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MARINE REVIEW. Wor LX: CLEVELAND, O., anp CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 12, 1804. No. 15. Steel Steamer Harvey H. Brown. It was expected that a trial trip of the steel steamer Harvey H. Brown, which was launched from the Wyandotte ship yard of the Detroit Dry Dock Company a few weeks ago, would take place on Wednesday of this week but the trip has been postponed for afew days. This vessel, to which extended reference was made in the REVIEw of March 15, just fol- lowing the launch, is, as regards nearly all details of hull and machinery, a duplicate of the big steamer Selwyn Eddy, built by the same company for Eddy Bros. of Bay City, but she will be fitted with Howden's forced draft and has a sheathing of wood on her bottom, which is intended to lessen the danger of costly repairs resulting from river strandings. On account of this wood sheathing, the premium on a season's insurance will, according to the tariff recently adopted by lake underwriters, be reduced about $500, and there is less probability also of the boat losing valuable time in port, on account of touching in the rivers at places where a boat without this protection would suffer serious loss. Immediately upon the opening of navigation on Lake Superior, this steamer, which will be man- aged with other boats controlled by Capt. E. M. Peck of Detroit and Har- vey H, Brown of Cleveland, will enter upon acontract to carry ore from Ashland for the greater part of the season. been made at Marquette and 2 cents at Duluth, with prospects of corre- sponding reductions at Ashland, Two Harbors and Escanaba. New Keeper of the Cleveland Life Saving Station. Charles E. Motley, who has been appointed to succeed Capt. Lawrence Distel as keeper of the Cleveland life saving station, is fully capable of fill- ing the position. Capt. Distel's resignation was sent to Washington on the advice of his physician, as he has not recovered from the effects of illness contracted last season when he narrowly escaped death in the service. The new keeper has been engaged as a fisherman on the lakes from boyhood. He was seven years in command of a fishing tug and sailed out of Cleveland for five or six years. He served at Middle Island station in 1892 and at Thunder bay island station in 1887, where he had considerable experience at wrecks. He is well known to leading officers of the service, and is en- dorsed by Superintendents Chapman and Kiah, as well as the keepers of the stations where he was employed. Thirteen New War Vessels. Contracts for two of the seven battleships, to be built according to the new British naval programme within the fiscal year, have been let to pri- NEW STEEL STEAMER HARVEY H. BROWN. A Most Discouraging Freight Outlook. During the worst of the dull periods in 1893 there were more cargoes to be had than are now offering in either coal, grain or ore for the Chicago fleet that has opened navigation to and from Lake Michigan. A strike of soft coal miners in Ohio and Pennsylvaniais ordered, and most vessel owners, as well as the majority of the coal shippers themselves, feel that enforced idleness until well into June would result to the advan- tage of all interests. A few cargoes of soft coal for Lake Michigan have been placed at 35cents, but there is absolutely nothing offering for Lake Superior, and the vessel owners who have ore from the head of the lakes tocarry on contract at 80 cents and from Marquette at 66 cents have certainly met with a strange state of affairs. Coal shippers. could undoubtedly secure some tonnage to take coal on contract for the head of Lake Superior at 30 cents, but even at this figure they are unable to do business, on account of the gen- eral unsettled condition of their affairs. Of course, there are only a few owners who would accept such a rate on coal, and their offers to do so are of no avail, as the amount of coal sold is very limited, and most of the coal operators feel that surplus stocks now at the head of the lakes must be worked off before the sales market shows improvement. Vessel brokers have offers of 80 cents for the full season on ore from Duluth and Ashland, but they are not being accepted, although more ton- nage could be had on the basis governing the contracts that have been made at Socents. 'There is no ore offering from Escanaba, either on con- tract or for single trips, and in view of the outlook in coal it is probable that most boats having contracts to carry ore from the head of the lakes will be forced to go light for it after May 1. In doing this, only the best class of boats can clear running expenses, and the only advantage for them in sight is the general cutting down of these expenses. Within the week the dock companies at Lake Erie ports have reduced the charge for unloading 2% cents a ton, andarate of 2% cents a ton for trimming has vate firms--James & George Thomson of Clydebank and Laird Bros. of Birkenhead. The other five will be built in the government dock yards. These vessels are to be 390 feet long, 75 feet beam, and will have a load draught of 27 feet 6 inches with goo tons of coal in the bunkers, when the displacement is 14,900 tons. The weight of the hull is 10,180tons. The machinery is designed to develop, under natural draught, 10,000 indicated horse-power, giving a speed of 16.5 knots, and under forced draught, 12,- ooo indicated horse-power, giving a speed of 17.5 knots. There are yet to be given out to contract six second-class cruisers, of 350 feet length and to have engines capable of developing 9,600 horse power. 'This is certainly building war ships with a vengeance. Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes on April 7, 1894: Wheat, bu. Corn, bu. Chicag Oss die.. wepedsee bas stae teeny +ae sedan 20,104,0C0 5,591,000 Webi geseaspe tae sd tence cesses cred ioaesones T1I,414,000 261,000 IVE ATK GE we neoea sees see eteneearerer nce g04,000 3,000 DGELOLEs eicceesiconcasvancotememccesere ness 2,051,000 37,000 MVOC COtse ss Guseh coos ce sao seen stscsasnsesss 3,149,000 798,000 BUMS O joes he coctecc sche csi casesoceeeeerae 1,188,000 819,000 OlAl etecetcncacetet atecce eons eesenee 38,810,000 7,519,000 At the points named there is a net increase for the week of 319,000 bushels of wheat and 23,000 bushels of corn. The brick model battleship exhibited at the World's Columbian Ex- position, and which is now about to be moved to a more convenient loca- tion in Chicago, weighs about 2,000 tons. The work of constructing a cofferdam around and forcing scows underneath it, while the piles upon which it is built are gradually cut away, is by no means an easy job.