The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-06-13
.SUEz CANAL LEFT
FAR In The REAR.
FIGURES ON THE
SAULT CANALS TRAFFIC. y
Three Times as Much Freight Carried
in the Eight Months of Navigation
in 1904 as Was Taken Thru suez for
the Full Year-Freight Charge Ton
Mile Was Light.

Special to The Journal.
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich, June 13.-The annual
report Of the 500 canals for 1904 has just been
of the business Of the lake was carried thru
the American canal; the figures are q combina-
ton of both the American and Canadian pas
sages and cover the entire business of Lake
Superior to and from all American and Cana
dian points
The figures of this waterway run to vast pro-
portions. In the first place there was three
times as much freight carried thru the canal
in the eight months Of navigation in 1904 as
was taken thru the. Suez canal for the full
year period corresponding thereto. This freight
amounted to 31.546,106 tons, and there were
total ''mile-tons' for ships passing the canal
Of nearly q, 900, 600, 900. This is equivalent
to the statement that the average distance that
freight was carried was S43h miles.
There was a total value in the freight carried
thru Of 1894, 500, 600, and there were paid to
shipowners for moving this amount the sum of
$21 ,553 900. This made freight charge q
ton mile Of all goods carried thru the lakes
including high-priced as well cheaper COM
modities Of 8 mill Indeed for some low-cost
freights the charge a mile was but so. 0O04O.
This latter figure was for coal, a commodity
| Carried by millions Of tons the whole length
Of the lakes. RI.
Vessels to the value Of $50, 1876, 900 were en-
gagged in the Lake Superior traffic, in addition
to the value placed on whatever unregistered
craft were using the canal. There We're 1856
of these vessels, including everything Of all
classes, and their average value was, therefore,
about $50, 900 each. This is not alone for the
big freighters worth up to $500 900 and $780, OOO
but the tugs and small craft that are worth
| few hundreds. The American canal was oper-
| ated 224 days of the year and the Canadian
canal PAL days. The American canal passed 81
| per cent of the commerce, but American YES
sells handled "a per cent of the freight, tho but
81 per cent Of the $4,000 passengers carried
during the season. 100 ~, gls&
In four months Of the year the traffic amount
| ed to more than 5,0O0,O00 tons a, month, and
for August the volume Of tonnage was 5,645. 600
| TONS 20. ~ ~ 80 ~ ~
The freight charge a<tonrnile--.s1 Of mill
was less than for an5a year?in the history of
| the trade except for 1898, tho in eleven years
| 1t has but twice. exceeded one mill.
| Previous to the completion Of the first canal
in 1855 built under: grants from The state Of
| Michigan, the movement of freight to Lake
! Superior was entirely by boat to Sault Ste
Marie, where it unloaded, portrayed a mile
| across the rapids and reloaded into other boats
| for further transit It is needless to say that
| the volume Of freight was slight, but in 1851
there were II 500 tons carried around the rapids
/ in this way. The opening year of this CANA
| the business amounted to 14,503 tons, and IL
| 1902 it 35,961, 146 tons. The increase IL
| tonnage Of each years traffic over that imme
diately preceding has been about 20 per cent IL
the entire period of fifty years. For each decad.
the average percentage. Of yearly increase ani
the total tonnage are as follows: