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10 MARINE REVIEW. Marine REVIEW. DEVOTED TO THE LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED aoe INTERESTS. ? a ee ee" Ba aa eer PROPRIETORS. HOMER J. CARR, : Associate Editor and Manager Chicago Office, Western Union Building, 110 LaSalle Street. Published every Thursday at No. 516 Perry-Payne Building, Cleveland, O. The books of the United States treasury department contain the names of 3,600 vessels, measuring 1,154,$70.38 tons in the lake trade. In classification of this fleet the lakes have more steamboats of 1,000 to 2,500 tons than the combined ownership of this class of vessels in all other sections of the country. The number of vessels of 1,000 to 2,500 tons on the lakes on June 30, 1891, was 310 and their aggregate gross tonnage 512,- 787.58; in all other parts of the country the number of this class of ves- sels was, on the same date, 213 and their gross tonnage 319,750.84. The classification of the entire lake fleet is as follows: Class. Number. Tonnage. Seam VCSEL Sin ce Sact.sssmcsetesccccn<scals 1,592 756,751 -53 Sat CmVESSelGcreetncstecacses ies socsenctemss a 1,243 325,131.06 Carnal Oo aticwersscea esate: arcs smersis criss seer 703, 72,515.42 SEER SMe Greteisetee apts cee ana ese eerincietneieels(esivcin cite sins 62 20,472.37 pe Otallecerse es sa. chee anatcr dep esse ces dein 3,600 1,154,870.38 _ Tonnage built on the lakes during the past five years, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is as follows : No. of boats. Net Tonnage. OST Aeemeee ace caves ce eve vatececoaseetes 152 56,488.32 TOS Seer ene Nee ech ci oue ealde weds sesosises 222 IOI, 102.87 MS OQ yet force cinder teen ststesce cesses 225 107,080.30 TSO OMeeeepeeeee seasonal se iscieuseeesenees 218 108,515.00 MSO lieereee pence etemaiisenocse dscns suiceinsecicser se 204 I11,856.45 SOAs shee ca cok eee cee neon es vaileenoans I,O21 485,042.94 St. Mary's Falls and Suez canal traffic: Number of boats through St. Mary's Falls canal in 1890, 228 days of navigation, 10,557; tonnage, net registered, 8,454,435. Number of boats through Suez canal during 1890, full year, 3,389; tonnage, net registered, 6,890,014. Number of boats through St. Mary's Falls canal in 1891, 225 days of navigation, Io,191; ton- nage, net registered, 8,400,685. Number of boats through Suez canal dur- ing 1891, full year, 4,207 ; tonnage, net registered, 8,698,777. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. It Is now the earnest hope of everybody connected with the lake marine that the war department inquiry in the case of Col. Ludlow with the light-house board will at least result in a com- plete vindication for Col. Ludlow, and with him Commander Heyerman, in the matter of lighting St. Mary's river. Wash- ington correspondence, in almost every direction is, however, be- ing worked in the interest of the treasury department. It of course, imposes additional hardship on Col. Ludlow, but no doubt, is but temporary in character. It is to be regretted that certain newspapers have even given a semi-support to Prof. Men- denhall, whose pamphlet can not be justified in its personal hos- tility and looseness of statement upon any ground of propriety or equity. He abandoned altogether his pretense of impartiality, and sought to shift the reasons for the relief of the district officers from the St. Mary's river to trivial prior matters which were in themselves of no consequence,and with which Commander Heyer- man had nothing whatevertodo. Furthermore,the paper itself has no official status or validity. It does not proceed from, nor was it in any sense authorized by the board, but is in the nature of a personal report or statement from Prof. Mendenhall to Secretary Foster. There will be no difficulty in exposing these features of the pamphlet to the court, aud Col. Ludlow's friends feel entire- ly confident that he will secure a vindication, although the task of getting a full understanding of the somewhat complicated sit- uation into the minds of three men unfamiliar with the locality, or with the light-house service, can not be considered an entirely simple affair. Now, more than ever, the vessel men and vessel interests, who have so generally supported Col. Ludlow, should continue to do so, and rely on the individual integrity and im- partiality of the court as to the outcome. ALTHOUGH the proposal of the William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company, Philadelphia, was in the aggre- gate $204,000 lower than that of the Union Iron Works, San era an Francisco, on the battle ship and cruiser, for which the navy department opened bids several days ago, a potential Pacific slope influence is at work to secure one of the ships for the San Francisco company. 'The Union Iron Works is deserving of encouragement, but not to the extent of thousands of dollars of the people's money. Laying aside the legal question involved in giving the contract for one of these ships to the Pacific coast works, the injustice that would be done the Cramps by such action is a most serious matter, and the far-reaching results of estab- lishing such a bad precedent can not well be imagined. Reports from Pittsburg about the formation of two big companies to compete with the Carnegie Company, through the consolidation of the furnaces-and iron mills of Pittsburg and the - Mahoning valley of Ohio, may have no foundation ine fact, bith it is nevertheless certain that the conditions which prompt these reports mean a great deal to workingmen in the iron industry. Through the Homestead affair, high-priced labor will be made a 'thing of the past, and iron manufacturers in all parts of the country must meet reduced prices. With vast areas of newly discovered iron lands in the Lake Superior region and a forced reduction in the cost of manufacture, it would seem that the effects of a low tariff on iron will be discounted by a change in home conditions before the new free trade administration at- tempts to carry out its promises. Tsp bill which it was said was killed in the House of Repre- sentatives a few days ago through influence of the American Steel Barge Company proposed to revive and continue patents granted in October, 1858, to Ross Winans of Baltimore, covering vessels similar to the the present type of whaleback. It would seem as though congress was entirely right in refusing to take up such a measure, as the patents, even if they covered such a craft as the McDougall whaleback, had expired years ago. Whatever may be said as to Capt. McDougall's rights in the matter of patents, his success in securing capital for the practi- cal development of the whaleback must be admired. VESSEL owners and masters on the lakes are greatly indebt- ed to Commander Nicoll Ludlow, recently relieved from the duties of light-house inspector on Lake Michigan, for his suc- cessful endeavors to make navigation safe during the closing days of the past season. 'The light ships in the Straits were not removed until Dec. 12 to 15, and buoys and all other aids were also kept in service to the latest time possible. It is certainly unfortunate that the navy department refused to consider the earnest request of the vessel owners that the time of service of this most capable officer be extended. No COUNTRY in the world has a better lighthouse or life- saving service than the United States. Safety to life and prop- erty is the prime object sought in the expenditure of large sums of money annually for the maintenance of these branches of the govetnment. The small extra cost of making telegraphic com- munication between light-houses, light-ships and shore stations would be very light in view of the additional benefits to be secured. Great Britain and other countries are preparing for a telegraphic system of this kind. OHIO newspapers are still talking of progress in the scheme for a pool among Hocking Valley coal producers, and a combina- tion among Ohio coal railways is also talked of. 'This latter is not worthy of consideration, as conditions surroundiug the rail- ways would not permit of such action, but it is to be hoped that the coal producers will be able to come to some understanding whereby they can secure a fair profit in business. 'hey have been working for nothing long enough. _ Capt. John Green of Buffalo has gone to California for the winter.