The Washington herald., 1909-01-31

Wireless telephony Is on the eve u
working z complete revolution n the
methods IF handling the enormous snlO-
ping OF the Great Bskes. says Edward
Staats Luther. in the New York Tribune
Already. al scores Of points along tas
lakes. the towering poles Of the wireless
telephone system. each wtth rs antsf-
nae Of wires. are being put IN place, 50
that bv next spring the system viii be IN
,,se from end to end CT the chain OF
Americas inland seas. BY use Of this
system marine Insurance rates VIII he re-
duced to a minimum, owing to the fact
that all storm warnings may he trans
nltte5 Immediately 10 lake vessels. So
that thev will have ample time 10 make
safe harbors. md. used ia conjunction
with the existing land system OF wre
telephones, VIII make II possible for per
sons either en- the shores of the lakes OF
hundreds Of miles away TO talk w1ts Off
GERS & or passengers oo ary Of ;ie Ncs-
seIs cqgaged IN the lake trafs.
Few persons. even those directly con-
nectes with commerce on the Great
Lakes. realize the enormous interests
represented in that trade. Eighty Per cent
o1 all the water tonnage Of North Amer
( ics IS carried on the Great Lakes. Thirty
thousand craft Of all classes to-day are
engaged in tie lake trade. and the lake
shipvards are from one to three years
behind on their orders from lake ship
although one-half Of all the vessels
built in the western hemisphere Ia Ees
we're for the Great Lakes trade. the need
for more bottoms has become 50 acute
+ that steamship companies engaged in the
trade recently have been obliged TO 20 u
English and Scotch shipyards with o.
ders.
Freight Exceeds Record.
The freight conveyed over these waters
during 1865 was more than seven times as
much as the whole world carried through
the Suez Canal in the same time. -Four
thousand freight steamers. 20 big pas
senger steamers. and about 25.o99 pleasure
and other craft comprise the enormous
iGreat Lakes feet. which uses upward Of
three million tons OF coal in single
year. or enough 10 heat every house u
Chicago for three years
The Pittsburg Steamship Company.
which Is merely the carrier or the United
States Steel Corporation. alone owns
sbfDs with a combined capacity Of s5oes
tons Of ore on single trip II the ships
Of this company alone we're placed END
/ 10 end they would cover distance o.
: eight miles. and during the eight months
D OF Great Lakes navigation each gear the5
= carry as much freight from Lake Supe
: rior 20 Lake Erie ports as ali the vessel;
OF the world take through the Suez cana
IN a whole year.
In weight Of freight annually handles
l. Buffalo and Duluth are the worlds great
est ports. while the tonnage handled
: Ohio ports alone exceeds that Of ali IN
= norss Of France. During 1897 approx
I matsiy 1o0.ec00e0 tons OF freight wer
sbluped n Great Lakes bottoms. Thi
/ would be enough 70 III Z5e.Ns 800
. freight cars o. q train that would grid
n the earth and extend from New York {
z San. Francisco in addition. More than
s per cent OF this immense total consisie
Z Of y7sfs. 500 tons OF iron ore. 100000 ton
: Of coal. fie SIS, ST bushels OF grain l,l5s
81 tons Of -four. Il SIS. 81 bushels OF Tar
: seed. and more than 1.000000.0so feet
= lumber.
!. Greatest Of all lines of lake trafac
: that IN iron ere. and some 500 giaT
steamers are engaged seleiy in its csl
- rage This ore commerce has double
during the last six years. and the ste
% men believe Il viii be doubled again dui
: ing the next ten, for three little Patche
y Of the Grea: Lakes country produced
. 1878 nearly half OF the worlds total SUI
y During 1873 eOo,oo0,OOo bushels Of gral
q and Il. .0ot Go barrels Of -four were shil
: ned from lake ports. the g,7in shipmen
- from Port Arthur and Fort WilAai
- alone being well over S9e8.eo0 bushel
= At least 90 eo0.0o0 bushels Of wheat. 5000
n 600 bushels Of other grain. and f.5oe
- barrels Of -four passed through the -SoC
7 canals. and so.000.Oo0 bushels OF grain CO
A servativelv represent the tUtai sfipmen
= from Chicago. Milwaukee, and 9th
"A ports whose east-bound commerce do
n not pass through these canals Il
. years lumber shipments aggregated nes
l. IDaOo0GD0 feet. OF enough TO bui
rk more than 75.oeo houses Of elght roon
st each
= Taking the SOC Canal as its center a.
drawing q circle having radius OF
10 miles II would be found TO include 70
w OF the worlds greatest ports-Buffa-
y Cleveland, Chicago, and Duluth With
lst the circle OF upon its circumference
on such other ports as Detroit. TOron'
IS Duukirk. Erie. Conneaut. Ashtabula- II
ne ain. sandusky. Toledo. Gary. Milweuk'
OF Ashland. Superior, and Port Arthur.
~ Heart OF the Nation.
be The eight States along the Great Laf
sr- are in reality the heart and power OF
sr- nation. Within their borders dwell
an 90. 900 people. and upon their shores &C
n ter the greatest industries Of the SoT
lts with all the great shipysrds strsini
- every effort TO meet the demands Of
,en lake commerce. shippers agree that th
It never viii be quite able TO meet the
TO Fe,Iirements Of the traffic. Everywh,
an from, Duluth 70 Buffalo the shipping
IS crowded. in many cases dangerously
-. - The greatest ocean ports never hs
- known such olockades as Duluth
seen on more than one occasion.
During one month alone last year tn
vel vera !. .2gI arrivals and cieaTances at {
h 1" port an average OF forty a cay Stea
~ ers pass through the Detroit River on
n average Of one every twelve nlinut
tar night and day. Harbors and canals m
is he enlarged to facilitate the grow
of business. and unless there Is some met
nth available for the protection OF this
.rt- shipping the tragedies of the next deci
ted win be greater than those Of all the %
1ri- In the wireless telephone II is belle
our that a large measure OF protection
Of been found
The Great Lakes form enc OF the m
treacherous highways In the world Or
IA storms coming up at s few hours not
and do enormous damage TO shipping. SEQ
ms = v4ss4ss suddenly and mystertoGsly
-els appear each year. leaving no trace.
,m- cording to the records more than $50