
09, 903
28,481
IH, 29,S
9, 970
1.894
9, 735
80. 849
73, 350
51, 249
103, 1,32
91.707
21, 8G0
541)
17, 300
H8, 989
132.940
34,;:51
4,50, 747
100,3211
2M5. 300
49, 121
47, 21K
391, 12H
1. .522. 2.55
194.072
510. 232
185,872
03,371
24(1. h:io
274, 1.52
S05. »««
1,402. H4H
2,55,013
281. 403
1 . 304. 375
33, H06
04, 551
31,115
26, 087
27, 454
51, 231
215. 335
«4. 253
28, 933
7. 200
3,217
3, 300
290, 278
1,719,981
'I'dtal.
37, 20
1, 485
0, 480
88, 989
104,786
71,203
48(1. 408
200,210
342,717 ,
03, 800 I
103, 173
419, 103
1. 557. 953
107,920 I
5.50, ,503
220. 805
00 55H
2«fl, H07
2K(I, H(iO
8[3,7:'.0
1.5:ifl, 175
3,54. 334
381,030
l,4iH),8".'"
105, 07(1
100,. I;,)!
82,.:40 1
i\o,':6'i
200, ,163 .
108.201 '
8.;, ,184
227,025 :
41(1, 800 :
201,350
109, 107
30, 400
370, 878
1, 876, 581
a" rraiisiUines" ar« the routPs formed by vessels (ktoss Lakr Michigan au.l railroads ridinliig to
lie east and southeast.
."mmi W'i)r;i.iifi81i;r'n
nilierof (.'onimene.J
hi'lH).
I.nkc.
Tutul,
48. :i7!l
04.683
1,2110
7S. (fJI
71», 01)4
HI 7, ,'11
h:u, 000
7;t(). ;)24
811,634
■.m, ofiii
326, 472
i.in«.;tin
1 , o;io. HI),')
.-.r)7, 507
022, 468
48li.Hll
,-.30, .538
:iii,it'.'H
3,->l,768
rj'.'.45!i
210. 187
714,1(47
772. 92»
1. i4i).r)n;i
1.323,284
842, l.VJ
<.m. 52S
5;i«,H7i
720, 03.5
7iiH, liUtt
1, 100. 4.''>ii
707, ,1:1(1
1,377, ,5(;i)
4(14, IKK!
778, 170
910. .'ilU
1,208.284
8(JB. (104
1.040,008
«7(l, (178
1, 3.52, 832
:i7;!, 8711
HU!i, 88»
■jo:). ■J.*!!
702, 005
l,o:i:i. Hiu
l.flO"i,415
Kin, 0:14
272, 481
87, 5.'>4
,W«,104
1 211, 111
371,311
l,'i4, 01 1
41 1, 306
127, 872
3,54, 179
212,(120
744, 036
424, ;i4.'>
1.049, 103
(i;)2. 5:17
1,052,273
2, .'•.7ft. »38
4. 308, 393
:i, ,^20, 8(1»
,5. flfifl, 782
4, 7:(2, «(i:i
0. Iflfi. 005
4, (142, 881
7.984.735
10,470.812
13.909,228
5, U93, 138
8, 884, 306
n<l railrimdn riumliig to
STATISTICS OF LAKE roMMEKCE.
57
Tabi.b V.
Kireijilii of flour and ii'lteal
a, i:,it a„^l n»HaU> h,, hike, a.ul m'ei,,!^ «/ "•" ''"'"'•.'/ <'!''*'
AlUtntic iioiii.
,000 oiiilttwl.
TMHTt
Flmii- (liHIIi'lt).
iBrte-alBnfflhlowli Total
1808
18(iJ
I81O
1871
1872
1873
1874
187.5
1876
1877
1878 c
1879
188(10
1881
1882 r!
1883
1884
isas
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1890
1897
It: '
1.56
229
167
178 '
210 '•
29.5
32(1
185
85
309
308
f>94
402
87(1
81(1
568
371
910
98h
1.055
(J 1.655
990 i
2,001 1
1,704 1
2. 192
1.918
1,967
1.592
1..598
1,470
1,278
702
1.2.59
1,693
1,810
So7
(193
911
Hll7
1.317
1,051
1,199
2.071 .
2,015 '
2,903 '
4,582 !
4.001 I
,5,214
6,480
0, 245
7, 093
9. 74(1
10 562
11, 88
8, !(■; 1
10, 384
12,445
1,«2U ■
1,7,54
1,099
1, 445
041
1, 175
1 , 9h9
2, 131
l'il2
778
1.221
1.205 1
1.912 !
1.54.) \
■>. (Kill 1
2. H82
3, 172
3.471
4.953
4.920 ,
o.2;:3 I
7, i:',o
7, »iil
M, 093
11,748 \
12,200
13,081
10, 889
12, 291
I.cailiiitf
ilulit
Atliiiitic
IHirtn.
7, 444
8, 427
8, 897
8, 018
8, 193
9, 2(10
111,0,57
9.411
9. 120
8. 334
9. 0'i4
11,201
10, 323
10, .558 i
12. 414
13, 420
13, 037
13,352
13. .591
16.092
14. 308
13.011
15.290
17.040
20, .554
21.378
20, 795
10. 271
20. 059
Wheat (ImnheU),
Kriit. o
424
672
770
731
937
2. .511
3, 598
3, 132
1,H22
2, 507
3, 458
3, 244
3. 9:10
2. 029
itlKht
Atliiiilli"
HnffBlo.h Totiil. ,„„,„.
1.030
049
I 221
514
1,144
1,500 I
317
1,125
144
6. 8(J3
7,811
3. 334
2,255
1,777 i
5,643 I
12, 558
19, 228
20, 550
22, 606
14, 304
30, 618
20, 778
32, 967
19. 324
23, 284
3.5,410
37. 788
40,510
18. 40ft
•JO. 0.50
24, 105
32,469
27, 130 I
41. 430 I
48.111
27.548
26. 051
24. 868
76. 945
78. 243
68. 243
50, 194
■17,2.56
54,411
56, 506
12,B7» I
19.901
21,326
23, 338
1,5,242 I
33. 130 i
33.376 ;
:;o,(V.i9
21, 147
25. 791
38, 877
41 1132
44, 446
20. ,524
27, 080
24,751
34,001
! 27.045
1 42,574
I 49,011
27.805
I 27, 177
1 25,033
1 83,748
80,085
! 71, .578
52. 440
49. 033
00, 0.54
20, 764
38. K13
30, 603
43, ,527
28,186
.52. 614
62, 761
54,457
42,881
40. 828
110.775
144.204
135. 776
85, 843
81,837
.58. 836
07, 997
46, 070
71.606
83. 177
35, 809
30.015
29, 072
102.489
110,145
M,. 0,52
01.725
49. 205
65, 076
„Tl,oreceipU,..^r.e;ue,,,o,;«iv™..no.,a.nna.™i«jrt«^
Bu,lalo.l883S;>Wini,u« Th^^^^^^^^^^^^ l.Ttho" annual reports .T tho H„m.lo Merchants
5?£L re;.elpt« t.rou^h tl. ..u.on..h..e not lne,„ae,. in 1877, ,878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, and
M
HTATIHTICh OF LAKE COMMKIT'E.
Heveipti of vurii and uati at Erie and liuffalo by lakt, ar.' '(wrint* at thi leudiug eiyht
Atlantic porta,
[,())W omitted.]
Y«Mr.
Corn (bimlieU).
I Krlt.a
Oat* (buihvli).
I.r><liiiK
I elKlit "
Buffalo.* Totiil.j^^^J,"" Krle.a Buffalo.*! Tot»l.
tww.
mv.
1870.
1871.
1872.
, sn
037
654
IIOl
821
1873 1.344
1874 1.600
1878 850
1W« X»41
1877e 8,(122
1878(1 1 3,1IW
mte , 2,11»
1880e ...' 7,070
1881« ; 4.607
1881a ' 2.MH
1883r 3,141)
1884 i.a«;'
1886 I,fl47
1886 1,47»
1887 354
1888 l.W
1889 3,622
1800 ' 7,225
1801 2,231
1892 6,506
1893 8,009
1894 2,651
189B 2,7.59
1896 6,843
1897 '
1«, 804
11.549
0,410
20, 110
.14, U43
28, 5.511
24, 074
22, 59:1
20, 030
33, HU2
33, 133
32,990
62,214
34, 434
21,«fi4
34, 97.5
18, 538
21,028
29, 1,5,5
30, 100
36, 422
47, 127
44, 136
20, U16
32, 377
40, 539
29, 078
B7, 579
47,811
66,933
17, 321
12, 186
9,064
25, 412
35, 2«4
29, 805
26, 474
23, 452
23, 881
30, 3H5
38, 329
35, 110
69, 284
39, 102
24. 243
38,115 I
10, 801
22. 675
30. 034
30. 554
38, 058
50, 649
51.362
31,847
37, 073
48,549
31,7,30
40, 339
54,654
80,800
30,315
18, 665
46, 417
71,488
49, 322
51,749
46, 029
84,713
82,716
97, 306
04, 6811
115. IIU
84, 983
28, 4112
02, 7tl4
30, 5,55
77, 44U
07, 5H5
43,614
47, 799
83 149
92,444
50, 049
88, 838
59, 802
53, 546
66,933
113,466
314
130
521
42
047
351
694
187
306
32
137
279
6
511
547
275
10
5
68
551
5
183
361
6
60
384
11.492
5,459
6,846
0,006
6,050
5,072
5,396
8,494
2, 397
4,279
5, 122
1,104
1,640
3, 565
1.650
3, 220
3,174
767
1,014
4,650
7,897
14. 309
13,860
12.454
16,600
20,700
16,660
22, 231
40,107
64,141
11,806
5, 589
7, 367
0,048
6,097
6, 323
6,901
8, 682
2,703
4,301
5,260
1,384
1,6,54
4,076
2, 107
3, 502
3, 194
772
1,014
4,650
7.065
14,861
13, 805
\?. Ha7
16,500
I 21, 001
i 15,565
22, 281
> 40,492
<^il{l>t
Attuiitio
I>or(a.
16,755
15, 259
15,486
21,015
22, 254
22, 270
20, 333
19,070
23, 705
19, 248
23, 842
20, 78«
23, 714
24, 738
25, 464
30,040
31,626
40, 412
36, 917
35,449
40, 062
38,415
52. 310
4.5 56.S
56! 463
52, 406
44, 940
45,109
78, 919
I
oTbe rcccljits iit Erie iirc those Riven in tlie annual report* of the New York ITortuce Exchange.
6 The reoeipti at Bnllalo are tliose given in "A skotoh of the commerce, industries, and regources
of Hutlalo, 1883," l)v William Thuratone, Hecretar.v of the BuBalo Merchants' Kxchiinee, in the annual
re|H)rta of tlie Now York Produce Kxcliange, and iu the annual reports of the Bullalo Merchants
^'cCai'iMnau receipts through the custom-house not include«l in 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, and
1883 in the stutemeuts of lliitl'alo receipts.
ut thi Usidiiiy eiyhl
iiliali).
I0.6
ToUl.
492
II.8<W
m
s, r>8e
HM
7, ;i67
oud
U, 04H
USU
6,»07 !
1(72
6,32:1
'JIM
5,9111
404
H.6H2
;i97
2,703
27»
4,301
122
5,260
1U4
1,384
«4»
1,654
58.')
4,076
(150
2, 107
22«
3, 502
174
3, 194
767
,014
,650
,897
, 309
,860
.454
.500
,700
,660 i
, 231
,107
.1*1
77
1,014
4,656
7.965
14,861
13, 806
}?. Ha7
IS, 500
21,001
15, 565
22, 281
40,492
LeiuItoK
Atlantic
{Hirta.
16,755
15, 259
15,486
21,015
22. 254
22. 270
20, 333
19,070
23, 705
19, 248
23, 842
20, 78«
23, 714
24, 738
25, 464
30,040
31,525
40,412
35, 917
35,449
40, 052
38,415
i.2. 310
4.''< f,(a
5«! 453
52, 495
44,940
45,109
78, 919
8TATI8TICM OF LAKK COMMKHCK.
Tahlk VI.
ExporiH of Jtoar and wheat from New Orlrani and (inheiton. (a)
( ,000 omltt«<l.J
Wheat (bnrteli).
59
rioiir (b«rreU).
New 1 G»l
Orletni, | veiton.
k I'rortuce Ezolmiige.
<lustriu8, and resources
{xcbiiiiKe. iu the annual
the Bunalo Merchants'
879, 1880, 1881, 1882, and
1880..
1S81..
1882..
1883..
1884..
1886..
1887..
1888..
1889 .
1800.
1891.
18»2.
1898.
1894.
1895.
1896.
58 1
64 1
38 ;
84 j
83 I
8S
64
43
32
44
63
326
118
133
91
388
Total.
New <1»1-
OrleuBH. veston.
Total.
53
flfl
28
84
33
85
68
43
32
63
64
247
169
192
144
386
3,933 ;
7,671 !
1,543
7,089
648
1,590
4,346
1,506
9«1
1,623
10,336
14, 207
12, 807
2, 926
836
3,863
3
37
3 1
687
378
1,311
135
3,439
3,023
7,671
1,543
7,092
676
1,698
4,346
1,606
961
1,633
10,938
14.586
13, 208
3,061
836
7,292
VK„r,880t:i8«..h.fl«.^s^bU|n^^^^
}r*^,rt.l;"rre^^s":'ra\^trf^^^^^^^^^^ «.« -•»-"... „■,..««.
Exports of corn and oat» from New Orleans a„d (l alveston .
OomTbMheU). I Oati (bneheU).
Total.
and for
e taken
New I Gal-
Orleans, veston.
8,039
8,900
1,740
6,378
6,052
6,645 :
7,606
4,960
\Z. •••::::::::::::::::i \km
1891.
1892.
1893.
1884.
1896
1896
1,912 I
7,379 i
6,606 ,
6,441
8,767 !
25,298
3
36
13
146
98
6
1,338
6.222
8, 039
8,900
1,740
6,381
6,062
6,046
7,506
4,960
U, 813
12,064
1,025
7,524
6,604
6,446
8,900
31, 615
PART ni.
1^.
LAKE TRANSPORTATION AND THE IRON-ORB INDUSTRY.
In exaininin;^ tlie tratttc; statistics of the Great Lakes our attention
is at once airestcd by tlie enornions auiouut of iron ore that is annually
transported. Duiing the navif^ation season of 1897, of the 18,982,755
net tons of freight sent through the St. Marys Falls Canal, l(),()33,7ir)
net tons were iron ore; the total shipments of iron ore by lake from all
the lake ports aggregated I3,(»8l,522 net tons. At present, approxi-
mately, two tliirds of the iron ore consnraed by the blast furnaces of
this country is carried, during some portion of the journey from the
mine to the i'urnacie, over the waters of the Great Lakes. That this
vast amount of ore from the Lake Superior region lias affected the
mining operations of tlie otlier or<!-produciug districts and has luul a
far-reaching effect upon the development of our iron and .steel industries
is a matter of general information. It may be of interest to point out
tlie e.Ktent to which tlie exploitation of the mines in other portions of
the United States h:is been effected by the output from the mines of
the Lake Superior region.
nef(n-e developing the point Just raised, it will be well, perhaps, to
locate in a general way the regions in which large quantities of ore are
now being mined. Iron ore is very widely flistributed througiiout the
United Stiites. With possibly three exceptions every State and Terri-
tory in the irnion has mined iron ore or contains deposits. But at
present nearly the whole product is won from the mines of three districts.
The Eastern region, and naturally the first to be noticed, covers a
greiit extent of territory; but the mines of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio have contributed nearly the whole output of
this division. Within its borders all four of the varieties' of ore are
mined.
'For the sake of simplicity I shall use the classiti cation of ores adopted by the
United States (Geological .Survey, as follows: (1) Red hematite comprises those
ores in which the iron occurs as dn anhydrons oxide, giving a red streak on a porce-
lain plate, the color of the ore being generally a brownish-red or red, although
sometimes a dark gray, almost black. This class includes " red hematite," "fossil,"
or "Clinton" ores, "specular," "micaceous"' ore, "slate" ore, etc., as well as some
"martite." (2) Brown hematite, which contains more water than the red hematite,
is generally of a 'brown or yellow color, and when powdered shows a brown or
brownish-yellow streak on the porcelain plate. The varieties are known as
"limonite," "tnrgite," "pipe" ore, "bog" ore, "goethite," "oolitic" ore, etc. (3)
Magnetite compriaes those ores in which iron occurs as a magnetic oxide, generally
black or blueblaok, or occasionally steel gray or greenish in color, and which when
powdered give a black streak on a test plate, and are attracted by a magnet. In
this class is included some "martite," which is mined with magnetite. (4) Ct<rbon-
ate includes thoae iron ores which contain an excess of carbonic acid. They are
generally gray, yellow, or rather buflF and brown in color, and are tested by the use
of hydrochloric acid. Thoy comprise the '-black band'* ore*, "clay ironstones,"
"spathic" ores, "sideriteB," etc.
From Bome mined, brown and red hematite, or red hematite and magnetite, or car-
bonate and brown hematite ores are obtained out of the same workings, the extent
to which ores are hydra ted or weathered transferring them firom one class to another;
or different classes of ore are fonnd intermixed or alternating in the same deposit.
(John Birkinbine, The Production of Iron Ore in Variou'i puts of the World, p. 177.)
60
I:
^M^w-ikaHliiiBiMMtadaiawliUir
ikmmmu^tmAmm
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMKRCE.
ei
INDUSTRY.
es our attention
that isannnally
lot" the 18,1)82,755
[Canal, l(i,(>33,7]r)
by hike from all
present, approxi-
hlast furnaces of
journey from the
akes. That this
lias affected the
s and has had a
d steel industries
Most to point out
otlier portions of
•oin the nunes of
well, perhai)s, to
in ti ties of ore are
I throughout the
State and Terri-
ileposits. But at
of three districts.
uoti(!ed, covers a
)rk, New Jersey,
I whole output of
■ieties' of ore are
ares adopted by the
ite r-oinprises those
d streak on a porce-
!d or red, although
hematite," "fossil,"
tc, as well as some
»n the red hematite,
shows a brown or
bies .are known as
•litio"ore, etc. (3)
itio oxide, generally
or, and which when
d by a magnet. In
netite. (4) Ct<^rbon-
lio acid. Tbey are
re tested by the nae
"clay ironstones,"
1 magnetite, or osr-
orkings, the extent
me class to another;
1 the same deposit,
r the World, p. 177.)
Peufisylvauia is ricli in all of the four different kinds of ore, but they
sel 'oni contain as high a percentage of iron as is now insisted upon by
managers of blast luruaces. The bulk of Pennsylvania's product is
now of the magnetite variety. This is largely taken from the Cornwall
Ore Hills, three hills of iron ore situated in Lebanon County in the
southeastern part of the tState. This ore is suited to the manufacture
of Bessemer steel, but is rather low iij metallic iron, as it averages but
40 to 50 per cent. New York also produces the four different varieties
of ore, but at present the bulk of the |)roduct is magnetite in character
and is mined in the Lake Champlain district. Most of this ore is rich
in metallic inni and some of it is of Bessemer quality. Very near the
whole of the output of the mines of New Jersey is of the luagnetite
variety, and muchof it is of excellent (luf'ity. Many mines of this State
are now ])ractically exhausted and otiiers are operated only at increas-
ing cost because of the depth to which the ore has been removed and
the narrowness of the veins.' The ores of Ohio are carbonates and are
comparatively poor.
The Lake Superior region, unlike the Eastern region, embraces but a
small extent of territory. It falls within the northern portions of the
States of Wisconsin and Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michi-
gan. There are live great iron-ore ranges within this district, Marquette,
Gogebi(r, Menominee, Vermilion, and Mesabi. The Marquette range is
located in Michigan; the Gogebic and Menominee are partly in Michi-
gan and partly in Wisconsin, and the Vermilion and Mesabi lie wholly
within the State of Minnesota. The ores of this region are red and
brown hematites and magnetites, but the bulk of the ore now shipped
is of the red hematite variety. Only the richer ores are now ship})ed,
as most of the blast furnaces using Lake Superior ores are situated at
great distances from the mines.
The third great ore region is located in the South, and embraces the
central portion of Tennessee, the northern part of Alabama, and north-
western Georgia. It is generally known as the Alabama-Tennessee region.
This division ranks next in importance to the Lake Superior district
as a contributor to the iron-ore output of the United States. Nearly
all the ore now mined in this region is red and brown hematite. It is
neither so rich in metallic iron nor so free from deleterious ingredients
as are the Lake Sui)erior ores.
It was stated at the beginning that the very larg<; movement of ore
ii-om the Lake Superior region has affected mining operations in the
other districts. In order to show the amount of ore contributed by the
various regions to the total for the United States in a form easily com-
preheni5ible, and also in order more clearly to present the comparative
development of the different districts, the figures covering the produc-
tion of iron ore in the several regions, and in the United States as a
whole, have been put into the forui of a chart. As reliable and complete
data are not obtainable, it has not been attempted to make the chart
cover the years previous to 1880.* As the changes which it is desired
to point out have for the most part taken place since 1880, the absence
' Under the leadership of Thomas A. Edison, a uompany has been organized and a
large plant erected for enriching the lean magnetic ores of New Jersey, The results
of this enterprise will probably disappoint the investors. For a description of tliis
undertaking see Iron Age, Vol. LX, No. 18, p. 1, and McClure's Magaxiue, Novem-
ber, 1897.
'' For the census year 1870, the facts are given in Aupendix III, Table II, and it let
also there explained in what respect the figures of that census are faulty. The
items which were combined to form ti *^^als that appear in the chart are given in
greater detail in the same place.
62
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE,
LoNeToNs.
O ■-. (\j CO ■«»■>•■> 'o t-^ oo c» Ca ■-- 2:J ';p ^ Jo ig
2^500000252^55^20339050. "5 S0S2S?
16,000,000
J
K
=-
—
/
\
\
1
14,000,000
'
/
1
\
L
1
f\ 1
/
12,000,000
/
/
/
/
/
f
1
f
ll
1
1
/
/
^
10,000,000
/
/
i
t
1
r
i
—
f
8,000,000
1
/
/
/
/
/
1
1
1
%
\
/
f
/
f
/
\
1
\
/
1
/
f
/
/
q
/
1
\
/
1
\
/
r
6,000,000
/
\
/
u
;/
/
4.000,000
2,000,000
i
/
/
/'
s
•>
/
*
f
/*
wy^
vM
^
^
^
^
jr
Sv
>.-
,/MJP
*
rfON
*
w
«
\
H
\
\
,••'
\
•.,,
S3 S 2 'i
ft « op 50
I I
V-/
/
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCP^.
of statistics for the earlier years is a matter of but little concern. But
the meagerness of information concerning the production of iron ore
during the decade beginning with the year 1880 is cause for regret,
for it was during this i)eriod that the greatest changes occurred in the
relative importance of the ore regions. It will be noted that during
the tirst ten years there is perfect uniformity of movement in the lines
which represent the total production for the United States, and those
for the Eastern and Southern divisions. These lines do not accurately
refiect actual conditions — the statistics that show the production dur-
ing the years intervening between 1880 and 1889 are not obtainable.
Such facts as can be obtained are givjn in Appendix III, Table II.
That the irajiortancc of the Lake Superior region can not easily be
overestimated is made clear by the chart; from a comparatively unim-
portant position it has, in the course of a decade and a half, come to
contribute almost twice as much ore as all the other parts of the Tnited
States combined. In tlie census year 1880 the total production for the
United States was 7,12(),3(»2 long tons; to this amount the lake region
contributed but 1,677,814 tons, or 2',iM per cent of the total output.
During the year 1896 16,005,449 long tons of ore were mined in the
United States, and of this amount 10,56(»,3.j9 tons, or 66 per cent, were
taken from the mines of tlie lake region. The bare figures without
further explanations do not, however, fully reflect the importance of
the northern district, for Lake Superior ores are very much richer in
iron than the ores of the other regions. If the quality as well as the
quantity of the ore be taken into consideration, the lake region is enti-
tled to even .a more important position than would be assigned to it on
a simple tonnage basis of comparison.
In striking contrast with the increased production of the lake region
is the rapid decrease in the amount contributed by the great mining
States of the eastern region. During the census year 1880 the mines of
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio yielded 4.243,372 long
tons of ore, the total product of the United States being but 7,120,362
tons. The production of these States fell oflf slowly in the years follow-
ing 1880, but after 1889 the <lecrease was rapid and continuous until
189r>, when there was a break in the downward movement. The share
of these four States in the total output of 16,005,449 long tons for 1896
was but 1,456,740 tons. Expressed in percentages, there was raised
from the mines of these States during the census year 1880 59,59 per
cent of the total product of the mines of the United States, and in 1896
but 9.10 per cent — an enormous falling off. This very great contrac-
tion ' of the product of New York, Pennsylvania, New .Jersey, and Ohio
is the more surprising be(;ause most of the blast furnaces of the United
States are located within their boundaries.
