The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-12-10
A LOST FLAG FOUND.
[Minneapolis Tribune. /


The American flag has been driven
from the seas, is phrase that has been
rolled under the tongue as a sweet NOR
sci by free traders for many. many years.
1t has done constant service in the halls
of legislation and on the stump, and has
served TO convince many an unthinking
voter that American commerce went 70
the demnition bowwows years ago, never
TO return. Granting the proposition that
il has been driven from the briny Allan
tic, just for the sake of argument, it is
only fair 10 inquire as TO its whereabouts,
and doing so we have not far 10 look.
We find it floating gaily over Proctor
Knots great unsaltcd seas
At this season navigation of the great
lakes closes and statistics of commerce
on those vast inland oceans begin to
come in. A brief examination of those
figures for the season just closing will
interest and perhaps surprise those
heartbrokcn individuals who have been
mourning the alleged disappearance
of the stars and stripes from the Allan
tic. The bulk of the freight traffic of
the lakcs-more than nineteen-twen-
tieths. in facts made up OF coal, iron
ore and grain shipments. Beginning
with iron ore, we find that in 1887 the
output of the Lake Superior region was
4, 100, 900 tons. The next year IL had in
creased TO 5000. 900 tons; il leaped to
900, 600 tons in 1889 and this year to
800 600 tons. In this one item. with
the mining regions of Minnesota and
Wisconsin still i'm the infancy of their
devc lopment, the American flag seems
20 be kept pretty busy on fresh water
and each year for an indefinite time TO
come. il will float over a constantly in
crcasing number Of ships by reason of
the growth of the ore carrying trade
alone.
But the vessels that go down the lakes
with ore come back with coal, and this
year 3, 500, 600 tons went by water from
Lake Erie ports 20 Chicago, Milwaukee
and Duluth. Thirty-tiye millions of
bushels, in round numbers, will repre-
sent the wheat movement and about
1000, 900 barrels the amount Of flour
transported. With the development of
the northwest the package freight bust
ness has also increased largely and
constant growth in that direction is in
evitable.
The same gentlemen who mourn the
disappearance of the flag, tell us that
protection has killed our ship building
Industry. Let us see IL it has. During
the month of July last the tonnage OF
vessels launched on the Clyde was l5,
Cos: the number of vessels Of all sorts,
twenty-three. During the same period
at lake yards fifteen vessels were put
afloat with total tonnage of 7.6GS. and
only one of those ships was built in Can
ada. In quality and speed the lake built
vessels are pronounced by good Judges to
compare favorably with those built on
the Clyde. Many of the new steel
steamers can make fifteen miles per hour
and travel regularly at a twelve-mile
rate. The total tonnage launched on
the lakes i'm 1890 will reach 100. 900.
More than half OF these new vessels are
steel. and four-fifths are steamers.
More tons of freight are locked
through the $500" I'm year than pass
through Suez, and the total lake COM
mcrce is greater by more than one-half
than the combined foreign and coast
wise shipping OF Liverpool and London.
Less than 10 per cent. of this vast lake
traffic is in Canadian bottoms. and i'm
five years the tonnage launched from
Canadian shipyards has been less than 8
per cent. of the total launch.
The gentlemen who mourn the alleged
disappearance of the flag are invited to
examine into the causes which have
created tlEs enormous lake carrying
trade. They are invited to ask
themselves why Pennsylvania, New
York and Ohio want ore, and the north
western wilderness of few years ago
now wants millions upon millions of
bushels Of coal every year II they be-
lieve that protection has driven the flag
from salt water. are they so blind that
they cannot see IL floating over the "un-
sailed seas?" And seeing 1t there way