The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1900-01-20
A KLoNDIKE OF COMMERCE.
The Great Lakes and Their In~
portance TO Our National
Progress.

artery of our richest commercial blood.
One-third of the population OF the
United States is dependent on these
lakes for their export and import trade.
This waterway taps the richest and
most prosperous agricultural territory
on this continent of ours, together with
our most productive mines, and il is
worth while noting that within rn-
dius Of 400 miles Of Cleveland lies one
half the population of the United
States. Ii is a well-established fact that
deep-water transportation is, and nee
cssarily must be, far below the cost
of transportation by rails indeed, it
Is computed that the cost Of water
transportation by steam, when the voy-
age is of any considerable length, is
about one-quarter the average cost OF
transportation by rail, while by sail
boat il is only one-eighth of the latter.
AS this question of transportation de-
termnes TO great extent the existence
or the nonexistence of possible in
dustry, and enhances or diminishes the
value of every article of export in pro-
portion to its efficiency and economy.
the battle cry OF the west for $50 feet OF
water between Duluth and the sea"
is no great problem TO account for. In
the year 1898 there passed through the
Sault Ste. Marie canals no less than 21,-
234 ,664 tons of Canadian freight, alone
having a value of $200,000,0C0, while
American ships moved some l6s,O00,O00
tons through the same waters for the
same length of time.
n No. a
Of this $500" canal, for less than eight
months, is five times as great In num-
Ser OF vessels and slightly less Than
twice as much in actual tonnage as
passes through the Suez canal during
an entire year. Through this same
Suez canal, which boasts of carrying
the commerce of the world, there
passed, during last year, 100000 tom
mage, while there foated through the
locks OF ''Susan Mary" a tonnage OF
l6,500,00o. The stupendous proportions
OF the traffic on our great lakes may
also be realized from the fact that more
ships sail the Detroit river than enter
either the port OF London or Liverpool.
A greater number of passengers, on
the other hand, pass through this same
river than do in and out of the port of
New York, the great gateway of the
new world. In fact, the total number
of passengers carried annually by the
lake fleet falls very slightly short OF
/ 00,OO0,000. The city OF Buffalo which
claims the largest grain elevator in the
world, does a business in the trans
shipment Of grain and flour which ex-
| HOT h. oil aif W in,
existence. Cleveland, with the excep-
ton Of the Clyde, is the most extensive
shipbuilding center Of the present day.
The neither shores of the lower lakes
have been necklaced with n collection OF
the busiest and most prosperous manu-
featuring centers in the United States,
and so much so that to-day our coun-
try's commercial center of gravity will
be found TO fall somewhere along the
northern portion of Ohio. Mill and
foundry and factory in all these cities
depend on the great iron freighters
that steam northward with coal and
bring southwark their cnrgoes Of tim
Der and grain and iron, and it is in the
possibility Of such economic exchange
that turks the secret Of Uncle Sans
mercantile greatness.
II Is in just this, too. that lies the
secret Of how the United States has
taken such n generous hand In the
feeding of the world. IL is an accepted
fact with shippers that Liverpool makes
the price of cash wheat, and that every
cent saved on the cost of delivering
American grain AT Liverpool means so
much money TO be paid TO the owner OF
this wheat at the time il is sold and
shipped. So Duluth, in a commercial
sense, is placed by tho great lakes 1900
miles closer to Europe than is, let us
say. ST. Louis. The Canadian governs
ment has recently realized this fact.
and, although they have heretofore al
lowed American vessels TO carry 96 per
cent. of the traffic OF the great lakes,
they are now perfecting a deep water
way system from Port Arthur to the
Gulf Of the ST. Lawrence that prom
Uses TO threaten even the business Of
the port Of New York and the com
parativcly diminutive Prize canal The
last link OF this enterprise OF the Cam
adian government WIS forged by the
opening of the souIanges canal. and
! by It's operation ~ rs expected that the
cost Of transporting lake freights TO
tide-water will he reduced TO such an
extent that there will be n saving OF
from one 10 two cents bushel on
wheat. The Canadians have expended
over see 10000 60 secure their IA feet
Of water between Port Arthur and
Montreal. and in comparison with this
| the $40 600 600 extended by the United
States seems relatively insignificant,
especially when one remembers the
surprising extent to which our COM
mercial interests are involved in such
deep waterway improvements. Our
greatest interests i'm this connection,
OF course. are i'm the iron and coal exc
change, which takes place between
Ohio and Lake Superior ports.
IL is an unappreciated and indisputa-
bic fact that the great lakes lie al the