The output of the southern district has largely increased during the
period covered by the chart, but the progress of this region has beer,
much slower than that of the lake division. The southern district is
in large measure isolated ; its ores are not thrown into direct compe-
tition with the lake ores, as is the case with the eastern ores, for trans-
portation charges act as a barrier and prevent such competition. The
' The ores of the eiistern region must also meet the competitiou of foreign ores.
There has been, however, no large increase in impurtatioiis, hence the decreased
ontput of the eastern region can not in any appreciable measare be ascribed to for-
eign competition. During the past few years there has been a decrease of importa-
tions. It is therefore very clear that the excessive competition of imported ores
does not explain the limited ontput of the eastern mines. Beginning with the year
1872 the importations will be found in Appendix III, Table II ; they are also repre-
sented by the lowest line of the chart for the years which it covers.
.J
aw-j ■ni« ' ii..j ^ w ii
64
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
exteut ol' tbe substitution of lake ores for eastern ores is shown by the
chart (p. 02). Jt yet remains to be shown why the former ores are pre-
ferred to tlie latter, and how it is possible to carry ores from the mines
of Minnesota to the furnaces of Pennsylvania and sell them at such a
price that they will be taken in preferencie to native ores. Lake Supe-
rior ores are now transported almost to the Atlantic Seaboard' and
there sold in competition with both native and foreign ores.- That lake
ores have qualities which commend them to ironmasters is obvious.
The high esteem in which they are held is due i)artly to their great
richness in metallic iron, largely to tlieir freedom from deleterious
ingredients, particularly phosphorus and sulphur, and to some exteut
to their excellent i)hysical condition and freedom from moisture.
All of these factors weigh in determining the value of an iron ore.
In general a ri(!h ore requires less I'uel to smelt it; it also has less for-
eign matter to be Huxed ouc, and tlius a smaller amount of limestone
will suftice for Huxing. If a rich or« be used there is therefore a three-
fold saving: (1) Because an ore rich in metallic iron generally reduces
more readily than a lean ore; (2) as less limestone is necessary, a
smaller amount of fuel will be needed to smelt the tlux, and (3) there
is a saving of Huxing material which, in the case of a large establish-
ment, amounts to a considerable sum in the course of a year. With
rich ores, as less flux and fuel are reojuired, the labor cost of handling
the raw materials is smaller, and as less cinder is made, the expense
of providing space for this cinder and means for handling it is con-
sequently reduced. The richer ores, together with the proper quan-
tities of fuel and tlux, occupy less space in the blast furnace than the
leaner ores combined with the fuel and tlux required to reduce them,
and therefore generally permit of more rapid " driving." In the case of
the richer ores there is, therefore, a smaller cost per ton of i)roduct,
for interest on the ])Iant, nninagement, and other fixed charges, i)ecause
these expenses are distributed over a greater tonnage than would be
the (-ase if lean ores were used.
Other things being equal, the smaller the amount of phosphorus sul-
phur and titanic acid and other undesirable substances ' which the ore
contains, the j,feater will be its value. If an ore contains more than
one part phosphorus^ to every one ^ousand parts metallic iron, it is
unfit for the manufacture of steel by what is now the cheapest method —
'The blast fiiruaoes in New ,lei ly ciid eiisteni Pi'iiusylvauia receive a poi'tiou of
their supply of ore from the Lako \perior rcsiou. (See Klovonth Census: Mineral
Industries, p. 26; and The Producton of Iron Ores in Various Parts of the World,
p. 188.)
2 The ability of foreign ores to compete is of course aH'.c;t«d by the import duties
paid. Previous to August 28, 1894, the duty was 75 cen'^s per ton, and under the
tariff act of 1894 it was 40 cents ; in the tariff act of 1897 the rate appears unchanged.
■' "As won from the earth iron ores carry in greater or loss proportions other ele-
ments, aiioh as phosphorus, sulphur, manganese, titanium, chroiitium, copper, rtc,
which affect their value for specific uses, as do also the amounts of silica, lime,
alumina, magnesia, etc. ; th'sse latter, however, generally influence the percentage
of metal obtainable from the ore, while the first named, as a rule, are more likely to
affect its quality." (John IJirkinbine, The Manufacture of Pig Iron in Pennsyl-
vania, p. 2.)
It should not be understood that these substances are always injurious, fur such is
not the case. For instance, if the iron produced ib to be used for foundry purposes,
silica is not harmful if great strength is not desired ; in fact, quite the contrary is
true, for the silica gives the iron greater fluidity, thus making it a better casting
iron.
« There is now a tendency to insist on a still lovi er percentage of phosphorus; late
specifloations for steel rails do not accept 0.1 of :i. per cent phosphorus, but demand
0.086 of 1 per cent phosphorus. Specifications for structural steel also insist upon
less phosphorus than formerly.
i
1
is shown by the
iier ores are pre-
s from the mines
them at siivh a
;es. Lake Siipe-
Seaboard 'and
res.^ That hike
ters is obvious.
y to their great
i'om deleterious
to some exteut
moisture.
e of an iron ore.
also has less for-
)uut of limestone
therefore a three-
ijeuerally reduces
B is necessary, a
lux, and (3) there
a largti establish-
of a year. With
vast of handling
lade, the expense
mdling it is cou-
tlie proper quau-
furnace than the
to rednce them,
." In the case of
r ton of i)roduct,
I ch{irges,i)ecause
ge than woukl be
)f phosphorus sui-
tes ' which the ore
)ntains more than
metallic iron, it is
iheapest method —
a receive a portion of
Mitli Ceiisus : MiuBral
! Parts of the World,
by the import duties
I' toil, and uiider the
>e appears uuclianged.
)roportion8 other ele-
roiuiuui, copper, etc.,
ountiB of silica, lime,
leuce the percentage
lie, are more likely to
Pig Iron in Peiinsyl-
I iujurioiiH, for such is
for foundry purposes,
quite the contrary is
g it a better casting
e of phosphorus ; late
isphorua, but demand
steel also insist upon
STATISTICS OF LAKK COMMKRCE.
65
the original or acid Bessemer process. This is a very damaging dis-
qualification, for at present the owners of the Bessemer steel works are
the largest purchasers' of iron ore, and pay tlie highest prices.
Yet another important condition is to be added; not only must the
amount of phosphorus in the ore be small, but it must be uniformly
distributed; otherv\i8e, in case the Bessemer (converter be used, the
steel maunfactured from the ore will vary in quality with every dis-
charge of the bhiSt furnace.' This is tiie case, because practically all
of the phosphorus in the ore goes into the pig iron, and is not removed
from it by the ordinary Bessemer ^onveiter. To make the matter per-
fectly clear an illustration may be given. Suppose that the quantity
of phosphorus in the ore as it conies from the mine shows rather large
variations, but that the average of phosphorus falls below the Bessemer
limit. Also suppose that the charges of the furnace to which the ore
is brought vary in the amount of phosphorus they contain, some being
very low and others very high in iihosphorus content. Such being the
case, tlie steel produced from the iron resulting from the charges very
low in phosphorus will contain but little of this element, the steel from
the charges high in phosi)horus will contain a very large amount, and
it will, therefore, be unfit for the higher uses to which the steel is put.
This dithculty can, in a measure, be obviated by frequently testing the
ore and then mixing it in proper proportions, but this involves expense.
Favorable physical texture and freedom from moisture, the two re-
maining characteristics of first-class ore, are also important considera-
tions. If ore be very hard and dense, and if it be introduced in large
masses, it is not. readily penetrated by the reducing gases o'* *he fur-
nace. Hard ores, therefore, require more fuel and care to smt it them.
To break hard ores with a sledge, as was formerly done, was very
slow and heavy work. Manual labor has now been superseded by heavy
machines, which crush the ore at slight expense, and thus the objections
that once weighed against the hard ores have lost much of their force.
Finely divided ores are also difficult to reduce. They pack and form
such impenetrable masses in the furnace that they are acted upon very
slowly by the gases. The very finely comminuted ores are also blown
out of the furnaces in large quantities by the strong blasts <-hat are
now used, and in some cases these ores have caused serious explosions.
Moisture is objectionable for' two reasons: It increases the weight of
the ore and therefore the freight, and in general there is at every point
'The extent and growing injportauce of tlie demand for Bessemer ores is indicated
by the following pe-centages, wLinh give the proportion of Kcsscmer pig iron to the
total pig-iron jjrcduct of the Uyifed .States:
1889.
1890.
1891.
Per cent.
.. 41.4
. . 44.5
.. 41.9
1892.
1893.
1894.
Per reut.
.. 48..5 I
.. 50.9 i
.. 57.2 i
1895.
1896.
Per ceut.
... 59.5
... 53.9
"As 8om«! iron ores not within the liessenier Mniit of phosphorus were used in
admixture with low phosphorus ores in tb<4 production of Hesseiuer pig iron, and as
many of the. ores used for producing fonndr^' and mill irons carry lower percentages
of metal thiin those smelted in the prodi'itio.i of Bessemer pig iron, the proportion
of Bessemer ore will not be so great as t.iat sho" u for the pig metal, but tne per-
iientages are sufficiently close to indicate the ginwing increase in the employment
of such material." (.John Birl<inbine, Production ot Iron Ores in 1895, p. 8.)
The )»orccntage for 189li was deduced from the statistics of production as given
in tlie Hulletiii of Auk ricaii Iron and Steel .■Vssocintion, \<)1. XXXT, No. 3, p. 21.
•For the information of those who are unacquiiiiited with the manufacture of steel
it may be stated that the iron ore is reduce<l to metal in the blast furnace, and then
placed in the BesNemer converter and changed to steel.
H. Doc. 27" 5
€0
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
a profitless t'xiieiiditure of energy in liaiidliiig it. It also requires heat
to expel it from the blast furnace, which means an increased consump-
tion of fuel.
As was stilted above, the lake ores find favor with ironmasters,
because they ])ossess in a very high degree the four essential (jualities
of a good iron ore. That a definite conception of the relative standing
of tiie ores of the various districts may be formed, the results of the
best analyses we have will be submitted. The results of the very
numerous analyses made by Piof. Kai)hael Pumpelly of the ores mined
in the census year JH80 will first be given. In some localities the char-
acter of the ore mined has changed considerably since his examina-
tions were made. For these localities the necessary corrections will be
uiade so as to show existing conditions. The following is a i)ortion of
Professor I'umpelly's table showing the average per cent of metallic
iron in the ore mined during the census year 1880: '
EuBtern region :
Now York 53.99
New .Jersey : 53. 73
IVimsylvaiiia 4.5.28
Ohio 38.62
SoutlitTn rogioii :
Aliibaiiia .50.67
Tennessee i^O. 59
GeorKiii 51. 37
Lake Sn))erior region :
Michigan .59. .57
Minnesota (-')
Wisconsin -'52. 56
There has been no yreat change in the iron contents of the ores mined
in the eastern regiou, yet some of the best deposits have been exhausted.
Hence, if a test were now made, the ores of this district would not
appear in so favorable a light as tiiey did in 1880. It is being found
necessary to an increasing extent to improve ores by washing, jigging,^
and by the use of magnetic separators.
There hsis been even a greater change since 1880 in the quality of the
Southern ores. The average yield of the ores used by the blast furnaces
of Alabama during the last census year was 4-1.4 per cent.' The Clinton
fossil ores (red hematite), which now constitute the bulk of the ore
rained in this district, yield on an average from 42 to 47 per cent of
metallic iron. The Southern brown hematites are not so good as the
Clinton ores; if properly washed, however, they yield from 45 to 50
per cent of iron."
The lake ores are somewhat better in quality than those mined in
1880. In the opinion of David T. Day, special agent on the mineral
resources of the United States for the Eleventh Census, the ores which
were shipped to distant furnaces contained on the average GO per cent
of metallic iron. The ores which were consumed in furnaces near at
band a .?rag<d .IS per cent of iron; but as these were relatively unim-
portant, the average of 60 i)er cent was not much reduced. Since Mr.
' Tenth f'ansus: Mining Industries, p. 1!). The census year began June 1, 1879, and
ended May 31, 1880.
^Minnesota did not become a producer of iron ore until the year \SS-l.
^Wisconsin's mining operations were wholly carried on in a different part of the
State from wlievc they now are, so that the ligures for this State are quite mean-
ingless.
' I" J'Kg'i'K) *!'•' crushed ore is agitated in a jigger, water being introduced for the
removal from the ore of sand, clay, and earthy matter.
" Eleventh Census : Mineral Industries, p. 11.
'■'The Production of Iron Ores in Various Parts of the World, p. 23.
(so requires heat
Teased coiisuiup-
itl» iroiuiiasters,
jseiitial qualities
lelative stauding
\e results of the
ilts of the very
ff the ores miued
;alities the char-
lice his exainiiia-
Irroctioiis will be
|ig is a i)ortion of
cent of metallic
53.99
53.73
4.5.28
3«.62
50.67
.50.59
.51.37
59.57
(-•)
'52.56
of the ores mined
e been exhausted,
listrict would not
It is being tound
washing, jigging/
: the quality of the
the blast furnaces
ent."* The Clinton
e bulk of the ore
to 47 per cent of
ot so good as the
Id from 45 to 50
m those mined iu
snt on the mineral
lus, the ores which
i^erage CO per cent
1 furnaces near at
e relatively unim-
duoed. Since Mr.
Bgan Juue 1, 1879, aud
(.•ar 1881.
different i)art of the
>tate are <|uite inean-
ng introduced for the
STATISTICS OP LAKE (OMMEKCK.
67
,p.23.
Day made his report the outiiut of the Verinilion range has been appre-
ciably increased, and the Mesabi has suddenly sprung into prominence
as a producer «)f iron ore. The latter now holds tiist place among the
ranges. As the ore^whitth are shipped from these ranges are richer in
iron than those of the older ranges, the census figures are now, periiaps,
a tritie too h»\v. Mr. Franklin Jl. Head, an authority on the ores of
the lake district, su])port8 me on this point. In a recent letter he says:
"1 think a fair average of the ores shipped w(mld yield in the furnace
62 tons of iron to each 100 tons of ore."
Unfortunately, it is impossible to give equally exact information (!0u-
cerning the impurities in the ores of the several districts as lias been
given of the iron (;ontents. I'erhaps less than one fourth of the ore of
the Eastern district can be classed as Bessemer; mucli of it contains
large amounts of sulphur, and some of it carries a small amount of
copper, and some of it has considerable quantities of titanium. The
ore of the great Cornwall deposits contains on the average about 2.5
per cent of sulphur, and re<iuires preliminary roasting iu kilns to drive
off a portion of this and an excess of lime in the blast furnace to elimi-
nate the balance. About one-half of the 8ul])hur is removed by the
roasting, which costs about 20 cents per ton for fuel and handling.
This ore also contains a small amount of copper, but still large enough
to be troublesome in some subsequent metallurgical processes. Many
of the ores of New York contain titanium. In reducing these ores,
greater care must be exercised in fluxing. The furnace must also be
run under special conditions of temperature and pressure of blast,
otherwise titaniuiii deposits will form in the furnace. This special con-
dition of lower heat, considered more favorable to the smelting of these
ores, requires more fuel. These disadvantages have prejudiced furnace
managers against ores containing titanium.
In many (jases the physical condition of the eastern ores is against
them. Tlie magnetites of New York and New .lersey are very refrac-
tory: they are not easily penetrated by the reducing gases of the fur-
nace, because of their great density. Furnace managers assert that
they require more fuel and care to smelt them, and therefore, other
things being equal, they prefer the softer hematites of the lake region.
It is no longer found profitable to mine carbonate ores, for they must
be roasted to drive off (carbonic acid before they can be charged into
the furnace. The cost of mining is also excessive, as they generally
occur iu thin seams or in scattered deposits.
The southern ores are non-Bessemer in quality; they are either too
high in phosphorus, or else this element is very unequally distributed.
An exception to this statement is the Cranberry ore of western North
Carolina. Other ores of the same general characteristics are thought
to exist in the same part of the State and in Eoan Mountain, of eastern
Tennessee, and possibly in tlie northwestern part of South Carolina.
With these exceptions no extensive deposits of low-phosphorus ores
are known in any southern State. The southern ores generally contain
considerable quantities of sulphur, and the percentage of silica and
lime varies greatly.
Most of the ores of the lake region are low in phosphorus, and thus
the larger portion of them is of Bessemer (piaiity. The percentage of
Bessemer ores for the whole lake region is depressed by the contribu-
tions of the Menominee range, which produces mainly non-Bessemer
ores. The lake ores are \ery free from sulphur, and generally contain
no titanic acid. Furnace managers have experienced difficulty with
Mesabi ores because of their finely comminuted state; but this trouble
if
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMKKCE.
may be considered as temporary in .character, for the ^ast^f r "ace
managers may be relied upon to modify their furnaces and »»eth ods in
3 a manner as will enable them to use th% large and valuable
denosftsTth's nuige. However, it must be said that, after four years
orexierimentation, in which large sums of money have been spent,
?arnX. "S ?s ue'nnable to use more than about 46 per cent of Mesabi
Se n the ? principal mixtures. Some of the lake ores carry co"«"lerab le
moisture and the average amount of water m the ores mmea in the
E regimes greater tha'i. in the ores of the eastern district and about
eciual to that in the ores of the southern region.
't has been seen to what extent the lake ores have ««Pl>l»"t«d the
eastern ores. I have also shown why the lake ores are^ preferred by
tho ironmasters of the East to the ores mined nearer to their furnaces.
Amrg t^r^eio. s for this preference are also found the fact, which
make it desirable to move the ore. There then remains to explain the
Semtliir combination of conditions which renders it possible to mine
Stransp^t these ores almost half way across the continent and yet
^n them at such prices that they are taken in preference to the native
^''it'is obvious that in order to be available the ore must be found in
favorable condi ions; it usually occurs in large deposits rather than
n Sow and irregu ar veins of varying depth. As a result it can be
moTchraply mined, for labor-saving machinery can be used, and there
STso miS leTwaste material to be handled. The great extent of the
denositTpermTts large production and its incidental economies The
steC ZvTiTanLaWeiV Point; i* ^^ ^ ^^'to^ok "r>ner"Cin2
nr« from onen cuts and to load ore- on cars trom stock piles. During
one dav in the summer of 189G three steam shovels, working fourteen
hours la h dug and raised from the natural bed of the Oliver mine of
?hr MeTabi' ranle 10,700 gross ons or 428 cars of ore. T wenty-hve-tou
ore Shave blen continuously loaded from the ore bf at the rate ot
?wo and one-half minutes per car; the largest shoveP has loaded as
miirb as 5 825 tons, or 233 cars in a day of 10 hours.
It is est mated that the average cost of loading the ore into cars from
the bed of ihSiie is considerably less than live cents per ton. Betore
this region :
lX.a iron M.„e» of Minnesota Prepared^- J.-; |-1S«'' ""^^""^ "' ^'^ ^"'^'""'° ""'"_^
Name of mine.
Minnoaotft
Chandler
Burt
Oliver
Lake Superior
No.l
Pewabic
If orrle
Kange.
i Phoa-
Ii^n. ! Silica, plior-
I nn.
Vermilion
do....
Mesabi ...
do....
Marquette . .
Menominee .
Gogebic —
67.74 I
64.70 ;
6S.48 ^
68. SI i
]
65.00
64.36
63.18
1.66
4.26
3.17 j
4.53
3.40
3.83
3.62
0.048
: .036
! .034
I .053
.100
.009
.041
Man- 1 s„i.
neae.iP""'-
Alum.
None.
0.13
.40 \
.51
.28
.19
.34
None.
! Trace
': 0.006
j .010
.013
.003
.017
Lime.
0.90
1.37
1.43
2.10 j
2.10
.48
1.74
0.27
.33
.56
.20
.26
1.10
.10
Mag-
ne-
sium.
0.12
.10
.20
.047
.024
1.35
.13
Moist-
ure.
3.00
5.79
8.97
9.07
1.15
6.46
9.86
"TrhiTshovel is mounted Tn extra heavy railroad car ti-
lt Je ghs 90 touH, has hoisting engines of 200 Ijorsepower
dipper having a capacity of 2i cubic yards, and will load
swing.
•ucks of
and is
five or
standard gauge,
equipped with a
six tons at each
iMMriilMfeiwttlMiH
ahiMiittiiii'ritilflTfiiiiiWii'^
o
blast- furnace
11(1 methods in
and valuable
after four years
ve been spent,
centof Mesabi
ry considerable
mined in the
strict and about
supplanted the
re preferred by
their furnaces,
the facta which
to explain the
)()ssible to mine
ntinent and yet
ice to the native
ust be found in
■lits rather than
result it can be
used, and there
eat extent of the
economies. The
to dig and load
[ piles. During
Forking fourteen
e Oliver mine of
Twenty-live- ton
led at the rate of
F has loaded as
re into cars from
per ton. Before
Bssary to remove
eraged on all the
f the Lake Superior
8 complete antilyses
producing miues v.f
e American Institute of
Mng-
Lime.
ne-
■inm.
0.27
0.12
.33
.10
.56
.20
.20
.047
.26
.024
1.10
1.35
.10
.13
Moist-
ure.
2.00
5.79
8.97
9.07
1.15
6.46
9.86
of standard gause.
is equipped with a
or six tons at eaoh
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMKKCi':.
«l
ore which can be secured from the mine, would not exceed 5 cents per
ton, and in all probability would be much less. The cost of 8tri|>|)iug
and of raising the ore i>ractically represents the cost of mining this
deposit, and these items combined aggregate less than 10 (!ento per
gross ton.'
Specialized transportation facilities have been a most iniportant fac-
tor in enabling the ore of the Lake Bu])erior region to compete at dis-
tant points. Several ore roads- ecjuipped with cars designed for the
ore trattlc have been constructed,' and expensive terminals have been
built. At the shipping ports these consist of docks built as high as r»7if
feet above the water, and so constructed that the ore trains can be run
out upon them.* The docks are equipiied with i)o(?kets having a capac-
ity of from 65 to ISO tons, into which the ore is unloaded from the cars
by means of drop bottoms. From the pockets of the dock the ore falls
through iron chutes into the holds of the vessels, which are run up
alongside of the dock.
By these appliances handling of the ore is avoided from the time the
ore leaves the mines until it reaches the receiving port, where it is
shoveled into buckets lowered into the ship's hold. Very little manual
labor is required in these operations. It is necessary to start the ore
by jamming it with crowbars at the opening of the pocket into the
chute, and it is also necessary to push it occasionally with poles, but
upon the whole the ore moves down by force of gravity alone. In the
hold of the vessel the ore is generally trimmed. For this there is
charged 2i cents per gross ton.
The ore-receiving docks at the lower lake ports are equally well fitted
for the work Jihey perform. They are etiuipped with machinery well
adapted to the rapi<l removal of the ore from the holds of the vessels at
a very small cost. The outlay for shoveling the ore into buckets, which
are lowered into the holds of vessels, is the chief item. It is now 9 cents
per long ton, being done by manual labor. In addition to this there is
the dock charge of 5 cents, which makes the total expense of discharg-
ing ore 14 cents per gross ton. With the improved equipment of some
of the docks, the ore in buckets is raised from the bold, carried back
350 feet on the dock, and dumped at a total cost (including labor, depre-
ciation of plant, interest, and fuel) of from 1 to IJ cents per ton. Most
of the ore, instead of being dumped on the stock pile, is now loaded
' From the Iron Age, Vol. LVIII, No. 16, p. 725.
^The iroii-uro mines of each of tlie Ave ranges constituting the lake region are situ-
ated some distanei^ from tho lakes. The nearest mines of the Marquette range are 12
miles front a shipping port; none of the mines of the Menominee range are less than
41 miles from a shipping port. The Gogebic range is about 10 miles from the lake,
but the nearest shipping point is hS9 miles distant. The mines of the Minnesota
ranges are still fartlier removed from the lake, the Tower Mines of the Vermilion
range being 69 miles from the shipping port of Two Harbors, and those at Ely about
20 miles farther removed. The ores of the Mesabi are carrief^ about the saine dis-
tances as tliose of the Vermilion range. Two Harbors and IX ath, Minn., and Supe-
rior, Wis., are the shipping ports of this range.
" For the transportation of the ores of Minnesota, over 400 miles of standard-gauge
railroad have been constructed through what was a trackless wilderness ten years
ago. For a statement of the equipment of these railroads, see Appendix III, Table
VIII. In 1896 the ore roads of the old ranges were increased in number by the com-
pletion of the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway. The dock of this company is
at Presque Isle, 3 miles north of Marquette Harbor proper. During 1897 this road
hauled about 1,100,000 tons of ore.
