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a | | MARINE REVIEW. Overwhelmed with Excursionists. WESTERN OFFICE, MARINE REVIEW, mine { No. 701 Phoenix Building, CHICAGO, II1., July 27. Out of the alleged race to Milwaukee between the Columbus and the side- wheeler City of Milwaukee, there seems to have started a fine series of compli- cations, which will take both time and trouble to straighten out. Of course the all absorbing question is, "Who won?" 'That is answered in several ways. The whaleback made better time than the City of Milwaukee over the course, but how much better is given in different periods. Capt.McArthur and Engi- neer Blovitt of the Columbus say that they made 22 miles on the way up, and that they made fully an hour better time than the Milwaukee. People on board the whaleback say that the difference in corrected time was only about ten minutes, and that they were very much disappointed in the result of the test. One of the humorous things connected with the affair was the assertion in a press dispatch that the Andy Johnson followed the two steamers to Mil- waukee to prevent their racing. How this was to be done is not stated, but it. is considered quite a joke. The Johnson left long after the Columbus, which started far in the rear of the City of Milwaukee, and it is dollars to cents that the officers of the Johnson never caught a glimpse of either steamer until they got into the river at Milwaukee. Of course the facts of the race could only come to them by hearsay. Customs officers are asking themselves what they are on earth for. The officers of the Johnson marched up to the gangways of the three steamers at Milwaukee and took the places of customs inspectors in counting the people as they rushed aboard. When they thought they had enough on the boat they shut the gates, and the steamboat managers say that is the reason why many people were left at Milwaukee by the returning boats. That there were many left is certain, and most of them walked the streets, as they. had. spent their money, expecting no trouble. When the Henry syndicate gets through paying $2.40 railroad fares where $1 tickets were sold, it will have plans formulated for carrying bigger excursions than last Sunday's without a hitch. D. T. Helm, the well-known vessel broker, entertained, Saturday night, a large party of friends, consisting of grain shippers and marine men principally on the new tug named after him. The Helmisone of the finest tugs going into service in general Chicago river towing for many years. A Wreck that is Causing Trouble. Epiror Marine Review: Since the ice went out last spring the old scow Mt. Vernon of this city has been lying on the bottom, just above Mead street bridge. The scow is in the middle of the river, and has proyen a men- ace to navigation, the owners not haying sufficient means, so they claim, to re- move it. The city received bids for removing the hulk, but after consulting among themselves the aldermen decided to reject all bids, claiming they had no authority in the matter. Can you state whose duty it is to see that the ves- sel is removed; and after removal can the owners claim damages? There seems to be a fine point of law here. GEORGE D. FrELnows. Racine, Wis., July 22. [The United States statutes provide "that all wrecks of vessels and other obstructions to the navigation of any port, roadstead, harbor, or navigable river, or other navigable waters of United States, which may have been permitted by the owners thereof or the parties by whom they were caused to remain to the injury of commerce and navigation for a longer period than two months, shall be subject to be broken up and removed by the secretary of war, without lia- bility for any damage to the owners of the same." Asa river'and harbor act of recent date gave to the war department supervision oyer all navigable streams in the matter of determining harbor lines, bridge obstructions, ete., it would seem that itis the duty of the war department to remove this obstruction. Vessel men of Racine can settle the question of authority by calling upon the United States engineer in charge of the district to remove the vesse].--Kd. ] Shipping Legislation in the Next Congress: Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. WasuHineton, D. C., July 27.--Congressman Fithian, of Illinois, 'leader of the free ship element, says he will introduce a free ship bill when Congress assembles next month, but he will probably exempt from its operations vessels in the coasting trade. He was on the committee on merchant marine in the Reed Congress and made a minority report in favor of a general free ship bill as a substitute for the subsidy law which passed that Congress. He was prompt to report such a bill again in the last Congress, and prepared reports on both oc- casions which went into the history of our shipping legislation and into the result of the free ship policy and the subsidy policy in different countries. He never succeeded in getting his bill to a vote in the last house, although he made re- peated appeals to Speaker Crisp and the committee on rules to set a day for its consideration. There was a certain degree of opposition from New York interests to a general free ship bill, and Mr. Bourke Cockran, with his bill granting American registers to the Paris and New York, had the speaker's ear more closely than Mr. Fithian. The limitation of the new bill to vessels en- gaged in the foreign trade, as proposed by Representative Andrew in. the last Congress is likely to disarm some of the hostility to such legislation, and the fact that the Senate is Democratic will remove the claim which the committee on rules made in the last