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6 MARINE REVIHW. Drawing on both Factions of Engineers. Senator Brice has evidently anticipated hostilities between leading civil engineers and the army efigineer corps in the matter of legisla- tion pertaining to the construction of dams for the regulation of lake levels, and it would seem that he is trying to conciliate both of these in- terests. He is now possessed of a great collection of information on all sides of the subject, however, and if it should develop that the govern- ment engineers have been proceeding along a wrong course, in the big dredging jobs that they have conducted in connecting channels of the lakes, these engineers will probably not be successful in claimivg now that the arguments of their opponents, who have for years favored the plan of a dam at Niagara, are impractical. The sentiment among vessel owners, and others interested in lake shipping, from whom Mr. Brice has received hundreds of opinions, is overwhelmingly in favor of giving the civil engineers an opportunity to make a thorough investigation of the lake outflow question and then present reliable data as to the kind of dams to be constructed and where they should be located. In accordance with this opinion Senator Brice first presented a reso- lution in the senate calling upon the secretary of war to transmit infor- mation of subsidence of the waters of the great lakes during the last few years, and to what extent, if any, the deepening and widening of the nat- ural channels connecting them have contributed to that result. The resolution also cal'ed upon the secretary to report whether, in his opinion, it will be practicable to control the waters of the great lakes and maintain them at a uniform level, from the head of Lake Superior to the foot of Lake Erie, by a system of dams or other works placed at their re- spective outlets; and, if so, to furnish an estimate of the kind of dam or dams or other works that will be required at the respective outlets, to- gether with the probable cost thereof, and the time necessary for the construction of the same. For some reason Mr. Brice allowed the foregoing resolution, the first paragraph of which calls directly forinformation on the merits of the present channel work, to lie upon the table. It was followed by another joint resolution, which was referred to the committee on commerce, call- ing on the secretary of war tocause an examination and investigation to be made, by and under the supervision of the engineer corps of the army, of physics and hydraulics of the great lakes and their outlets, with a view of ascertaining whether it be practicable to keep them, respectively, at a uniform level, either by asystem of dams placed at their respective outlets, or otherwise, and make report thereon to congress at as early a day as practible; and that the secretary furnish congress also with any other facts or data touching this subject which are now or may come into his possession from time to time. The bill under which Mr. Brice proposes to secure a report on this subject from engineers not connected with the army is senate bill No. 1,- 339 and is in substance as follows: SECTION 1, That the committee heretofore appointed by the presi- dent, under and by virtue of the provisions of the sundry civil act of March 2, 1895, and known as the International Deep Waterways Commis- sion, in addition to the duties devolving upon and required of them by that act, are hereby directed and required, either by themselves or in conjunction with a similar committee which has been appointed by the dominion of Canada, to make an inquiry and report to congress as soon as practicable as to what concurrent legislation is required on the part of the United States and the dominion of Canada to authorize and permit the erection and maintenance of any dam or dams or other works that may be necessary to regulate the waters of the great lakes and maintain them practically at a uniform level, from the head of Lake Superior to the foot of Lake Erie. Src. 2. That said committee is further authorized and directed to make an inquiry and an investigation as to whether in its opinion it is practicable to control the waters of the great lakes and maintain them at substantially a uniform level at all seasons of the year by a dam or dams or other works placed in the Niagara river at the outlet of Lake Erie, and by a system of wing dams or other structures placed in the Detroit river, and the Saint Clair river, and in the Saint Mary's river, at or near the re- spective outlets of Lakes Saint Clair, Huron and Superior; and if so, to furnish an estimate of the probable cost of said structures, together with an estimate of the probable length of time required to build the same under any plan submitted, and report the results of such inquiry and in- vestigation to congress at as early a day as practicable. A third clause provides for traveling and other necessary expenses of the commission. The Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Conn., has just completed for the Windsor Co. of North Adams, Mass. , 4 new fire-proof store house 70 feet wide and 125 feet long. The construction is composite, iron and brick. The whole structure is fire-proof, no wood being Floors are made of terra cotta. being used. ALL NEW HYDROGRAPHIC CHARTS ARE KEPT IN STOCK BY THE MARINE REVIEW, 5616 PERRY-PAYNE BUILDING, CLEVELAND. LETTER FROM COMMANDER SIGSBEE. AN