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6 MARINE REVIEW. : New Scheme for a Lake Information Bureau. For several years past, the Lake Marine News Association, a corpora- tion controlled by newspaper publishers, and having headquarters in Chicago, has been engaged in collecting and distributing marine news to all of the principal daily newspapers on the lakes. The affairs of this as- sociation are managed by Homer J. Carr, who was engaged fora long time as marine reporter on the Chicago Tribune, and who has a thorough knowledge of what is requiredin the line of marine news by the news- papers. Supported by the publishers of the Chicago papers, Mr. Carr has built up a force of about 125 correspondents around the lakes and has secured full control of the newspaper work. He proposes to extend the service next season to include telegraphic reports to vessel owners, shippers, underwriters, wrecking companies and others, who may be in- terested in speedier receipt of news than they have had in the past through the columns of the daily papers. His plan is to have vessel owners, for instance, pay a fixed charge for the season, with the under- standing that they will receive direct, and in advance of publication in the newspapers, any information that may be secured by this corps of correspondents; and in order to make the service more valuable to vessel owners, he proposes to employ correspondents at new points, especially where vessels are liable to be in shelter, during unfavorable weather, and where it would be necessary to provide special means for securing @ ee Fog Signal Reflectors.. : At several points on the lakes where fog signals are maintained by the United States light-house service, large semi-circnlar re flectors, designed to cause an increase of sound far out in the lake and to Partly -- overcome the annoyance on shore, have been erected by the light-house officials. The scheme has worked to great advantage, and since succegg has attended it, at least two engineer officers of the army, in charge of light-house work on the lakes, have been credited in different news. papers with the invention. The matter is not one of great importance, but the REVIEW believes in placing credit for it where it is due, and we are quite certain that the first suggestion of a sound-reflector for fog signals came from R. T. Lewis of Duluth, who wrote the light-house board oy the subject on August 11, 1894, Mr. Lewis was then mayor of Duluth, If there was any reference to the matter bya government engineer previous to the date noted the REVIEW is wrong, but if not the engineers should not have credit for the invention either by claim or assent to an' erroneous impression. James A. Lawrie and Walter D. Spaulding some time ago started the Soo Machine Works at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Sault is not a point specially adapted to a profitable business in machinery repairs. Acci- dents requiring shop work rarely occur while vessels are hustling to and SWAIN WRECKING COMPANY'S STEAMER FAVORITE WORKING ON AMISOE, ING IL INRNADIR. the names of such vessels. To meet the demands of underwriters, it is proposed to send dispatches direct to all subscribers in this line, upon receipt of news at the main office in Chicago of a disaster of any kind. These advantages over the newspaper service will give an idea of Mr. Carr's plans. Before the opening of navigation, he will call on or com- municate with leading vessel owners, shippers and others regarding his scheme, and although its advantages do not open up to him a field equal to that which he has had in the newspaper work, the REVIEWis quite certain that he will do the best that can be done with it, ifit is under- taken, and that his dealings with vessel owners will be business-like and honorable. Itasca isthe name of anew town on Allouez Bay in the southerly portion of the body of water forming the harbors of Duluth and Superior. The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Ry., the Northwestern Coal Railway Co. and the Duluth & Winnipeg Ry. Co. have spent large sums of money in constructing a harbor and terminals at this point, but progress in the work was delayed last year on account of general business depres- sion. It is now said that the Omaha road is building a switch yard, mer- chandise docks, shops and locomotive round house, preparatory to builds ae uP e ee trade at Itasca next season, and that the Canadian Pacific and Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic roa i i ener near oads are also arranging for terminal from ake Superior, and when such accidents do occur repairs are put off, if it is at all possible, until a Lake Erie port is reached and there is forced delay to the ship in handling cargo. Messrs. Lawrie and Spauld- ing did not make a go of their shop, but they have taken their failure philosophically. They write the REVIEW that circumstances have com- bined to force them to abandon their business. "We will not complain," they say," further than to note that the fact that we are alive now is due more to this healthful northern atmosphere, and to the exercise we have had hustling for work, than to any great volume of business. Our lake friends are to be congratulated upon the excessive lightness of their repair bills at this point." In referring to dock improvements at the several ore shipping ports on Lake Superior, the REVIEW neglected to note improvements that are being made in the old dock of the Wisconsin Central Co. The pocket elevation in this reconstructed dock will be 59 feet 9 inches from the water, and the floors of new pockets will be placed at an angle of 50 de- grees, which is the sharpest angle to be found in any dock on the lakes. tn the Duluth dock the floor angle is only 45 degrees, and in the new dock of the Chicago &-Northwestern Co. at Ashland it is only 40 degrees. This extension to the Wisconsin Central dock will give the most rapid downward movement to ore that has as yet been attempted on the lakes, and place them ahead of other docks at Ashland for quick work,