Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-20
UR MERCHANT MARINE
Facts From the Commissioner of Naviga-
tion's Annual Report.
Vessels Built and DOcumented During
the Last Fiscal Year and Their
Trade Distribution.

| cation. submitted synopsis Of his annual
report to Secretary Carlisle today. 1t
| shows that on the 30th Of June last the
| documented merchant marine of the United
States comprised 23.5S6 vessels Of 4.6S4. .O29
gross tons, distributed geographically as
| follows: Atlantic and gulf coast, IL, 46S ves-
sells. 2. 712. .944 gross tons Pacific coast, 500
| vessels, 49, ,359 gross tons; northern lakes,
3.341 vessels. 1.227.40 gross tons; western
rivers. 1.257 vessels. 2s7. 1926 gross tons. Cod
and mackeral fisheries employ 1,6O6 ves-
sels 7l,57S tons. OF which 81. 49S tons are
| documented at Gloucester, Mass.
| Vessels built and documented during the
year numbered S3S. Of 131. 1875 gross tons. a
| decrease Of 11S vessels and $4,000 gross
| tons compared with the year ended June 30.
| 1893. Incomplete construction (St. Louis
| and st. PauD at Philadelphia has absorbed
| much labor and capital during the year
which will not be noted officially in con-
| struction until the vessels are finished.
| Every shipbuilding country shows a de-
| Great Britain amounting to 20 per cent.
For Foreign Trade.
Our vessels registered for foreign trade
number 1850, of 9181SO gross tons. includ-
ing II whalers, 1882 tons. while those
documented for domestic trade number e,
| 236, OF g. I67, $50 gross TONS One thousand
one hundred ana eighty-four canal boats,
| l26.219 tons, and 1,4l7 barges, of 39I ,S23
| tons, are oocumented. Included in the mer-
chant rieel are Sll iron or steel steam YES
seis OF o,o,ooS gross tons, ana o,ilo wooden
steam vesseis,Or l,ol1,U3I gross TONS twenty
saIilng vessels, Oh 2,ooo tons, are Oh IRON OF
steel.
since 1854 the number OF our vessels has
decreased 5U4 while the gross tonnage
has increased 4l3VUO tons. The average
size of vessels has increased from III tolls
in 1884 to lyS tons in 1874. Five ships and
1 tnnc annIt I'm
1854 our steam. tonnage, 5.4Ol vessels, Of
1,4O5, ,9U3 gross tons, was one-third of our
merchant marine, whiie in 1894 it COM
prises 6,526 vessels of =. 1SS 43O gross tons,
or nearly one-half of the total. Consider
ing the greater efficiency of steam tonnage,
the carrying power of our fleet, reckoned
at S.OOUOOO gross tons for 1854, may De put
at 1O,OOO,OOO gross tons for 1894 In 1854
our iron and steel tonnage was less than
per cent OF the total; in 1894 it Is 70 per
cent. In 1854 the steel tonnage In our
fleet was only 500 tons; In 1894 it is $780,
uOO tons. Steel marine construction In
lSS4 was carried on at only four points in
the united States, while last year six
teen ports return such construction.
During the decade wooden sailing vessels
have decreased 10000 tons In Maine, and
1Oo,OO tons each In Massachusetts, and
New York. while California and Michigan
show gain of 5O,UoO,tons each.
On the Great Lakes.
The growth of the merchant marine OF
the Great Lakes is. the feature of our mari
time Development the total tonnage of
lake ports having Increased 100000 tons
during the decade. or nearly doubled. Iron
and steel steam tonnage on the lakes has
increased from 1900 tons In 1885 to 26O,-
wv tons in 1894. The iron and steel steam
tonnage of New York state has increased
from 145OOO tons In 1854 to 325OOO tons in
Il. Of
coast has Increased 3o per cent during the
decade.
Vessels registered for foreign trade num-
per i,ooo, or el6,lSO gross tons, compared
win <'Ei, or 1,3O4,2 gross tons in 1884
the decrease in sailing vessels being Sax of
soS9i4 tons, Increase of steam vessels "a
OF ol,o5 gross tons. OF the increase 40 :
w tons Is due to the admission of foreign
punt vessels, the New York and Paris
constituting 1900 Of this amount. In the
decade, in Maine, which imposes the high
est taxes on shipping noted in any state
OF country, tonnage registered for foreign
traue mas decreased two-thirds (223 go
tons). Massachusetts three-ffths Q2O, 600
tons), Pennsylvania over one-third C2s.-
OOO tons), New Yorks one-seventh (6O 600
tons), CALIFORNIA; has increased about one
sixth C24,OO tons). and Washington's more
than doubled (36OOO tons)
Iron and steel steamships registered for
foreign trade number 1OS of 22S,575 gross
tons, but OF these only six last year crossed
or Australia. or the total, 81, Of 155,6O2
gross tons, are registered at New York
which imposes no taxes on shipping in
foreign trade, and 1G. of 36, $50 TONS at San
Francisco Philadelphia registers for for
eign trade iron steamships Of s.4S2 TONS
Boston OF 2,O26 tons, New Orleans 10 of
36,63O tons, Tampa 2 of 3,3S5 tons, Seattle
and Tacoma or 2,S75 gross tons.
descriptions are New York, 1906 gross
tons; Michigan, 436317; Massachusetts,
1885, SS1; Maine, 32T, ,653; Ohio, 327, $50; Cali
fornia, 315,5lG; Pennsylvania, 3O2, ,6l5;
Maryland, l45 Us.
Twelve Greatest Customs Districts.
The twelve customs districts with the
largest tonnage OF all descriptions are New
York. l.057,7SS gross tons; San Francisco,
3O7 226; Cuyahoga cleveland, o. 234, 734; /;
Philadelphia, 22l ,64S; Boston, 214,916; Buff
falo, N. Y, 177,982; Huron, Mich, III, 500;
Detroit. l,s46; Bath. Me-. 124,649; Balti-
more, 122,S72; st. Louis, 122, TAG; Milwaukee
SO, 767.
OF a steam tonnage of 2,1S9, ,43O gross tons
of all descriptions, 4S2, 294 tons are docu-
mented at New York, 1924 at Cuyahoga
(Cleveland), 12SS39 at Buffalo, 12S,3S6 at
San Francisco and 12O.S17 at Detroit. Docu-
mented yachts number LO54 of 39,21G gross
tons. --
1t is estimated that to man all our vessels
registered for foreign trade would require
number actually employed in our foreign
trade was about 12,00O. The shipments be-
fore u. s. shipping commissioners numbered
II 800. That number, covering In many
instances repeated shipments of the same
men on different voyages during the year,
is estimated to represent about $4,000 men.
Classed by nativity the shipments were
o. lab Americans, 21,966 Scandinavians,
1886 British, 6.2i7 Germans, 626 French,
$50 Italians and 8, ,0i2 OF other natiOnalitles.
The shipments at New York numbered 15,-
OO2. San Francisco, 1885; Philadelphia,
S,S51; Boston, I, 1855. The United States con-
sui at Southampton reports S.535 shipments
at that port, 7,767 of these being British
for tie New York and Paris.
The complete report of the bureau Will be
issued In fortnight.
The Marblehead Ordered Home.
The cruiser Marblehead, which Is now
at Cartagena, after several months serv-
ice along the Mosquito coast Of Nicaragua,
has been ordered home and will reach
Nou York in a few weeks, Her cOnSOrt