^ There are now on Lakes Michigan and Superior 21 of these docks, having a total
of 4,438 pockets, with a combined storage capacity of 617,260 gross tons, erected at a
cost of about $6,800,000. They are located as follows : .5 at Two Harbors, 2 at Dnluth,
1 at Superior, 3 at Ashland, 4 at Marquette, 5 at Escanaba, and 1 at Gladstone. For
particulars about these docks, see Appendix III, Table VII.
70
STATISTICS OF LAKK COMMEKCE.
j'l
1!
1'
I
I
I
kl
directly into cars and carried by railroad to furnac.s located ftou, 00 to
'^Thul^n^J^anelS bllsCl'directed .nerely to the If or which is
"TJ%Vo HaS»""":iS Z: of bar,, ore were loa,led iu seventy
^s£-xio »s:!^f ?- V^ii^3E
'"l\'?b'e^!r■S'^Oo,'.■,eaut, w.i,.„ i» to be ''.J-f ' .■■; -;-t™
the 'peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company.' It would be less
tJ the shelter deck. This^emks^ononucalhandhng and_tnminin„
ated if .■oiupariscn is ina.U' with t^« «' "^« ™™^^ey ^^^^ i" ^ae«°«
early days on the Alayque^teranRe the oie was co^^^^^^ ^^^
and .lumped on a dock. From the dock J^^f ".y^..^** *!,^"",i the cars w.-re drawn out
ship's crew. Alte.- a time a tramroa.! v. s b lit on ^^'^^^^^ f,,,^ ^hjch it
upon the dock by mnles where the «\^;;,;\«^;"XwXve the rudimentary pocket,
ciuld easily be loaded outo the ship. luthstpronw^^^^^^ ^j^.^,^ ^^^ ^^^
It was not long after the construction of this roa.tnattnep ^^^^^^^
such an important adjunct of *»?« '^"'^itlrrffrom the^mines" f the Marquette range
Ko s^^ii^^:oT5"hrs"am^ SmSetsSoJ^andling ore which now obtains
^■fTSu ?epesents a vast improvement over thc> primitive m^^^^^^^^^^ were Jn
-O^^f^rior^r^Sl^aX .i=S^^ ^« back on the dock,
and emptied on the stock pile. _
'Report of Commissioner ot Navigation, 1894, p. ^&.
mmmM
iMiMi
•llHi
(v
lilted fVom 00 to
lliibor wliich is
istnicted. But
[low transporta-
jiii loadiiiii: and
|w Idst. Vessels
srally triu^ that
)nuninuted ores
Jhe pockot down
jaded in sevonty
led in seventy
rirgo of .'ijAOO to
There is also
the a])pliances
iL>en unloaded in
ed in connection
Pittsburg, Bes-
ctt'd the largest
is lioped that in
lours. The new
e vessel. When
lie i>lant will be
I is attained ves-
seven hours. It
t that a vessel's
'ing passage, and
18 a large saving.
le the vessel is in
iterially reduced,
gined — this item,
iiiug the ships of
It would be less
es warranted the
also the expendi-
sportation. Ves-
structed for this
sually divided by
ihe water bottom
ing and trimming
iS, Vie better appreci-
B prevailed. In the
be mines in wagons
L to the ship by the
cms were drawn out
proii, from which it
nidimentary pocket,
kets, which are now
i;. an expe' iniental
the Marquette range
•e which now obtains
lods which were in
s lifted from the hold
Ml back on the dock,
STATISTICS OF LAKE ( OMMKItCK.
71
of cargo. The strength usually obtained by transvcrHc bulliiicads is,
in tiie main, secured by deoli beams, extra shell phiting, stanchions,
and intercostals. Several of the iron ore companies have built fleets
adapted to the requirements of the ore iiiisiness. The Hesseiiicr Hteaiii-
ship Company has a tieut of nine large steamers and iiiiu; barges, all of
recent design and constrticiion. These vessels have an aggregate
gross tonnage of 58,.VJ5 tons and a total net registered tonnage of
48,<lliO tons, and have an actual carrying (capacity of 7!>,4<)0 gross tons
on a mean draft of 16 feet and 10 inches. The Minnesota Stcamslii|t
Conipany has a fleet ca]Kil>Ie of carrying .'<2,4r)0 gross tons per trip ou
a draft of 17 feet.'
It was estimated that tlu^ floating e(|uipment on the (rreat Lakes
•January 1, 1890, employed iirimarily in the transportation of ore, iiad
a value of $l(5,080,li()7,- and it has siii(;e been largely increased.
The ores of the Lake Superior i«'gion have (|ualities that render them
very valuable to the iron masters of the iron and steel producing districts
of tlie Kastern States, and therefore it bei-oiiies desirable to move them.
It is the perfection of the transportation facilities that renders this
possible. Ktt'ective terminal tV ics, together with efficient instru-
ments of carriage, have made -le the very low freight rates that
have prevailed and without whu the ore c(Mild not be moved. During
the navigation season of lSi»(! large quantities of ore were carried from
the head of Lake Superior to the lower lake jiorts, a distance of 889
statute miles,' for GO cents i>er gross ton, which is ei|uivalent to a ton-
mile charge of but 0.(i7 of a mill.' This rate, although very low, was
much reduced during the summer of 1897, the rate being but r)0 cents
for some weeks. This rate is ecjual to but O.oO of a mill.
When it is remembered that a ton-mile charge of 3 mills on railroads
is regarded as something exceptional, it will be realized how very low
the lake rates on iron ore are. Mr. Carnegie states that the directors
of the new mineral road between Conneaut, on Lake Krie, and Pittsburg
hope to reduce the cost of hauling ore and coal below 3 mills per ton.'
If lake rates were as high as rail rates the ore of Minnesota could not
be moved. When it is known that the price of red hematites of Besse-
' In iho subjoined table the eiinipment of several of the largest ore fleets may be
found:
Name oltlt'et.
UesHfiiier SteiiiiiHhip Co. :
Nine st earners
Nine barni's
One HteunKii' (liiiihiin;;)
Two bur^eH (bnililing)
Minnesota Steuniitliip Vu. :
Nine Hteiiinera
Five barges
One Helioonor (bnililing)
Cleveland CliHu Iron Co.:
Seven steamers
Two Hcbooners
One steamer (bnililinn)
Lake Superior Iron Co. : Six steamers
Menonilnee Transit Co. : Five steamers
Mutual Trnnsportntion Co.: Four steamers.
Net reK- I Aetna!
isfered tarrying V"'".'
tonnage, caiiarity. """"•
Monn
25, 080
■.2:1, 540
19, 7.15
i;i. 620
7, ;t29
8. 750
0, ;)76
X, -.Hi
41,700
37, 700
6, (125
14, 000
;iO, 250
22, 200
8.000
18,750
1), 175
5,750
HI. 116
15. U25
13, 747
Ft. In.
' 16 10
I 16 10
le 10
16 10
16 10
lU 10
10 10
- Blue Book of American .Shipping (1896), j). 203.
^ This is the distance given in Eleventh Ceusus, Transportation Business, Part II,
p. 291, from Duluth to Ashtabula, the chief receiving port of Lake Erie.
^Out of this very low rate the vessels paid '2!r to 3 cents for trinniiing and 16 cents
per ton for discharging cargoes. Freight rates and charges are for gross tons.
" Iron Age, Vol. LVIII, No. 14, p. 622.
r*
73
STATIHTKS OK LAKi; CoMMEKCK.
iiior quality in Cleveliuid (luriiiR tli«! early Mining of I8»r> was but *-.8U,
and that the price of this ore varied from K4 to )!<4.1ir. - in the Huuimer
and autumn of IHIUJ, and in 1SJ)7 fell lielow is*).", prices, ' it will be under
stood how absolutely important it is that freiglit rates should be low.
If the ton mile rate were ;5 mills- which is regarded as exceptionally
low on railroads— the freight charge for transporting ore trom Duluth
to Cleveland would be *2.r»4— a rate higher than the tralllc could bear.
In view of the facts that have been presented it Might not to be diffl-
cult to understand win the ores of the Lake Superior region are sup-
planting the ores of tlie eastern region. This substitutum liiis been
goin- on rapidlv, and should the .h maiid Ibr steel continue to increase
at the expense of that for iron, tins substitution' will persist unless
methods be discovered by which good steel can be nuule cheaply trom
ores that can not now be used to advantage.
Appendix 111.
TAIll.KS IM:LAT1N(1 T(» LAKK TUANSPORTATION AM) THE IKON-ORE
1NI>1:STRV.
Tmii.e I.
ShljivientH of iron ore J. "'« Ihe Lakv, Superior region. '
Year.
i'ruvloiiiito
1851
1854
IRST)
185»
Itv"
IHSS
1H59
1860
IHfll
ISBl!
■863
IjOII); toiiH.
Yuiiv. Long tnim.
Vi'ar. Long toim.
7R, («S
3, IHMI
;i6. 'M..
2", «4«
(55
18(14..
18BS..
18)111..
1867..
I8<i>' .
ISf'K.
iH I .
18,'.
18T-...
18. :i..
1M71..
1875..
L'4:i, 127 '
2:t6, -nm
278, *!l«
473. riB7
4»1, 44f|
617,444
8:io, 1140
77tt, fi»7
»iiO,m>l
1, l«2,4.i«
01», 5.')7
891, 257
1876..
1877..
1878 .
187(1..
18811.
il'.CJ, 764
1,II14,«87
1,111,11(1
1,37.5,6111
1,(HI8,647
1881 2,314,502
1882 2,1I6B. 37.-.
188:i 2,341,227
1884 2,518,048
1885 2,45B,548
1886 3,5U2,.')70
Year. < Loi.i; toD«.
4,738,903
5, (123, 279
7,3110,387
9, 003. 701
7.01)4,981
9, 073, 568
6, 085, 795
7, 755, 494
10,429,037
9, 934, 440
1807 12,469,638
1887
1888
1889
18IH)
1891
1892
1893
1894
1805.
1890.
I
« Xlie ttanreH ^iv.'Xi in tliin iable iiicli.(l« th« uinounts .Ml.ii.i.ert by nlliBil ronte»; the qmi i itles 1 is
niM.">rl..l nio, however. .•.(U.tivdv miimi...rtii..t. lu 1892 tlu' nll-inil «liipi>»''><; «;i'.™ 5-'5'»« I-'"'"*
",» , 1893 lb] 27, in 1804. 1.13.874, in 805, 194,127; in 1896 290,410. «n.l in 181^7, P».09J «"'"«/«»«•
om Mineral Kfnoiin^s «( the Uniutd Staten (1892),
"mainV'tiie tilr''iirV.»'iin"l893-9B were laki>n from thi- lilnc Hook of Anieri.un Slii|i|>inf{ (1897) p. 118,,
an;iiw 1897 from The Iron Tnulr li.wi«w, Lake Khii.n.ents of ir.m ore a« u.ven by ll-rljinl.lne in
trail
tons — , , , ,
Tlie all. rail cliipiiienlH for 18112 were obtained
1;; PM.Iwt^:f i;^/i;i^8^n Variouri^artaortli^-V^oHaip: 11«) are^^ In 1892. 8,545,313
BroHK tons; in 1893, .^836,749; ami in 1894, 7,621,620 KroHH tons. ,. .■ „ \i,„„„. ,,„
* Tbe «r«t experiment.-,! Hbijmient of iron ore from the Lake Superior reKion "«« '™'" " « ^"f^ ' "«
ranee an.) ...e irre.l in 1850; tut shipments from thinranue for commeromrpnriMmeu rti.l not 1>pk m niitll
18."J! Se M "eral UeHoareea of thI, Unite.l States (189?). p. 49. The H.ipmenta previous tol854 re
Eiven ill Mineral Keaoiirees of tlie I'niteil Slates (1889 ami 1890), p. 27: lor the years 18d4 to 1886, ibid.
fl886 15 f or 188Tai a 1888 ibi.l. (1888), p. 17; for 1889 to 18M, ibid. (1892), l.,38; for the years 1893
to 1896,' illm. Hook of Aineri.iii Shipping (1897), p. 118; for the year 1897, Mr. A. I. FimUey, editor of
The Iron Tnido Ileview. ^^
TaiVol\'LVli:'No: 2^ p''l26X.l Vol. LVIII. No. 13. p. 595. In 1894 BeBsemer
standard ores sold ior $2.(;5 per ton and non-Hesseui.-r for $2 per ton at lower lake
ports. (Ibid., Vol. LVII, No. 1, p. 24.) , ^ t i ii • *
^ The prices of some of the stiiiulard lake ores in 1897 delivered at Luke Lne ports
■were as follows :
Minnesota hard ore, cruslied
Chandler
Norrie
Lake Angeline, hard ore
Burt Mine, Me.sabi
Chapin
$3.11
2.92i
2.65
3.46
2.66
""■;;■";■"■";;■..;■■.;;■. 2.40
Red heniiititesV non-iiosstimer quality $2. 00 to 2. 50
* There is no likelihood that the ores of this region will be speedily exhausted. Mr.
John Birkinbine says of the Mesabi: "No other iron range thus far discovered pos-
" U
) wHft but $J.8U,'
-' ill tliu Hiiuimur
it will be under-
4 siiould be low.
18 exceptionally
tie tVoiii Duluth
aflic could bear,
it not to be diffl-
region are sup-
iition liiiH been
;inue to increase
II perHiHt unleHS
de cheaply from
THK IKON-OUK
Vciir. LuM! tons.
1887 4,7H8,lM);i
1«8H r>,(l2U,279
1889 7,3110,387
18(»ll 9,oo:i.7oi
18UI 7,0U4,981
18il2 9,«7:t,568
18!);) fl, 085, 795
1894 7,755,494
1805 10,429,01)7
1890 9,934,440
1807 12,469,838
I
teH; tliei|iiiiiititie8 tints
iH'Iits were 525,708 (jroBS
I 1807, 253,093 );i'i>"h tons,
lie UiiiK'd Stutett (1892),
1 Slii|il>lii({ (1897), I). 118,.
(liven by Birkinhiiie in
illowH : ill 1892, 8,545,313
waa from tlio Mar<innt.te
IMiseu dill not beijln until
int« previous to 1854 are
9 yean 1854 to 1886, ibid,
p. 38: fortbe years 1893
.A.I. Fiiidley, editor of
). lu 1804 Begsemer
er ton at lovrer lake
(1 lit Lake Urio ports
$3.11
2.92J
2.65
3.46
2.66
2.40
$2.00 to 2.50
dily exhausted. Mr.
I far discovered pos-
'im^
r
IMAGE EVALUATION
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STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
73
Tahi.e II.
Produciion of iron ore in the lake districta of the several States of the Lake Superior
region, in the lake region a^ a whole, in the Inited States, and imporlatioits into the
tn
United States.
[Lonjt tons.)
Year. ! Michigan, j Michigan.
TJnknowti
1854
18.-)5
1866
1857
1858 i
1859
1860
1861 '
1862
186H
1864
1865 1
1866 ;
1867 1
1868
1870 . .
1871 . .
1872..
1873..
1874 ..
1875 . .
1876..
1877 . .
1878 . .
1870 . .
1880 ..
01, 850
;j, 000
1,449
6,790
25, «2fl
22, 870
68, 832
114,401
40.009
124, 160
203, 055
243, 137
187, 106
288. 806
457, 642
510, 522
629, 532
861,403
813, 379
052, 077
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1804
1805
1896
25,646
22, 876
68,832
114, 401
114,258
124, 169
203, 055
247,059
193, 758
206. 718
465, 504
510. 522
639,097
859, 507
813,084
948, 553
1,195,234
935, 488
910, 840
993,311
1, 025, 129
1, 125, 093
1, 414, 182
1 1.640,814
: 1, 073, 455
2, 123, 404
2, 672, 287
2,518,048
2, 22.5, 148
2, 203, 599
3, 175, 950
'I, 033, 681
4,113,80b
5, 8,56, 160
7.141,656
«, J27, 001
7, 543, 544
4. 668, 324
4,419,074
5,812,444
5, 700, 738
Lake dis-
trict of
Wisconsin.
I I Total for
Minnesota. I lie Lake Su-
perior region.
Total for I
tlie Uuitcd i
States. 1
■Imnorta-
tfons.
14
107
276
62
34
55,
150,
400,
381,
708,
549,
910,
765,
426,
305,
590,
575,
[000] \
143 i/
',911
1,020
1, 175
612
181
294
104
14U
937
350
465
379
367
Oil
081
743
[000 1
.1
62.
227,
307,
394,
511,
864,
891,
045,
1,255,
1, 499,
2.968.
3, 866,
4, 283,
122
075
948
910
953
508
910
105
405
927
463
4,'53
880
25, 646
22, 876
68, 832
114, 401
114,258
124, 169
203, 055
247, 059
193, 758
296. 713
465,504
510, 522
039, 097
859, 507
813, 984
948, 553
1,195,2.34
935, 488
910, 840
993, 311
1,026.129
1,125,093
1, 414, 182
/[1, 640, 0001
\ 1, 987, 598
2,321,315
2, 948, 307
8, 580, 223
2,321,882
2, 485, 855
3, 634, 201
4, 728, 695
5, 00«, 896
7, 518, 614
8, 944, 031
7,621,465
9, 564, 388
6, 594, 618
7. 692, 548
10, 268, 978
10, 666, 359
2, 873, 459
3, 031, 1-91
4,500,000
l}l7,120,a62l{-
7,974,000 ,
9, 744, 000 '
8, 656, 330
7, 600, 000
14. 518, 041
16,036,043
14, 691, 178
16,2il€,666
11,587,629
11,879.679
15, 967. 614
16, 005, 449
I
27,000
62,000
69, 000
83,000
26,000
42,000
29,000
284,141
"493,' 408
782, 887
589,665
400, 875
487, 820
390,786
1, 039, 483
1,194,301
587, 470
853, 673
1, 246, 830
912, 864
806,585
526. 951
167, 807
624,163
682,806
NOTES TO TABLK II.
Up to the census year 1880 the statistics given in tbe census reports covering the
production of iron ore in the United States, and those of the production in the sev-
eral States in particular, are very nnsatisfiictory. For the reports of 1860, 1860, ana
1870 the statistics of production were very large';' oUi,ained from the statements
made by the managers of the various blast furnaces as to the amount of ore con-
sumed. The tables do not specify in what States the ore was produced, but merely
give the amounts reported as being consumed by the blast furnaces. This being
the case, in giving the production of the States in the early years I have used,
sesses greater apparent reserves. Conservative estimates formulated from the rec-
ords of properties now exploited and worked, together with others determined by
systematic explorations and analyses, show that the Mesabi range can supply ore
('which will equal in average iron and phosphorous contents) double the quantity
(or 200,000,000 gross tons) which the entire Lake Superior region has produced in nlty
years. In this estimate there are not included a number of properties which have
been imperfectly explored." (The Production of Iron Ores in 1895, p. 16.} Since Mr.
Birkinbine wrote many new deposits have been explored and his estimates must
now be regarded as falling far short of the amount of ore this range contains.
74
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
wherever it has bt-eii possible, the statistics givcu in Mineral Resources of the
United States, as they seemed the more reliable. The census figures for 1880 appear
to be accurate, and as it was uocessary to use tliem in some cases they iire given in
all cases where ihcy occur. The only objection to them is the fact that th(\v are not
for the calendar year. These figures are here inclosed iu brackets. It is to be
remembered tliat tlie census year 1880 ended May 31, 1880. In other cases, unless
otherwise stated, the year here referred to is the calendar year.
The tignrcs of the column headed "Total for the IJaited States" were obtained from
the following sources: For the year 1860, Eighth Census, Manufactures, p. clxxvii;
for 1870, Ninth Census, Industry and Wealth, p. 768; for 1875, Tenth Census, Mining
Industries, p. 33; for 1880, Eleventh Census, Mineriil Industries, p. 12; for 18S1, 1882,
and 1884, Tenth Census, Mining Industries, p. 33; for 1885, Mineral Resources of the
United States (1885), p. 188, and for 1889 and the succefnling years down t,o 1896, The
Production of Iron Ores iu the United States (1895), p. 10. The statement for 1896
was obtained from The Production of Iron Ores in 1896, by ,)ohu Berkinbine, p. 23.
In some cises short tons have been converted into long tons. The compilers of the
Ninth Census think the production of 1870 as given is underestimated by about eight
or nine hundred thousand tons (Ninth Census, Industry and Wealth, p. 749). Kor the
years 1875 and 1881 the amounts given are estimates uuide by Mr. I. Loirthian Bell,
and the amounts given for 1882, 1884, and 1885 are estimates made by Mr. .lames M.
Swank, general manager of the American Iron and Steel Association. The figures
of im]>ortation into the United States from 1872 to 1891 were obtained from Mineral
Resources of the United States (1891), p. 41; from 1892 to 1894, from The Production
of Iron Ores in Various Parts of the World, p. 198; for 1895, from The Production of
Iron Ores in the United States, p. 25, and for 1896 The Production of Iron Ores in
1896, by .John Berkinbine, p. 26.
In givmg the production of tlie States forming the lake region it was thought best
to include only the ore mined within this region; Wisconsin's product is therefore
somewhat less" than that usually r(>ported for the State. The figures of production
up to 1889 were obtained from Mineral Resources (1889 and 1890), p. 30, and since
1889, by assigning to Wisconsin the difference between the tntal output of the Lake
Superior region and the combined output of Michigan and M.unesota. Michigan's
output, as it appears in the first column, is given in the Geological Survey of Michi-
gan (1869-1873), Vol. I, Part I, Atlas Plate 12. It is not contended that these figures
are exact. To some small extent the figures of the second column are of my own
deduction. Up to the time when Wisconsin became a producer I have given Michi-
gan credit for the total yield of the Lake Superior region. In Mineral Resources
(1883), p. 116, it is stated that the total output for the lake region for 1856 and the
previous years was 86,319 gross tons; this might also be placed in the second col-
umn. It will be noted that this amount does not correspond with the first colnmn.
From 1880 to 1889 the difterence between the total amount mined in the lake region
and the combined output of Minnesota and Wisconsin is assigned to Michigan.
Since 1889 it is given as reported in The Production of Iron Ores in the United States
(1895), p. 10; for 1896 see The Production of Iron Ores in 1896, by John Birkinbine,
p. 23.
No ore was raised in Wisconsin from the mines of the lake region up to the close
of the census year 1880; there was, however, some ore mined in this district during
the calendar year 1880. For Wisconsin's output from 1880 to 1888 see Mineral
Resources (1889 and 1890), p. 31. Since 1888 that portion of the total production of
the lake region not belonging to either Michigan or Minnesota has been assigned to
Wisconsin. For Minnesota's yield of ore from 1884 to 1888 see Mineral Resources
(1889 and 1890), p. 31, and from 1888 to 1895, The Production of Iron Ores in the United
States (1895), p. 10; and for 1896, The Production of Iron Ores in 1896, by John
Birkinbine, p. 23.
Down to 1882 the figures for the production of the lake region as a whole were
taken from Mineral Resources (1883), p. 116; for the years from 1883 to 1888 the
figures are those of Mineral Resources (1891), p. 38; for the years 1888.to 1894, Pro-
duction of Iron Ores in Various Parts of the World (1894), p. 195; for the produc-
tion of 1895, The Production of Iron Ores in the United States (1895), p. 12; and for
the production of 189(5, The Production of Iron Ores in 1896, by John Birkinbine, p. 8.
Resources of the
es for 1880 uppear
they iire given ia
I that th(\v are not
kets. It is to be
thiT cases, unless
ere obtained from
Dture»<, p. clxxvii;
th Census, Mining
12; for 1881, 1882,
Resoiirct'H of the
ilown to 1896, The
itatement for 1896
Bcrkinbine, p. 23.
d eompilcrs of the
ted by about eight
.p. 749). Korthe
I. Lowthian Bell,
» by Mr. .) antes M.
tidn. The figures
ined from Mineral
in The Prodnction
rhe Production of
n of Iron Ore.s in
wiis thought best
oiluct is therefore
ires of production
, p. 30, and since
utpui of the Lake
isota. Michigan's
1 .Survey of Michi-
that these tigares
iin are of my own
have given Mlchi •
Hineral Resources
I for 1866 and the
in the second col-
the first column,
in the lake region
ned to Michigan,
the United States
John Birkinbine,
on up to the close
lis district during
1888 see Mineral
atal production of
3 been assigned to
i-fineral Resources
Ores in the United
in 1896, by John
1 as a whole were
1 1883 to 1888 the
1888.to 1894, Pro-
• ; for the produc-
!95), p.l2; and for
u Birkinbine, p. 8.
