The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-08
MARINE INTELLIGENCE.
Local and General News of ships
and Shipping.

Little of interest is reported in the
lumber market the past week. The
outward movement was light, and while
there is no decrease in the demand
for yellow pine tonnage it is rath-
er scarce, and until there are free Of
ferings of sail freights at lower rates
the movement may be held within
moderate bounds.
A feature of the development of
lumber industries in this section is the
esta blishment of planning mills and
kindred industries. These are going up
along the river front principally. The
fact that lumber may be brought to
this city AT reasonable rates direct
from the mills and worked makes it
to the advantage of these Industries 10
establish in the cities Advantageous
shipping points are being sought by
them, and the railroads are co-operat-
inS in every way possible with promo
tiers in getting them satisfactorily To-
Gated. These improvements call for the
purchase of considerable machinery of
all kinds used about sawmills and
planning mills.
There are not many schooners in
port loading lumber at present, though
the fleet bound is a fair sized one.
Inc BUSINESS Oh lO-Qdy Was eACeeu-
ingly light in all departments. For
sail tonnage the demand shows no i'm
provement and rates were nominal in
most trades. Steamer freightS con-
tinue quiet. with but little inquiry no
ticed for tonnage. Rates were unim-
proved and quotably unchanged-Jour
nal of Commerce.
President conditions in the Cuban
Steamship trade anVf hing h1lt
isfactory, according to representatives
of leading lines plying between the
island and New York. Business both
TO and from Cuban ports has fallen
off heavily during the past few months,
and vessels of all the lines are at pres
ent carrying far below normal car
goes In fact the offerings of freight
have been so hght that some of the
steamship companies have been oblig-
ed to withdraw vessels from the sefV-
ice, notably the Ward Line and the In
dependent Line. AT the offices of the
Munson Line it was said that all of
the company's boats were going to
Cuba with half cargoes, as a rule. The
Independent Line was to have dis
patched a boat on Wednesday last. but
owing to the lack of sufficient tonnage
no vessel will be sent to the island
by that line until about the middle of
the month. The Saratoba of the New
York ana Cuba Mail steamship Com
pany has been laid up owing to the
falling off in tonnage and it is under
stood that two more boats of that line
are not now in the Cuban service as
usual. One of the unsatisfactory
phases of the situation is that none of
the steamship companies see any pros
pect of improved trade in the imme-
diate future.
Official figures, obtained from the
Bureau of Statistics at the New York
Custom House, show a very heavy de-
crease in trade with the island during
the first five months of the present
calendar year, as compared with the
correspondent period of 1901. Accord
ing to these figures imports of all ar
ticles, free and dutiable, at the port
of New York from Cuba were over ST.
100000 less than last year There was
also a material falling off in exports
to the island from New York, though
not to the same extent, the decline
amounting to some 500, 900.