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MARINE REVIEW." 7 : ig: Ship Yard Matters. A Buffalo correspondent referring to the contract secured by Lewis Nixon of the Crescent ship yard, Elizabeth, N.J., for the thirteen steel canal boats that are to be added to the fleet of the Cleveland-New York line, says that enough is known of the bids to make it quite sure that the coast concern took the three steamers for about $41,000 and the ten consorts for about $75,000. -The Union Dry Dock Co. of Buffalo was the second lowest bidder. The whole fleet is to be finished and in New York by May 1. The Union company has its steel steamer for the Union Steamboat Co. laid down and the bottom nearly plated, but no fremes are up. The Conners' steam yacht is about ready to launch. The Owego is just out of dock with $15,000 worth of new plates on her bottom, and the Russia is receiving $10,000 worth of repairs to her bow, on account of the collision with the Britannic. The J. W. Moore and the Maytham are waiting for bottom repairs. Outside the dock the Washburn is also get- ting a heavy job of repairs and the Sagamore and barge 109 are to go through the same process. The steamers for Chautauqua lake and Hem- lock lake are not laid down yet. The yard has a force of 500 men em- ployed. Capt. Alex McDougall says that he is still figuring on some additional work for the ship yard of the American Steel Barge Co. at West Superior, and may shortly close a contract for one or two vessels in addition to the four which he has under way. The West Superior ets has more room for new work than any of the other lake plants. The Chicago Ship Building Co. has had under consideration for some time past the question of erecting a plant at South Chicago for the con- struction of machinery, and they will probably go ahead with the work during the coming oe but as yet no definite i nS have been made. Scotch Versus Belleville Boilers. Editor MARINE REVIEW: My old and esteemed friend, Mr. Miers Coryell, sends you a communication on the subject of the installation of - Belleville boilers in eight of the cruisers of the British navy, and thinks this answers in a '"'peremptory way the passionate attacks on these boilers by partisans of the cylindrical type." There are always two sides to a case, and having heard one of them, permit me to give your readers _ the'reverse side. Inthe first place, the navies of the world are not the places to look for the most advanced or economical ideas in regard to boilers: There is a 'commercial side'"' to this question of boilers which can not be ignored in mercantile practice, but which is rarely taken into accouht where a government has to "foot the bills." To illustrate: The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway had two steamers of the same size, viz, the Seaford and Tamise, running be- tween New Haven and Dieppe, both very fast and both making the same time, viz, 314 hoursin a run of sixty-five miles. The Seaford was fitted with Scotch cylindrical boilers with Serve ribbed tubes, and burned 27% tons of coal on the round trip, and the Tamise was fitted with Belleville boilers burning 374 tons of coal per round trip, a difference of about 36 percent.in fuel; but besides this, the Belleville boilers take up about 43 per cent. more space, and space is a "commodity " that is worth some- thing on board ship. The Seaford was sunk some months ago by a collision with a freight steamer belonging to the same line, and it became necessary for the rail- way company to build another steamer to take her place. Are they put- ting Belleville boilers in this new steamer? Not by alarge majority; they have "been there'; in point of fact, they are "there" now in the Tamise, and doubtless wish they were not, Like sensible men who don't want to squander their money and fill up their ship with machinery, they are putting Scotch cylindrical boilers in her, fitted with Serve ribbed tubes; and possibly to emphasize and perpetuate the great satisfaction the sunken steamer gave the company, they are naming the new one also the Seaford. "Facts are stubborn things," and such facts as I have named in this rejoinder to Mr. Coryell will, I trust, be of service to some of your readers interested in steamers, who may notas yet have fully made up their minds which type of boiler is, on the whole, the most desirable and one most economical. C. W. WHITNEY. Manhattan Life Building, New York, Jan. 15, 1896. There is nothing small about Congressman Charles W. Wcodman of Illinois. He has introduced in the house a bill providing for an appro- priation of $100,000,000 for coast defenses. He names Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Sault Ste Marie aud Duluth as lake cities that he would have share in the benefits of the proposed big appropriation. An effort will be made to have an item incorporated in the river and harbor bill providing for the removal of Starve island reef, Lake Erie. With this reef removed and a light on the southern end of Put-in-Bay island, it is thought that the south passage between the Detroit river and Ohio ports on Lake Erie would be far less dangerous than it is at present. " Cisco Chasers." Away back in the days-when Capt. Wm. Mack and James Corrigan of Cleveland were sailing on Lake Ontario the