OCR Text |
Show gross tons exported to Canada, as reported re-ported to tho Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor, La-bor, totaled 21,939,185 gross tons, compared com-pared with 40.727,972 gross tons reported re-ported for the 1907 season. The greater great-er part of this ore, namely, 20.444,751 gross tons, was rocelvod at Lake Erie ports; the rest la credited mainly to Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Gary, Milwaukee, Mil-waukee, and Detroit, About a million gross tons of ore are credited to tha j two new receiving points of Indiana i Harbor and Gary, thus placing Chicago Chi-cago and vicinity on practically tho same level with Cleveland as an ore- receiving center. I Domestic grain shipments by lako J during the past season aggregated 111,213,910 bushels, of which 57,754.-183 57,754.-183 bushels constituted wheat, 22.546,-795 22.546,-795 bushels corn. 15.701,406 bushels r oats, 13,516,156 bushels barley, and 1.695,370 bushels rye. The total 190 gain movement by lake shows a 22.H per cent decrease from the 1907 total. The largest relative loss of almost 50 per cent is shown In the shipments ot corn. The lake shipments of oats declined de-clined about 24 per cent, while lake shipments of other grains likewise show perceptible decreases as compared com-pared with 1907 totals. The domestic shipments of flaxseed for the 5 ear, 15,-C10.219 15,-C10.219 bushels, differed but 6llghtly from those for the preceding season, 15.647,509 bushels, and proceeded mainly from Duluth-Superior; tho principal port of destination was Buffalo, Buf-falo, which partook of over 84 per cent of the total domestic receipts of the article. The 1908 shipments of flour, 1,1 SS, 8 13 net tons of 10 barrels each, likewise present a smaller total thaa for the preceding year. The annual lumber shipments, 944,-742,000 944,-742,000 feet, were 32 per cent below the toVl reported for the year 1907. This decrease was due probably as much to the general business depression depres-sion as to the gradual exhaustion of the lumber 6upply In the territory bordering on the Lakes. INDEX TO BUSINESS. Tho volume of traffic on tho Oreat Lakes during th season of 1908, as measured by domestic shipments of merchandise from the various lake ports, was 60,518.024 net tons, compared com-pared with 83.506,991 and 75.609,648 net ton3 shipped during the 1907 and 1906 seasons.' The considerable decrease de-crease In the 1908 total was due mainly main-ly to the smaller shipments of iron ore, though the shipments of all other principal items, except hard' coal and salt, also show smaller totals than a year ago. Tho Iron oro shipments by lako during dur-ing the year, exclusive of 228,784 |