Evening star., 1923-04-03
TRAFF|C|S OPENED
ON GREAT LAKES
Boats Ready to Carry Goods
Delayed by Car Shortage.
Railroad Men Meet.
BY j. G. RoYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, April 3.-ReguIar pas.
senger and freight navigation on tbs
great lakes between Detroit, Toledo
ana Cleveland opened today and
marked the formal beginning o;
what Ia believed to be the busiest and
most prosperous season maritime
men on the lakes have ever exper.
fenced. April is an unusually early
date. but the officials OF the two lines
involved declared today that the in.
dustrial activity in the middle west.
especially in automobile parts and
finished automobiles. is more thar
sufficient to justify It,
Reports from Chicago indicate that
railroad car shortages are becoming
more pressing. Ice is still in evidence
In many upper lake ports, but scores
OF vessels are prepared 10 sail as
leaving winter quarters. Steamship
men predict that shippers of dry
goods and other lines of merchandise
Will utilize water transportation &c
a greater extent than ever before.
Railmen Gather Here.
Railroad executives held the first OF
series OF meetings here today to
mendous volume Of freight they see
in prospect. Members of the board OF
directors Of the American Railway
Association said that they expected
the roads would be called on to move
an even heavier load than in 1920 ana
measures would be taken to utilize
equipment to the utmost
Representatives of the north Allan.
ic ports also gathered here today ant
II is expected that measures will be
II o. 4. L. Il
ton from the St Lawrence ports or
shfpmens made by way of the great
lakes.
Steel Wage Increase
Announcement by the A. NJ. Byers
Company OF Youngstown. Ohio. of
wage increase from So to 30 cents an
hour for common labor and cor
responding advances in the wages Of
other labor not automatically con
| trolled by the price OF steel products
| marks the first of Iong-expected
adxanGe nSns in Th Tase scales in the ,,. steei
expressed today, however, that the
United States Steel Corporation
| would defer any possible action until
the return Of Judge Gary from
abroad.
Textile Scale Stabilized.
Action OF the Fall River and New
Bedford cotton mills in announcing
an increase OF 1219 per cent. affecting
| $4,000 operatives, Will bring the tex
| tile industry under a fairly stabilized
| scale in both New England and the
south II the offer is accepted by the
! unions next Thursday. Union ratl-
fcation is generally expected IN tex
| tile circles.
| Southeastern textile establishments
| continued today TO report advances
] to their employees ranging from 1C
to IS per cent In many of these
A Enftfh he lln
and the increase. therefore. is re-
garded as significant. in view OF the
| developing rivalry between the south
east and New England.
mology today purchased 100000
pounds of calcium arsenate which
will be sold to cotton growers in lot.
as srnall as 200 pounds at IS cents
pound 1t Is estimated that this
! method of distributing the boil weevi,
poison viii save farmers 80 per cent
Auto Prices Hesitatins.
While no specific announcements %
additional automobile price increases
have made their appearance. the Nast
Company has brought the price OF its
roadsters up TO a par with touring
models and Oakland dealers stated
they could not guarantee present
| prices except for Immediate delivery
| Columbia is out with a new specia.
| stx-cylirder model priced at 1,O95
4 although the Columbia light six a
| 1886 is not affected. The genera
opinion in automobile circles is thaf
| the larger companies are going tt
| test out the effect OF the few in.
| creases already made but these in
! dications show that the trend of au.
tomobile prices is definitely upward
New England Business BoOms.
| BOSTON. April (SpeciaD.-Indus.
| trial conditions in New England con.
| tinue to be highly favorable Manu-.
! featuring activity in March was higher
! than In February, and still is increas.
flng. There is a general feeling that
! Fall River textile manufacturers viii
! fall in line and agree to a 121S per cent
| wage advance to their employees, ano
| that New Bedford will follow.
Plan Line TO Ford Plant.
| MINNEAPOLIS. April 3 (SpeciaD -
| The Minnesota Transfer COMPANY
| composed of nine railroads entering
| the Twin cities, is planning to build
I new line into the new Ford industrial
| district regardless of the failure of at.
| tempts to induce Ford to substitute
| service over the transfer lines for eS.
| elusive service over the st. Paul road
| Railroad men are exuberant over the
\ defeat in the state legislature of the
| full crew BILL which, they say. would
have added $1,500,000 to the railroad