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE,
Tablk III.
75
Production of iron ore in the Cornwall On Hills of PennBylraniaandthe Lake Champlain
district of yew York, in Xetv York, Neiv Jersey, PennsyUuma, and Ohio, and the total
for these States.
[Long tons.]
Tear.
Coruwall
Ore Hills.
i Lake I ;
1 Champlain ; New York, i
I district.
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
187B
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890....
1891....
1892....
1893....
1894....
1895....
1896....
11 montJiM. \
165,015
114,803
216, 660
202,755
165,843
173, 42J i
174,408 \
176, 055
193, 317
169, 782
112, 429
98, 925
11)7, 902
171, 589
179, 299
268, 488
231, 173
249, 050
300, 681
363, i44
412, ',120
508, 804
688, 054
667, 210
722, 917
769, 020
686, 302
663, 746
634, 714
439, 705
371, 710
614, 598
463, 059
New
Jersey
226, 000
Pennsyl-
vania.
aio.
Total
for these
States.
275, 067
a (460, 190)
350,000 I
420,000
250,000
300,000
290,000 ,
365.000 ■ !
880,000 : i
480,000 '
700,000 'i[l,I26,8991<[
637,000 i
725,000 :
540,000 ;... 1
530,000 ' I
420, 000
588. 829
768, 852
669, 553
779, 900
821, 994
554, 865
1, 247, 537
1,253,393
1, 017, 216
891, 099
534, 122
242, 759
307, 266
385, 477
(323, 782)
450,000
600,000
665, OOO
525, 000
390,000
285,000
315, 000
409,674
488, 028
[676, 225]
745,000
737, 052
932, 762
521.416
303; 710
;i30, 000
5UU, 501
547, 889
447, 738
415,510
495, 808
525, 612
465, 466
356, 150
277, 483
282,433
264,999
(078, 112) i (282, 615) I 2, 053, 699
"
)
...
}[1, 951. 4961
[488,753]
4, 243, 872
.
,...,
1, 560, 234
1, 361, 622
1,272,928
1,084,047
607,985
532, 087
900, 340
.747.784
344,484 I
377,465 '
253,352
254,294
169, 088
104,487 i
95,768
68, 141
58, 493
44, 834
58,480
3, 477, 575
3, 279, 911
2, 920, 243
2, 636, 369
1, 656, 398
1, 110, 822
1, 534. 868
1, 466, 740
a The figures inclosed ' ■ parentheses are those of the Ninth Census : Industrv and Wealth, p. 768,
and as has already been explained in the notes to Table II, they are of doubtful value.
6 The flguJerincUTin b?ackete are for the census year 1880, see Eleventh Census : Mineral Indus-
tries, p. 13.
NOTES TO TABLE III.
The sources ftom which the output of the Cornwall Ore Hills was obtained are
as follows: From 1864 to 1890 Mineral Resources (1889 and 1890), p. 29; for 1891,
rbid , p 41; for 1892, Ibid., p. 40; for 1893, Ibid., p. 43: for 1894, Production of Iron
Ores in Various Part's of the World^. 184 ; and for 18^5, Production of I«»n Ores m
the United States, p. 20; and for 1896, The Production of Iron Ore in 1896, by ■John
Birkinbine, p. 21. For the production of iron ore in the Lake Champlain district
see Mineral Resour^fls (1891), p. 41. For New Jersey's output down to 1889, see
Geological Survey of New Jersey (1893), p. 443. In Mineral Resources (1891), p. 41,
may be found Ohio's output for the years from 1886 to 1888 The nroduction of each
of the States from 1888 to 1896 is as given in Produotion of Iron Ores in the United
States, p. 10; for production during 1896, see The Production of Iron Ores in 189b, by
John Birkinbine, p. 23.
76 STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE.
Table IV.
ProduoUoii of iron ore in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and the total fur these States.
[Long tons.]
Tear.
Alabama.
TenneHsee.
Georgia.
Total.
1870 ,
30,909
[93, 272]
30,900
[346, 032]
1880
1171,139]
220, 000
250,000
385,000
420,000
505. 000
650, 000
676, 000
1,000,000
1, 570, 319
1,897,815
1, 986, 830
2, 312, 071
1,742,410
1,493,080
2, 190, 390
2,041,793
' [8i,'62ii
1881
1882
1883
1834
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
473, 204
465, 605
543, 923
406, 578
372,096
202, K)l
519,796
535,484
246, 020
244, U88
250,755
185, 054
a 186, 015
a 174, 694
a 272, 014
o 175, 331
2, 291, 633
2,607,598
2, 781, 608
2,903,703
a 2, 301, 421
a 1, 960, 611
a 2, 091,200
a 2, 752, 608
1890
1801
1892
1803
1894
1895 ■ ■
1896 ■■■■
NOTES TO TAULR IV.
All of the figures for 1870 were obtaiued I'roui Niuth Census : Industry and Wealth,
p. 768 ; they are open to the sauie criticism as the figures for 1870 of Table 11. Those
of Alabama and Tennessee for 1880 were obtained ftoni Eleventh Census: Mineral
p. 19; these figures are estimates based on the production of pig iron. Since 1889
the production of each of the States is that given in The Production of Iron Ores in
the United States (1895), p. 10. For 1896 the statistics were obtained from The
Production of Iron Ore in 1896, by John fiirkiiibine.
Table V.
Shipmentt of Lake Superior iron ore hy ports (gross tons).
[Data funilBbed by A. I. Findley, editor of The Iron Trade Review.]
Tear.
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1801.
1802.
1803 '.
1894.
1895.
Marquette.
918,489
760,047
853,806
803, 411
844,694
1, 370, 335
1,307,395
1, 056, 027
1, 026, 338
1,086,934
1, 424, 860
1, 079, 485
J8»« ',578,800
1887 1,946,519
Eacanala. ! St. Ignace.
356,
21»,
638,
072,
202,
003,
714,
058,
010,
048,
644,
860,
321,
302,
587
777
821
708
965
632
662
590
085
081
776
172
928
121
51,109
93,588
74,590
91,554
107,390
61,853
L'Anie.
64,420
20, 027
Aahland.
119,668
721,983
040,727
016,414
484,802
123,866
261,668
223,684
117,620
738,690
360, 219
666,336
067,687
Ww,
il for these states.
Georgia.
Total.
30,909
[81,621]
(346, 032]
248, 02U
244, 088
250,755
185, 054
a 186, 015
a 174, 684
a 272, 014
0175,331
2, 291, 633
2,607,598
2, 781, 508
2,903,708
2,301,421
o 1, 960, 6U
2,091,200
2,752,608
blishment niiniDgore
lustry and Wealth,
f Table II. Those
ii Census : Mineral
leudar, year. For
' Industries, p. 23.
[ liesources (1891),
iron. Since 1889
on of Iron Ores io
l)tained from The
liew.]
CAnse.
Ashland.
64,420
20, 027
110,868
721,983
1,040,727
1.016,4U
1,484,802
2,123,866
1,261,668
2,223,684
1,117,620
1,738,690
2. 360, 219
1, 666, 336
2,067,687
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERt E.
Shipmenti of Lake Superior iron ore by parte (groee <o)i«)— Continued.
77
Tear.
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1802.
1893.
1894.
1896.
1896.
1897.
Two Har-
bors.
Ulndatone.
225,
3U4,
390,
450,
810,
826,
8!I0,
1, 165,
903,
1, 373,
2,118,
1, 813,
2,651,
484
396
467
475
630
063
299
076
329
253
166
992
465
68, 250
9I.U91
177, 866
116,886
203, 585
79, 203
109, 21 1
220, 888
341,014
Superior. \ Sulnth.
Total.
4,245
80,273
117, 884
167, 246
531, 825
44U,5D2 i
1,369,252
1,598,783
1, 988, 032 i
2,376,064 I
3,
4,
4,
6.
8.
«.
8,
5,
7,
10,
9,
12.
390, 605
428, 480
403, 186
398, 857
621,947
804,511
063, 067
444,440
545, 314
881,214
620, 820
233. 910
657, 921
215,646
Receipts of Lake Superior iron ores, by vessel, at lake ports (gross totia),
[Data furnished by A. I. Fimlley, editor of the Iron Trade Bevlew.]
Yenr.
1880.
1881.
1882.
Toledo.
1883.
1884..
1886. .
1886..
1887..
1888..
1889..
1890..
1891..
1892..
1893..
1894..
1895..
1896..
1897..
27, 617
2 444
islooo
26,960
61,729
76,601
82,961
164,295
101, 105
139,987
146, 516
158, 384
260, 730
301,794
416,438
Sandugfay. ] Huron.
I
i
58, 825
166,540
143, 180
157, 970
160, 600
154,924
186, 082
174, 506
106,907
49,736
4,464
23,043
12, 361
58, 667
79, 792
44, 021
21,288
4,351
680
1,200
14,910
65,000
137, 700
172,775
146, 442
226, 515
198, 231
I
Lorain, i Cleveland.
25, 704
30, 1.56
13, 180
99, 744
134, 764
197, OUO
280,000
280, 450
266,009
190.400
165, 667
150, 424
214, 210
191, 445
365, 188
758, 983
826, 419
993,046
723, 120
004,850
589, 234
1.034,650
1, 216, 423
971, 775
1,742,415
1, 945, 492
1, 257, 775
1,960,224
1, 260, 716
1,624,573
2, 312, 370
2, 313, 170
2,466,704
Fairport.
40, 334
23, lUO
31,092
112, 000
501,368
611.140
829, 121
1, 096, 408
699,434
866, 611
792,617
976, 222
914,617
941, 446
1,008,340
Tear.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884.
1886.
1886
1887.
1888
1880
1890
1891
1892
1888
1804
1896
1898
1897
Aahtabnla.
298,594
377, 976
598,087
670,000
650,000
582,000
672,000
1,103,839
1,288,530
1,963,490
2,176,730
1, 599, 785
2,655,416
1,845,738
1,987,722
2, 474, 791
2,272,822
3,001,914
Conneant.
1,130
208,207
237,905
244,967
327,623
495, 327
Brie.
106,787
116,027
122,228
91,260
20,488
240,338
373, 595
487,498
393, 759
64.5,280
469, 299
624,438
811,989
847,849
, 911, 626
Buffalo,
Tonawan-
da.a
40, 203
8,760
7,160
31,869
28,699
240,000
298,000
548,000
410,000
197,000
308,238
395, 339
710, 742
645,101
'797,446
Total.
1, 692, 689
1, 841, 877
1,503,969
2, 270, 554
3, 439, 198
3, 783, 659
5,856,8U
6, 874, 664
4, 039, 684
6,660,734
5,333,061
6,350,826
8,112,228
8,026,432
10, 120, 906
Receipts of
other
lakeports.b
648,728
924, 517
1,222,632
959,659
838, 288
948, 167
1, 188, 403
1, 504, 756
1,884,580
648,163
1,279,004
2, 121, 682
1, 631, 480
2, 094, T39
a Buffiilo alone to 1893.
6 Most of this ore was received at South Ghioago.
fg STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
• Table VI.
Freight raiet, hy lake vessel, oti iron ore per loni/ ton from ports named to Lake Erie ports.
Year.
lua.
1857.
1858.
1859.
1860.
1861.
1862.
1883 .
1864 .
1866.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871 .
1872 .
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
188U.
1881 .
1882.
1883 .
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891 .
1892.
1893 .
1894.
1895.
1896.
1897.
Escnimba.
Rate.
Wild or
dally
rate.
>2. 50 to t6. 75
1.05 to 3.05
1.06 to 2.06
1.05 to 2.05
1.65 to 2.50
1.50 to 2.50
2. 00 to
2. 30 to
1. 30 to
1.10 to
. 70 to
.65 to
. 60 to
.70 to
1.50 to
1.00 to
.00 to
.00 to
.90 to
.90 to
1.10 to
6.25
3.00
1.40
1.30
1.40
1,50
1.15
2.10
2.00
1.60
1.40
1.50
.65
1.00
1.35
1.75
1.45
1.25
1.00
$0.86
.98
.81
1.25
1.70
1.36
1.04
1.22
.87
.78
1.28
1.59
1.05
1.01
.89
.84
.74
.66
.46
.73
.62
.46
Con-
tract
rate.
Marquette.
Rate.
Wild or Con-
! dally i tract
rate. rate.
$1.20
1.00
,00
.90
1.85
1.75
1.40
1.00
1.10
.90
1.05
1.40 !
.90
1.00
1.10
.65 i
1.00
.85
.60
.65
; -TO
i ■«
$8.00
! 3.00
$2. 00 to 2.60
2. 00 to 2.60
2. 00 to 2.60
2. 00 to 3.00
2. 26 to 4.50
3. 00 to 4.00
3. 00 to 5.00
2. 05 to
2, 75 to
2.00to
2. 25 to
2. 75 to 4.50
' 2. 05 to 3. 25
' 2. 05 to
2. Sato
I 3. 25 to
i 1.60 to
; l.:i0to
1. 25 to
! 1.25 to
i 1.00 to 1.60
j 1. 26 to 3. 00
I 2. 00 to 2. 75
I 2. 00 to 2. 30
I 1.25 to 2.00
j 1. 30 to 1. 78
I 1.00
I 1.40
1.75
2.15
1. 10 to 1. 15
.90 to 1.25
1.25 to 1,10
5.00
6.50
4.00
3.25
4.00
0.60
4.00
2.50
1.50
2.20
2.00
AHhland, Superior,
Oulutb, and Two Harbors.
Kate, a
Wild or Con-
daily I tract
ratr.. \ rate.
35 I
41 !
22 I
83 I
26
05
26 i
40 !
08 '
98 :
51 .
87
30
19
07
02
08
.71
.60
.92
.66
.55
$1.60
1.40
1.30
1.40
2.76
2.46
1.75
1.20
1.35
1.05
1.20
1.63
1.15
1.10
1.25
.90
1.16
1.00
.80
.75
.95
.05
$1.07 to $1.65
1.02 to 3.00
1. 75 to
1. 02 to
1.25 to
1.35 to
2.75
1.08
.90
1.00
$1.25
1.78
2.23
1.43
1.34
1.17
1.11
1.15
.77
.78
1.13
.77
.67
$1.15
1.20
2.00
1.25
1.25
1.35
1.00
1.25
1.00
.80
.80
1.05
.70
a Bates from Ashland alone.
NOTES TO TABLE VI.
Oat of the rate that is reieived the vessels pay trimming and unloading charges.
In 1895 and 1896 those amounted to 19 cents per ton and in 1897 to 16.5 cents. Some
few boats do not trim, and thus escape the trimming charge, which in 1895 and 1896
varied from 2.5 to 3 cents, and in 1897 was 2.5 cents. All vessels pay the unloading
charges, which in 1897 were 9 cents for shoveling the ore into bucKets lowered into
the ship's hold and 5 cents as a doclc charj;e.
The rates as given in the first column for each port were obtained from Mineral
Resources of the United States, 1889-90, pp. 27-31. They were compiled by the
State commissioner of mineral statistics of Michigan. The other rates were com-
piled by the Marine Review, of Cleveland.
»l to Lake Erie port».
Ulilaiid, Superior,
tb, and Two Harbors.
te.o
Wild or
daily
ratr-.
Con-
tract
rate.
[o $1. 65
;o 3.00
o 2.75
At 1.08
;o .90
;o 1.00
»1.25
1.78
2.23
1.43
1.34
1.17
1.11
1.15
.77
.78
1.13
.77
.67
$1.15
1.20
2.00
1.25
1.25
1.35
1.00
1.25
1.00
.80
.80
1.05
.70
1 unloading charges.
r to 16.5 cents. Some
lich in 1895 and 1896
Is pay the unloading
luckets lowered into
tained from Mineral
ire compiled by the
;her rates were com-
8TAT18T1C8 OF LAKE COMMKRCE.
Tahli: VII. .
Record of ore-shipping docks on Ihe Ureal Lakes.'
n
IJailwHy.
Location.
Dock!^";;!?*''
^'>- dock.
Diilnth and Iron Range Two Harbors, Minn
II.K.
Dnliitb, Miganbi and
NortliPrn Kwy.
Dnlutli, Superior and
Western K. K.
Chicago and Nortliwest-
em Kwy.
Dulntb, Minn .
Alloucz liay,
rlor, WJH.
Asbland, Wis...
Escanaba, Midi
Supe-
Dnluth, South Shore and Marquette, Midi.
Atlantic Kwy.
Lake Superior and Ish- I do
peming Kwy. I
Minneapolis, St. Paul and , Gladstone, Mich .
Sanlt Ste. Mario Rwy. j
"Wisconsin Central. l Ashland, Wis....
1
2
3
4
6
1
2
1
1
t>
1
2 i
3
C4 I
5 i
1
a I
4
1
Feet.
1,056
1,056
540
1,008
1. 0118
2, 3(14
1,152
a(H)0
hlllill
1,404
1,404
1,101
1,152
1, l)5H
1,500
1, 392
1,700
1, 200
1,200
1,200
Height
Width nfdoik No. of
of (water pock-
dock, to : CtH.
I deck). I
141
170
80
Kig
168
384
192
lOU
150
234
234
184
102
226
2r.o
'i62
270
213
200
200
Storage en-
pai'ity.
-t.In.
Ft. In.
41
45 6
41
40 6
49
51 6
40
51 6
49
04
62
.53 8i
,'>2
57 8.J
49 8
.52 11
49 8
40 8 '
46 ,
37 '
37 1
37
37 '
37
40
53 6
36 8
52
768 j 37
1,908 I 36
57
54
45
48 6 :
40 3
52 8
48 6
53 3
45
37
47 3
54
47
54 6
120
314
Orom timi.
18,000
23. 900
IB, 000
30,000
33, 000
57.600
34,660
15, 000
2.5, 500
36, 036
24, 166
' 24, 104
20, 928
30, 284
i 32, 760
43, 162
27,000
12,780
; 28, 000
36, 000
16,000
33,600
* From " The Iron Mines of Minnesota." Prepared for the seventy-third meeting of the American
Institute of Mining Engineer*.
oOld part.
6 New extension. , ,,,, '
Destroyed by Are Kovember 30, 1897 but now rebiiilding.
Taule VIII.
Data relating to ore-carrying railroads of northern Minnesota.*
Railway.
height
of rails
per yard.
Duluth and Iron
Range R R.
Dnluth, Missabl
and Northern |
Rwy. j
Duluth, Superior !
and Western I
R. R.
Pounds.
80
60&80
60
Weight of freight loco-
motives in working
order, with tenders.
Number of freight
locomotives.
12 -wheel locomotives,
123 tons ; consolidation
locomotives, 88 tons.
10 - wheel locomotives,
97 tons; consolidated
locomotives, 118 tons.
79 tons ! 7.
12-wheel locomotives,
20; consolidated looo-
niotives, 24.
10- wheel locomc .• o«,
16; consolidativ v ,.>■
comotives, 2.
Capacity of
standard
ore-car.
Orois totu.
24
26
29
Number
of
ore-oars.
2,293
1,801
600
* The Iron Mines of Minnesota. Prepared for the seventy-third meeting of the American Institute
of Mining Engineers. This was the state of these railroads on July 14, 1897.
PAirr IV.
COAIi TRAFFIC.
To the vast extent of territory about tbe (Jreat Lake.s, but e.specially
to the country west and north of the Lakes Michigan and Superior,
lake transportation means cheap coal. During the greater portion of
the season of 189() coal was carried from Buffalo to Dul'itli and Su-
perior, a distance of 997 miles,' for 20 cents per ton. It would be a
work of supererogation to emphasize what this very low rate means to
the people of the Northwest, where fires must be maintained for at
least six of the twelve months of the year. To the lake (jarriers coal
means west-bound cargoes. If it were not for coal, nearly all the vessels
carrying ore, grain, flour, and lumber to the lower lake ports would be
obliged to return "light." During 189H coal constituted about three-
fourths of the west-bound traffic through the Detroit Kiver and 86 per
cent of the westbound traffic through the St. Marys Falls Canal.
During 1896 shipments from the ports of Lakes Erie and Ontario
amounted to abont 9,900,000 tons.* The growth of this enormoiis traffic
from small beginnings in the seventies can not be set forth in detail
because of the raeagerness of reliable data. Something may, however,
be inferred from the growth of the traffic of the leading shipping
ports.' Shipments of coal from Buffalo have been as follows:
Year.
Tons.
Vear.
1873 1 570,443 ■ 1890.
1875 439,720' 1895.
1880 589,670 1896.
1885 1,448,088
Tou«.
2, 188, 682
2, 617, 2C8
2, 400, U68
Most of the anthracite coal consigned by lake is shipped from Buff"alo.
Erie, Charlotte, Oswego, and Ogdeusburg are the other ports shipping
large quantities of this coal. But very little bituminous coal is shipped
from Buffalo; in 1896 shipments amounted to but 21,000 tons. Bitu-
minous coal is shipped firom the Lake Erie ports west of Buffalo— Erie,
Oonneaut, Ashtabula, Fairport, Cleveland, Lorain, Huron, Sandusky,
and Toledo. Cleveland has been the chief shipping port of this form
of coal. The growth of the traffic at this port may be seen fi>om the
subjoined table :
Tear.
Tons.
Tear.
Tons.
laat
723,802
1, 287, 177
1893
1, 622, 667
1890
1806
1,803,709
, ^_-
alnclndea a small rail tonnage.
In the decade covered by the table there was an increase of 149 per
cent in the business of Cleveland. Ship ments from the Cuyahoga
iThis is the distance given iu tbe Eleventh Census, Transportation Business, Part
II, p. 288. For several weeks during 1895 coal was carried from Buflfalo to Duluth
for 15 cents per ton. ,. . ^ x- xi.. ■ j.t.
i! Shipments from Ogdensbnrg are included in this estimate. Nothing in the way
of a definite statement can be given, as accurate data are not obtainable. Of all the
statistics thus far considered the statistics of the coal business are by far the worst.
This is due to the fact that coal, much more than other commodities, is taken on at
" intermediate " ports. Much of the business therefore is not recorded on the books
of the custom-houses.
'These facts may be found in Appendix III, Tables I-V.
80
aster
es, but especially
an and 8'iperior,
[reater portion of
Dulatit and Su-
1. It would be a
[)\v rate means to
aaintained for at
hike (carriers coal
rly all the vessels
le ports would be
uted about three-
Itiver and 86 per
.""alls Canal.
Brie and Ontario
s enormous traffic
et forth in detail
iig may, however,
heading shipping
follows:
Touii.
2, 188, 682
2, 617, 208
2, 400, U68
iped from Buffalo,
er ports shipping
us coal is shipped
1,000 tons. Bitu-
of Buffalo— Brie,
luron, Sandusky,
l)ort of this form
be seen f^om the
Tods.
1, 522, 667
1, 803, 709
icrease of 149 per
>m the Cuyahoga
tation Business, Part
om Buffalo to Duluth
Nothing in the way
>tainable. Of all the
are by far the worst,
iilities, is taken on at
recorded ou the books
8TATISI1C8 OF 1-AKE COMMERCE.
81
customs district, which includes Cleveland, Ashtabula, Lorain, Fair-
port, and Conneaut, or all the ports shipping large quantities of bitu-
minous coal except Toledo, have grown even more rapidly than the
shipments from Cleveland. In 18H7, shipments from this district were
1,43.'3,03.'> tons; and in 1896, 3,863,645 tons, a gain in the ten-year period
of 2,430,610 tons or 169 per cent.'
In the coal business the porta of destination are much more numerous
than the ports of origin. The small ports about the lakes receive not
only their own supplies of coal, but to some extent those of the sur-
rounding country as well. The aggregate receipts of the small ports
are not very large, however, and so the growth of the receipts of the
large {)orts shows pretty accurately the increase of the business and
the shifting of the great distributing centers. Fortunately we have
statistics of the receipts at the great distributing ports for a long period
of years.'' Chicago and Milwaukee, at the head of Lake Michigan,
and Duluth and Superior, at the head of Lake Superior, are the centers
from which the West and Northwest receive their coal. The tables in
Appendix IV, Tables VI-VIII, show the growth of the coal business of
these cities, and the following table exhibits the present importance of
the traffic:
Port.
Uliicago
If Hwaukee
D ninth and Supfrinr.
Total
reoelpta,
1886. a
Ton$.
o,Ria,ai»
1, 687, 7U5
1, 776, 712
(tOnly about oiin-Hfth of the receipts of Chicago come by lake. Chicago receives about two-thirds
of her supplies from Illinois and Indiana. Duluth and Superior receive their stocks by lake, and
Itilwaukee obtains nearly all her coal by lake, having rei:eived but 100,312 tuns by rail in 1896.
