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8 MARINE REVIEW. Auxiliary Cruisers, It has been known for some time past that the navy department has on file in Washington plans of different types of merchant steam vessels, owned in various parts of the country, which would be use- ful, if required, as auxiliary cruisers. Many of these vessels are owned on the lakes. Within the past few months the bureau of con- struction and repair, navy department, has prepared plans for con- verting some of them into auxiliary cruisers, and it was thought the department would urgently recommend the purchase of equipment that could be kept in store ready for immediate use. The chief construc- tor does not, however, make a very strong appeal in this regard. His report contains only the following paragraph on the subject: '(During the past winter the bureau prepared plans for converting several classes of ships, which are entered in the naval reserve' list, including the Owego class and the Hudson class of lake vessels, and the El Sol class and the El Dorado class of ocean-going vessels, into effective auxiliary cruisers. Such plans should be prepared and kept on file in a special department for ready reference, covering all ves- sels available for use as auxiliary cruisers, so that in case of emer- gency orders could be given to take the vessels in hand and convert them with no unnecessary delay. At present, however, such work can be done only when there are no designs for new vessels in hand, and as opportunity offers to spare the services of draftsmen for the purpose. As far as possible such articles of outfit as are not perish- able and material for conversion of each of these vessels should be prepared and kept in store ready for immediate use."' New York State Canal Improvement Contracts, The following contracts under the $9,000,000 canal improvement appropriation were awarded at Albany, Friday, by Superintendent Aldridge of the New York state department of public works: For improving the Erie canal from lock 20 to 21 to J. W. Whalen of Whitehall, N. Y., at $52,910. For improving Erie canal from lock 27 to 28 to Lauer & Hagaman of Rochester, N. Y., at $74,159. For improving Hrie canal from lock 28 to 29 to Galle & McNiece of New York City at $31,590. For improving Erie canal from lock 32 to 33 to Brumelkamp & Lane Co. of Syracuse, N. Y., at $88,434. For improving Erie canal from lock 33 to 34 to Lauer & Hagaman of Rochester, N. Y., at $43,831. For improving Erie canal from lock 42 to lock 44 to John V. Quackenbush of Mohawk, N. Y., at $113,436. For improving Champlain canal from water for side cut to lock 5 to Whalen & Higgins of Waverly, N. Y., at $58,376. For improving Champlain canal between lock 6 and lock 7 to J. W. Whelan of Whitehall, N. Y., at $92,296. For improving Champlain canal between lock 15 and lock 16 to Mahan & Sundstrone of Sandy Hill, N. Y., at $214,312. For improving Erie canal from lock 32 to bridge No. 55 to Shear & Haight of Schenectady, N., Y., at $79,320. For improving Hrie canal from lock 44 to lock 45 to John B. Quac- kenbush of Mohawk, N. Y., at $38,749. His Eyesight Was Also Good. In the United States navy the well-known saying that "cleanliness is next to godliness," is accepted in all its literal meaning, and no minor offense is more condemned or more severely punished than that of being unclean in dress or allowing dirt to accumulate in any part of the ship. Every morning at "quarters" the clothes worn by the men are carefully inspected by the officers of the different divi- sions, and the boys are subjected toa preliminary scrutiny by the master-at-arms, who is chief of police of the vessel. On each Sunday morning the captain and first lieutenant make a complete round of the ship while the crew are mustered on the upper deck. Woe betide the unfortunate man or boy who is "black-listed" for uncleanliness. A very amusing story is told in the service, which concerns a line officer and an apprentice boy on board the same ship. One day while the lieutenant was patrolling the bridge, a group of boys were clus- tered about one of the guns beneath him. Suddenly the officer halted, hung over the railing as though to obtain a closer view of the lads, then called down: "Taylor, go to the mast. Messenger