The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1893-01-20
About Navigation.

TICoNDERoDA, N. Y, Jan. 1893.
| pear Sar This letter will be the third
OF the series written with the object OF
showing the great Importance of the i,la
traffic which is unable to reach the ocean
except through Canadian territory and
| then only vessels of comparatiyelv small
tonnage 1t is not necessary for MS In carr
| our hgureS and comparisons back MANI
years, for the reason that the growth of the
Iake trslflc, as shown in recent letters, has
been OF comparatively recent date. In 1871
there We're engaged in lake traffic
l699 sailing vessels with 265. 900 tons TONNAGE
642 steam vessels with $4,000
1884 canal boats with 24g5O6
ia 6arges with 1880
5S49 vessels with 685.OOO q
In 1891, twenty years later. we find tho
vessels engaged in the same traffic were AS
follows: ''
124S sailing vessels with 1876 600 tons tonnage
l5g2 steam - 1877 900
7oS canal boats 1880
62 bargeS 2O5OO {.
rms comparison is interesting. The YES
sells In 1910 averaged about $50 tons each.
twenty years later, about two-thirds the
number OF vessels equals nearly double the
tonnage, and the average is increased tn
about 400 tons. The marked change has
been In the steam branch of this Compare
son; for while in 1870 the average was about
2O0 tons, in 1891 it was nearer 500 tons
Inc tendency is to make this average still
higher. and later on we will deal With flo
ures which will demonstrate this.
The lake traffic as it deals with the gov
eminent is divided into what are known as
custom districts The grand divisions are
the states OF Vermont. Ohio, Michigan, ILL
nolS, Wisconsin and Minnesota 1t is in
terestlng to note how this tonnage has
Shlfted around in the last twenty wears.
Taking the districts as they run: Vermont
has increased from 26 to 40 vessels. the ton
mage remains the same. New York has
decreased from $500 to 231 600 tons ton
mage, and from $500 to HOO vessels. The
only port of the New York district which
has held its own and gained is Buffalo,
WI mas increased In tonnage from 140,-
OOO to 1000 Oswego, which about equal
ed Buffalo in 1870, has gone way back. its
decrease being from 100000 to $4,000 This
is very marked illustration of Lake On
tarlO's land-lOcked condition, as the large
vessels which have been built for trading
on the lakes, cannot get east farther than
Buffalo. The Pennsylvania district, of
which Erie is the port of entry, has reduced
It's number OF vessels to about onesixth and
doubled its tonnage in twenty years. The
first figures being 267 as compared to A.;
and the latter 13,008 to 29,007. The Ohio
district had $50 vessels with $1,000 tons ca
paclty in 1870, and 408 vessels with 267, 900
TONS capacity In 1871, The largest increase
in this case being Cleveland. which is four
times as great as it was in 1870 the tonnage
in 1891 being 100000 tons. The Michigan
district compares as follows: TT vessels
with $4,000 tons capacity in 20, 1857 YES
sells with 388,t00 tons capacity in '9l. The
Illinois district, of which Chicago is the
port of entry. has, strange to say, gone
back from $4,000 tons in 10 to 5000 tons in
'91. While Chicago is the largest trading
point on the lakes, the majority of the yes
sells is entered from ports farther east
This is easily seen by the growth of regis
tration of vessels as demonstrated by fig
ures given above. Milwaukee of the Wis
consin district has gained from 10000 to
100000 Duluth, Minnesota port of entry,
had no vessels in 20, seven in 80, and in
'91 had S5 with a tonnage of 2,678 tons.
In glancing over these figures it will be
seen that Buffalo, Cleveland and Milwaukee
show the la gest increase. In the case of
Buffalo it can be explained from the fact
that the large transportation vessels from
that port are run in connection with the
OF the total vessels named as
engaged in lake traffic from the various
districts, 172,00O tons, or about 10 per cent
)f the whole are iron vessels. More than
% per cent of these iron vessels are regis |
cred from the port of Cleveland.
Yours very truly,
&. w. HANFoRD.