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MARINE Vot. XIII. CLEVELAND, O., APRIL 23, 1896. REVIE No. 17. Lake Freight Matters. It is fortunate for vessels owner that during the past winter, and even up to the present, Duluth shippers of wheat have taken practically all tonnage that has been offered to them at a rate of freight for first trips that is alittle better than dollar ore. This demand for grain carriers in Duluth has been the supporting feature of the whole freight situation. It has given the owners of the best freight carriers on the lakes employ- ment for their ships during the first month of navigation, and it happens that this month is most important to the vessel owners, on account of the delay in concluding ore contracts. If employment had not been furnished by this early grain movement from Duluth, the ore dealers who are now holding off in the matter of making ore contracts would probably not encounter the very stiff demand for $1.10 on contracts which they meet with at present from all vessel owners. A few days ago, when the Illinois Steel Co. began purchasing some ore, it was thought there would be no delay in closing up freight con- tracts at the rates demanded by vessel owners. Another waiting period has now set in, however, the ore men claiming that only the very best grades of low phosphorus ore have been sold, and that up to Thursday of this week big mines like the Norrie, Chandler and others of their kind had made no sales in large amounts. Rockefeller Ships. A large letter B on smoke stacks and on pennants. will be the distin- guishing mark of ships in the new Bessemer Steamship Co., or Rockefeller fleet. Mr. Ll. M. Bowers, manager of the company, says that a system of promotion with other advantageous features to captains will be adopted in the line. He does not go into details, on account of the great mass of applications which he has on hand from captains and engineers, but simply says that the company proposes to "do something handsome with their captains." In addition to Captains E.M. Smith, John Lowe, C. G. Ennis and R. E. Burns, who have been selected to command steamers in the line, it is announced that captains Samuel E. Lewis and W. J. Hunt will be given command of two of the new schooners. The first steamer, which will be launched at the Globe yard, Cleveland, next week will be called Sir Henry Bessemer. As soon as the necessary arrangements can be made with the treasury department the names of the four boats purchased for the line will be changed as follows: Pil'sbury to Sir Henry Cort; Wash- burn to'James B. Neilson; barge 102 to Sir John Whitworth; barge 103 to John Scott Russell. Officers of these four vessels are: Steamer Pillsbury, James Jackson, master, John Davidson, engineer; steamer Washburn, Charles F. Moody, master, Bion St. Barnard, engineer; barge 102, John Gills, master; barge 103, Alex McArthur, master. ; Fire Boats. Nearly all of the large cities of America that have important harbors are provided with fire boats. Thus the list includes Chicago with four boats of 10,300 gallons capacity per minute; Cleveland, two, 9,800 gallons; Buffalo, two, 9,000 gallons; Baltimore, one, 5,000 gallons; Boston, two, 12,463 gallons; Brooklyn, two, 8,970 gallons; New York, three, 19,900 gal- lons; Philadelphia, four, 10,000 gallons. Jondon, England, has twenty-two fire boats of 16,500 gallons per minute, but they are largely floats, towed by tugs, and are not as effectual as the fire-fighters in American cities, as the streams which they throw are of small diameter. Nearly all of the fire boats in this country, are of the tug kind, equipped to tow a burning vessel away from a pier or to remove vessels in danger. Many of them are also suited to crushing ice and performing other necessary service within a harbor. Heads of fire departments who have had a great deal of exper- ience with fire boats say that streams from nozzles less than 1% inches in diameter are inefficient against a hot fire, and that one large stream is much more useful than the same quantity of water divided into smaller ones. But provision should be made, they say, for many small streams, as there are cases, as, for instance, in preventing the spread of a conflagration, .« when it is necessary to use them, so-as to attack the fire simultaneously at ie crooked rivers. 