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10 MARINE REVIEW. weet DEVOTED TO THE LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 516 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, O. SUBSCRIPTION--$2.00 per yearin advance. Singlecopies Io cents each- Convenient binders sent, post paid, 75 cents. Advertising rates on appli. cation. The books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1895, contained the names of 3,342 vessels, of 1,241,459.14 gross tons register in the lake trade. The number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons, and over that amount, on the lakes on June 30, 1894, was 359 and their aggregate gross tonnage 634,467.84; the number of vessels of this class owned in all other parts of the country on the same date was 316 and their tonnage 642,- 642.50, so that half of the best steamships in all the United States are owned on the lakes. The classification of the entire lake fleet on June 30, 1895, was as follows: Gross Class. Number. Tonnage. Stearn vessels.........sscccecsscereeeeres San ewonies 1,755 857,735-00 Sailing vessels...... pebeetnscrse sects cmecnshte ve) ue 1, 100 300,642.00 Unrigged........... RioHaek eeessoeekssscens steed sass 487 83,082.00 SOLA) cecceensestc chances acaeesoth dass a runes G42 1,241,459.00 The gross registered tonnage of vessels built on the lakes during the past five years, according to the reports of the United States com- missioner of navigation, is as follows: Number. Net Tonnage. Year ending June 30, 1891........0..00sce0e 204 111,856.45 s is rs 1892...000. neneaersse) eALOQ 45,168.98 ss ' ¢ 1893...+000. spcconcond GIG 99,271.24 co « ss T8Q4....-cccceeere ease tL OO 41,984.61 « Ks sf 1895 «22.0008 Sex eo 03 36,353.00 Otel ccccessn-es istlersapteteosbeee ts 2747, 334,634.28 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC, (From Official Reports of Oanal Officers.) St. Mary's Falls Canal. 1894. 1893. 1892. 1894. 1893. 1892. No.vessel pass'ges 14,491] 12,008 12,580 3,352 3,341 3,559 T'n'ge,net registd]13,110,366/9,849,754/10,647,203||8,039,106|7,659,068| 7,712,028 Days of Navigat'n 234 219 223 365|- 365 365 Suez Canal. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. THE proposition to construct a tunnel under the old river bed at Willow street, Cleveland, should receive support of the strongest kind from local vessel owners, and, if possible, the sympathies and assistance of vessel owners in other lake cities should be extended to this move- ment. The construction of bridge piers in important channels and har- bors must stop everywhere on the lakes. The argument that the draft of vessels in Chicago river is limited on account of tunnels not having been originally placed deep enough under the bed of the river carries little weight. Chicago has for several years past carried out a policy of opposition to the advancement of its marine interests, as far as river im- provements are concerned, and if such was not the case the objectionable tunnels would have been lowered long ago and at moderate cost. The work of lowering them would involve only the simplest kind of an en- gineering problem. A new arch constructed within any of the tunnels would readily permit of the old arch being removed and the river channel thus deepened to any stage that might be required. The necessary en- largement of the tunnel would follow by deepening itsroadbed and pro- bably extending approaches to some extent, if the same was required. In many lake harbors the tunnel is now the only solution of the difficul- ties that shipping has encountered on account of the increase in the num- ber of bridges and the great increase of commerce in narrow channels. Conditions attending the Willow street bridge project in Cleveland are all favorable to a start onthe tunnel movement. The spot is probably more crowded by traffic than any other point inalake harbor. The tun- nel can be constructed under a street owned by the city and no land need be appropriated. The first cost would represent something of en in- crease, but bridges must be replaced in a few years and the cost of main- tenance is heavy, especially when an attempt is made to avoid a center pier. Lift bridges, jack-knife bridges and other forms intended to do away with center piers are highly costly at the start and expensive be- yond measure in maintenance. Vessel owners in all parts of the lakes must join handsin securing tunnels in place of bridges wherever it is possible to do so. The effort must be of a determined kind, however, as not least among the difficulties to be encountered is the fact that muni- cipal engineers are in most cases sewer builders, pavement builders and bridge builders, and it will be something of atask to bring them to tun- f a $$ nels instead of bridges, although it is admitted by the best engineers who have had to do with tunnels, that their construction involves only the simplest kind of work. T. J. ELDERKIN of Chicago, who