St. Paul daily globe., 1895-11-27
SHIPMENTS OF DULUTH.
An Immense Business Done There
the Past Season.


The season of navigation at Duluth
is substantially at an end, and, so far
as ore is concerned, the total of ship
ments is now being made up. No ex-
act figures have been made public this
year by either the Iron Range or Mis-
sabe roads, but the total for Duluth &
Two Harbors will not be very far from
3,500,O00 tons, which is something of an
increase over the total for last year.
The amounts shipped by the two roads
will not be far from equal.
From Duluth beth the mines and
road could have made a better record
but We're prevented, not so much by
high freights, though the figure on ore
has been exalted, as by the absolute
impossibility of getting tonnage. For
the past few days the cold has pre-
vented storing any ore in the dock
pockets, and necessitated direct load
ing. This has not hastened shipments.
Both roads are contemplating busi-
ness next year that will be far in ex-
cess of anything ever done at the head
of the lake in ore. The Missabe is al
ready building a new dock, half as
large as that now in operation, and the
Iron Range will rebuild one of its
docks at Two Harbors. To the in
creased shipments thus made possible
during the next season of navigation
will be added the large output certain
to be mined by the Mahoning company
at Hibbing, which will ship its ore
over the Wright & Davis road and into
Superior over the Duluth & Winnipeg.
The ore will be shipped from the fine
dock built at AlloueZ bay by the Win
nipeg read at the time the original
traffic contract was made by the Mer-
ritts and the Chase-Grant regime in
the Missabe roads affairs. This dock
for the three years of its existence has
done practically no business, only a
few experimental cargoeS having been
sent to Cleveland from there. The
Mahoning company next year will be
ready to do an extensive business, and
an iron man, who is an authority, has
made the statement that the shipments
from Duluth, Superior and Two Har-
bors will reach the 100000 mark, and
that it is a matter of only one season
or two before the Duluth district will
head the list of Lake Superior ore
shippers.
The general marine business of Du-
luth during the season, now practical
ly closed, has more than kept pace
with the advance in ore shipments
when the figures of the collectors
report are made public this year, said
a custom house official a day or two
ago, mot only Duluth and the state,
but the veSselmen themselves, will be
surprised. The increase over last year
and, for that matter, over all preced-
ing seasons, is something wonderful
We hardly know ourselves how il
would be until we were asked by a
commercial body in Boston for some
figures. A rough footing up was made
and when the official figures are ready
for publication there will be sur
prise"
The closing of the season naturally
suggests some question as to how the
vessel men have Jared. Some idea of
the carrying capacity of the new mod
ern carriers can be obtained by citing
loaded OF 100000 bushels of wheat in a
single cargo and carried it from Duluth
to Buffalo. AT the top-notch of rates
for the year such a cargo would rep
resent nearly $4,000 in freight. To this
can be added considerable sum for
the net earning on cargo of freight
up. A modern freighter of large ca
pacity with such business during a
whole season could show profit at the
end of the year that would represent
a large proportion of the first cost.
In addition to its bearing on the ques-
ton of earnings the cargo of the Vic
tory mentioned calls also to mind the
tremendous increase that has been
made in carrying capacity in the last
few years. The vessels that two years
ago were cracks, are now in the second
or even third class. 1t is hardly five
years ago that the first single cargo
of over 100000 bushels of wheat was
loaded out of Duluth for Buffalo.