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Telescope -69- ably full-sized car ferries. He proposed to order two ferries from Detroit Dry Dock, each ferry being of 28-car capacity and being apparently of the orthodox Great Lakes design. Frank E. Kirby was to execute the plans. Moreton hoped to buy them for $70,000 each and to have them ready for the opening of navigation in 1898. He contemplated year-around operation. Since, even in 1897, one could not purchase a full-sized car ferry for $70,000, Moreton was unable to finance his project. Moreton next conceived of using the Grand Trunk ferries HURON' and INTERNATIONAL which were lying idle at Sarnia. Presumably he intended to provide them with amplified crew accomodations and some additional protection of the cargo, since they were hardly suited to open lake navigation as they were. In October, 1897, Moreton tried to arrange a transfer of the ships to American registry, but he failed to secure permission of the Treasury, even though he expressed willingness to pay the duty upon them. The cabotage restriction prevented their operation between American ports. Consequently, Moreton was forced to operate in 1898 with the two barges once more. The line was essentially doomed when it failed to secure full-sized ferries, for the barges were too small for the operation to be economic. In addition, the barges could not be used in the winter months, when demand for coal was heaviest. The New York Central, the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company and the Ashley & Dustin Line watched the M & O with great suspicion, but the other railroads showed some interest. In December, 1897, the Columbus, Sandusky & Hocking (now the Sandusky branch of the Pennsylvania) announced that it would have Bareroft build a slip on its property. It intended to ship over the M & O, but it wanted to avoid paying the B & O a $2 switching charge for each car. This plan was dropped, unfortunately for Moreton, and the M & O continued to use the B & O slip exclusively. Moreton was eager to begin service in the spring. On April 6, 1898, about a week later than he had hoped, he had CHAMPION leave Detroit with both barges on the southbound trip. Three days later, CHAMPION made the first northbound trip with two barge loads of coal. One of the M & O's problems was the shallowness of the water at the Warren Street slip in Sandusky. CHAMPION and other large tugs could not approach close enough to work the barges in and out of their berth. Consequently, in April, 1898, the M & 0 chartered the small tug DAVID SUTTON to handle the barges at Sandusky. Originally, the company expected to have her work only in Sandusky Bay, but for about ten days in May CHAMPION was chartered by other operators for towing on. the Detroit River, and DAVID SUTTON made trips to Detroit. She was much too small for such operations, and CHAMPION was reported back in service at the middle of the month. Meanwhile, Moreton encountered the first of the legal battles that were to kill his enterprise. On May 9, Captain Davidson placed a libel against TYCOON and MIKADO, claiming that he had received only