The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-07

If chance shot would put a turret out
or action 1t would leave the ship without
battery even though the guns in the
turret were uninjured.
A healthful growth is still shown in the
Seaboard coaStwiSe trade. The present
generation Of ship builders have never
enjoyed season of such activity. To
equal it one must go back to the clipper
days of 1854 and 1855, before iron began
to supplant wood in the construction of
vessels, and when the American shin
yards, thanks to the plentitude Of con.
structive material. were great hives of
industry. When iron was found to be
more servlceable than wood the ship
building industry in the United States lag
ged because iron was scarce. The ad-
vance in the United States in recent
years, however, as a steel-making nation,
has, through force OF circumstances, re-
Vived ship building. The coast ship
yards are crowded with passenger and
freight steamers, building for the coast
wise trade considerable business Is
also being done in steel sailing vessels
Hitherto wood has had practical mo-
nopoly of this class of construction. The
sailing ship is not the rarity that it Is
supposed to be. 1t is only within the
past year or two that steam tonnage has
exceeded sailing tonnage in the United
States. The proportion, however, is safely
in favor of steam. owing to the fact that
the sailing vessel has almost entirely dis
appeared from the great lakes. The nov
city in sailing-Ship construction has been
the building of tWo-Six maSted schOoners
the first vessels of this kind to be buiIu
anywhere in the world The number of
vessels built during the year ended June
30, 1901, was LIB. of 40l,2 Sl gross tons
compared with 1,05S of 305, ST. gross tons
for the previous fiscal year. The distri-
button was as follows: Atlantic and
gulf coasts, 73o vessels, of 1905 tons,
great lakes, 105, of 153,13S gross tons; Pa
.cific coast, Isl, of 46.105 gross tons; and
western rivers, 1872, of II .094 gross tons.
Although there is little encouraging to
report regarding vessel construction for
4
the year has brought out a few orders
from new sources. The Atlantic Trans
port line is now in the front rank in
this regard. 1t has given the New York
Ship Building company, Camden, n. J.,
contracts for four steamers for trans
atlantic service to cost 81 $50 900 each,
and the Maryland Steel company. Spar
rows Point, Md, contracts for two 9TH
ers to cost a similar sum. The Boston
Steamship company. a new organization.
also exhibits like bravery, and has two
vessels under construction for the for
eign trade.
A venture of far-reaching influence at
tempted on the Great Lakes is worthy Of
record. 1t is the opening of the all-Water
route from the Great Lakes to Europe,
via the Canadian canals along the st.
Lawrence river AS a matter of his
torical record, it may be noted that al
though a few small craft made the pas
sage from the lakes to European ports
years ago, the first vessel to utilize these
enlarged Canadian canals as a CONNER
cial highway between the Great Lakes
and Europe was the British steamer
Monkshaven, when, in October last, 1t
carried a cargo Of steel from COnneaUJ,
on Lake Erie, to Monmouth, England.
] his vessel has been employed by the
Clergue water-power interest at Sault
Ste Marie and was returning to Great
Britain for the winter when Mr.. Carne-
gle seized the opportunity to send some
steel abroad by that route. This vessel
would have returned to England any,
frfy, cd l..
less, the first use of the canals in COM
mercial sense. Since then the North
western Steamship Company of Chicago
has opened a regular service on this
route, and it's four steamships, built at
Chicago last winter, have each made 4
trip abroad The dimensions of the locks
of the Canadian canals are 30 feet in
length by 45 feet width They permit a
draught of IA feet. The vessels of the
Northwestern Steamship company are 256
feet long over all, 42-fOot beam and 2C15
feet depth Of hold, which Is regarded as
the regulation Canadian canal size. The
company expresses itself as satisfied with
the results Of the enterprise. The i'm
pOrtance of this waterway, however
must not be either magnified nor mini
nlZed. 1t occupies a definite field though
a limited one, owing to the restriction
In size. The completion of the canals
however, mas permitted the lake ship
builders to compete with the coast shin
builders for the construction of some
types of vessels for coastwise trade
Twelve vessels suited to transatlantic
and seaboard trade as well as lake serv-
ice, We're built on the lakes during the
year ended with July, 1901, and the ex-
pertinent of building, each in two parts,
two steamers much larger than the canal
LOCKS IS now being tried in Cleveland
These vessels will be about 1000 tons ca
pacity when put together at the sea
board, after being towed down the Cana
dian canals in sections
Inc year has been one Of unexampIed
activity with the ship builders of the
Great Lakes, and they have in hand
enough orders to insure continued work
Tor nearly all the plants for another
ended with July, and those now unde,
nave an aggregate value of 16,324,0OO The
combined capacity Of the freight carriers
IN IN. d ne list, some sixty-three of them. is
$50 gross tons on 18-foot draucbt.