The Portland daily press., 1886-01-02
-. .97 46,4o1.87
SIZE OF VESSELS.
..ss..s. ....' lOf ~
RECAPITULATIoN.

| Ooollue-- OO0UI JOI.J4 SUI
kennebank.,... s9zo4 1861 85eqs
Machas ........ 4,SS1.o4 2,115.91 1,33269
Passamaquoddy 9S1.0O 935.16 ........
Portland. 5,76S.49 1,53O.2O 175I.7O
Waldoboro. IL ,27491 6,502.84 3416.25
Wiscasset;.. 2,42o.S6 1,s64.s7 1924
Aggregates..74 ,70S1 13 6,4o1. 81 23,O53. %
The Maine correspondent of the Boston
Journal in an interview with Capt Goss of
Bath, obtained the following information:
THE accumulated wealth of Bath has been ae-
qulred through and by her shipbuilding and ship
owning. The Pattens Towards, Houghtons
Sewails, Moses, Morses, Adams, Chapmans and
Flints here, the SOuthards and HagaTs of Rich
mOnd, the O'Briens and Watts of ThOmastOn the
Reeds, Clarks and Storers of Waldoboro tile
MetcalfS StetsonS. Fryes and Haggetts of Dana
riscotta, G. Y. Mnott Of Phipsburg and the Pen
dletons and Nichols Of Searsport have built,
owned and managed their ships The vessels
built by these firms have been usually large
ships employed in the foreign carrying trade,
but the substitution of iron for wood in shpbuild-
ing IN England, with the cheapness of that ma
terlal and the low price of labor and the
great Improvement made in marine engines, has
enabled England, followed by France and Ger
many, to put a fleet of steamers on The ocean
which have monopoliZed the Atlantic carrying
trade, including the cotton trade from the Gulf
ports, which has been very largely done by Maine
snlps IN former years. Our ships have therefore
been forced into other channels of freighting The
large production of wheat in California and Ore
gon, and the large shipments of petroleum to In
dla Japan and China together with the large inn
pOrtations of sugar and hemp from the Philippine
Islands, have given our ships profitable employ
ment for the past decade During the last two
years, however, the increased production of grain
IN India, Australia and our Western States, and
the high prices at Which the producers of wheat in
this country have held their grain shipments to
Europe have been rendered unremuneratiye The
largest crops ever raised in California and Oregon
were raised during 1883 and 1884 and gave ship
owners promise OF good freights, but instead of
COS freights, which were anticipated the price
suddenly dropped to 25 nominal and many own
erS preferred to Law their ShiOS rather thoO
cept these rates. The completion of the SueZ
Canal has enabled the iron steam'tramp to carry
the rice crop OF India to Europe, and has thus de-
prived our ships of what in former years has been
profitable source of employment The low price
OF OF sugar here has had depressing effect upon
freights from the Philippine Islands, as the sugar
reiners cannot import sugar from those islands
unless they can obtain a ruinously low freight
The various railroad lines to the Pacific coast
are now competing for the carrying of the coarser
goods that our ships have formerly carried around
Cape Horn to the Pacific coast, and owing to this
long delays are experienced in securing cargoes
Tor the California lines which, with the low rate
OF freight, leaves no margin of profit for the ship
owner.
WIN this state Of things prevailing capital will
not invest in ships, and am forced to the concl-
sion that there will not be ship built in Maine or
the United States during the next twelve months.
The principal reliance Of our shpbuilders now is
in vessels for the coaSting trade The improve
ments made during the past few years in the
building OF those and fourmasted centreboard
schO0nerS, fitted with steam hoistng engines to
get the anehQrs hoist the as EXPENSE as 50o-
ton vessels formerly could. The masters OF our
coasting fleet are capable, smart, sopeT, lntell-
gent and energetic men, and they would seem TO
Sltfff Is S6h 6fher tif ts dtls 6i bsfess Yet
coastwise freightS have been so low for the past
two years that capital mas peen preVented IRON
investing in schoOners, and few have been bullt
The severe gales that have prevailed during the
past three or four months have used up great
many vessels The revival OF business ana the
CONSEQUENT starting up of manufacturing indus
tries which are large consumers OF coal, ana the
labors Of the National Shpmasters, Assoclatlon
- n
ers of coasting vessels that minimum rate OF
freight may be established and abuses rectihed,
that fair compensation may be paid by the ship
pers OF coal, has encouraged capital to invest in
vessels for the cOaStlng trade, ana IN my Judg-
ment fair amount Of such tonnage viii be built
the coming season. The inquiries that have thus
far been made however, show that the IDEAS OF
owners are still so low that there must be an
advance in prices before much building win be
done. The prices that have prevailed the past
wear have not enabled builders to pay ship car
penters fair price for their labor but as Dusl-
ness will no doubt continue TO improve Detter
prices for building will be obtained and the de-
Serving mechanic will be better paid for his
services.
the present depressed state of the carrying trade,
and more ships will be wanted, but tne cnange
that has been so earnestly looked for has been SO
long coming that owners have about despaired OF
ships ever paying again. Inc change IN the car
rying trade, as have said Will require less SAIL
inc tonnage, vet a certain amount Will be required
to do fhe carving trade of the world, and the
shpyards now in active operation will be suff-
cient to supply any demand tnat may DC hiaue
The New England Shipbuilding Company has
under contract four large fouT-masted centre
board schooners, to come OFF IN the spring; also
The company will probably build steamer Tor
the Maine Central Railroad Company, 10 run Sh
their route from Mt Desert Ferry to Bar Harbor.
