The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1895-02-07
NEVER A BETTER TIME.
Lake transportation Easily to Be Secured
Just Now.

I
Just Now.
A better time for Kenosha to make |
vigorous efforts for lake transportation
never presented itself. Vessel men all
over the line of great lakes are doing
| little else just now but talk about the
prospects of the coming season. And
| to say that tie outlook is not bright is
putting the case mildly. The prospect
is now that many of the smaller boats
may be obliged to lay still for lack OF
business, and the opportunity presented
to secure some of this tonnage III Il
/ traffic between Chicago and Milwau
| kee was never more inviting. Almost
anything may be had from small
schooner up to good sized steamer.
! The drift of most of the traffic running
on the lakes now is to the largest boats
and the cut made into boat traffic by
the construction and operation OF ferry
boats which carry cars with their car
COS inside is making more and more OF
an appreciable impression each year.
The long and short of it is that the
small boat is no longer " in it, " to use
common street term, and it will be
only as such cases as Kenosha is now
able to make that small boats will be
able to find much profitable employ
ment. Their business in the future
will be hunting along the byways for
such traffic as the large boats cannot
afford to bother with.
Owners of lumber hookers claim that
they did not make d nickel last year
and the coal and grain carriers allege
that they lost money. The Cleveland
Leader administers a dose of blues to
shipping interests. The paper, which
is authority, says next season promises
to show even more new and queer cir
cumstances and combinations than last
according to present indications, and it
is painful to observe that the outlook
is of even a more azure hue than ever.
The season will open with an increase
of about $4,000 tons capacity in the
coal and ore fleet, as compared wit
the opening of the season of 1894. A
now it transpires that the agreen -,
which the principal ore dealers 10,
reached among themselves, cont So
provision to the effect that all 49,,
ore shall be left at the mines 49, -,
per lake ports. AS no or - -, -
sold for next seasons deli COW 1000 80
inc to the statements { e doo1ono -,
i furnace men, and as tt ,aro iS moro ('- :
| loco 171COId npa NOW I
Lake Erie.ports, the outlook for vessel
which will be eng9 ,ged in the ore trad
is certainly not b. light.
Well known md ov+ons;uo a1,;on
Oh coal 70 1Io upper lake ports have n
news TO CIV e regarding the up-lak
movement The price of coal has set
tled Oel' Nv what was considered th
lowest tossible selling price last year
ana s. lies made up the lakes will ne
. cesS'Arily go at lower figures. The
lco1nbination among the coal men il
t confined to the mines of the Hooking
I. Valley, the owners of which have
0 reached an agreement not to sell theil
s coal at a losing rate, and have pre-
5 sumably agreed upon the minimum
l price which they will accept; but other
8 grades ofcoal will be sold at rates cal
, culated to compel the dealers to secure
, freight as low or lower than the aver
age paid last year.
~ The vesselmen are beginning to
awaken is the fact that they will either
] have to go into more powerful combi-
} nations than have heretofore been OBJ
tanned to prevent the rates again go
ing to q ruinOus basis, OF that they
will have to seek out still further
economies in management. The change
in handling the whaleback feet is
solely on this account. The fleet has
been we'll managed ever since it came
out, and last year the boats were taken
care of in an especially economical and
efficient manner but notwithstanding
this, it was found that a great deal
more could be gotten out of the in
vestment in the boats if they were
placed in the hands of a firm that
Ecould control all possible obstacles to
their rapid movement. In other words,
lake commerce is rapidly reaching a
point where it can only be handled
by the extensive dealers, Familiarity
! known as monopolists.
Let the Business Mems association
take account of these things and pro-
fit by the conditions