The absolute and relative importance of these ports as distributing
points is much more accurately indicated by their shipments than by
their receipts. The shipments were as follows :
Tear.
1880.
1881 .
1882.
1883.
1884.
1886.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1892.
1893.
1894.
1896.
1896.
1897.
Chicago
ship,
ments. a
Ton*.
991,063
156, 037
471,838
206,608
377, 504
344, 055
476,624
401,659
068.132
999,308
913, 577
819, 686
Milwaukee
ship.
nienta. b
Torn.
65,390
121,885
164,444
235, 771
205,061
269,277
284,803
296,439
463,837
413, 408
522, 618
600,888
469,144
682, 993
432, 768
640,470
446,683
Duluth and
Superior
receipts. o
Tont.
60,000
163,000
260,000
420,000
372,000
592,000
736,000
912, (100
1, 535, 000
1, 205, 000
1,780,000
1, 776, 000
1, 812, 661
2, 126, 781
2, 010, 731
1,664,882
1, 776, 712
a See Appendix IV, Table XII, for particulars.
6Se« Appendix IV, Table XIll, for particulars.
c The shipments of coal from Dnluth and Superior can not be obtained. The consumption of coal In
Duluth and Superior is small, for the combinea population of these two cities is not large, and thus
the receipts will answer for comparative purposes almost as well as the shipments. As our interest
lies in the rate of Increase rather than in its absolute amount, and because it may be assumed that
shipments from the ports at the head of Lake Superior have grown fully as fast as the local consump-
tion, the receipts instebd of the shipments may be used without changing the results.
■ Detailed information may be found in Appendix IV, Table III.
" The stfttisticfl of the receipts are more accurate than thoae of shipments. The
tables compiled by the Chicago bureau of coal statistics, for example, are regarded
by those in a position to speak authoritatively as perfectly trustworthy.
H. Doc. 277 6
82
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Hy tlio fort'KoiiiK UihW, it appear^ that Chicago Ims "<» more than
ht'ld its own a« a distiilmtiiiji point <lnrin« the period covered by the
table, and that sliipinents Iroin Milwaukee j;rew from «m,;»!M> Iohh in
1880 to <)(M),8S8 tons in 18!>1 and fell to 4;W,7<)H tons in 18!»t, but rose to
G40,47<» tons in 18i»r», but decreased ajjain in ISIMI to 440,(»8.j tons, almost
reaching the low flgnre of 181(4. The DuluthSuperior business «rew
almost without setbacks from «)0,0()(l tons in 1880 to the huge volume
of l!,12(i,781 tons in 181W, In 18i»4 the tralVic of these jiorts fell a trilie
short of that of 18{);5 and in 181(5 there was a more decided loss, but hi
1890 tliere was a partial recovery. The movement of coal through the
St. Marys Falls Canal in recent years has grown at a much nuue
rapid rate than the receipts of Duluth and Superior. The distribution
of coal from Lake Superior iK)ints has therefore increased even more
rapidly than is indicated by the statistics of the business of Duluth
and Superior.' Kvery effort has been nuide by the (oal dealers of
Chicago and Milwaukee on the one hand and of Duluth and Superior
on the other to secure the trade of the West and Northwest.
Lake rates Ijrom the lower lake i)orts are almost always less to the
ports at the head of Lake SniM-rior than they are to the ports at the
head of Lake Michigan. Hail rates to the West, on the other hand,
seem to favor Milwaukee and Ciiicago. The territ<ny controlled by
these groups of ports expands and contracts witli variations in rates,
but in a general way the territory supplied by either of them can be
located. If a line be drawn from l-'au Claire, Wisconsin, to La Crosse
and through southeastern Minnesota across northwestern Iowa and
to the Mis8(mri River and down this river to Kansas City and then west,
all the territory lying to the north and west of this line would be sup-
plied with hard coal from the head of Lake Superior. It would be
difficult to indicate the line separating the territory supplied with soft
coal by Duluth and Superior from that supplied by (Chicago and Mil-
waukee; it may, however, be said that the line would be somewhat
jmshed back to the north and west.^
In the westward movement of coal from the mines there is the keenest
competition between the railroads and the lake carriers. In each case
the business is particularly desirable, because it is in the direction m
which the least traffic moves. It has already been stated that the east-
bound business of both the railroads and the lakes far exceeds the west
bound ; it therefore becomes i)articularly desirable to secure west-
bound freight, for if it be not obtained it means that empty cars must
be hauled or vessels ruu "light."
As Chicago, of all ports in the West, is the point to which the rail-
roads can most successfully meet the competition of the lake carriers,
the business of this city will first be discussed. In the contest for
Chicago business the lake carriers are at a decided disadvantage in the
point of distance. From Buffalo to Chicago by lake is 889 miles, while
it is but 523 miles by rail. ' Thus every mile covered by lake results in
the effective westward movement toward Chicago of but 0.588 of a mile.
At points south of Lake Erie the railroads would be still more advan-
tageously situated. Nothing more will be said at present, as this mat-
ter will be discussed later on.
'There is also a sh' ting of the coal business in the case of the ports about Lake
]Michi};an. A large eceiving yard has recently been established on the car-ferry
slip of the Chicago itnd North-Western at Manitowoc.
i The coal mines of northern Iowa have suffered a great deal by the severe com-
petition of eastern coal in the northern markets that they once supplied.
:'This is the distance over the "Nickel Plate"— the New York, Chicago and St.
Louis Railroad.
STATISTICS OK I.AKK COMMKRCK.
u
no more than
!Overe«l by the
(!r>,:{!N> loiiH ill
Ji» 4, but rose to
tH;i tons, almost
business yrew
B hivttti volume
)rts tell a tritie
led loss, but m
lal througli the
ii much more
he distribution
-st'd even more
less of Duluth
■oiil dealers of
II ami Superior
ivest.
I'ays less to the
lie ports at the
lie other hand,
controlled by
atioiis in rates,
•f them can be
n, to La Crosse
tern Iowa and
and then west,
) would be sup-
'. It would be
ildied with soft
licago and Mil-
1 be somewhat
re is the keenest
1. In each case
the direction in
■d that the east-
tceeds the west
to secure west-
mpty cars must
I which the rail-
le lake carriers,
the contest for
(ivantage in the
889 miles, while
y lake results in
; 0.588 of a mile,
till more advan-
mt, as this mat-
I ports about Lake
d on the car-ferry
by the severe oom-
iipplied.
k, Chicago and St.
The issue of the striiKWle for the coal trallic between the lake car-
riers and the railroads is deteiinined very largely by the kind of coal
to be carried. Almost all of the soft coal destined for ('hiciiKo is car-
rie«l by the railroads and the bulk of the hard t-oal by vessels.' The
facts exiilanatory of this stranjje condition of things are not far to seek.
The solution of the diHiciilty is found in the location of the coal fields
and ill the chiiracter of the coal. Hard coal is mined in a very limited
district in eastern reniisylvania and is therefore lavorably situated in
respect to the lake rciute. It can be carried to HulValo and Erie and yet
not be made to deviate very much, so fur us the short rail haul to the
lake is concenied, from the direct line to Chicago. IJut this is not all:
After the (!oiil has reached llutfalo it is so situated that the greatest
possible ert'ective westward movement is linked witli its westward jour-
ney. In other words, the ineffectual expenditure of eiicr;.;y that takes
place in rounding the lower |>eninsular of ^Michigan is reduced to a mini- .
mum by the almost direct w estward movement the whole length of Lake
Erie.
The bituminous coal mines in the Eiist that in part supply Chicago
with coal are situated well south of Lake Erie. Hocking Valley, the
Pittsburg district, and West Virginia are the (thief sources in the East
from which Chicago obtains soft coal. From these localities the rail-
and lake route can not compete with the allrail lines because of the long
rail haul to the lakes and the circuitons Journey iirouiid the lower
Iieninsula of Michigan. From Pittsburg to Ashtabula is li*7 miles, to
Erie 148 miles, and to Cleveland loO miles, while the total tlistance
from Pittsburg to Chiciigo over the Pennsylvania Kailroiid is but ■HiS
miles. From Athens, in the Hocking Valley district, to Toledo over
the Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Railroad is 200 miles, while
the distance to Chicago is but 390 miles. After the coal has arrived at
Toledo it is still <>91 miles from Chicago, if it go by lake. At all points
south of Athens and Pittsburg the rail andlake lines would beat even
greater disadvantage, for the combined rail andlake distance to Chi-
cago would increase more rapidly than the all-rail distance.
If coal goes by the lake-and rail routes it must of course be trans-
shipped at the lake ])orts. In triinsshipraent soft coal breaks very
much more than hard. In t lie case of hard coal the breakage varies
from (> to 8 per cent. No hgures can be given for soft coal, as the
variations are too great; the breakage does, however, considerably
exceeds percent. It needs scarcely to be said that the value of the
coal is very much affected by the breakage. As hard coal is damaged
less than soft it might be advantageous to ship the former by lake when
it would not the latter. It also costs more to unload soft coal than hard
av Chicago, the shoveling rate for the former having been 14 cents for
several years while the rate for the latter has been but 12 cents. It
will be seen later that improved devices are now largely substituted for
manual labor in unloading hard coal. It has now, perhaps, been made
clear why the bulk of the anthracite coal received at Chicago comes by
lake and almost the whole of the bituminous coal comes by rail.
Passing 85 miles north from Chicago to Milwaukee the position of the
rail and lake lines is wholly changed. All eastern coal, both hard and
soft, received at Milwaukee comes by the lake lines. In 1896 Mil-
waukee received 100,312 tons of coal by rail, but it was Illinois coal.
From the fact that Chicago receives a large portion of her supply of
coal from the East by rail and Milwaukee receives no eastern coal by
> For the figures see Appendix IV, Table VI.
84
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCK.
rail, it may be iiiferrt'd that the rail haul from Chicago to Milwaukee
tips the balance in favor of the lake lines. There is, however, another
factor that must be taken account of — the distance by lake to Milwau-
kee from Lake Erie ports is about 85 miles less than to Chicago, and
the rate is usually a few cents less per ton.'
In conclusion, a word may be said about the receipts at the head of
Lake Superior. It would be inferred that if the railroads can notconi-
l)ete with the lake carriers at Milwaukee they would be less sue -essful ■
at ])()rts further north, and such is the case. Duluth and Superior
receive their coal by lake. To the ports at the head of Lake Superior
the railroads do not have the advantage in pointof distance they possess
to ports at the head of Lake Michigan.
No treatment of the transportation of coal by lake would be complete
without a discussion of the development of dock facilities for loading
and unloading vessels. Until very recent years the crudest methods
obtained; but lately wonderful progress^ has been made, and no one
need be surprised if in the near future hard coal be handled as, or even
more, expeditiously than iron ore. But few improvements have lately
been made in loading anthracite coal; trestles equipped with ])ockets
have long been in use, and vessels have been loaded with dispatch..
The ZenWi City was recently loaded with 5,1 L'7 net tons of anthracite coal
at the Delaware and Lackawanna trestle in Buffalo in four hours.'^ In
the loading of soft coal, however, ve^y great innovations have been made.
Until very recently soft coal was shoveled, at a great cost, from cars to
buckets and then swung onto the ship by derricks. Soft coal is difiicult
to handle. Lacking uniformity of shape and size and often occurring
in large masses, men find it very difficult to shovel. These peculiari-
ties of shape also make it difficult to construct machinery that will
handle it. Its physical texture also presents difficulties ; it can not be
dropped any great distance without great damage through breakage.
Because of the obstacles that had to be overcome the pria)itive
methods of handling soft coal jjersisted, but when the traffic assumed
large proportions the expense of transshipment and the delays to ves-
sels made it so desirable to institute better methods that every effort was
bent to And them, and large sums of money were expended in experi-
mentation. A satisfactory mtychisse would have to attain a high speed
at a low cost with but a limited amount of breakage. These require-
ments seem to be satisfied by the car-dumping machines, of which there
are several varieties. An example of the work done by one of these
machines will show how well these requirements have been met. A
vessel was recently loaded at Cleveland with 5,176 tons of coal in ten
hours and thirty minutes at a cost of f 13, or a per ton cost of one-fourth
of a cent.''
A definite statement can not be given of the breakage. It is con-
tended by some that there are machines that handle the coal with less
breakage than this particular one, but as yet it is impossible to obtain
satisfactory data on this point.
In unloading coal as great advances have been made as in loading.
The mechanical obstacles to be overcome in automatically unloading
hard coal were not very great, and it is surprising that progress was
so slow in view of the immense amount of coal handled, the delay to
vessels, and the great cost of labor. Because of its weight andoharac-
' The cost of iinloadiug soft coal flrom boat8 is also a trifle leas at Milwaukee than
at Chicago.
'The Hlack Diamond, November 27, 1897.
'' Thirteen dollars v<!ry nearly represented the total cuat of trausshipmeut, for the
expenditures for labor, fuel, and oil and waste were included.
,^fi^-Ty»^.^Jr^;J^^<^,-^^~^^;Xr^■- ^.■i.:„,:i,-r^.^-.J.»:.
W1
to Milwaukee
»wever, another
lake to Milwau-
;o Chicago, and
s at the head of
ds can not coni-
! less sue 'essful •
1 and Superior
' Lake Superior
lice they i)o.s8e88
aid be complete
ties for loading
rudest metluids
ide, and no one
idled as, or even
jnts have lately
3d with imckets
with dispatch,
f anthracite coal
four hours.'^ In
have been made,
est, from cars to
["t coal is difficult
often occurring
These peculiari-
hinery that will
;s ; it can not be
:ough breakage,
e the primitive
} traffic assumed
lie delays to ves-
; every effort was
ended in experi-
ain a high speed
These reqnire-
!S, of which there
; by one of these
^e been met. A
ns of coal in ten
sost of one-fourth
,kage. It is con-
he coal with less
(ossible to obtain
le as in loading,
tically unloading
I at progress was
lied, the delay to
eight and charac-
j at Milwaukee than
EiuBBbipment, for the
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
H5
ter coal can only be handled rapidly by men who are strong and
endowed with great powers of endurance, and the services of such men
have always been costly. Mechanical appliances were from time to
tim<> introduced; but, although they cut down tlie time vessels were
delayed by increasing the amount of coal handled in a stated time, they
neither reduced the cost of shoveling coal in the 8hii)'8 hold nor
lessened the physical tax on the laborer.'
The strain of working in the dusty, stiHing holds ot vessels was
unbearable for any length of time by even the strongest men, and the
irregularity with which the men worked, and the irregularity ot the
employment offered, proved a constant source of trouble between the
employees and employers. Finally this tedious method of unloading,
coupled, as it always was, with uncertainty* and great cost, became
intolerable and the self-tilling "clam shell" or grab bucket was devel-
oi)ed. With the best type of " clam shells" hard coal can be removed
with wonderful rapidity and at a very low cost. A contract covering
the installation of a plant at Chicago guaranteed that the "clam shell"
would develop a speed of three trips per minute. The average load of
this bucket is a gross ton. It was also guaranteed that the total cost
of removing cargoes and delivering in the yard would not ex<teed 5
cents per ton for entire cargoes. Some coal has been raised and deliv-
ered in the yard for three fourths of a cent per ton. This coal was
directly under the hatches and therefore very accessible. At one of
the yards in Milwaukee two vessels, whose cargoes aggregated^ 7,776
■ An outline of these inipiovtnients will be {jivtn. Up to about 1«73 coal was
handled at ChiiaKO, and presumably at other lake ports, iu a very crude way. 1 he
coal was removed from the hold of the ship by means of buckets made Irom kero-
sene oil barrels (the upper Ihird of which had been sawed off) and a rope lash-
ing for a handle. These buckets were raised by horse power— the horse traveling
back and forlh. On a tenipornrv stage the coal was dumped into wheelbarrows
and then wheeled back over a "spring run" made of planks supported at either end.
This work seems to have been ditHcult, for the men engaged in it received 75 cents per
hour. The shoveleis to the hohl received from 14 to 18 cents per ton. The iirst impor-
tant departure from this system was made about 1873. At tliis time the "mast ami
gatf " were employetLas a derrick. An iron bucket holding about 500 pounds ot coal
replaced the woo^lon bucket and steam power was used iu hoisting. Instead ol being
dumped into wheelbarrows the buckets were now emptied into tram oars, which
were moved by hand. These improvements greatly reduced the cost of raising the
coal from the hold and carrying it back on the dock, but did not reduce the labor of
the men in the hold or the cost of shoveling. The second great departure was made
when the coal was hoisted up over an inclined track that extended out over the
vessel but which conld be swung liack Hush with the dock when the cargo was dis-
charged. Steam wns used in hoisting and the buckets were dumped into a hopper
in the derrick. Connected with the derrick was an automatic tramway which was
higher at the dock than at the point of discharge. The cur dumped automatically
and was retnrncd automatically by a weight that had been raised by the car as it
ran out but which was dropped w hen the car discharged its load. The buckets now
held from 1,200 to 2,200 pounds of coal instead of 500 pounds and also dumped auto-
matically. These improvements still further reduced the cost of handling coal
after it was hoisted. They were introduced iu the years from 1873 to 1893. In
the fall of 1892
unloading boats ''
practical, provided V^« J,- -r- -- r> ,. , - . .• ,u„o i,, n-
work was continued on the necessary appliances, and m the spring ot 18»3 the selt-
filling "clam-shell" proved successful. The "clam-shells" could not be swung
either way under the hatch opening, so scrapers were devised (1893) for bringing the
coal directly under the hatch. The tramways have also been greatly improved, and
coal can now be carried back a mile for the same cost as it can be delivered on the
dock front. , , r^ r j.\.
All of the old forms of "clam-shells" are operated by steam power. One of the
companies constructing this form of machinery is experimenting with an electrical
■' The factor of certainty is of great importance. If a master can not know when
his ship will be unloaded he is running a great risk in making contracts for new
cargoes, and often suffers.
^i
I!
I'
86
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
tons, began discl.arffin- thoii- cargoes at 8 a. m., and ^.^^e ready to
leave at 8 p. m.' For liandling soft coal a special torni ot " grab " has
been devised. It works very effectively hi view ot the " >st«c es it has
to conten<l against. Its average load is about «"« »;'^lVh;.t ot t e
"clam shells" commonly nsed in nnloadmg hard coal, or about 1,00U
pounds. This grab can also be used in unloading sott coal from open
cars It is a verv valuable machine in this occupation, because it does
tlie work that the shovelers find the slowest and hardest. It ro noyes
the bulk of the load and thus enables the men to quickly reach the
bottom of the car at some point 'Voir, which tlu.y work more.^^^^^^
liefore concluding this subje.-t a word must be said '^'>«"^ lake fie gits
on cciil. A table of these rates may be found in Appendix 1\ , lables
1 \ and \ These tables show two things : (1) that the rates are very low
as compared with those on other commodities, and (2) that they have
fallen very rapidly. For example, the average of daily rates on iron
ore fVol^u i>Sth to Lake Erie poVts during 1896 was $ 10a p^^^^
ton, while the average of the daily fates on hard coal from Buffalo to
l?u uth was 24 centi per net ton. The real difference, however was
not so great as the apparent difference. C<.al is handled without charge
to the vessel, while in the case of iron ore the vessels bear charges for
Snnning and unh.adiug amounting to 19 cents per ton, ^ and in the
former instance the net ton is the unit, while in the latter the long ton is
the unit. The coal freights are so low that many vessels never engage in
this traffic. They are tlie vessels of the largest type, but it must not be
ii ferred from this fact that vessels of the largest class are not in general
a ecromical carriers as the smaller ones. It is the loss of ti.ne in rexe.v^
iuff uul dischardng cargo that causes the very large vessels to avdd
tlds f^l'c S diks have i.ot yet been built with sufficient equip-
ment to give the largest vessels dispatch in unloading, and bes des
verv often, much time is lost in waiting for boats to unload that have
prSedence. The ore business is the favorito tiafflc of the large vessels;
lie dock equipment corresponds to their size and tlebusiness is ma^i-
aged systematically, so serious delays are infrequent. I^ has aheady
been explained wh v ratos are low. It is simply because the east-bound
traffic sevStinies exceeds the west-bound. To. the districts where
the east!bound business surpasses the westbound in the largest lueas-
ure tJie west-bound rates are the lowest. Hence it '? jj^^f that ^he
coal rates to Lake Michigan ports are almost always higher than those
^NoWe?;SVXe is to be attached to a simple average of the rates
of a season. The variations are so great as to render s.^ch an average
very Sleading.' To make the matter clear, resort will be had to a
1 Marine Record, Vol. XX, No. 20, p. 9.
I S;rib&n; tX, «iwS"e Ses per ton on hard coal f.om Huffalo to Chicago,
will show how great and freqncnt the variations are :
Week end-
ing—
Ceuts.
Apr.
May
25.
40 I
40 i
40,,
no li
50 :
50 to «0 I
June 6 i 00
13 ' 00 to50 '
20 50 :
B...-
10....
2;)....
;io....
6.
Wrek oimI-
Cents. 1
luj:-
.Time 27
50
.Inly 4
11
50 to 40
40
18
40 to 30
25
30
Aug. 1
30 to 25
8
20
15
20
22
20
Week ontl-
ing—
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
29.,
5.
12.
in.
20.
3.
10.
17.
24.
Cents.
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20 to 30
30
Week end-
ing—
Ceuts.
Oct. HI
30
Nov. 7..»..
30
14
30
21
30 to 40
28 ....
60
Dee. 5 to
close
eo
(Heport of Buffalo Merohante' Exchange, 1896, p. 80.)
wmSm
were ready to
of "grab" has
obstacles it lias
iilf that of the
, or about 1,000
coal from open
because it does
(St. It ro noves
lickly reach the
[iiore ';rtecti /ely.
)nt lake freights
iidix IV, Tables
ites are very low
that they have
ly rates on iron
$1.05 per long
from Buffalo to
;e, however, was
1 without charge
bear charges for
ton,- and in the
r the long ton is
! never engage in
ut it must not be
re not in general
of time in receiv-
vessels to avoid
sufficient equip-
ng, and besides,
nload that have
he large vessels;
business is man-
It has already
le the east-bound
e districts where
bhe largest meas-
8 found that the
ligher than those
arage of the rates
such an average
will be had to a
n Huffiilo to Chicago,
Weekend. ; (jouts.
inss— ^
Oct. HI 30
Nov. 7..W. 30
14 j 30
21 80to40
28 80
D c e . 5 t o '
close ; w
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
87
simple illustration. Suppose there were but two rates during a season,
one 20 and the other 40 cents. A simple average for the season would
be 30 cents. Under certain conditions tliis average would be very mis-
leading. If 1,000,000 tons were carried for L'O cents per ton and but
100,000 for 40 cents per ton, an average of the rates actually paid wouia
be much less than M) cents per ton, namely, 21.81 .ents. Where the
variations in rates are very great, account must be taken of the q"anti-
ties shipped as well s the rates; that is, a weighted average must be
secured'.
l«iWi«Ma
Appendix IV.
Table I.
Lake shipmrnts of coal from Hiiffalo.
[Data furnished by William Tliurstoiio, secretary liiift'alo Merchants' Exchangt-.l
BliiHsbarg.
Tear.
Anthracite, liitiiminoiis.
1873
1874
1875
]87«
1877 -
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
188S
1884
1885
1886
1887
J|ao ■.■.;■.■.■....,' 2; 151. 670
JJin 2,157,810
iSSi 2,365,895
JSxi ; ; 2,«22,2.S0
i'Zi 2,081,173
iSXi 2,475,255
\lii ::;::/.'. 2,612,768
iSq? 1 2,379,068
1897:;;;::::::::::::::::::::":"--; 2,229,329
Tonit.
510,443
344, 500
389, 722
321,4.'i5
405, 074
306, 172
551), 646
.554, 670
705, 240
995, 500
1,467,778
1,431.081
1, 428, (186
1, .531,210
1, 894, 060
2,514,906
Tons.
Toiif.
60, 000
40,000
,50,000
40, 000
50, 000
25, 000
30, 000
35,000
30, 000
32, 000
26,' 666"
10, 000
8,706
10,000
7,452
5, 000
11, 073
5,000
25, 872
5,000
34,066
5,000
54,216
5,000
15,000
7,600
2, .500
7,500
2, 000
2, 600
15, 000
(i, 000
100, 000
5, 000
Total.
Tons.
570,443
384, 600
4,30, 720
361,456
455, 074
331. 172
580,646
.589, 670
825, 240
1,027, .500
1,448,086
1.541,210
1,912,766
2, 527, 358
2, 168, 343
2, 188, 682
■J, 404, 961
2,881,446
2, 703, 673
1,485,256
2, 617, 268
2, 400. 088
2. 334, 329
Tablk II.
