Evening journal., 1899-07-21
TUGS ARE TOO NUMEROUS
WHY THEY DO NOT BRING IN THE
MONEY THEY FORMERLY DID.

WIZ III ~ W. DNllNG Nv 7 flE
MONEY THEY FORMERLY DID.
THERE ARE TOO MANY IN THE
BUSINESS, AND BARGEs AND
STEAM POWER HAVE ENTERED
VARIOUS TRADES FORMERLY
CONTROLLED BY SAILING
CRAFT.
TOO many tugs for the amount of
trade" is the reason given for less prof
it's being made now in the towing
business on the Delaware river and
bay than were years ago. 1t has been
suggested that the amalgsmation Of all
the interests would prove a benefit, but
it is stated that such a thing is not
probable, because Of the large number
of individuals concerned. Pooling Of
interests has been successfully man
aged in various branches of shipping
within recent years, and a short time
ago the towing business on the Great
Lakes was brought under one head, a
company which, however, it is claimed,
is backed by vast amount Of money.
Philadelphia tugboat owners do not
seem to be able to work we'll together.
as an association formed some time
ago to uphold certain rates is now a
thing of the past. This association,
some time after it was started, began
to lose it's influence when it became
known that certain persons were cut
ting rates. 1t received its death blow
last year, when it was announced
by some owners that they would
take the best rates they could get, "as-
ISOLATION or no association"
Some ten years ago good boats
brought in handsome profits for their
owners. With the advent of steam
power in various trades began the de-
cline in profits of the private tug
boats-that rs, those who search daily
for tows. There are now about eighty
such boats, or nearly, if not quite, as
many as there were before barges
started to cut such large figure in
transportation; before tank steamers
came into such great prominence, be-
fore large steam vessels became the
order of the day. and before steamers
entered those trades formerly exclu-
sively held by sail craft, all of which
bonded to decrease the number of sail
ing vessels arriving and departing
from this port
Canal towing is mot what it used to
be-" and there are hardly any tugs
NOW under charter in towing scows
laden with mud. which was a thriving
business up to within a few years ago
Again, there is little or no work for
tugs in taking small barges to points
on the upper Delaware laden with va
rious kinds Of freight All these tugs
have been added to the feet seeking
tows of incoming and outgoing sailing
vessels, which in numbers have de-
lcreased rather than increased, and so
liciting contracts for the docking OF
tramp steamers and their removal
from the wharves to mid stream or tc
other wharves. Some corporations and
companies having use for this kind OF
craft in conducting their business.
Seagoing barges owned by corpora
tions and big companies have beer
land are to-day a great cause for the di.
minishing profits of the tugs. Thes,
barges have entered various trades be.
fore controlled by sailing craft, sucl
, as carrying coal lumber, ice. plaster
etc The Reading Company has added
> considerably to its feet of barges fol
carrying coal, the transporting oI
which to various ports along the coas
used to be a great business for schoon.
,ers.
A glance at the records of the Mari
time Exchange will show what won
derfuI progress barges have made in
the business Of this port In 1895 5Sl
ARRIVED and GIG departed; 1896. s43 ar.
rived and S73 departed; 1897. lilo ar
[ rived and 1.124 departed, and in 1898
1856 arrived and 1908 departed. Tn,
: tank steamers have cut down vastl,
F. the number of sailing craft that useI
to load oil at Philadelphia, one tanker
carrying some times as much as from
six to ten sailing craft would hold
Tank steamers. since their inception
some ten years ago, have been increas
ing in as large a proportion as hav,
1.-THE seagoing barges.
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