Congress that the passage of such a bill by the House would be a mere empty demonstration, The Democratic majority in the Sen- r ate is small, and "here have always been rumors when such legislation was under discussion that two or three Democratic senators would oppose it. It is held also that the feeling will prevail in both houses that the Democratic ma- jority ise mmitted to so much other new legislation that it will be well to post- pone further antagonisms by taking no action on the subject of free ships, Democratic majority has usually shown its willingness to vote for free ships: when the question was presented, but the subject is one which does not espe- cially interest some of the members from the interior states and the feeling in favor of legislation of this kind has no such earnest character as that in favor of the revision of the tariff. The statistician of the agricultural department has been giving attention of late to taking freight rates on grain from Chiesgo to Buffalo and also the Erie canal rates on grain from Buffalo to New York but the statistics are, of course, so old that they are of no practical use throughout the season, although they will be of service in legislative matters, on account of the official impor. tance attached to them. Bai ars : W. D. Andrews, who has gained considerable distinction in Canada by his works on life saving, writes Supt. Kimball of the United States life saving service, that there is now some hope of success in the movement to establish a government service in the Dominion. Suing for Demurrage--Dominion Marine. : Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. Kinasron, Onv., July 27.--Messrs. Walkem & Walkem have been in- "structed by the owners of the steamer Sir Leonard Tilley, and consort to enter actions for demurrage against the owners of grain consigned to Kingston and delayed there many days before discharging. This is one of the results of 'delays to vessels here caused by the absence of an elevator. Masters and owners of American vessels are greatly surprised at the lack of enterprise in securing an elevator. Mr. Owen, manager of the Owen fleet of Chicago, who was here a few days ago says a house with a capacity of half a million bushels could be built for $25,000, "The Montreal Transit Company is well able to build such an elevator'? said Mr. Owen. "I hear the forwarding companies want the government to provide a site and build the elevator, and I suppose if the government did build it the companies would want the expense of run- ning it-defrayed out of the public purse." In a few days there will go forward the first cargo of Canadian magnetic ore fora Pennsylyania furnace that has been handled here in three years. Ore producers here will, of course, be pleased to see the prohibitive duty on ore removed by the present administration in the United States. The Dominion department. of public works has just launched the new dredge Lavel. It is one of the largest and most powerful ever built in the 'Dominion: It is 152 feet keel, 30 feet 6 in. beam, 11 feet 11 inc'es hold, and has a well 91 feet 9 inches long by 6 feet wide. The Lavel is specially in- tended for deep dredging in the lower St. Lawrence. 'The Montreal Witness intimates that the demand for barges for grain transportation service between Kingston and Montreal has created a panic in the coal dealers' quarters. The stocks are 40,000 tors less than at the same date last year. If the boats are not soon released for the coal trade there is danger of a hard coal famine next winter. The United States engineer corps has chartered the steamer Stranger and crew for the purpose of making a survey of the St. Lawrence river from Og- densburg to Cape Vincent. The engineers will locate obstructive rocks and shoals, working 500 feet from the center on either side thus making a channel . 1000 feet broad. Next season the work of removing the obstructions will be commenced. : . The steel steamer Mulgrave has been launched at New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, This is the first steel vessel built in the maritime provinces. The craft is 122 feet keel, 30 feet beam, and 16 feet depth. Her engines are of the compound type of about 600 horse power. Lake Oarriers' Matters. Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. -Burraro, N. Y., July 27.--The statement, made in some marine column lately, that the schooners Law and Vance would be first to take advantage of the agreement providing for reciprocity in wrecking is premature. It ought to be true, but it is not. The Canadian proclamation has been issued, but ours has not. There is supposed to be no special reason for the delay beyond the mere failure to get down to the matter, and the state department will doubtless reach it in time. Still, fall weather is not far off, so an effort will be made to get started. Secretary Keep of the Lake Carriers' Association has interested Congressman Lockwood of this district in the matter, and if nothing is done before Congress meets he will poke up Secretary Gresham. The brief of the vessel committee on the raft question is ready and will be sent to the board of engineers in a few days. The raft people will then be given amonth to prepare a brief in reply. It is then in order to prepare a bill on the subject. It iy hoped that by that time one can be framed that will be fairly acceptable to all parties, aes ee is uC in the company to any extent the report that the new ; : suffalo line contemplates building a fine steamer will be re- celved with satisfaction, especially if true, as it would indicate that the com- pany 18 prospering in an off year and ought to become a permanent institution.