Coal ahipmenU, Cuijahofla customs district.
[Data furnished by F. A. Scott, assistant secretary Cleveland Chamber of Commerce
1890.
City.
Cleveland . .
Ashtabula
Lorain
Fairport . .
Total.
Cargo.
Tom.
880, 121
492, 469
298, 444
63, 523
1. 724, 544
Fuel. Foreign.
Tnna.
275, 358
87,636
1,500
40,000
1891. I 1892.
Cargo. 1 Fuel. Foreign.! Cargo. | Fuel. iForeign
404, 393
Torn.
131,698
44, 334
16, 914
6,477
Toni.
989, 044
241, 230
273, 036
123, 649
Tons,
1 417,606
239,804
160,770
24, 936
Tonii.
114,019
25, 173
16, 701
8,408
Ton*.
1,1,54,0.58
561,446
362, 000
114, 738
Tons. Tom.
437, 041 136, 832
107.883 I 66,933
5,849 i 27,600
199.423 11,626,959 \ 843,301 I 165,201 12,182,242 i 551,473
221,27*
1 In order that a conception may bo gained of the great variations in rates and
the difference in rates from Lake Erie ports to the various upper lake Ports, the
rates on hard coal for the season of 1896 from Buffalo to the leading receiving ports
will be given in Appendix IV, Table XI.
i
I
88
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE.
Coal shipment, Cuyahoya ctmloma dUtrivt — Coiitimied.
City.
Cl«vi>lniid .
AhIi tabula ■
Lorain
Fiiirpurt ...
Coniiviiut ■ .
Total
Cargo.
Ton/i.
1, 095, 607
1134, 600
508, 723
2U8, 014
13. Hg6
1893,
Fuel,
Ton*,
252, 006
72, 474
7,045
Foreij;",
Tonf.
174, 3S4
80, 570
2U, 426
2,370
1894.
Cargo, i
Fuel.
Ton*.
205, 857
74,413
8,788
FoielgD.
Toni. !
807,507 1
533. 672
327,805 ,
"90 787
Tont.
104, 530
71,030
20, 025
750
88,265
2,642
758
2, 458, 790
332, 129
283, 765
2, 048, 030
291,700
197, 099
City.
Cleveland .
AbIi tabula .
Lornin
Fulrport . . .,
Couneaut . .
189S.
Cargo.
Tons.
833,968
665, 365
262, 698
209, 080
89, 530
Fuel,
To/i».
291,656
209, 443
18. 543
15,000
12, 000
Foreign, t Cargo.
Tons.
153,003
104.391
13,816
"69," sin'
Tout.
1,295,254
623, 212
316,076
398, 717
58.136
1896.
Fuel.
ToilH
293, 718
411,604
838
12, 006
Total 2,060,641
548,642 1 341,041 I 2,691,395 I 718,166
Foreign.
1897.
City,
Cargo.
Fuel.
Cleveland l.«2.702
Ashtabula ! 751,289
Lorain I 195.»"0
Fairport 18o,318
Couneaut .__
Total 2,603,279
365, 751
200, 508
47
1,333
567, 639
Toil*.
214, 737
70, 731
15, 248
153, 368
454,084
Foreign.
219, 240
60,961
35, 742
126, 384
453, 952
Table III.
Summary of coal shipments from Cuyahoga oiistoms district.
Year.
1886.
1887.
188&.
Cleveland. Ashtabula.
Tons.
Tont.
.i 703,506
.1 1,000,000
1889 i 1825,0.10
1890 1,287,177
1891 1,521,659 1
1892 ; 1,728,831
1893 1,522, .557
1894 1,117,894
1805 1,278,627
1896 1,803,709
1897 2,027,693
1489,585
624, 328
506,297
726, 262
787, 6.53
079, 121
979, 199
1,10,5,547
1, 012, 758
Lorain. Fairport. Conneant.
Tons.
Tom.
Ton:
Total.
t 273, 671 :
316,858 :
450,513 ,
385, 158 I
540, 194 i
356, 618 i
295,057
332, 164
230,789
t 59, 438
100,000
156, 992
114,738
210,390
201, 537
224, 080
398, 717
185,318
13, 886
91, 605
171, 363
223, 510
256, 687
Tont.
1, 079, 784
1,433,035
1, 855, 260
2, 020, 996
t 1,647,724
2, 328, 360
2, 635, 461
2, 954, 989
3, 074, 68U
2, 536, 835
2, 948, 324
3, 863, 645
3, 613, 245
•Shipments from Cleveland for 1887-88 Include small quantities of bituminous coal shipped by rail.
The Huures were obtained from seventeenth annual Keport of the United States Geological Survey,
Part 111, pp, 343, 344. The totiUs of the di»tritt for 1886-87 were obtained from Ibid., p. 344. Ihedagger
indicates census Hguros of Eleventh Census, Transportation Business, Part II, p. 316. Ihe remainder
of the table is a suunuary of the preceding table.
'■-•---' - "■-- -.■..-..-.-..— -■.... • .. "f. _ — .J— -iiiii I . .1 t 1 If II ' nanHlir
3d.
1894.
Fuel.
FoieigD.
Tons.
205, 857
74,413
8,788
Tons.
104, 530
71,036
20,025
750
2,642
758
291,700
197, 099
1896.
Fuel.
Foreign.
Tons
293, 718
411,004
838
Tuns.
214, 737
70, 731
15, 248
12, 006
153, 368
718,168
454, 084
1897.
Fuel.
Foreign.
365, 751
200, 508
47
219, 240
60,961
35, 742
1,333
126,384
567, 639
453, 952
1
triot.
Conneant.
Total.
Ton:
Tons.
1, 079, 784
1,433,035
1. 855, 260
\
2, 020, 996
1 1,647, 724
2, 328, 360
2, 636, 461
2, 954, 989
13, 8S6
91, 6U5
171, 303
223, 510
256, 687
3, 074, 680
2, 536. 835
2, 948, 324
3, 863, 645
3, 613, 245
}ii8 cuitl shipped bjr rail,
atea Geological Surrey,
:bi(l.,p.344. Thedagger
I , p. 316. The remainder
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMEKCE.
89
T.\ui.K IV
Table showing the tonnage
I'ennsyhania mines
: of lake coal shipped from Ohio, nest riniinia, .Uaruland, and
during ISOd, also the rariity, and how ,t teas dtstribuled.
Pennsylvania.
Lake ports.
Anthracite. ' Bituminous.
Ohio.
Bituniluou!).
HmU'hIo, X. Y
Erie. I'li
Conneant, Ohio
Ashtabula, Ohio....
Fairport, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Lorain. Ohio
Huron, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
2. 683. 560
492, 162
Total ,
882. 062
184, 933
291,178
1,037,242 I
396, 491
1,433,790
i
' "i>2,'905
'""i9,'2i4'
West Virginia, j Maryland.
Kitunilnuns. i liituinlnous.
104, 587
1.37,235
1116, 528
271, 033
647, 652
3,175,722 4,337,815
1.267,035
12,178 :
38.206
'67,620
10,313
40,780
1,638
Lake ports.
Foreign ports.
Domestic ports.
Anthracite.!
intuuii
nuus.
BuHalo,N.Y 283,492 682,082
Wi.i« Pii l,OUl ...ail
Conneaut,()hio ■ ^vVal
Ashtabula, Ohio '••^**i
Fairport, Ohio ,' ■iiii'Ton
Cleveland, Ohio ! : 110,729
Lorain, Ohio ■
Huron, Ohio I-;
Sandusk.v. Oliio ;
Toledo, Oliio |
Anthracite,
2,400,068
491,161
Bitumi-
nous.
159, 117
Fuel for
veaselH.
1,038
Total
liniouutof
lake
tonnage.
15,248
SOU
0, 220
22, 308
Total I 284,493 1,112,140 2,891,229
48, 504
01,010
840, 502
354, 579
, 179, 570
120,871
244, 135
257,811
029. 763
200,
134,
29,
124,
55.
286,
1,
12,
17,
55.
000
118
556
959
728
284
116
055
320
584
565, 622
677, 095
291,178
037, 242
410,307
.'.76. .183
137, 235
257. 059
281,;i51
70T, 055
3,736,745
916,720 8.941,327
Total lake sliipraeuts. 8,941.327 tons. .,,,.„„-,„„.
^;?i*;;{,^A;i-!:rLru"por^^^^^ ato'roal,. 1,390,633 t„n. ; .0 domestic ports. 6.027.974
80 large aa reported.
Table V.
Shipments of coal from lake ports from 1800 to 1896 inclusive. *
Lake porta.
Buifalo, N. Y . . . .
Erie, Pa
Conneaut, Ohio..
Ashtabula. Ohio.
Fairp(irf,Ohlo...
Cleveland, Ohio..
liOrain, Ohio
Huron, Ohio
Sanduskv.Ohto..
Toledo, Ohio
1800.
Ton*.
2, 044, 134
120, 304
1891.
Tons.
2, 365, 895
586, V90
1892.
Tons.
2,852,330
567, 028
452, 394
63, 360
922, 636
227, 181
150,000
271, 540
940,000
386, 375
66,914
1,016,487
288,811
200, 000
157, 571
047, 288
726, 267
114,738
1, 728, 831
351. 168
240,000
l!i7,916
858, 935
1893.
Tons.
2, 703, 673
625, 023
23, 184
787, 653
234, 089
1,512,308
620, 406
227, 444
195, 276
938,533
1894.
Tons.
. 485, 256
711,928
89, 023
669, 735
300, 923
997.513
303. 690
213, 595
261. 363
836, 232
1896.
Tuns.
2, 620. 768
727, 184
106, 073
9118, 772
325, 064
1, 055, 480
277, 660
208, 000
223, 134
716, 099
1806.
Ton*.
3, 566, 622
677, 095
291,178
1, 037, 242
410. 307
1,576,583
137, 235
257, 0,59
I 281, Sr.
: 707, 656
Total 5,200,449
0,016,331 1 7,696,812 I 7,773,588 6,869,257
7,318,284
8,941,327
' This table was furnished by R.M. Haseltine.
«0
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Taulk VJ.
Hecripta of coal at Chicayo by hike and rail (net tons).
Vear.
Anthriw'lte.
Lake. Uiiil.
TUHK.
]872 495,705
jg7'» 5it8, h;17
1874;::;;::"::;;"'''" *»*'-'^3
1«75 *74,812
I87fl ;)7;i,14B
1877 440,1146
Un.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'. 325,55;t
187U *«i.ii«0
1880 fl'.'j^l
1881 • .545, .11-8
1S82 i 06;),7«5
lauj ; 7aH,7'..'3
1884:::!:;.;:;:;;;;.:: ; 8i!o,ou2
jayK ; 741,866
jgge , 768 164
lis?:::::::::::::::::::::::: 8'53,i58
1888 1,242,044
1881) 1,28;),8U ,
18»(') 1, 236,021
1802 1,475,237
1893 1,424,863
ii94:;::;;::::::;; ;:.:::.: ■ 1:277,101
189? 1,269,512
1896:::::::;::::::::;;"!!:; 1.319,693
1897 1 1,233,771
KastBrii bituniinona.
Lake. JEail.
Tom.
447,036 :
506,088 1
627,806 j
613, 054
616,997
845, 386
702, 737
408,514
346, 101
.543, 538
049, 820
668, 767
528, 351
519, 085
641,000
Tom.
90, 820
199, 107
2,57, 200
273, 894
338, 426
358,713
404, 447
282, 469
288,987
288. 161
287, 794
214.488
243, 188
206, 817
160,762
123,221
115,802
53, 684
40, 700
Ti>n$.
390, 212
630,914
612, 462
790, 169
888, 771
1,196,324
1 , 049. 372
803, 552
780, 249
970, 816
1.218,616
1,303,614
1, 061, 211
872, 198
913, 311
542,629 1 1,174,231
* Ueport.'* of the Chicago Board of Tiado down to Imt not includinp 1882. Thi< reteipts hy lake
are based upon the cnstonihouse records ; the rcreiptH hy rail are lurnlshed by the railroad eonipanies.
From 1882 to 1895 (inclusive of both <lates) tlie flKure.s were obtained from Mineral Kesources ot the
United States ; the statements were furnished by tlic Chicaeo bureau of coal slatistiis ami are
voinaied for a» accurate. Bituminous receii)ts by rail since 1890 Include receipts by both lake and
rail of Pennsylvania, Oliio, West Virginia, and Kentucky coal; lake receipts are now very sraal' —•
are not kept separate by tlie Cliicago bureau of coal statistics. Receipts tor 1806 and 1897
furnislied to me directly by tliis bureau.
ry small and
were
Taule VII.
lieceipts of coal at Miltcaiikee hi/ lake and rail.
1861..
1862..
1863..
1864. .
1865..
1866..
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1878.
1877.
1878.
1879.
Tear. I Lake. Ball. ' Total.
TOHt.
31, 608
24, 860
42, 313
44.503
36, 369
66, 616
74, 568
92, 992
87,690
122, 865
176, 626
210,194
229, 784
177, 656
228, 674
188, 444
253,640
237, 832
325, 281
Ton*.
11,082
15,962
11,967
11, 144
3,658
25, 569
Ton*.
902 43,215
■■■:::;::;::
188, 737
244,636
2!dO,401
264,784
239, 667
350,840
Year.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1892.
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
Lake. Rail. Total
Tons, i
800,246
450,005 I
510,493 '
550,861 .
623,018
710, 736
714, 242
724, 594
961, 164
907, 743
903,669
1, 006, 656
1, 210, 865
1,117,448
1, 228, 310
1, 336. 603
1, 487, 483
1, 492, 278
Tom.
68.323
100,022
83,349
61, 723
81,148
65, 014
45,439
118,385 I
161, 989
72, 935
92,909
149, 377
163, 549
132, 284
107, 736
109, 820
100, 312
9,299
Tom.
368,568
550, 027
593, 842
612, 684
704, 166
775, 750
759, 681
842, 979
1, 123, 153
980, 678
906,658
1,156,033
1,374,414
1, 249, 732
1, 337, 046
1, 446, 423
1,587,796
1, 601, 577
1^.;
■• Compiled from the annual reports of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce. Lake receipts are
based upon the custom-house records.
Kiistern bltiiiiiinuiio.
I
Lake.
Tonn. ;
911, 820
109, 107
^.iT, ,:oo
27;t, 894
:i:l8, 4'^6
358, Tin
4114, 447
282, 4B1I
288,987
288, 181
287, 794
214.488
243, 188
200, 817
IBfl, 762
123,221
115,862
53, 684
40, 700
Kail.
Tnn$.
390, 212
630,1114
612, 462
790, 169
888, 771
1,196,324
] , 049, 372
803, 552
780, 249
070, 816
1.218,616
1,393,614
1, 061, 211
872, 108
913, 311
1,174,231
Tlin receipts liy lake
tlit^ railroad companies,
iceral Kesourccs of the
coat statisticH and are
oi))ts by botli lake and
irc now very small and
for 1896 anil 1897 were
Bail.
Total.
Tont.
Tont.
68.323
368,568
100,022
559, 027
83,340
503, 842
61, 723
612, 584
81,148
704, 166
65,014
775, 750
45,430
759, 681
118, 385
842, 970
161, 080
1, 123, 153
72, 935
980, 678
92,000
996,658
140, 377
1,156,033
163, 549
1,374,414
132, 284
1, 249, 732
107,736
1, 337, 046
100,820
1, 446, 423
100, 312
1,587,795
0,290
1, 601, 577
irce. Lake receipts are
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tahlk VIII.
Ueceijits of coal at Diihith and Superior."
91
Tear.
lAntbracitc.i
Ton/:.
llitn-
niinoiiH.
Tom.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884
1885.
1886.
1887.
Total.
Tont.
31,000
Tear.
I Anthracite.
BItii
iiiinoii».
Total.
Tont.
60, 000
103,000
200, 000
420, 000
372, 000
592, 000
730, 000
012, 000
Tont. Tons.
1888 ■ 1,53.1.000
1880 1 1,20.5.000
]i<90 1 1,780,000
l«c,i ■" 1,776,000
1892.
1803.
1894.
1895.
1890.
531,547
,'■.71.915
582. 222
480, 405
496, 160
1,281,014
1,554,808
1,448, .WO
1,165.387
1, 270, 523
1,K12,.561
2,120,781
2,010.731
1,654,882
1,775,712
* Down to 1802 tlio statements were compile.l from the annual reports of the Duliifb Board of Trade ;
from 1891 Therecoipts were obtained fro,'n the Heviewof the Trade and V"™T9"'' 'i'^I.e s I cmenU
piled bv the Duluth Chamber of Commerce, for year ending Decmber 31. 189f' l'»-,,. V'f,r„ ' If w
of tlie 1)11111111 Board of Trade are based on the customhoiise recordn; those ot the ( bamber of (ora-
merce were furnished by the coal companies.
Taiii.k IX.
Jvmage of daihi lake rates on hard coal from Jiuffalo to Chicano, Duluth, and Toledo."
Year.
1 Chicago. I Diiliith. | Toledo.
Year.
Chicago.
i
Diiluth. 1
$0.43
.29
.25
.24
.24
.26
1
Toledo.
$0.59
»0.27
.49
.28
.46
.25
.69
.30
.36
.25
29
1886 »0.87
1887 1.05
1888 .80
1889 .52
1890 «2
1891 ^«
I ' i
♦Prepared by The Marine Review, of Cleveland. Rate to Milwaukee about 2J cents less than,
Chiclg'o and Detroit rate about the sao.e as, Toledo rate. Coal of all kinds shipped in net tons, and
handled without charge to vessel.
Tabi.k X.
Averai/es of daily rates on soft coal from Ohio ports to Milwaukee, Escanaha, Duluth,
Green Hay, and Manitotvoi: *
Year,
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1807
Milwan-
kee.a
Eaca-
naba.
$0.83
$0.60 !
1.06
.72 ;
.84
.61 ;
,54
.40
.64
.45
.61
..52
.58
.43
.48
.40
.485
.30
.54
.39
.335
.27
.281
.m
Dnluth.
$0.78
.89
.06
.52
.49
.49
.43
.38
.375
.365
.295
.26
Green
Bay.
Mani-
towoc.
.55
.60
.495
.50
.325
.30
$0.49
.41
.48
.51
.32
.31
•Prepared by The Marine Kiview, of Cleveland, Ohio.
a Chicago rate about the same as Milwankee.
92
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tahi.k XI.
Lake freiyhlii on haid coal /rum Bujjalo to Chicago and other porln in 1890.
Week ending—
Chicago,
Apr. 25.
May 2.
9.
16.
23.
30 50 to 60
Juno 6 1 60
13 j 60 to 50
20 SO
27 I 50
July 4 i 60 to 40
11 1 «>
18 40 to 30
25 ; 30
Aug. 1 1 30 to 25
8 1 ""
• 15
29.
Sept. 5.
12.
10.
26.
3.
10.
Oct.
Nov
Uoc,
17 20 to
24
31
, 7
14
21 30 to 40
28.! 80
5 to ologo 60
Dnlnth '
and
Superior.
(itad-
Htoue.
Toledo. Detroit.
2S
26
26
26
25 26
35 26
25
25
25
25
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
25
25
25
26
26
25
25
30
26
20
25
25
*TUiB statement gliows the ruling freight rates on coal per net ton, in cents, from BuiTalo to the
season of 1896 for the weeks ending on the dates speoiJied. Coiil is handled
ports named during the
without charge to the resBel
(lieport of Bufl'alo Merchants' Exchange, 1896, pp. 80,81.)
Table XII.
Shipment H of coal from Chicago.*
Ynar.
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1880
1890
1891
1892
1893
1804
1895
1806
1897
Anthracite.
Bituminous.
Total.
Tons.
493,860
585, 753
632, 274
451, 860
559, 560
508, 707
502, 866
f 578, 665
\ 553, 245
606, 709
669, 942
682, 277
452, 967
377, 710
319,791
236, 271
Tans.
Tons.
530," isi"
1,001,477
872,631
703, 743
951,678
824, 340
7^,346
815, 682
710,382
515, 166
621, 698
503, 786
583, 416
99i,'668
1,561,037
1,471,338
1, 206, 608
1, 528, 343
1,377,694
1,344,066
1,476,624
1,401,660
968, 182
999,308
913,677
819,688
1
*Down to 1896 the (igures were obtained from the Mineral Eesonrces of the United States. Ihe
flgures for 1890 given in Mineral Resources for 1891 , p. 196, dlfter from those gl ven in Mineral Resources
1^9-90, p. 160. The lower figures are, I believe, the corrected ones. These figiires were furnished by
the Chicago Uureau of Coal Statistics. The tigures for 1896 were furnislied to me directly by this
bureau. Shipments of bituminous coal down to, but not including, 1895 included coke, fahipments
of coke amounted to 279,874 tons in 1895, and 325,362 tons in 1896.
i m i ii i i t ii i M jMifla— til
msmmmmmtr^
I
wrla in 1890.
Toledo.
26
Detroit.
25
■
25 25
35 25
25
25
25 25
25 1 25
20 i 20
2(1 , 20
20 20
25
1(1
20
20
20
20
20
20
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
30
20
20
'0
20
•"n
no
10
30
20
25
25
::
"0
'to
'SO
Its, from Buffalo to the
3oitle<l. Colli is handled
pp. 80,81.)
iltunilnoiig.
Total.
Tom.
Ton*.
530, 184
991, 053
1,001,477
1, 561, 037
872,631
1,471,338
703, 743
1, 206, 608
051,678
1, 528, 343
834,349
1,377,694
737,346
1,344.055
815, 682
1,475, 624
710,382
1,401.660
515, 165
968, 132
621, 698
999,308
693, 786
913,677
583, 415
819,686
the United States. The
fen in Mineral Resources
gnres were furnished by
I to me directly by this
sluded colce. sliipments
STATISTICS OV LAKK COMMKRCE.
Taiilr XIII.
Shipment* of coal from .Milieaukee.a
9S
Tear.
Net tons.
Year.
Net ton
Yenr.
mi.
1872.
1878.
1874.
1875.
1876.
1877.
22,960 1878.
24,872 1879.
26,615 1880.
27,619 1881.
39,172 1882.
44,409 1883.
63,025 : 1884.
61,041 j 1885.
58,560 1886.
Net tons.
Year.
66,390 1H87.
121,885 1888.
181,444 1889.
235,771 1890 522,618
205,061 1 1891 1 600,888
269,277 I 1892
284,803
205, 439
453, 837
413, 408
i
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
Net tons.
469, 144
532,993
432, 768
640, 470
446, 683
a Compiled from the aunaal reports of the Milwaultee Cliamber of Commerce.
L
VXKV V
THE LUMBER BUSINESS AND LAKE TRANSPORTATION.
Of tilt' commodities carried in large quantities upon the Great Lakes,
lumber alone remains to be treated. The lumber traftic, in striking
contrast witli the ore, coal, and the flour and grain business, is waning.'
Because of the nioagerness of data, the total movement of forest products
on the lakes can not be presented for a series of years. That there has
been a falling oil" in the movement of this important commodity is,
however, clearly shown by the receipts of lumber by lake, at the great
lumber uuirts of Chicago, Milwaukee, liuffalo, Touawauda, Cleveland,
Toledo, and Detroit.''
The decline in the movement of forest products on the Great Lakes
is largely due to the destruction of forests of white and Norway pine
on the shores of the lakes and on the banks of the logging streams
flowiiig into the lakes. The enormous drafts that have been made dur-
ing half a century upon the once seemingly unlimited supplies of
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota have in recent years well nigh
exhausted the forests near the lakes and on the banks of the streams
capable of floating logs. Stream after stream has sent down its last
logs. The mills at Saginaw and at other points on the Huron shore of
the lower peninsula of Michigan are now in a large measure supplied
with logs rafted from the Georgian Bay district of Ontario.' The
Ivalamazoo, the Grand, the Betsie, and the Bear rivers of western
Michigan have ceased to be logging streams, and the White, Muskegon,
and the r»'re Marquette will soon join them. The Wolf River of Wis-
consin, that once carried down large quantities of good factory pine,
' Tbf statistics of this truific are even more unsntisfiictory than those of the coal
business. It would bo futile, therefore, to attempt to set forth the present volume,
or the growth and decline of the total movement of lumber on the lakes. It is not
anrprisini; that the statistics of the lumber traffic should be unsatisfactory, for the
products of the forest are numerous and varied and the lumber business is widely
scattered and in many hands. A sinslo "nit of measurement usually promotes
accuracy. Such a unit is impossible where the products are as diverse as posts,
telegraph poles, shingles, and lumber. Some unit of weight might be selected, but
lumber is not bought and sold by weight, and if weight were used as a basis ot
measurement no idea of bulk would be conveyed, for there is vast diflerence in the
weight of dry and green lumber. ,...,„,, w ,rTT n.