INTERESTING COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHIEF OFFICER OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE--A DISCUSSION THAT SHOULD BE READ BY VESSEL MASTERS. The REVIEW prints herewith an extended letter from Commander Sigsbee, U. S. N., chief of the hydrographic service. We suggest to all vessel masters a careful reading of this communication. There are un- doubtedly a very large number of competent men in charge of vessels of the best class on the lakes who will not agree with Commander Sigsbee as to the necessity of extending the use of nautical instruments here, or otherwise following the scientific attainments of ocean practice. They will conclude that the hydrographer, although ranking high as a naval officer, has something to learn of the secrets of making six or seven day-trips between Lake Erie ports and the head of Lake Superior with vessels carrying 2,000 to 4,000 tons. Work of this kind is de- manded by owners who figure on minutes of delay, instead of hours or days. But we will refrain from further comment of this kind, for the reason that there is evidence of an honest intention on the part of the hydrographic office to render all possible assistsnce. to the lake marine,and we hope the vessel masters will take up and dis- cuss with the hydrographer, or his assistants on the lakes, the parts -- of this letter in which they are most interested. The communicstion was prompted by calling the attention of Commander Sigsbee to the fact that the chart of Lake Superior on one sheet, published recently by the war department, has met with more favor than the hydrographic chart of the same lake, which contains no scale of statute miles and no sailing courses. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, WASHINGTON, D. C.. Dec. 30, 1895. . Editor MARINE REVIEW: Please accept my thanks for your com- munication of the 14th instant, enclosing a letter from one of your corre- spondents relative to hydrographic office charts of the great lakes. Two points of criticism are presented--first, the absence of a'scale of statute miles on the general charts; second, the absence of indicated routes and the courses to be steered thereon. Relative to the first point: Those hydrographic office charts of the great lakes which cover only small areas already contain the scale of statute miles as well as the scale of nautical miles or knots. The vol- umes of "Sailing Directions' give distances according to both scales. There was some doubt in this office as to the advisability of embracing a scale of statute miles on the general charts of the great lakes, but since that scale seems to be desired, its use will be extended to the general charts, although as dn additional feature. The side scales or latitude scales will serve as at present as scales of nautical miles or knots, when used according to directions printed upon the charts. The office desires to avoid, so far as practicable, any change in its standards, which are based upon universal nautical practice. While con- ceding the scale of statute miles, it suggests that lake navigators change their unit of measure to the nautical mile or knot. Quite as accurate navigation can be done with the statute mile as with the knot, when the means are available; the suggestion relates to the benefits to be derived from one scale or the other. In the use of the statute mile, there is the convenience of continuing a habit--and perhaps more that I fail to see-- whereas in the use of the nautical mile or knot, there is the ultimate advantage to lake navigators of being brought into accord with the whole range of nautical literature--a small change with a great result, at least to the rising generation of navigators. I knowof no book on navigation which is based upon the statute mile as a unit of measure, and I under- stand that the patent logs used on the great lakes are graduated for knots. It is obvious that when the navigator records his distances in knots and plots them according to the scale of knots, the final result is the same as if he had recorded them in statute miles and plotted them by the scale of statute miles. Any intelligent navigator can pass in a single hour from the scale of statute miles to the scale of nautical miles or knots, so far as relates to the use of the Mercator chart. Relative to the second point: Let me state that the nautical charac- ter of the hydrographic office and its work shonld be strictly borne in mind when suggestion is made. The aim of the office on the great lakes is not to publish maps but to provide nautical charts of just as good quality in every respect as those used on the oceans, and, so far as prac- ticable, of the same kind. With the Mercator charts already provided and to be provided by the office, every navigator of the lakes will have at his command, so far as charts are concerned, every facility that is sup- plied on the oceans and connecting waters for the most delicate naviga- tion. It is not deemed advisable to confuse charts with superfluous lines -- or data. It is in order to relieve them in this respect that volumes of "Sailing Directions" are published by the office in which are given, besides other information, a large number of routes, or more properly, courses and distances from point to point. Those who want routes printed upon the Mercator charts of the hydrographic office may have failed to note the extreme simplicity of the method for finding the course from one |