boy, tell the master-at-arms to report to me."' After his orders had been obeyed, the lieutenant stated that he had seen vermin crawling on the white collar of the apprentice's canvas working suit, and ordered that the lad's name was to be given to the ship's writer, who would '"'list" it together with the offense charged, and submit the same to the executive officer for his consid- eration and award of punishment. This was done, and Taylor was obliged to carefully scrub his clothes and to stand extra watch for several nights in succession as a penalty. Now on board of men o' war one of the crew is stationed aloft during the day as a lookout, and it happpned shortly after the above incident that Taylor was on the fore-topsail yard performing this duty while the lieutenant who had reported him was in charge of the deck. The ship was on her way to Europe, and at the time in question was in about the middle of the Atlantic ocean. The boy hailed the deck. 'Sail 'o!"' ; 'Where away?' called the officer. 'Right ahead, Sir," was the reply. "Can you make her out?"' '"Yes, Sir, a full rigged ship."' "How far off?"' '*About three days sail, Sir."' "Lay down on deck at once," shouted the exasperated officer, "and go to the mast." The lieutenant then sent for the executive officer and reported the lad's disrespect and skylarking while on duty. "Taylor," said the first lieutenant severely, "what do you mean by making such a statement?"' "Please, Sir," blubbered the boy, "if--if the lieutenant can see a bug on my collar twenty feet away, I--I can see--see a full rigged ship three days sail ahead.'---New York Nautical College Quarterly. Cargo and Speed Records--Lake Freight Steamers. Iron ore--Coralia, Mutual Transportation Co. of Cleveland, 5,088 'gross or 5,699 net tons, Gladstone to Ashtabula, draft of 16 feet 10 inches. From Lake Superior--Steamer Sir Henry Bessemer, Bessemer Steamship Co. of Cleveland, 4,637 gross or 5,194 net tons, Ashland to Conneaut, draft of 15 feet 9 inches. Grain--Steamer Queen City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 207,000, bushels of corn, equal to 6,210 net tons, Chicago to Buffalo, 16 feet 8 inches draft; steamer Maricopa, Minnesota Steamship Co., Cleve- land, 191,700 bushels of corn, Chicago to Buffalo; steamer Zenith City, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, 289,000 bushels of oats, Chicago to Buffalo. From Lake Superior--Steamer Sir William Siemens, Bessemer Steam- ship Co. of Cleveland, 174,500 bushels of wheat, equal to 5,235 net tons, Duluth to Buffalo, draft of 15 feet 9 inches. : Coal--S. 8. Curry, Hawgood & Avery Transit Co. of Cleveland, 4,535 net tons bituminous, Conneaut to Gladstone; Selwyn Eddy Eddy Bros. of Bay City, Mich., 4,252 net tons anthracite, Buffalo to Milwaukee. Speed--Owego, Union Line of Buffalo, Buffalo to Chicago, 889 miles, 54 hours and 16 minutes, 16.4 miles an hour; Centurion, Hop- kins Steamship Co. of St. Clair, Mich., Buffalo to Duluth, 997 miles, 65 hours and 10 minutes, 15.3 miles an hour. German naval authorities have decided to equip all the present large men-of-war in the German navy with apparatus for heating their boilers partly with oil, and the use of liquid fuel will, it is said, be provided for in all new vessels. The oil will be stored on board in special tanks, from which it will be conducted to the furnaces by pipes, and ejected in a spray by steam. For the storage of the liquid fuel in large quantities, reservoirs holding over 100,000 gallons have been built at Wilhelmshaven, and similar arrangements are to be made at Kiel and Dantzic. California is convenient. Comfort, speed and economy in rates are the distinguishing characteristics of the fast western express leaving Cleveland daily at 10:58 a. m. via the Nickel Plate road, and reaching Chicago at 9:00 p. m. same day, and our night express arriving at Chicago at 7:40 a. m. daily. Direct connections at Chicago with all the leading lines for Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. Through tickets and baggage checks. Sleeping car space and all de- tails arranged by any agent of the Nickel Plate road. Cleveland city ticket office, 224 Bank street. 380 Nov. 20 Army and navy charts of the lakes are kept in stock by the Marine Review, Perry-Payne building.