skippers of small vessels on that lake were commonly referred to as "cisco chasers." President Brown of the ake Carriers' Association revived the term at the meetin g in Detroit last week, when he said he would refer to the committee on "cisco chasers" a resolution offering to the United States government | the use of all vessels in the association in event of war with Great Britain. The cisco is a small fish like a herring that is. peculiar to Lake Ontario. Fishermen in and around Oswego occasionally found a small craft to sail in the coasting trade and when graduated from the fishing _ business were referred to by captains of larger vessels as cisco chasers. During the closing hours of the Lake Carriers' meeting, when unim- portant matters were attended by a little amusement, Capt. Mack read a clipping from a Toronto paper in which it was stated that vessel owners of Canada had offered their vessels to the dominion government, to be used in event of war with the United States. In a spirit of fun Capt. Mack proposed that the Lake Carriers offer their vessels to Uncle Sam, and President Brown turned the laugh on him by immediately referring the resolution to the " committee on cisco chasers." Annual Meeting of the Ship Masters. | Representatives of different lodges of the Ship Master' Association from lake cities, forming the grand lodge of the organization, are now in session in Washington. A telegram, Thursday morning, from Secretary W. A. Collier of Cleveland outlines the first day's proceedings. Mr. Collier says: " Resolutions condemning the constructiou of a bridge across the Detroit river in accordance with bills now before the senate and house of representatives were first in order. Representative John B. Corliss of ~ Detroit, who introduced the bridge bill in the house, attended an in- formal meeting of the organization and was reminded, in a pleasant way, - of his promise a year ago to uphold shipping interests of the lakes in all legislative matters. Although the author of the house bridge bill, he said that he would oppose any bridge which he considered an obstruc- ~ tion to navigation and added that he hoped he would live to see the | Detroit river and its commerce extended to the Atlantic. "Resolutions opposing any change in the navigation laws foe fae lakes were also adopted. This was prompted by a bill proposing a change in fog signals, which has been introduced by Representative Payne. Towing of rafis through narrow channels without restrictions -- was also the subject of resolutions. The position of vessel masters on this question is, of course, fully understood, but it was thought advisable -- not to allow an annual meeting to pass without an expression of opinion -- on the subject. Another resolution favored regulations for the naviga-_ tion of the Sault river, to be enforced by the revenue cutter service. Copies of all resolutions will be submitted to senators and represntatives -- and to heads of government departments most interested in them. A pleasing feature of the informal meeting Wednesday afternoon was the _ 'presentation of a valuable piece of jewelry to Past Grand President Clark, in recognition of his efforts in behalf of the organization, The: ladies were present at this session. Grand President Benham of Cleve- © Jand made the presentation speech. A visit was paid to the grand harbor of the American Pilots' Association, who are also in session here, and matters of mutual interest were discussed. The masters also called in ~ a body at the office of the revenue cutter service and paid their respects to the supervising inspector-general of steam vessels, James A. Dumont, - and Mr. E. T. Chamberlain, United States commissioner of fevigaiiones Mr. Chamberlain was informed of the objection to the Payne bill, which ~ proposes a change in fog signals. Before the close of the convention heads of departments will also be called on as far as it is possible : to do so." With the National Association of Marine Engineers, pilots' organiza" tion of the coast, Ship Masters' Association of the lakes and the United States board of supervising inspectors of steam vessels all' holding ~ annual meetings in Washington, the shipping interests of the country © are well represented at the capitol this week. A report of the first days' © proceedings of the Ship Masters' Association appears elsewhere in their issue, but as the proceedings of the engineers are of a semi-secret nature ~ it is impossible to obtain as yet anything regarding their action on the different subjects which they have under consideration. Their main work, however, aside from business relating to the beneficial features of their -- organization, will be to urge upon representatives in congress the necessity and justice in passing the bill relating to the employment of © none but citizens of the United States as engineers on American vessels. This bill was introduced in the senate by Mr. Squire of Oregon, and a duplicate of it in the house is fathered by Representative Hopkins of.- Illinois. It is the outgrowth of the refusal of ex-Secretary Foster of -- the treasury department to recognize engineers as officers of steam vessels in the well-known case of the steamers Paris and New York, when these vessels were admitted to American register. :