^ For the receipts of ^hese cities, see Appendix V, Tables I-VII. There la no reason
for inferring that the aggregate receipts of these ports now form a less proportion
of the total receipts of the lake ports than formerly.
' It is estimated that the following importations of logs were made during 189b, a
poor year in the lumber business:
AtSacinaw 146,338,400
AtDeTrott 20,269,000
Mc&ga;;::::::::::::::::::::"::"::":::::: ^^Mm
Total 253,759,846
Marine Review, Jan. 7, 1897, p. 13.)
STATISTICS OK LAKE i'OMMKRCK.
95
iRTATION.
le Great Laken,
fUc, in striking
ies», in waning.'
forest products
That there has
t coiuniodity is,
kc, at the great
mla, Cleveland,
lie Great Lakes
id Norway pine
ogg'iii? streams
been made dar-
ted supplies of
years well nigh
i of the streams
it down its last
> Huron shore of
|easure supplied
■ Ontario.' The
vers of western
hite, Muskegon,
»lf Kiver of Wis-
lod factory pine,
II those of the coal
;ho pn'sent volume,
he lakes. It is not
latist'actory, for the
busiuess is widely
t usually promotes
is cliverse as posts,
ht be selected, but
used as a baaia of
st diilereiice in the
There is no reason
n a leas proportion
nade during 1896, a
Feet.
146,338,400
20,269,000
19,()80,000
27,472,446
. -^ 40,000,000
253,759,846
will Aoon tloiit no logs, and the cut of timber in the (}n>en Hay shore
district is on the decline.
With the depletion of the forests of white and Norway pine contigu-
ous to the lakes and near the rivers flowing into the lakes, the trans-
portation situation has been radically altered. As the liindxTmen
have been force<l to go farther and farther into the interior, the rail-
roads have found it correspondingly easier to compete with the lake
carriers. This has followed because in a great many cases it lias not
])aid to haul the logs to the logging streams flowing into the lakes or to
transport them directly to the mill at the lake side. The former plan has
also been growing in disfavor for «)tlier reasons. Logs in some districts
now have considerable value and a good nnuiy are lost in floating them
to the mills. Then, too, there nuiy be delays in driving the logs because
of ice or a lack of water. Now, as the cost involved in moving the logs
from the remote districts to the lake shore is often suflicient to prevent
such movement, the logs are sawed at mills located at interi(»r points.
From these interior mills the lumber generally goes to market by rail,
for the cost of shipping by the combined rail and-water route with its
charges for transsliipment is greater than tliat by the all rail lines.
There are also other factors that make it advantageous to ship by the
all rail lines from the interior mills. The railroads have better termi-
nals in the large ports. This factor is often of sufflcieiit importance to
determine whether lumber is to go by the all rail or lake and-rail lines.
With the rapid increase of the ])opulation of many of the lake cities,
the local trade has grown wonderfully, and in some instances now
exceeds the out-of town or wholesale business.' The growth of the
retail business is of significance, because ic necessitates the delivery
of lumber to localities remote from the docks. To avoid the large
expense involved in the cartage, lumber yards are established in the
outlying districts and suburbs. These yards find it advantageous to
receive their stocks directly by rail, particularly where there is no extra
charge for switching. In cities covering a vast extent of territory, the
cost of delivering bulky articles, such as coal and lumber, by team from
a central point, often forms a large proportion of the price paid for the
commodities. It is therefore highly desirable to carry such commodi-
ties as near the point of consumption as possible by cheaper means of
transportation. The railroads furnish this economical form of carriage.
Transportation by rail has still other points in its favor. An order
for a special class of lumber can be sent to a mill or scattered among
different mills and readily filled. It is unnecessary to purchase a
whole shipload of one or moi;p kinds of lumber in order to lay in a stock
of a certain class. Then, too, the lumber comes to the yard on cars,
from which it can be easily handled. To a large extent it can be taken
directly to the consumer from the car, thus avoiding the expense of
movement in the yard and piling. Often all the expense and delay
incident to handling lumber in the yard at the distributing point is
obviated, for the cars can be rebilled to the country dealer. It thus
appears that shipment by rail has three distinct advantages to offer :
(1) expedition; (2) economy of labor in handling; (3) the dealer can
obtain just what he wants and no more, and thus is not forced to unbal-
ance his stock, as he is obliged to do when buying by the cargo. Dur-
ing the winter the railroads frequently move large quantities of lumber.
> An examination of Table I, Appendix Y, will ahow the extent of the local con-
sumption in Chicago. In 1897, the receipts of lumber aggregated 1,406,580 M. feet,
while the shipmenta were but 574,743 M. feet, or very much less than one-half the
receipts.
r.*,v:
H
STATrSTICS OP LAKK COMMERCE.
('ertiiin claHscH of lumber in tlieyiinlM heroine e\hauHto(1,tin(], ns tlioro
are no boatH moving, MtoekH niUHt be replenislied by riiii ; or tlie demand
may l)e greater tliaii was expected, nuikiiig necessary accessions by rail.
Altered methods of doing business at the mills also in ]>art explain
the greater rail movement. It is becoming the custom to .sort lumber
where it issa\ve<l, and it is therefore jmssible to All orders of cimsumers
and country dealers directly from the mills. These consignmentH gen-
erally go by rail. Formerly the sorting was done by the wholesalers
at the great distributing centers about the lakes, who bought supplies
by the cargo and often made a large portion of their protlts by a nice
manipulation of the mixed stoiiks received. This revolution in handling
lumber has worked itself out very fully on the Saginaw Kiver, and a
description of the change, in the words of iMr, E. I). Cowles, will *■
inserted :
A few vfliirs nno thi- inimiifivotiirer, wi( hardly iin exception, Mold hJH product l>y
the (!ftrK<i, mid it wiw shipped liy water to other citleM, where the tiiiur rauui|itilntion
of the Htot^k iiiadti business for lar«e cupital and Hrniies of mechanics and laborers.
Now the nianiifrtctiiriT sorts his stock and sells it in car lots as wanted bv the con-
snnicr. In other words, be ciimbineH the bnsiness of wholesaler with that of the
retailer, and this acconnts in large measure for the falling oH in lalce shipmeuts.
Local dealers who do not operate manufacturing plants also havu established yards
and buy lumber at interior points iu the State and on this river, sort it upor(!onvort
it into box material or i>lain stock, and ship it out by rail to their consumers.
The extent of the change in the kind of transportation employed iu
moving the lumber of the Saginaw lliver to market is made clear by
the subjoined table :
l.ake and rail ahi^mentu of lumber from Saginaw Hirer pointn. *
Tear.
Kail.
Fe*t.
188!! U9,fl72,000
1886 n8.5UO,00«
1887 261,900,000
1888 ;t04,8«2.W)0
1889 a52,500,Ol)O
1890 401,847,000
1891 408,268,000
Lakv.
Feel.
AKO. SSfl, 000
6U1,01S<. 100
48A, 285, 000
4M,»01.000
432, 130, 000
409, »72. OUO
404, 677, 000
Tear.
1892..
1803..
18U4 ..
1895..
1896..
1897..
Ball.
Lake.
Feet.
Feet.
427, 490. 0()0
347, 866, 091
360, 000, (HK)
173,154,000
381,450,000
182, «00, 017
393, 627, 000
130,120,632
280, 572, 500
68,743,000
370, OOO, 000
89,137,511
* The lumber luaniifaaturing dlHtrlot of the Saginaw Kiver is a narrow atrip of land lesa than half a
mile widi! and 18 iuile»loni;. Within tliifinroH tlierehas i>eon mnniil'actiired u larger amount of lumber
than In nnv other district of oqunl nrpft in the worid. Since 1851, 22,94.3,072,900 feet of lumber have
been out. The rail ahipmeutH fur 1807 are entiuiatetl. The table waa compiled by K. D. Cuwlea and la
Trorthy of oonfidenco.
Perhaps the ultimate destination of the Jnmber has in part changed
during the period covered by the table, so that the lake carriers are not
in so favorable a position to compete for it as formerly. Upon this
point no information is at hand.
In some of the great lumbering districts the mills are now kept run-
ning daring a large portion of the year on hard wood. The total output
of the districts about the Great Lakes is in part maintained in this way.
During 1897, 464,380,000 feet of hard-wood lumber were produced.'
The change from pine to hard wood is of great significance, for hard-
wood logs are so heavy that they do not tioat; and they are thereforie
generally sawed at interior mills. It has already been pointed out that
the lake carriers are at a disadvantage in competing with the railroads
from the interior mills, for the local rail rates to the shipping ports are
high and the lumber must be transshipped.
■ Northwestern Lumberman, January 22, 1898, p. 10.
0*1, uih], ns thnro
; or t lie demand
cos.siuiiH by rail.
) ill ])art explain
n to 8urt Imnlier
M'H of eonsiiiiiers
iiHigniuentH geii-
tlie wholeHalorH
l)onglit supplies
protlts l>y a nice
iHoii in handling
aw liiver, and a
(Jowles, will ^.
xohi hiH product liy
litutrrauuipiilatiuii
laiilcH liiid liiborers.
wiiiited by tli» con-
nr with that of the
iu Iski- Hhi|iraeiitM.
u eHtablished yiirds
tort it ii]> or <;onvert
ir ooiiBiiii]er§,
HTATI8TICH OF LAKI-: COMMEKC'B.
»f
tion employed iu
iH made clear by
oointH. *
Kail.
L«ke.
Feel.
7, 490. OOO
0, 000, 000
1.460,00!)
1, 027, 000
0, 572, 500
0, 000, 000
Feet.
^47, 8«e, 0»I
nu, 154, OUO
182, 600, 017
1»6,120,0a2
88,743,000
80,137,511
I of land lesi than half ii
larger amount of lumber
,000 fi>et of lumber h«ve
i by K. D. Cowlea and is
in part changed
e carriers are not
erly. Upon this
re now kept run-
The total output
lined iu this way.
re produced.^
iicance, for hard-
liey are thereforia
pointed out that
nth the railroads
lipping ports are
10.
Itcfore cloHing tlio discii^siou of tlie declining movement of lumber
on tlie lakes, something must be said about the inethodH of transship-
ment. Too much attention vau not be given to this subject, for it may
in a general way be said that the railro-.ulM are competing most succeHH
fully for tliosecommtxlities wh(/>**< trauM^thip'ient cliargOH have not fallen
rapidly.' The neues.sjtv of transfi-r has ulwuyN been a handicap upon'
tlie lake carriers, and wht'ir^' thecontut trauHHhipincnt liaH not fallen an
freight rates Mutve fallen tl> s burden has been an increasing one. It
may be sai<l, almost without qualitlcation, that no iniprovi'ments have
been made in handling lumber on the docks. Evcrythintris now done,
as it was a half century ago, by main strength. Practically all the
work is accomplished by manual labor. Ma(;hiuery is used to a very
''*nited extent in hoisting ])o.st8 and ties from the ship's hold, but
luuiber is still Ijandled in the pri Mtive way.
The absence of mechanical ajip. snces for handling forest products
is no doubt largely due to the fact that most of these jiroducts do not
readily lend themselves, by reason of their form, to mechanical manipu-
lation. However, the difliculties to be overcome do not appear to be
insuperable, and if the lumber traffic on the lakes were a growing
instead of a declining business, and iu the hands of large companies
with abundant capital, it would be safe to preditrt that a way would be
found to reduce the cost of transshipment by the larger use of machin-
ery. It would be profitable, if a large volume of business were to be
handled, to exiiend large sums upon suitable terminal facilities. Per-
haps, in order to accomplish this end, some changes would have to be
made in the vessels, but these would be introduced. The explanation
of the persistence of the primitive methods of handling lumber is
found in the fact that the lumber tratflc on the lakes is declining, and
that the same companies seUhmi own the mills, fleets, and distributing
yards. The greatest economy iu transshipment is found where the
terminals and the fleets are adapted to each other, and this adaptation
is most easily secured where entire control rests in one maiia|>eiiient.
A treatment of the lumber traffic' upon the lakes would not be com-
plete without some description of the lumber fleet. It is very largely
made up of vessels that are worthless for other purposes. When a
ship is no longer suitable for the ore or tionr and grain traffic, it is put
into the lumber business, where it is good for a number of years of
service. This follows from the fact that a vessel loaded with lumber,
although water-logged, does not sink, and because the cargo sustains
but little damage from its contact witlx the water. Many of the small
vessels on the lakes are in the lumber business. They can navigate
the rivers that are too shallow for the large vessels. Most of the ves-
sels of the old schooner licet have been transformed into barges and
are now engaged in the lumber tralfic. Towing originated iu the
lumber trade. Mr. .John S. Noyes, of Buffalo, was the pioneer who
made this important departure. When the railroads were i)ushed
westward to the principal lake ports, in the early fifties, the fine pas-
senger and general cargo steamers that were then numerous upon the
lakes lost a profitable business. In 186f , Mr. Noyes transformed two
of these ships, which had long been idle, into barges. These vessels
were the Empire and the Sultana. In 1862, he changed another vessel
(the St. Lawrence) into a barge.' These barges were towed by the tug
' For loading and nnloadiDg eharjres, si\e Appendix V, Table VII.
'' For freight rates, see Appendix V, Table VIII.
^ Barges were at first called " Tows."
H. Doc. 277 7
98
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
V
Reindeer. JNIr. Noyes's venture proving successful, towing increased
rapidly, and about 1870 another important innovatiou was made; the
tugs were sui>planted by a i)ropeller, which also carried a cargo.'
It has alreaciy been stated that the movement of lumber on the lakes
has been declining. Bt;fore many years it may be expected to fall off
rapidly. Pine must continue to be, as it has been in the past, the
main reliance of the vessel owners. The supplies that can be drawn
upon are about as follows:
■White iiiul Norway pine:- ^•'*'*-
l^owerpfiiinsiilaof MicLitjart 3,000,000,000
Upper p.-iiiiisnla of Miiiiigiin 4,000.000,000
Wisconsin 10.000,000,000
Minm'sota 12,000,000,000
Province of Ontario 19,404,000,000
Mr. Andrews, chief fire warden of Minnesota, estim'ates that there
are 20,200,475,000 feet of pine still standing in Minnesota,' and others
have raised his estimate. The authorities also differ on the amount of
standing timber in Wisconsin and Michigan, but their estimates do not
vary so widely as in the case of Minnesota. This is to be expected,
for the resources of Michigan and Wisconsin are well known, while
those of Minnesota are comparatively unknown.
As the output of pine lumber from logs cut in Michigan, Wiscon-
sin, and Minnesota during 1897 was nearly 6,000,000,000 feet, and in
prosperous years has exceeded 8,000,000,000,^ it will readily be seen
that the timber resources of these states will soon be exhausted.®
With the depletion of the timber supplies of Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and the Province of Ontario, the movement of lumber on
the lakes will lose its present importance.*
In addition to the pine, there is a vast amount of hemlock and hard
wood standing in Michigan and Wisconsin and a limited quantity in
Minnesota.'' A portion of the lumber sawed from this timber will be
carried to market by water. But the bulk of the hard- wood lumber will
be transported by rail, for reasons that have already been given. Hem-
lock logs can be floated to the lake-side mills, but a large portion, per-
haps the lion's share, of the hemlock will be taken to market by rail,
for the good timber has already been stripped from the lake side and
the banks of the streams. The better growths of hemlock are now sit-
' For this historical information I am indebted to Mr. George W. Hotchkiss, who
assisted Mr. Noyes in pushing bis enterprise to success.
*The estimates for Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are those of Mr. George
W. Hotchkiss, and the estimate for Ontario is that given in the Report of the Forest
Wealth of Canada, 1895, p. 182. It is to be noted that all statements covering the
amount of standing timber are in the nature of things merely estimates. Ibose
here given are, liowever, made by persons well informeof about the timber resources
of these districts.
It must not be inferred that all the lumber cut from this timber may be carried
over the lakes. Much of it is so far removed from the lake shore that it will go to
market by rail.
' Northwestern Lumberman, July 3, 1897, p. 3.
^For tlie lumber cut at the mills of the Northwest since 1873, see Appendix
V, Table IX. The figures just given include the output of lumber sawed from logs
imported from Ontario.
'^Tlie fear of forest fires and windstorms in a measure prevents the owners of tim-
ber fi-om reserving it for the future.
" In recent years there has been some trafllc in Pacific-coast lumber and shingles.
This business will probably increase, but would be checked by tlie construction of
the Nicaragua Canal.
'According to the estimates made by Mr. George W. Hotchkiss the hemlock of
Michigan and Wisconsin combined exceeds the pine of these two states, and the hard
wood exceeds the pine several fold.
owing increased
was made; the
(1 Ji cargo.'
iber on the lakes
)ected to fall off
in the past, the
at can be drawn
Foet.
... 3,000,000,000
... 4,000.000,000
... 10.000,000,000
... 12,000,000,000
... 19,404,000,000
nates that there
sota, ' and others
on the amount of
e.stimates do not
to be expected,
ell known, while
ichigan, Wiacon-
,000 feet, and in
[ readily be seen
1 be exhausted.^
igan, Wisconsin,
ant of lumber on
endock and hard
nited quantity in
lis timber will be
wood lumber will
een given. Hem-
U'ge portion, per-
» market by rail,
the lake side and
dock are now sit-
W. Hotckkiss, who
those of Mr. George
Report of the Forest
lenieuts covering the
It estimates. Those
the timber resonroea
nber may be carried
•re th&t it will go to
1873, see Appendix
ber sawed from logs
8 the owners of tim-
iimber and sliingles.
■ the construction of
kiss the hemlock of
states, and the hard
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE. 99
aated well back from the logging streams, and the logs are therefore
likely to be sawed at the interior mills and the lumber taken to market
by rail.
Estimates of the amount of standing pine in the statvs contiguous
to the lakes have been given. A prediction as to the inroads that will
be made into this supply during live years of active demand has been
ventured by the Northwestern Lumberman, and will be inserted:
The pine of lower Michigan and the upper peDinNula of that State will be well
nigh gone [in iire years]. A few of theold-niill concerns at Menominee-Marinette
wul still be sawing ]>iue, but the majority will either have dismantled their mills or
will be keeping theui alive by cutting hem'.ock and the hard woods and working up
cedar for shingles. The mills at the lesser points will not be cutting pine five years
from now. I'lne production will have been driven back to the west end of Lake
Superior and into northern Minnesota. The red oak of Wisconsin will have beea
about cleared out. Scattering mills throughout the northern country from the Mis-
sissippi to tbe Sno will be pounding away on maple, elm, bass wood, hemlock, etc.,
with such overlooked groups of pine as may be encountered in scraping the land of
timber. * * '• Five years of prosperity, with the enormous demand which will
result, will cause such a melting away of the northern forest resour<'6s as can scarcely
be realized.'
This picture may be somewhat overdrawn; but if the prediction
made be verified forest products, which rank second among the com-
modities received at the lake ports during the last census year,^ will
fall out of the first rank and be classed with the minor commodities live
years hence.
What may be hoped for from a tempts to reforest the pine lands can
not be answered satisfactorily, fr r on tliis point the authorities differ.
Some hold that pine does not g: ow at once upon land from which pine
has just been , removed, and some admit that pine will grow, but that
the first growths will be low, scraggy, and full of knots, and therefore
nnfit for the manufacture of lumber. Other authorities insist that good
pine can at once be reproduced if (1) forest fires are prevented and (2)
the ^young sprouts be preserved from the depredations of live stock.
In support of their contention they cite the experience of New England.
But even if it be possible to restore the pine it would require a long
period of years for the trees to attain sufficient size for the manufacture"
of lumber, and in the meantime existing supplies would long have been
e'.hausted.
Although the depletion of the forests of Michigau,Wisconsin, and Min
nesota is of itself of great moment to the lake carriers, it becomes doubly
important because of its secondary effect. For years the railroads run-
ning out from the upper lake ports to the prairies of the West have
found in lumber a west-bound freight. Oars cr:.'iing in with grain and
live stock have been sent back loaded with lumber. Lumber has long
' Northwestern Lumberman, January 8, 1898, p. 3. Mr. O. S. Whitniore, formerly
editor of Hardwood, and Mr. George W. Hotchkiss in the main agree with this pre-
diction.
■^ In the last Census Ri'port on Transportation by Water, coal and coke were grouped
together, and their combined movement just about equaled that of lumber. The
figures are as follows :
Receipts. ! Shipments.
Tons.
Lumber ; 6, 857, 257
Coal anil coku j 5, 162.471
Tons.
S, 348, .188
6, 105, 799
The receipts and shipments are the total receipts an<l shipments of all American
lake ports. (Eleventh Genans, Transportation Business, Part II, p. 308.)
LoFC.
100
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
been one of the princii)al weat-bound commodities. Its loss, therefore,
will be severeVv felt. The failure of the Northwestern timber supplies
comes at a very inopportune time for the vessel interests of the lakes.
The railroads running to the western Gulf ports are Just beginning the
struggle for the grain traffic of the central West. The exhaustion of
the timber resources of the lake region means that the great treeless
regions of the West will be forced in a large measure to obtain their
lumber from the South.
This means that the north and south bound railroads will in the future
be assured a growing north bound traffic, and as a result they will be
placed in a position where they can compete more successfully for the
grain traffic with the east and west bound railroads leading to the lakes.
In the past the Gulf railroads have been hampered by a lack of north-
bound traffic, but in the future they will be assured a large north bound
business in lumber. Briefly stated, the exhaustion of the forests of the
lake country will mean the loss of west-bound traffic to the railroads
reaching the lakes and a gain of north-bound traffic by the railroads
terminating in the Gulf ports. The former railroads will therefore be
less advantageously situated in the struggle for the grain business now
under way, and the latter railroads will be more strongly intrenched.
The significance of these altered relations to the lake carriers scarcely
needs to be pointed out. It means that less grain will arrive at lake
ports to be carried East,
Appendix V.
TABLES RELATING TO THE LUMBER TRAFFIC.
Table I.
Chicago receipts and ehipments of lumber and shinglee by Me and rail.*
Lumber. |
Sliingles.
Year. 1 Kecelpts
by lake.
Receipts
by rail.
Total
receipts.
Shipments.
Receipts
by lake.
Receipts Total
by mil. receipt*.
Ship-
ment*.
Mfeet.
1860 264.499
18«1 235,668
1862 295,270
1868 o 392,800
1884a 480,165
18660 614,020
18660 687,851
18670 830,035
1868 965,860
1869 967,897
1870 079,759
1871 084, 7.58
1872 1,017,319
Mfeet.
7,906
13, 640
10,404
20,501
21, 427
33, 125
42, 206
62, 626
62,634
29, 839
39, 239
64,570
106, 340
102. 730
66, 337
66, 594
UH, iioy
63. 851
87, 498
118.729
141, 805
Mfeet.
262, 404
249. 308
305, 874
413, 301
601, 692
647, 145
730, 057
882, 661
1,028,494
997, 736
1,018,998
1. 039, 32S
1, 183, 659
1,123.308
1,060,088
1, 147. 193
1, 039, 785
1, 066, 452
1, 180, 686
1, 469, 878
1, 561, 779
Mfeet.
225, 372
189, 478
188, 277
221,799
269, 486
386, 353
422, 313
618, 973
551, 988
581, 633
683, 490
641,222
417, 980
561,544
619, 278
628. 485
576. 124
686, 722
626,735
753, 179
925, 682
M.
127,803
79,296
131,255
162, 436
133, 600
193, 230
197, 169
234,917
297, 176
366, 843
360, 561
401, 346
302, 623
294, 548
366, 490
420. 298
456. 404
464, 880
606,841
588, 362
583, 340
if.
91
60
M.
127,894
70,356
131,256
172, 364
190, 169
310, 897
409, 125
447, 039
514, 434
673, 166
652, 001
617, 695
610, 824
,-)17, 023
580, 673
635, 708
566, 977
546, 409
692, 544
670,644
649, 546
jr.
168,302
94,421
66,761
i9,929
50, ,569
117,667
202, 956
212, 122
217,258
306, 323
301,630
246, 249
308, 201
223, 375
215, 183
216,410
110, 573
81, 529
86, 603
82, 282
66, 2ue
102,684
188, 497
268. 351
422, 338
480,930
637, 497
638,317
666, 247
558,385
436, 827
1873 1,020,638
1874 993,761
1876 1,080,599
1876 971,416
1877 1,002,5111
1878 1,093,088
1879 1,351,149
1880 1,419,974
407,605
370, 19«
299, 426
214, 389
170,410
123, 233
146, 820
184,376
♦This table was compiled from the reports of the Clilcago Board of Trade. The movemfnts by
lake are bancd upon tlie ciiHtomhoiise recordK ami the niovemeiits by r.iil wore obtained directly Irom
the railroad coinpanios. Tlie ilgures. particularly for tlie early years, do not reflect with the jfi-eateat
acciiracY ilio movement of lumber and shingles to and from Chicago. Ihe limited receipts by the
canal are ini:luded in the receli)lM by rail. In recent years a large amount ot lumber has been received
from the South by rail. . ^ , , j
a Bu!«rd of trade year, which ended three mouths after the calendar year.