represents about all that is leg of the Seamen's Union on the lakes, is in Washington endeavoring to ae cure the passage of a measure introduced in the house, some time g and which seeks to regulate the number of men to be carried on lake wae sels by the tonnage of such vessels. The number of men specified in this bill is in every case far in excess of requirements, and the measure jg as a whole, entirely objectionable, from the standpoint that it seeks tout ; terfere with the vessel owner in the direct management of his Property Ordinarily there would be no need of directing attention to this bill, as the absurd features of it would readily be detected by members of con. gress, and especially the members of committees having to do with mar. ine affairs, but officers of the Lake Carriers' Association will probably be justified in keeping an eye on Mr. Elderkin and his bill. He is closely allied with the Pacific coast influence that succeeded in passing the Maguire bill in the last congress. Vessel interests on the Atlantic Coast are now trying to repeal the Maguire legislation. On accoun' of the determined effort among leaders in the present congress to hold down appropriations, the fate of all lake measures that involve a money expenditure of any kind is decidedly uncertain. Hye, the river and harbor bill, it is thought, will be a disappointment to everybody interested init. There are, however, two measures in which the.lakes are deeply interested that are apparently certain of passage, One of these is Congressman's Burton's bill empowering the secretary of the treasury to make rules for the navigation of St. Mary's river and to enforce the same through the revenue cutter service. Mr. Brice's bil] and resolution providing for reports from civil and army engineers on the lake level question carry in one instance a small appropriation but this will probably not prevent the passage of them. ALTHOUGH not a dissenting vote was heard in the senate, a few days ago, to the passage of a bill providing $400,000 for the construction of two revenue cutters for the lakes, similar to the one now being built by the Globe Co., Cleveland, it is hardly probable that the measure will meet with such clear sailing in the house, where all acts authorizing ap. propriations, as well as the general appropriation bills, will be held up until the closing days of the session and then scrutinized and cut down. Ontonagon, a Harbor of Refuge, Editor MARINE REVIEW :--The business men of Ontonagon desire the assistance of the Lake Carriers' Association, and all vessel interests, in an effort to make Ontonagon harbor a harbor of refuge,and at the same time provide such improvements as are demanded by the lake business of this section. There is no shelter for boats between Copper Harbor and the Apostle islands, a distance of 155 miles. The only place along the shore that offers anything like a place of entry is this harbor, and itis very unsafe without a breakwater. The work of improving Ontonagon harbor and making it a harbor of refuge was begun in 1864, the plan be- ing to build two piers out into deep water and construct a breakwater outside of them, so that vessels and other lake craft could get into shel- ter and not be exposed to the heavy seas while making their entry be- tween the piers. The breakwater part of the plans has never been carried out, and all craft caught outside in heavy weather, between Copper har- bor, 90 miles to the north-east, and the Apostle islands, 65 miles to the west, must weather the storm out, or attempt the hazardous task of en- tering between the piers and thereby risking great loss of property and human life. The development of the lumber industry in this section of late years has been very great, and it is, of course, well known that we have the richest deposit of copper in the world, as well as a growing in- dustry in the production of granite, sandstone, clay, slate, etc., the devel- opment of all of which is retarded on account of the failure of the gov- ernment to carry out the plan of harbor improvements originally decided upon. But to vessel owners generally the value of a breakwater here, which would provide a harbor of refuge, would be of the highest import ance, not only for the Ontonagon trade but for all vessels passing to and from the head of the lakes. It is on this account that I write to your journal, to bring to the attention of all vessel owners a movement that has been started locally in behalf of appropriations for this work. W. J. POWER. Ontonagon, Mich, Feb. 26, 1896. Supplement No, 2 of the 1895-96 issue of the United States Standard Register of Shipping, New York, which is just at hand, contains rules recently adopted by the society publishing the register, for the use and application of electric lights and appliances on board of ships. Thesup- plement also contains a long list of lake vessels that have been or are now being classed by the society.