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October TELESCOPE 236 GREAT LAKES AND SEAWAY NEWS September 12...The Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company reached agreement on a new con- tract, ending a strike which tied up the fleet's nine ships earlier in the month. September 13...Senator Pat McNamara of Michigan joined a group of farm state senators in protesting the requirement that fifty percent of the wheat sold to nations such as Russia be carried in American bottoms. He charged that U.S. flag lines are boycotting Great Lakes ports in order to force military cargoes to be shipped via Atlantic coast ports, thus forcing additional costs upon the taxpayer, and that the present regu- lations on wheat shipments were also costing a great loss in tax dollars. He feels that storage charges could be reduced through additional sales which are presently being lost to other nations due to high U.S. rates for water transportation. September 1h...Five crewman lost their lives in a fire and explosion which caused the CSL package freighter FORT WILLIAM to capsize at her pier in Montreal harbor. Crew members have reported that the new ship, which entered service in May, was unstable prior to the blast due to a heavy deckload of steel and had actually started to capsize prior to the blast. It is believed that the explosion may have been caused by water pouring through the starboard cargo doors and mixing with 300 tons of powdered carbide which made up part of the ship's cargo. Canadian authorities have ordered a formal inquiry. ...A Senate Commerce subcommittee urged today that a full 27- foot seaway depth be provided for all major ports and connec- ting channels of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system. September 15...Ferry service between Levis and Quebec, which commenced on a year-around basis in 1910,13 scheduled to close on November 1h. Higher costs of operation, particularly during the Winter, and a refusal by the Quebec Transport Board to allow fare increases, were reasons given for the closing. Five ferry boats are currently in operation. ...The PETER A.B. WIDENER drifted in ten foot waves off Isle Royale after wheel chains had come off of the steering drum. WILFRED SYKES and other vessels stood by while the Coast Guard dispatched CGC WOODRUSH and NAUGATUCK to the scene. Efforts to rig a temporary tiller had failed. ...Two men were killed and five injured when a section of a Pennsylvania Railroad bridge fell into the-Calumet River in Chicago, blocking all traffic for an indefinite period. The bridge was being dismantled by Lipsett, Inc., and the accident occurred while a crane was lowering a section.