The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-04-02

DON'T PAT"-There are how no
Fe'$el- On The sfass- ~ Port Ludlow.
where shIpb4i.dsug hiss been carried m
quite extensive : for years Last. and
there is Les immediate pro.ps,..t II arv
b4hdiL2 beng tI0ue there TIL, season
>eabeck viii probably launch about
one vessel aui = ting boat, aud this.
ifoas pre-eut Indications, may be 81
@@Eil - about tie sum total # y hat
NIIl he q g,ie there t3Is yeag IL that
HE Ia fact, If we may take the pres
eat outlook a. criterion. there vail be-
less done on Pu-e: Sound tins year IN
the way Of sLipbuijsiIag than for
gears past Vt we can >se no
Sufficient reason why this should lie %.
That vessels charters from Puget Sound
are lower now than they have ever been
. beiGr", and bid tair ~ remain -. is
irhe. But this fact j. n0t Sufficient 10
. warrant general suspension 0f sll,,,-
. building here The truth Is. charters
are already too high ani .tili farther
reduction Is nec'ied The price If coal
aud lumber DO ut 1t preseut Justify the
Ett~f-7 AAAaN sAk kL&NA kHkEkt 4tAtEkifskk ts4LB
complain ~ the Rates AZ which, they a,e
taking charters aud tel! rs HAT :, pres.
ent rates their vessels do not pay.
+ They are probably >iGcerc in this as
! sertiOn In the sense in which they
mean II. The term IS susceptible of
widely different constructions. The
time was in California " hen nothing
vas considered to pay unless a man
! could make a fortune out Of it In
year or two. Thea it was said that
farming in that State didn't pay, and
II didn't, if the wages made in the
gold mines in those palmy days were
taken as a criterion. But a paying en-
terprise IN tnat State Row a-days means
a very different thing from what it did
then In those days ship owners
on this coast didn't consider their yes
srls TO De- paying unless they paid Tor
/ themselves IN two or three trips, and
/ they have not got over it yet If these
nautical men mean. when they tell Us
that their vessels are not paying, that
they are not clearing themselves two
or three times year, then we agree
with them. Bu, if they ,psan i,y To.
term mot paying that they are not
paying very handsome return on the
money invested in them, then We dis
agree with them most emphatically.
There IL certainly, even if charters
were much lower than they are at
present, 10 better Investment .x-
tant than in vessel property.
and there is much larger need
of more vessels, and more competition
In freighis Oh this coast, which would
tend directly 20 reduce the rates TO what
they reasonably sholld be. 1t can be
shown that the vessels belonging to our
Puget Sound fleet are paying, and hand
somely too The sch ooner B-bee has
already paid for herself since being
launched, aud The schooner Courser,
during the short time she hus been in
. The water, has paid one half of the price
of her construction over ard above all
expenses. To show what th. vessels
belonging TO our coal fleet are paving.
we will take for instance the ship Ell
dorado, running between here aud san
Francisco. In the first place, she is
worth about $4,000. She will make,
- A"S '''s1tt ~ II u u f'ht bCt cen luis
port AMI that city. She takes each
time over bat We will put it at, 500
'sns Of coal. at $50 per ton. which
amounts To SOS, 800. Now. we Will al
low the captuln 81 eco for the year; first
mate, $1,000; second mate. 5000. u
hands. $500 ships provisions, 50
coo; towage. 81, 500; interest on the
money invested and for repairs. $4,000;
insurance. 81 eco; and We have So 900
IN the bull of expenses This subtract
cd from her earnings xjS. j00-lcaves
ret profit o. $50. 500, aud our figures.
At worst. are not lar out of the way.
This other vessels iii our fleet are for
the most part, doing equally we'll, and
the vessels engaged in carrying lumt.r.
still better. Yet they don't pay