The company is also negotiating TOR the DWiGuhg
of a barque and freight steamer for New YORK
parties and the iron WORKS o. tne company gthsse
iron works have built and are Dmluihg superior
compound and triple expansive marine engines,
and the probability is that with the revival OF pus
mess there will be all the work In building steam
ers come to the company that they can hanole:
The success attained in building steamers otate OF
Maine and Cumberland for the International
steamship Company will bring other contracts
here to Bath of the same kind instead OF their 60
inc TO New York. The Kennebec Line needs q
new steamer. and it would seem that as most OF
their business comes from here and up river, the
company would see that 1t IS Tor It's interest 10
have the boat built here in Bath. Messrs. Deer
ing & Donnell are taking advantage OF the low
price of labor and material in building schooner
on their own account, when they VIII no 9o 4os'
the famous yacht builder, has one yacht in
process of construction, and he Will doubtless
have all he can do in that line, as some OF his
Yachts have proved very fast and have taken the
first prizes in Boston. The pllot-boat America OF
the New York fleet Of pilot-boats was modelled by
him and built under his supervision, and IS one OF
fine staunchest and abest boats in the pilot ser
vice The coast of Maine, with its beautiful bays
dotted with numerous Islands lts plcturesque rIv-
ers and fine harbors and its grand ocean scenery,
is proving very attractive to the hard and often
oyer-taxed business men of the large cities OF our
country and they find a'Sojourn on our coast ID
fine summer months beneficial to their health
| Hence Yachting excursions to our shores are be
coming more numerous, and VIII no douDJ conllil
ue 10 increase, thereby creating an increased ue
| mand for both steam and sailing yachts. Inc
| Morses are building three-masted schooner Iol
| their own account. Hon VIM; rogers Is nuliolns l
1 nOthlnga at present, uecliuIS 10 doOVPu tH0 AVN
1 rates offered"
+, ], Southard & Son of Richmond, will build q
i three-masted schooner during the winter OF abou
700 tons, to be off in the spring. 5; 5 Gerry U
| of ThomaSton, have schooner frame OF apou
500 tons in their yard which they VIII use II IA IA
| yorable conditions can be obtained, and besides
| this there will probably be no shipbmldlng a
| Thomaston during the year, as neither >, WATTS !
Co. or Dunn Elliott are miaRag any Sdpned ppeRdar
Brown are building schooner Of 100 tons Tor IN
granite business, and G. W. Cottrell is at worl
| Sinon A barkentine Of 500 tons for @. Marstol
stewart and Others of Baltimore. H. NJ Bean Q
| Camden has had some talk OF building schooner
but nothing has yet been setted aha theIe w WI \
| NOT nrobably be anything else done in that local
| tv as carlton Norwood & Co.. the builders OF tn
great ship Frederick Billings, last year, do not II
| fend to do anything this year, and no one abou
| Rockiand eXnects to do anything. Probably on
| three-masted schooner will be bulltat Waldobor
| during the year At Machias, John Shaw has
| Iarge schooner in frame, and VIII probably tntS
| he? during The year At AIillbridge, N. G. Wa
| lace is building q schooner OF about 40 tons. A
Jonesboro. the Jonesboro Lumber Company hay
| cot out the frame for schooner OF about 10
| fons carpenters measurement, which they e.
| meet to build during the year. AT CherTyfel'
| David W. Campbell Is talking of building steal
| coaster of 100 tons, and also a centre-boaT
schooner of the same tonnage, but he has not "
got them all taken up. AT Calais, the only wor
| IN prospect for the shipyards is the repairing
three old vessels, which will be accomplished tn
| winter. AT Wscasset, j. Manchester Haynes e.
| pects to build four-Inasted schooner of abol
500 tons register At East Boothbay, Villa
Adams & Sons will launch in few days steam
| rs feet long 15 feet wide, and 612 feet dee
which is Intended for the whale fishery by HI
owners, Capt. j. s. Nickerson and others of Pro
incetown. Mass. The same firm has also co
tracted to build fishing schooner of 12o tons Il
j. G. Pool of Boothbay, and is at present putting
new top upon one schooner and new rails upt
another. Messrs. Adams & Son have iine iis
ing schooner of 95 tons register, finished and f
sale O. s. J. p. Hodgdon Co. OF the same TOW
are building clipper fishing schooner OF 50 to
register At kenpebunkport, George ChrlstensI
Is getting out frame for large yacht or fshiI
schooner that he will put up as soon as the oil
| 'pok in business will warrant It. lie has also
J op Yacht, SO "-Tt long 1875 Feet wide and 5,
at NV for sale Z as can