Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-07-31
BANNER YEAR
FOR NEW SHIPS
Additions to American
Fleet Largest Of Any
Year in History,
HAWAII FORNlSHED
GOOD SIZED TONNAGE
Steamships Prominent in the In
crease Great Lakes Shipping
Makes Big Advance
Comparisons.

Washington, July lS.--The Bureau
of Navigation states that during the
fiscal year ended June 30. 1900. the
total tonnage officially numbered
amounted to 4l7.O34 gross tons. Fail
returns from Honolulu will not be re-
ceived for a fortnight. but about 3S.-
900 tons of Hawaiian vessels were IN
titled to American documents under
the act of Congress creating the Ter
ritory of Hawaii. Porto Rican vessels
were also by act of Congress cntitle
to American documents. but they ag-
gregate less than 1000 tons. Complete
figures will probably show that the
actual additions to the American mcr-
chant fleet during the year have sur
passed the 1856 gross tons docu-
mented during the fiscal year 1871,
when the law required all canal boats
in domestic trade to be dOCumentcd.
In that event the additions to our mel.
chant fleet during the fiscal year will
have been greater than during any
year since 1856.
The figures will be slightly reduced
by the fact that the issue Of official
numbers and of marine documents are
not simultaneous.
The vessels built in the tinted
States and official numbered during
the year aggregate 3Sl SEQ gross tons.
This record was surpassed in 1874,
when i32.72j gross tons were built in
the United States and doCumentcd. or
the new vessels built during the year,
iS3, of 2l3,O52 gross tons, are steam
vessels; 575 of 92.G25 gross tons, are
sail vessels, including barges with sail
power, and 7G,1SG tons are barges and
few canal boats for Canadian traic
without power of self-propulsiOn. The
large proportion of steam vessels, &c
per cent of the total, makes this yeaI s
addition to the fleet in value and In
carrying power superior to the add!-
tons in 1874 or of any other year in
our history.
The most important additions Of
the year have been the large steel
vessels built for the trade of the Grcai
lakes. They include the James J. Hill,
of COPS gross tons, the largest mcr-
chant vessel built in the United States
and two steel schooner barges, each Of
during 1900; nine other lake steamers
over 5000 gross tons, and five lake
steamers of over 1000 gross tons, On
the seaboard the largest vessel built Is
the steamship Californian, 5,S79 gross
tons launched at San Francisco. which
will be the pioneer vessel in opening
regular steamship communication be-
tween Hawaii and the ports of tho
United States. No other vessel of 5000
gross tons or over on the seabOard has
been numbered during the year, but
six steamships Of over 1000 tons each
for the Atlantic coasting trade have
been built.
The only vessels built during the
year exclusively for the foreign trade
has been the steamship Maracaibo, Of
l77l gross tons, for the Red ID line In
the Venezuelan mail trade.
The sister steamships San Juan AMI
Ponce, each of 1903 gross tons, and
the Porto Rico, 1851 gross tons, giving
the island the best means of cOmmuni-
cation with the United States it ever
had, are the first maritime results of
the annexation of Porto Rico.
The steel ship Edward Sewall, 32O6
gross tons, and the steel bark Kaiu-
! lani, 1870 gross tons, for the Hawaiian
| trade, are the only square rugged YES
sells built, but eleven sChOoners, Were
constructed for the Atlantic coast
/ trade
Additions from sources other than
construction during the year have
been repaired wrecks, 9,S43 tons; Ha'
waiian vessels numbered at San Fran
cisco since June Il, 1851 tons; vessels
sold to citizens by the government
1926 tons; admitted by special acts
of Congress, 5,76i tons; American yes,
sells returned from foreign flags, $780,
tons.
Full returns will probably show that
the total documented tonnage of tho
United States on June 80, 1900, for the
first time since 1865 has again reached
5000 900 gross tons. The tonnage
registered for foreign trade, however
will probably be slightly below SiS ,0Oi
gross tons, the figures for June 20
1899. The increase of the AlaskGL
trade carried on mainly by registered
vessels, has checked somewhat during
the year the steady decline in Ameri'
can tonnage registered for forcigr
trade.
or the LOSS steam and sail vessels q
3Oj.G77 gross tons built and numbered
during the year, 9S, of lS5,43i TOYS
were steel 957, of 1890 tons, wGr.
wood, and three, Of SIS tons, iron. Tn,
proportion Of steel construction is thus
much the prpatpgt In nur bigtpry Tli,