STATISTICS 01 LAKE COMMERCE.
tot
loss, therefore,
iinber supplies
s of the lakes.
I bepuning the
exhaustion of
* great treeless
to obtain their
ill ill the future
It tliey will be
jssfully for the
ng to the lakes.
lack of north-
?e northbound
e forests of the
a the railroads
ly the railroads
ill therefore be
u business now
^ly intrenched,
irriers scarcely
arrive at lake
IC.
and rail.*
ngles.
) Total
reoeipta.
Ship-
ment*.
M.
127,894
79,»56 I
131, 255 I
172,864 1
190, 189 I
310,897
40U,120 {
447,039 i
514,434 '
673. 166 I
B52,0ni 1
617, 595 I
61U, 824
r)17,»23
580,673
035,708 I
566, 977
546, 409
692, 544
070,644
649, 546
K.
168,303
94,431
85,761
102,684
138,497
258. 361
422, 339
480,930
537, 497
638, 317
666, 247
558,386
436, 827
407,605
370, 196
299, 426
214, 389
170, 410
123, 233
146,820
184,375
1. The movenunta by
obtuined directly Irom
Heft with the jfieftteit
imitpd receipts by the
obor hoH been received
Chicayo receipU and shipments of Inmbtrand shinnies by lake and rail-Continued.
Lniuber.
Shingles.
Year.
1881...
1882...
1883...
1884...
1885...
1886. . .
1887...
1888...
1880...
1890...
1891...
1892. . .
1893...
1804. . .
1895...
1896..
1897..
Keceipts
by lake.
Jf feet.
1, 657, 828
1, 872, 976
1,685,719
1, 610, 1B6
1, 504, 186
1, 427, 795
1,457,173
1,626,408
1, 447, 399
1, 359, 921
1, 359, 315
1, 443, 769
966,280
1, 075, 763
1, 073, 847
779, 292
917,212
ReceiptB '
by rail. ■
I M feet.
221, 099 '
244. 509 ,
224,191 I
212, 149 !
240, 706
315.189
422, 995
440, 510
462, (144
581, 471
086, 103
760, 105
645. :i97
480, 764
564, 283
.'i07, 351
489, 368
Total
receipts.
M feet.
1,878,922
2, 117, 545
1,909,910
1,822,315
1,744,802
1, 742, 984
1, 880. 168
2, (IP6, 927
1,909,443
1.941,392
2,045,418
2, 203, 874
1, miO, 677
1,562,527
1,6.38,131)
1,286,043
1, 406, 580
^,, , . Receipts
Shipments, jjy ,„{(e
31 feet.
999. 572
1,073,419
1,004,816
040, 147
818, 474
882, 672
941, 636
793, 171
739, 707
812, 056
865, 949
1,060,017
719,254
632, 069
773, 983
599,920
574, 743
31.
772, .584
868, 279
1,1113,841
885, 091
744, 101
702, 809
647, 153
615, 132
557, 201
389, 195
228, 589
I 280, 326
153, 764
189,282
147, 206
I 1U6, ra3
I 198,781
3f.
91,331
64,777
55, 411
34, 615
51.057
51,060
40, 517
62,213
76. 364
126, 380
75, 306
114,880
85,811
136, 093
205, 107
158, 602
176,718
31.
863,915
1133. 056
.159.252
919. 706
795, 248
813, 869
687, 670
677, 345
033, 665
515, 575
303, 896
395, 2(16
239, 576
325, 376
3.12. 313
265, 205
372,499
31.
185, 334
146,943
91, 718
64,256
55,664
102. 102
72,286
96,868
158, 488
108, 822
99,856
140,227
219,716
216, 666
298, 836
277, 329
251. 208
Tablk II.
Milwaukee receipts and shipments of lumber and shingles by lake and rail."
Year.
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1866....
1866....
1867....
1868....
1866....
1870....
1871....
1872....
1873....
1874....
1876....
1876. . . -
1877....
1878....
1879....
1880....
1881....
1882....
1883....
1884
1886
Lumber.
Receipts
By lake. I By rail, j Total. »»">**■ By l»ke. By rail
3[.feet. I
30, 124 '
56,654 I
38,868 I
29, 195
34, 236
33, 372
48,612
64,804
31. feet.
963
1,312
8,684
10, 287
22, 695
128,368
123, 645
108,067
113, 822
118, 675
118,096
156, 125
132. 614
135, 590
171, 674
145,807
136, 921
149, 156
im.'.V. I 131,787
1887 151,751
1888 173,665
1889 148,201
1890 140,273
1891 i 176,184
1892 192,448
Ship-
Shingle
Beoeipts —
1893.
1804.
1806.
1896.
1897.
167, 360
144, 858
146, 809
119, 025
150, 332
7.640
17,815
26,309
31,188
23, •.'08
14, 894
24. 5B7
57, 824
81,460
86, 147
79, 661
94,241
89, 101
113. 768
147, 368
139. 189
161, 509
236, 957
184,942
206, 659
1H7, 976
41, 726
51, 773
44, 477
39,045
U.feel.
31, 897
66,554
88, 868
30, 158
85,548
42. 056
58,896
87,399
94,023
72, 383
79, 491
85,892
91,303 I
136,017 j
141,460
132,376
145,010 !
141.883
132,990 i
180,722 i
190,438 '
217, 040
267, 821
225, 468
230, 162
238, 257
245.655
299, 119
I 312. 834
I 309, 710
1 877,280
381, 126
399, 107
305, 336
186, 584
197, 582
I 163. 502
I 189, 377
Jf./eet. I
19,511 '
26,439 i
11,627
21, 906
32,890
30, 788
23,913
19.289
21,811
18, 245
29, 701
36, 455
35, 305
40,916
'"48,'926"
61, 049
"65^886'i
65, 363 !
68,313 !
57, 275 ;
43,631 >
82.000 I
117, 258 j
ISO, 289 1
144,846 i
194.642 .
174,388
48,83ft
f)2. 752
16, 597
21,505
20, 704
19, 186 i
Jf. I
12, 871 I
19, 001
13,385
7,971 '
3,327
2. 589
Total.
Ship-
ments.
23,259 I
31,318 I
11, 030 !
23, 006 1
32. 543 ;
46,020 I
42. 039 !
31,447 j
86.853 !
32.204 I
39.317
38. 511
42,128
24.240
10,920 I
9,858
23,1193
69, 974
149, 656
193, 348
156, 410
142, 361
115, 530
118,372
101,249
151,272
114, 124
132,338
81,730
48,090
52, 080
58, 700
68,400
93. 200
26,298
35,524
17,125
14, 002
5,827
13, 5!)0
10, 061
81, 600
7.250
3,574
1,303
1,455
1,400
1,400
M.
12, 316
19, 601
13, 385
7,971
3,327
2, 589
19.585
23, 319
20,980
25,928
15,143
31,318
28, 524
93, 2.33
180, 974
204, 378
182, 416
174, 004
101.. 550
160.411
132, 696
187. 125
146. 328
171, 6.53
118,241
90,218
76, 320
69, 62(1
78, 258
116,293
134. 726
107, 890
42, 774
20, 690
15, 395
7,282
14,050
11,461
Jf.
8,867
7,421
4,969
10,703
17, 188
16, 407
17, 658
17,939
10,328
7,791
24,067
74,030
132,484
124,804
""57," 248
67, 167
'128^094
83,596
100,485
45,777
36,325
33,396
52,500
41, 131
59,100
82,990
79,300
46,000
8,090
2,578
4,400
4,600
3,100
obtained from the railroad companies.
102
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Table III.— Part 1.
lieceipti of lumber anrf shingles at Iliiffalo bi/ lake and rail,*
IKuriiislieil by Knowltoii ilixer, Hocretary of the BuU'alo Lumber Exchange.]
Year.
Lnniber.
By lake. Uy rail.
Shingles.
Total. I By lake. I By rail. I Total.
1876 119, 14fl
1877 141,572
1878 176,312
1879 202,443
1880 i 214. 16il
1881 ' 240,80'.'
1882 248,100
1883 233. 433
1884 248.106
1885 240,637
1886 279,403
1887 264.612
1888 279.493
1889 242,525
1890 287,334
1891 262,729
1892 298. 980
1893 289,751
1894 239. 525
1895 231.257
1896 2(11 . 277
1897 (estimated) , 221,302
if feet. M/eel. ; M/eet.
31.
M.
M.
636, 344
587, 482
410, 000
398, 448
409, 095
420, 870
935,324 '
874. 233
649, 52.';
020. 705
filO, 372
648, 172
44, 908
37, 302
37, 616
52.716
58,582
36, 705
58, 682
36, 331
73, 500
44,905
42,165
50,807
105,112
92, 588
103, 088
110,401
12,800
123, 201
* Lake receipts are based upon the GiiRtom-house records, The rail receipts are taken from the
monthly reports of oars made to the fr('i;ilit bureau of the Merchants' Exchange by the various
railromU. Xlie imports and exports l)y rail are estimated from the number of cars obtained from the
railroads, and tlierofore include siiiugles and luthi.
I
Table III.— Part 2.
Receipts of railway ties at liuffalo, by lake and rail. *
[Data furnished by Knowlton Mixer, secretary of the Batl'alo Lumber Exchange.]
Year.
By lake. By rail,
Xo.
1882 840,200
1883 275,920
1884 100,000
1885 87,500
1886 54,780
1887 93.080
1888 190,600
1889 442,570
No.
150,000
550, 000
180, 000
200, 000
100, 000
50,000
75, 000
155, 000
Year.
I By lake. By rail.
No.
1890 197,110
1891 238,570
1892 312,600
1803 2.3,000
1894 196,117
1895 133.928
1896 199,04'
1897 328,052
No.
150,000
139,000
411, 520
175,000
275,000
263,500
190,800
I
* Lake receipts are based upon the custom-house records. The rail receipts are taken from the
monthly reports of cars made to the freight bureau of the Merchants' Excliange by the Tarious rail-
roads.
Table IV.
Receipts of lumber, laths, and shingles at Tonaivanda by lake.*
Lumber.d
Laths.
Shingles.
M.
63, 435
64,903
68,712
52, 232
52, 581
Lumber. 6
Laths.
Shingles.
1887
Jlf/ee(.
501, 536
660,522
676,017
717,650
506,512
M.
to, 096
14, 617
11,506
13, 030
8,209
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
Mfeet.
498,000
430, 248
406, 907
421, 372
469, 246
M.
6,243
13,232
8,495
8,547
7,195
M.
42,809
1888
25,257
Ig89
31,468
1890
1801
41, 310
35,823
• Report of tlie Buffalo Merchants' Exchauge, 1896, p. 119.
a Timber not included.
; \
ail'
Ixchauge.]
Shingles.
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Tahle V.
103
Receipts of lumber, shingles, laths, and miscellaneous lumber at Cleveland by rail and lake.*
. By rail.
Tolal.
M.
M.
r
!
I
!
S
I
I
)
5
S
r
4
) 1
L 1
1
12,800
' 123,201
1865....
1866....
1867.
1868.
1869.
Lumber.
Shiiigles
Lnths.
By lake. \ By rail. ; Total. ' By lake. ; Total, i By lake. | Total.
M feet. I M fett.
» are taken from the
liange by tlie various
cars obtained from tlie
1870 158,866
1871 220584
1872 101.079
i873 192. "8
1874 167,708
\V,h 140,980
i|78 102609
1877 154,144
\V,f, 119,817
\hra 208,393
isM :::;:::::::::.:...: 2in;263
isSl 321,130
1882 317,810
1883 3.'iO,696
1884 329.791
1885
1886
1887
1888
loov ■■.•••-••••••••••-•■•••--
1890 495,984
1891 564,222
1892 714,476
1893 210,636
1894 247,078
1895 351,883
1896 i 244,765
1897 229,971
Mftet. \
83, 038 I
120,911
142, 445
158. 220
180,000
173, 860
130,
153,
187,
174,
545
750
275
225
377, 623
505, 633
432,040
404, 196
108,002
115,819
70, 507
81, 919
78, 691
78,945
73, 565
112, 280
101, 205
126, 112
96,797
112, 142
112,369
102, 430
86, 072
3f.
39, 294
60,842
69. 816
74,921
91, 888
131, 102
M.
32.
152,
187,
56,
45,
64,
44,
998
882
733
483
826
699
709
158
63, 173
47,711
41,562
26,745
41, 638
3, 510
34,318
140, 488
31,796
21, 081
19, 461
29, 287
34, 457
36, 807
31,273
M.
14,381
26,650
37,850
42,021
36,438
63,178
18, 537 I
24, 598 I
35.705
36,324
22, 762
12, 109
6,913
16, 413
r Exchange.]
By lake.
By rail.
No.
No.
. . 197, 110
150,000
. . 238, 570
139,000
.. 3'2,600
411, 520
.. 2.3,000
175,000
.. 196,117
275,000
.. 133.928
263,500
.. 199,04'
190,800
.. 328,052
its are taken from the
ge by the varioug rail-
lake:
.b
Laths.
Shingles.
M.
If.
6,243
42,809
8
13,232
25,267
7
8,496
31,468
2
8,547
41, 310
6
7,195
35,823
The receipts of lumber by rail also Include the receipts of shingles and laths, fiike receipts o
mberl89Tl897 include all kinds of forest products other than shingles and laths, as logs, posts, and
telephone°poie8." "Keceipts'bylake'are'base^ npon the customhouse reports.
Table VI.
Receipts of lumber and shimjles at Toledo by lake.
Tear.
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1886
1886
1887
1888
Lumber. Shingles.
Mftet. \
197,011 i
225, 350 \
218,000
224,000
216,000
230,000
160,000
182,000
335,000
u.
16,806
8,697
3,838
12,600
9,400
10,100
2,500
6,100
4,200
Tear.
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1896
1896
1897
Lumber.
K fett.
168,000
192, 000
178,000
173,000
156,000
144,000
159,000
127,000
122,000
Shingles.
M.
3,620
4,929
686
400
2,420
2,076
2,200
400
2,300
* This table was furnished by Denisou B. Smith, secretary of the Toledo Produce Exchange.
- r i ll.-T»r . Ti ...i ' ii- F ii f"»- ' Vi '
104 STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
Table VII.
. Receipts and sMpmeiits of lumber and shingle* at Detroit by lake and rail."
Lumber.
Year.
I Kecelpts
I by lake.
, M.feet.
1885 »7,665
1888 i 78,191
1887 1 9B,7S2
1888 i 102,073
1889 t 113,277
1800 78,085
1891 ' 48,459
189a ! 54,789
1893 : 54,429
1804 49,835
ReoelptH
Total
by rail.
receipts.
M.feet.
M.fett.
eo,iu2
166,867 ,
161, 094
239, 885 ;
20«, 895
302,647 :
; 197, 774
299, H47
185,404
298,681 i
1 184, 538
262,623 '
\ 156, M2
205, 211
194,180
248,969
139, 270
193,699
83,860
133,795
Total
ship-
luentB.
M.feet.
34,515
68,769
36, 858
41,750
63,753
34, 202
20,946
26,641
21,066
16, 070
Sblnglei.
ReceipM i
by lake. I
Keceipts
by rail.
Total
receipt*.
M.
None.
3,339
560
1,750
2,385
None.
008
752
2,420
400
jlf.
30,712
10«, 338
37,670
66,600
117, S30
116,270
105,980
96,960
95,760
63,070
Jf.
30,712
100,877
38, 230
68,350
120,365
116, 270
106,888
97,702
98,180
63,470
Total
shlp-
menta.
Jf.
20,099
41,060
44,100
68,300
82,300
36,120
10, 640
8,330
10,430
7,360
^ This table was compiled by the secretary of the Detroit Board of Trade.
Rates for unloading lumber from veiselt at Chicago during the season of 1897. i
Pine lumber, per 1,000 feet:
1-inch ami U-imh *0.-iO
H-inch and 2-inth i. -f
3-incli -**
Pickets and shingles to rate with inch lumber.
Piece stuff, perl,000 feet ^2
Laths to rate with piece stuff.
Timbers, per 1,000 feet VrJ^'i
Liunber and timber, 20 feet and over in length, 3 cents extra per 1,000 feet.
Hemlock and basswood, per 1,000 feet :
l-inch ^
2-inih il
3-inch on
Hemlock timber *"
Hard- wood lumber, per 1,000 feet:
1, li, U, and 2 inch ^°
3-inch ^^
4-inch - ^°
Lumber half regular rate for all grades for keeping dock.
All vesselH carrying over 500,000 feet of lumber, per 1,000 feet extra for entire
cargo '.... "^
Ties: . 02
Oak, per tie "^
Henilotk, on vessels 10 feet deep and under in depth, each "i*
Hemlock, on vessels over 10 feet in depth, each 02
Cedar, per tie - JJJl
On Santa Fe dock "i*
Peeled posts, per 1,000 "-"^
Bark posts, per 1,000 '•""
$2 extra per 1,000 for keeping dock.
Telegraph poles, each : -„
25-foot ^
30-foot J*
35-foot VS
40-foct ^
t Rates charged by the Unloaders' Union.
RCE.
'oit hy lake and rail,*
Shlnglei.
la
Receipts
Total
Total
Bhlp-
mentB.
e.
by rail.
receipt*.
jif.
Jf.
Jf.
1.
30,712
80,712
20,999
9
ion, »38
109,077
41,960
87,870
38,230
44,100
>0
66,auo
68,850
58,800
5
117, S30
120,865
82,390
PI.
116,270
116,270
86,120
8
105,980
106,888
10,640
>2
96,960
97,702
8,330
!0
95,760
98,180
10,430
)0
63,070
63,470
7,860
oit Board of Trade.
ring the leason of 1897. t
$0.20
22
24
22
28
ixtra per 1,000 feet.
22
24
"^S
:;.; so
28
33
36
k.
feet extra fur entire
; 05
02
1, each 01}
. 02
Oli
Oli
6,00
; 7.00
03
05
08
12
Union.
STATISTICS OP LAKE COMMERCE.
105
RaitB for unloading lumler from resseU at Tonawanda during the season of 1897.'
The rate for iinlotiding white inul Norway piiw from hiugeH and Hteamers of 12i
lei't in depth of hold, or less, ( Jov.riinient r.>,'iHl«r, wuh 22 it-nts per M until October 1,
and 24 cents per M Iroui October 1 until the end of the seaaon, Other rates were :
• Cents.
Birch - P^M- 35
., „i„ do 35
^P^" do.... 35
Anu 1 in
oak ' *"•••• fx
Basswood to.... -*
Elm '"■■■■ f.
Hemlock ""■■■ ^^
Bill timber *"" | 35, 40
Round cediir posts each.. J
Split posts uo.... I
Cediir railroad ties ao.... ij
Table VIII.
Freuihl raUs on lumber {per 1,000 feet) from Alpena, Manistee, Menominee, Ashland, and
iJuluth, to Chivuyo by lake. *
Tear.
Alpuiiu.
1877
187H
1870
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
$1.81
1.14
.22
1.92
2.01
1.74
1.64
1.89
2.511
ManiH- Mpiiom-: Aah-
teo. inee. i land.
♦1.27
l.:i4
1.77
2.12
2.18
1.78
1.85
1.70
l.-io
1.58
1.94
Year.
*i_ ..» Manis- Monom-
Alpena. ^^_ , ju^e.
«1.46
1.87 I
2.27 I
2.17 !
1.80
1.85 ;
1.50 '
1.54
1.06
2.11
♦2. 12
3.15
1888
1880
1800
1891
1802
1803
1804
1805
1896
1807
$1.90
1.59
1.74
1.58 1
1.69
1.50
1.81
1.G2
1.01
1.46
1.41
1.32
1.36
1.22
1.16
1.14
1.18
1.13
.fl. 57
1.40
1.66
1.59
1.07
1.48
1.33
1.27
1.20
1.10
Ash-
land.
$2.73
2.42
2.51
2.44
2.91
2.36
2.00
2.18
1.85
1.67
*The rates from Dnlutli, Superior, and the other p. rU at the head ot Luke Superior are aliaost
nlwavH tlie same as those fro.il A»l.huul. This table is based on the weekly rates published by the
Nortliwestem Lumberman, which taltes great pains to liave its quotations correct.
Table IX.
Production of lumber in the Northwest. *
Tear.
1873,
1874.
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
M.feet.
8, 393, 780
3, 761, 306
3,968,653
8,879,046
3, 695, 333
3,629,472
4,806,943
Year.
M.feet.
1880
6,651,206
1881
6,768,856
1882
7, .'552, 160
1883
7, 624, 789
1884
7, 935, 033
1886
7, 0.W, 094
1886
7,425,368
Year.
M. feet.
Year.
1887 i 7,757,916
1888 8,388,716
1889 \ 8,806,833
1890 ; 8,664,604
1891 1 7,943,137
1892 1 8,902,748
1893 i 7,599,748
1894
1895
1896
1897
M. feet.
6,763,110
7, 003, 398
6,638,112
6,233,4.54
♦This table includes the Inmhct produced from the logs cut in Michifjan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota,
and from logs Imported from Ontario and sawed in Miehigaii or at Lake Erie ports. Logs from Minne-
sota and Wiaconsin are floated down tlie Mississippi fii large numbers to various cities and there
sawed. The lumber produced is included. „, , ^ .. •, i. > < ..u. «.. .
This table was compiled liy the Northwestern Lumberman. The details may be found In the issues
of this paper of January 23, 1897, and January 22, 1898.
' The Marine Record, May 13, 1897, p. 9.
H. Doo. 277-
106
STATISTICS OF LAKE COMMERCE.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
In the preparation of the foregoing report the following persons have
ndered material assistance: Frank E. VVynian, secretary of the Duluth
rendered
Board
chants'
ber of
. M. Mulrooney, editor of the Marino Keview; Uapt. John Swainson,
ditor of the Marine liecord; A. I. Findley, editor of The Iron Trade
teview; .lames Peabody, editor of ' ' Railway and Engineering
J.
editor
Keview; -. ,
Review; John B. Lucas, editor of th' . Diamond; U. A. BischofT,
of the Chicago Bureau of Coal Sta-n^i^^; The Brown Hoisting and
Conveying Company; John McMyler, of the McMyler Manufacturing
Company; A. B. Wolvin, president of The Zenith Transit Company;
B. L. Pennington, of Cleveland; Melion Pattisou, Capt. J. 8. Dun-
ham, Franklin II. Head, George Merry weather, W. S. Bogle, E. C.
Chandler, George W. Hotchkiss, O, S. Whitmore, of Chicago; W. I.
Babcock, manager of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company; W. J.
Olcott, vice-president of Duluth, Mesaba and Northern liailroad Com-
pany; J. L. Greatsinger, president of the Duluth and Iron Range Rail-
road Company, and E. D. Cowles, of Saginaw,
lamalso indebted tothe following gentlemen for valuable aid: Thomas
L. M. Bowers, general manager of the Bessemer Steamship Company;
W. G. Mather, president of the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway
Company; James Pickands, president of the Minnesota Steamship Com-
pany; L. C. Hanna, president of the Menominee Transit Company;
W. D. Rees, treasurer of the Lake Superior Iron Company; Alexander
Backus, president Vulcan Iron \v^ork8, and R. L. Ireland, assistant
secretary of the Globe Iron Works.
uKRC£*
le following persons have
,n, secretary of the Duluth
bary of the Buffalo Mer-
of the Milwaukee Chani-
r of the Chicago Board of
sapolis Chamber of Coui-
ifork Produce Exchange;
id Chamber of Commerce;
v; Capt. John Swainson,
editor of The Iron Trade
ailway and Engineering
iJiamoud; H. A. BischofK
'he Brown Hoisting and
5 McMyler Manufacturing
Zenith Transit Company;
ittison, Capt. J. 8. Duu-
,ther, W. 8. Bogle, E. C.
tmore, of Chicago; W. I.
ilding Company; W. J.
I Northern Kailroad Com-
iuth and Iron Range Bail-
V.
! for valuable aid : Thomas
ron llange Kailroad Com-
a Steel Company; J. H.
»dy, A. I. Valentine, of
n Elevating Association;
mer Steamship Company ;
>r and Ishpeming Railway
^1 inuesota Steamship Com-
minee Transit Company;
ron Company ; Alexander
I B. L. Ireland, assistant
■•> ,.«
\.-
mm
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