The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1898-03-31
COMMERCE or the LAKES.
Total Tonnage Of the 500 Double That Of the
Suez Canal

ouCk Shnoh
In st. Nicholas there is an ;ticle on
1.-THE Great Lakes" by w. s. darwood.
The author says:
The commerce of the lakes is enor>
nous. The outlet from Lake Superior
to Lake Huron has always been Sc.
rious obstacle to commerce, in that
was not deep enough to allow the larg-
er freight and passenger boats to pass
comfortably through. Locks have been
bsiN at government expense, at the
cost of many millions of dollars, which
now allow the passage of large eoatsi
and two more locks are being ouiit-
one by the Canadians, and one by the
Americans-which will still furthef IN
crease commerce. The new lock on the
American side IL larger than the old
one, and, when, completed, will be one
of the most wonderful pieces OF mason
~ to be found in the country. 1t wiz
allow the passage of vessels drawing
twenty-one feet Of water. 1t has cost
several millions Of dollars. and will net
be completed for a year or two.
For many years the great Suez Canal
was looked upon as the mot wonder
full piece of commercial engineering In
the world carrying enormous cargoes
through its gateway from the cast But
in this newer land the commerce OF the
lakes has dwarfed the Suez Canal. The
total tonnage OF the 500 during the
year 1891 was 16,500,000 The tonnage
of the Suez Canal in 1896 was 1000, 900,
This tonnage of the 500 does not by
any means represent the entire com
merce of the great lakes; 1t Is only
portion of it. Hundreds of thousands
of tons of merchandise and supplies OF
all kinds are shipped annually up from
Lake Michigan points through the
Straits of Mackinac eastward which do
not pass through the 500; and many
thousands more so eastward from
points below the 500 on the other lakes
to be exchanged for other supplies for
points also below the 500.
Year by year this immense traffic is
growing. From the great West there
come, to the gateway of the 500, wheat
and flour and lumber and iron ore-all
the natural products from vast area
of country, drawn to the lake route be-
cause it is so much cheaper to move
goods by water than by rail. In re-
turn, the East sends the West vast
quantities of manufactured goods, and
immense supplies of soft and hard coal
The West furnishes raw materials; the
East manufactures these materials and
do hnn1 hn nj T.
factories and mills, There were re-
ceived at the ports of Duluth and Su-
perior during the year 1S96-that is,
during the lake season., 775,112 tons
of coal.
On the margins of these lakes, par
ticularly on the shores of Superior,
there are ore-bearing rocks containing
iron, silver, copper and gold. The iron
ore is of remarkable commercial value
and practically inexhaustible in
amount Immediately tributary to
Lake Superior, in some cases on Its
very banks, are iron mines, the
output of which rivals that of any
mines in the world, and the supply in
sight" as the miners say, will furnish
the world with iron for centuries to
come.
Some of the lumber which goes East
by way of the lakes is sent away on to
South American points without separa-
ton, taking first journey of perhaps
several hundred miles, down the rivers
to the mills, then a thousand miles or
more on the lakes to the St. Lawrence,
passing through the Welland Canal to
get to Ontario. and then trying few
thousand miles of salt water-a pic
turesque voyage indeed.