The evening times., 1900-04-13
COMMERCE. ON THE LAKES
Navigation for the Season About to
Be Opened.
Trnn,c Without Precedent Predicted
for the Approaching Period of In
Figures Presented by the Bu-
reau OF Statistics of The Treasury.

No feature Of the commerce OF the Unit
ed States. whether domestic or foreign,
shows a more wonderful development than
that carried upon the Great Lakes where
navigation is about 20 resume for the sea-
son of 1900. 4 growth in our foreign COM
merce from cps billion dollars in 1872 to
two billion dollars in 1900 is remarkable,
ana an increase Of our exports from $444-
OO0. 600 in 1892 to 81. 221 600 OCO in 1883 is
even more striking. but this growth Is in
significant when compared with the growth
Of commerce on the Great Lakes as meas
ured by the Few available measuring rods
which the present rather unsatisfactory
statistical system furnishes. Yet the fact
that navigation on the Lakes is about 10
open and that the greatest season ever
known is confidently predicted by those IA
miliar with the traffic there makes some
facts which the Treasury Bureau Of Stats
tics has Just presented in one OF its month
" publications especially interesting.
The single point at which accurate sta
tistical statements have been kept during
a considerable term OF years is az ST.
Mary's Falls Canal. which connects Lake
Superior with Michigan, Huron. Erie. and
Ontario; and by study Of these figures IL
is practicable to compare in some degree
the growth OF internal commerce on the
Great Lakes with that Of our foreign com
merce. As already indicated. the foreign
commerce Of the United States has doubled
since 1872 and the exports nave trebled
during that period. During the same time
the tonnage Of vessels engaged in COM
merce passing through the st. Marys Falls
canal increased from 9l4. 725 registered tons
in 1872 TO p .9JS3 3i7 tons in 1899. the in
crease having been over 1000 per cent. as
against an increase OF 100 per cent In total
foreign commerce and 2CO per cent in eA-
ports.
The great articles entering into the
commerce on the lakes are wheat -four.
aud other grains; coal, iron, and lumber.
Nhe statements OF the quantities OF these
articles passing through the 500 Canal
illustrates the growing utilization Of this
great water route for transportation OF
these articles so readily transported I'm
bulk In 1871 the number Of bushels of
wheat passing through the canal was L.
5I6.1O5, while in 1889 the number Of bush.
els was 5S.3S1.&3J, or more than forty
times as much as i'm 1871 Meantime the
receipts Of wheat st Buffalo increased
from 1900 600 bushels IN 1872 to S&.eoo.0og
in 1895 while the total receipts of grain
Of all kinds Including wheat in the form
Of four. received at Buffalo by lake in
creased from g.. .GG0 00O bushels ir 1872 20
2G7 coo coo bushels in lSqS. Meanwhile the
expectation Of wheat and wheat flour in
creased from 80 600 600 bushels in 1872 TO
222. 600 O00 bushels in 1899 the increase
in transpOrtatiCn 10y lake thus being much
greater propOTtIOuat-ly than the increase
in exports from the seaboard. TrausPOr-
tatiOn Of -four through The 500 Canal has
increased with even greater rapidity.
growing from i3G.4ll barrels IN 1872 10 --
14,I45 barrels in 1850. while grain other
than wheat increased FROM 4sJ.71s bushels
in 1872 to 80 OUU 900 bushels in 1899
In metals and minerals the sr1wtl OF
transportation on the lakes IS quite as
striking as bTeadsJuns the quantity Of
coal carried on the 500 Canal having iC-
creased from Su.Nl5 tons in 1872. 10 g. $40
$50 tons in 1898. Coal from the PenusyI-
vauia and Ohio fields is supplied at low
freight rates TO the Lake Superior Fes.Cn
where coal production is light and ia
greatly in demand, as the vessels WbiCE
carry the iron ore, Erain nd -four from
the Lake Superior region carry cal OF
their return trips al nominal ght ratas
and as a consequence the coal passing
through the 500 Canal has. as already indi-
Gated, increased from SOSl5 tors in Is-2
20 3,g4O. So tons in lSS9- TIE pIOtutt q
the Lake Superior region. which is poured
through the 500 Canal in increasing guam
titles every year is. after grain and -four
which have been already mention g.
chiefly iron ore. copper and lumber. The
iron ore shipments through the canal in
creased from 3S3.1G5 tons in 1872. TO H.
32S,240 tons in 1899, copper. from 1891
tons in 1872. 20 12O.Oe0 tons in 1899. ard
lumber. from 1.T420O0 feet in 1872. 10
1O3S. .OJ7.O0O feet in 1889 The rep-rt
from which these figures were obtaiued
indicate that they also include tho traffic
through the Canadian Canal Iyi-g along
side st. Mary's Falls Canal Nhich was
opened to commerce September >. 1898.
Some additional and equally interesting
facts are shown for the period 1887 10
1895. These relate TO the proportion OF
freight carried by American and Canadian
vessels, value Of American ana Cauad an
craft. and cost OF transportation PER mile
ton OF freight passing through tie
canal. 1t shows that the percentage
Of freight carried by Canadian YES
sels which in 1857 was per cent Of the
total. was in 1898. only p per cent. The
value Of Canadian craft passing this point
"d0 an 1900 SS,Vo5,fVvf ana IN 1873 S@,49l,-
500; while that Of American craft. which
in 1887 was S17.6S4 $50. was I'm 1898. SIS
l9g,S0C, the value OF Canadian craft hav-
ing increased less than p per cent while
that of American craft had nearly trehlsd
and the total registered tonnage. as al
ready indicated. having Increased from
9lS,435 tons in 1872 to 2l,95S.347 tons IN
1899. With this increase in tonnage and
business comes an equally striking de-
crease in freight rates, the cost Of trans
portation per ton per mile having fallen
from 2.S mills in 1887. to 20 hundredths OF
one mill in 1898.