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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] mmmmmmfr^assmusS!' > llf ' \ > ■ f i ^ ••^* J i 1^, - ' , 1 f \ Ia-'v^,' — V.' — , 300 '01 - I , , , ^ , ....... / 1 : ' \ ■ \ , - - <>» i 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«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*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' \ ^■ 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 ' — _ __ — _ : :_ : ::::z!! : : : _ : : :? : _: : _ : .**. __:_:::_ : _:_ _^s_i_ ^ ^ ■ - ■■ " ■■ " ' "■■ ■ ~ "^"•~ — - — „ — ■■ I": ::_ :: : ::xii i ":__": : ::: :±:::_:__:::_: +*-- i:i": : T . , ,. 1 CHART I. GROSS TONNAGE ON NORTHERN LAKES. SHOWING ALSO RELATIVE AMOUNT OF BARGE. STEAM. AND SAILING TONNAGE. . __ _ _ . __ _ _____ - _ X X XXX -i~ .- .___ _______ .: : __ __: __ _: :_ ii ji r r .::::::::_::::_:_:_: :: ::: :::_::__:;__::_"";._; :::___;:::_:_ __::_ _::__: :: : ±z : — :ri:::: :::::: — : :::: — ::::::::::: — : : ::: :::: :: iz : :^_: ------ -- - -- — -- - _ _ : - - _ :: x :x _ _ _ . . :_::_: .. :_ _ : . _ _ ^ J :_: __ _±:-_ : _ __ : :::: _ .1 :: :_:__ : : ..A _ __ :_ : : : ::__::_::::::: :_ _ _: _ _ .2 i _ __ i^:: I :__:__ ::: : — :: :: __ _ __ _ _ ^^ ^"^^' ^ 2 7 ~t ^ * :__:~: "." _ : _ _::_ _:":::: :::~_: :: "_ :_::::_:::::_:_:::_ :::::: _: :_: ::;!__: : _ ___ " _: : :: :.:::_:::::::::::_:::::__::::::::::::::::;::::_::::::::. ::i __::::: : .-- I x:::::: ::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::: — ::::Z::x: — : — :x _ _X __ :_:: x x: _ : :: xxxx: x .: :_ _. : _/___:_ . : __ . _ _ .. _:: x: _ __:_ _x x xxx x__ _ _ _ _ J.-Z^ . _ : I _x x: :x : :xi _:x x xi : xx_ix: _:__? _. _ .^ ^ — y y f ^ 2 - ^ * A ^ J "■''"*"" f T \ J ^ * _ _ _ _ ,2 ,i _ _ _ ,,^ ,,_., ,.. 2__ A:^*- _ _____.__..___.______._._.__..__..___._„ -. .___ __ : :_x:_x :::_ : _x _ ::x xx: x x xx?: — : _ iv . 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P - ^ "" "* ___._, -s:: 1 _j 1 1 — X ±-±- — _ — _ — _ _ - _ |4fi^E.:^2M40R :=: = -- _ J X i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 N 11 M 1 1 M II M II 11 1 1 M 11 [ II M M 1 1 1 J 1 >||-««„1 Vta:i4W* 'V i' <»..I .'■tt-lWiU'J* #'t»«i>viy ■3' >« « I i ^ii«-*tljs. T» i^ rt£ ifc Wt> i Trlfcn«>«W- iM«*i «nM^ SmSI^TirKt ^■■f ,J;r..,=^, Vj.unm,Sr^i- 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. * 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 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^^^^^^^^ tons afloat in the lake; since Ss l^?lha^ Kn a rovZl^ in Ihe material of the rtoating eduip^ ISSu tiiere nas ueeu 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, auahly 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. lnacenraii 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 carriy 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) ('') ( 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»ler8tooproximateIy 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.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' 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.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 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 (;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 w i 'ilrtttiTix-'-rt-i, . 1 1 4 .^.. Tll::SXllJ'l^' ^- .-|..^-L,» 1 ^>«i-5i^$% 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 * 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. 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- rievheat 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 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.> 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 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 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 upr, 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 .'oiiiini'rcc (if Diiliiili, I Fratly diirin<; tiie period under consid(>ru tion, have moved to;;cther and at about the name rate, i'roiii JStiH to 1870(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 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, ants 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, 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 territuth 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 65, 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 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> 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.88e 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«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 , 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 Birltate 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 rel»"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 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,,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' . 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^.4. 1.0 ^1^ 1^ M L2^ il-4 11.6 I.I ^BlWIPK"' Photographic Sdences Corporation •y \ 4 sj <> 4i 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 145S0 (716) 872-4503 '^ wmtmmmmmmm ^ <^4k r CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Jm>» Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques ^ mm 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 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 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,:{!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 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 ,. , - . .• ,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«"^ 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 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 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 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\vey the (!ftrKlain 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 saieiiient. 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**■ 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 uuim»mmaw^ i !iv- ' !i'i^mm»»^>Mmma!^viUimiii-K ^