The Saint Paul globe., 1903-05-17

| ience in the rapid handling of the
stored freight cars between the Stor-
age yards and the steamer docks. The
Great Northern engineers have worked
out plans for the equipment of that
road with electric motive power be-
tween this city and Leavenworth, the
first station of Importance east of the
Cascade tunnel.
This vast scheme Of Improvements
is being installed with an eye single to
the handling with the greatest econ
omy and dispatch of large quantities
of freight, and its transfer from rail
to steamer, or vice versa, with the
least amount of labor or expense.
When the big steamers arrive in Sc
attic next year they will be able to
run alongside the coal bunkers of the
Pacific Coast company Ca Hill corpor-
atom and take on fuel coal which is
mined by that company in this coun-
ty, transported to tide water over the
company's own railroad, and loaded
into the bunkers of the vessels at a
total cost of not more than $3.50 ton.
This is one-fourth the cost of an
equal grade of coal at San Francisco,
and one third the cost of it at Port
land, and cheaper than coal can be
delivered on board steamer at any
other port on either shore of the Pa
cific with the exception of the ports
OF British Columbia.
At Smiths Cove Dock.
Having taken on fuel the big steam
ers will be able to run alongside the
newly enlarged Smiths cove dock, and
there lie in thirty-f1Ve feet of water at
the lowest tides, while loading or dis
charging cargo. Plans have been pre-
pared for the construction at the outer
end of this slip of a tide gate, the pur-
within at the same height all the
time the steamers are at them, there
by greatly facilitating the loading
and discharging. Along the dock from
end to end two tracks will provide
freight in cars, and this freight can be
loaded directly into the holds of the
big steamers through any one of six
teen hatchways. From the second
story of the dock warehouse accumu-
lated freight can be loaded into the
vessels by electrically operated con-
veyors across the tops of the freight
cars.
According to the present plans but
a comparatively small proportion of
the freight which goes to make up the
cargoes of the big steamers will be
arriving by rail and destined for water
shipment, or vice versa, will be loaded
directly from car to steamer or the
reverse. While awaiting the arrival of
steamer or while awaiting to be dis
patched east by rail cars containing
through freight will be stored in the
storage yards without the city, thus
obViating one expensive handling, and
effecting a great saving in insurance
charges, since freight stored in cars
will be much less liable to destruction
by fire than that stored in warehouse.
The Burington's Part.
Under the merger ownership of the.
Burlington system by the Great Nor.
thern and the Northern Pacific that
road will contribute with the trans
continental lines in supplying the big
ships with west bound cargoes. From
the practically ineXhaustible forests of
western Washington lumber will be
dispatched to the great treeless agri-
cultural region of the Burlington
country, and the cars will return laden
with raw cotton from the states south
of st. Louis, and destined for Japan,
there to be manufactured into cotton
fabrics and thence to be distributed to
all the countries Of the Orient. In.
years of large crop of that commodity,
the west bound cars will bring corn
from the Burlington country, which
with cheaper transportation will be-
come a popular and staple food for
the Chinese in competition with the
flour of Washington, Minnesota and
the Dakotas and the rice of their native.
land. Some idea of the possibilities of
traffic in the first Of the commodities
named may be obtained from the state
ment that the exports of cotton to
Japan for, the fiscal year ending with
last June amounted to 89,252, 600
pounds, and that in competition with
the other ports of the Pacific and all
water route from the Gulf ports Ga
$4,000 pounds of this moved via Puget
Sound. This is an increase from
$4,000 pounds in nine years, a growth
which still continues and seems capable