Evening star., 1942-07-06
Lake Ships Race Time
Hauling Ore Vital 10
Nation S War Effort
Huge Iron Tonnage Must
Reach Mills Before
Ice Blocks Fleet
BY Wide World

BY Wide World.
DETROIT, July 6.-Somewhere or
the Great Lakes an ancient steamer
with new paint on her sides is push.
Ing q creaking hull against time
and the waves.
Once she was sold for junk. She
Is wearied by SO years of serv-
Ice on the inland seas. But this
year, like many another veteran, she
has been called on to help win the
war.
This individual ship, now named
the Starbuck, has a small role in
the total war job. but she has 297
other bigger and stronger vessels as
her allies. And just how well this
fleet of freighters as unit does its
work this summer will have tre-
mendous influence on this Nation S
battle of production.
The task of Great Lakes shipping
Is primarily that of carrying huge
piles of iron ore to the country's
steel mills.
Ninety Million Tons Is Goal.
With every available ship in serv-
ice, regardless of age or previous
condition of servitude, the transpor
tation companies have pledged
themselves to move 10000. 900 tons of
the precious ore before winter.
That's 100000 tons more than
ever has moved in single season.
1t means the freighters must lay
down on the docks approximately
$4,000 900 tons per month for the
rest of the season-400,000 per day
1t means many of the ships must
make five round trips monthly from
the ore ports of Superior and Duluth
to the mills of the lower Lakes area
"A remarkable feat of speed and
endurance
Coal and wheat shipping must be
showed aside temporarily so that ore
carriers can play for bigger stakes.
The Starbuck's story indicates the
extent of the lake carriers effort.
Once Headed for Scrap Heap.
She carries grain. which allows
other ships to haul ore. When she
was built In 1888 she was known as
the Scranton; later she joined the
Minnesota-Atlantic Transit Co.'S
fleet and successfully became the
Ten" and Nine" Last year she
was sold to a company which in
tended to salvage the iron for scrap.
Then this season she was pur-
chased by the Powell Transportation
Co., a new name painted on the
sides, and handed to the patterson
Steamship Co. of Port Arthur,
Ontario. to operate.
This has been paralleled by other
emergency measures. Automoblle
carriers are being concerted for the
ore trade. One tanker that has
rested on bottom for two years is
being lifted to be reoutfltted or sold
for junk.
Thus far the weather and the
zeal of the shippers have permitted
ore tonnage to spill on toward its
new record.
Early ice thaws opened the season
at its all-time earliest and water
levels generally have been well over
normal, permitting large single
cargoes.
May Shipments Set Record.
During May the feet raced down
from the Northern ranges with the
greatest amount OF the basic raw
material ever transported in a single
month.
Despite weather handicaps, the
long freighters loaded 1857 1856 gross
tons for a mark high above the
previous top, 11,493,3o3 tons, which
was moved last year IN August.
the calmest sailing month
of the navigation season.
It was the third month OF the
1912 season and the third record.
Iron ore furnaces currently are
burning up more than 100000 tons
of the red mineral per month, which
means that about 30,000,000 tons
must be on their docks when winter
freezes the season shut in November.
There are more than four months
of ice during which the feet can't
stir
The fleet can achieve the goal, and
perhaps a little to spare, by main
tanning the present dizzy pace.