'maty points, and to keep the adjoining property thoroughly wet. It has also been proved that boats exceeding 110 feet in length are unhandy for fire service. This is especially true in cities ciaeenies on narrow and Improvements in the docks of both the Northwestern and Wisconsin Central railway companies at Ashland will be entirely completed by the time the ore shipping business is fully opened up. ' will be late in the fall. Ship Yard Matters. The American Steel Barge Co. will probably build at West Superior, on its own account, one steamer to replace the two barges sold to John D. Rockefeller, but it is not probable that any new work will be begun at West Superior antil the two new Rockefeller ships are finished, which The proposed second dry dock at West Superior is also a matter of the future. For some time past the owners of the whaleback passenger steamer Christopher Columbus have been trying to sell her to eastern parties, and Captain McDougall's inspection of the St. Lawrence canals some time ago had reference to the transfer of the Columbus to the coast, as well as the removal of the whaleback steamer Colby and three barges from the coast to the lakes. But the Colby, as well as the barges on the coast, are now small vessels when compared with modern lake ships, and it is quite probable that the barge company would rather sell them than undertake the expense of bringing them to the lakes. John Haug of Philadelphia, who is connected with Lloyd's classifica- tion society, seems to enjoy a very fair share of the business accorded to naval architects that are not associated with any of the ship building com- panies. Just now he is superintending for the owners the construction of the two Rockefeller steamers that are being built by the Globe Iron Works Co., Cleveland, as well as the steamer and two schooners that Wheeler & Co. are building for Mr. Rockefeller. He designed the new oil barge which the Union Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, is building for the Standard Oil Co., and also the Standard Oil Co' s new seagoing tug, for which a contract Hee just been let. The Red D line passenger and freight steamer Curacao, built for service between New York and Curacao, is of his design, and also the freight and passenger steamer Atlanta, which the + TanIEs are now com- (plicit for the Southern Railway. Launches in the several ship yards around the lakes will now occur in rapid succession. At Wheeler & Co's yard, West Bay City, the steamer City of Bangor for Eddy Bros..is about ready for commission and the L, C. Waldo is completed, while the six other vessels under contract are all on the stocks. The steamer E. W. Oglebay, building at this yard for D. C. Whitney of Detroit, will be launched about-May 1. The first of the Rocke- feller steamers at the Globe yard, Cleveland, will also be launched about May 1. About the same time, or following these, the Detroit Dry Dock Co. will have ready for launching the steel lumber carrier building for C. R. Jones & Co. of Cleveland and the big 400-footer Sénator for the Wolverine Steam- ship Co. At West Superior the barge company is expecting to launch the Whaleback steamer Frank Rockefeller on Saturday of this week, and her consort, barge 137, a few days later. It is now thought that the Globe Iron Works Co., as well as Wheeler & Co., the Detroit Dry Dock Co., American Steel Barge Co. "and Chicago Ship Building Co. will all be a month to six weeks behind time on delivery of the Rockefeller ships. The Cleveland Ship Building 'Co. may escape demurrage on account of having only asteamer to build for Mr. Rocke- feller and also on account of having been allowed a later date of delivery than any of the other builders. The steamer G. N. Orr, launched at South ae on Saturday last, is much like the steamer Chili, owned by M. M.. Drake and others of Buffalo, and built by the Cleveland Ship Building Co. The Orr is, however, some- what larger than the Chili, as her over all length is 340 feet, keel 326 feet, beam 42 feet and depth 26 feet. She is suited to package freight service and is owned by C. W. Elphicke and others of Chicago, - Capt. John Mitchell of Cleveland has been figuring with ship builders . the last two or three weeks past on a big steel steamer to come out next season, but it is understood that RegoHublone are 10W a and that the ship will not be built. Information from a source that seems quite reliable is to the effect that the Detroit Dry Dock Co. is to be paid $256,000 each for the !two big steamers which they are building for Mr. John D. Rockefeller. S. M. Fisher is the name selected for the' steel, tug: which the Craig Ship ene Co. of Toledo 1 is building for the Mechigeg Car. Ferry Trans- portation Co. The tug building at Heath's ae Benton terbor 'Mich., for Graham & Morton was launched Tuesday. ' aka 2) a a "ft An indicating of Bcoserie at the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, is the erection of two substantial buildings--an_ office building and steel - boiler shop--that are to each involve an outlay of $50,0€0.