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12 MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 409 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohlo, by John M. Mulrooney and F. M. Barton. - Supscrierron--$2.00 per year inadvance. Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders sent, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Pest Office as Second class Mail Matter. he books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1896, contained the pet of 3,333 vessels, of 1,324,067.58 gross tons register in the lakeetrade. The number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons, and over that amount, on the lakes on June 30, 1896, was 383 and their aggregate gross tonnage 711,034.28; the number of vessels of this class owned in all other parts of the country on the same date was 815 and their tonnage 685,204.55, so that more than 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, 1896, was as follows: __ Gross NTRS Oot. 630.51 SHO ATM NV CSSC] Sue terete eecaceesrsscenecsccsnsc ls -sacveceupuacrnnsaces ; , 5 i ORDBREL OS carcccecscestsartersscveicondeeste 1,125 354,327.60 GANANMHISC EE Git ae ok 416 457109.47 WTO tealieersesee eo setae: teeessodceesiiiceeasstuts 3,333 1,324,067.58 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on the lakes during the past -- six years, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is as follows: di une 30. 1891 204 111,856 45 Sea Nae 1892... 169 45,968.98 ie Se x 1893... 175 99,271.24 i fe a 1894... 106 41,984.6 y a a NSO Sierneeceersnce estedseesteeaassse<eooi 36,352.70 a Ss 1896 117 108,782.38 MOG eisresscssnecucocsvonsststacstetressvorseneasesteessnaacet 864 444,216.36 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. (from Oficial Ieports of Canal Officers.) - Suez Canal. | St. Mary's Falls Canal. 1895* 1894 1893 1895. 1894 1893 11,008 3,434 38,302 8,341 17,956 14,491 9,849,754|| 8,448,383] 8,039,175) 7,659,068 219 365 365 365 No. vessel passages,........... 16,806,781] 13,110,366 231 234 Tonnage, net registered..... Days of navigation.............. > * 1895 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie, which was about ¥ per cent. of the whole, but largely in American vessels. There js always pending, in one house of congress or the other, a Nicaragua canal bill. The senate has given up the greater part of the past two weeks in discussing the bill that was before the house during the last session, but there is little hope now of important action of any kind under the present administration. The latest move in the matter is the introduction, by Mr. Vilas, of a substitute for the bill providing for the appointment of another commission, to be composed of one member of the engineer corps of the army, a naval engineer and three other citizens of the United States, to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. The commission is to be known as the inter-oceanic canal commission and the members are to be paid at the rate of $500 per month. It is proposed to have this commission visit and personally inspect the several lines and routes projected, or which may seem to be sufficiently practicable to demand an inquiry for an inter-oceanic canal to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. They are required to make surveys etc., to determine the most. feasible, practical, and economical route for the canal and to submit plans and specifications, estimates of cost, etc., for the same. An appropriation of $1,000,000 would be required for this work, and it may again be said, therefore, that there is little hope of passing even the substitute. o Citizens of Duluth and Superior who are preparing to oppose, during the coming season, all Sunday work in loading or unloading freight vessels at the head of Lake Superior, need have no fear of Open opposition from vessel owners, or from the influence of any interest at lower lake ports that may be connected with mines or docks in the Lake Superior region. It must be said to the credit of business men engaged in the lake trade that the great majority of them are opposed to unnecessary work on Sunday. All that is needed is sufficient agitation of the subject to enforce the laws against Sunday work, which exist everywhere. A few who are more greedy than others will be found in the lake trade as in other branches of business. Sunday work is not general on the lakes, but it would be so if it were not for the influence of the majority against it. There will be no united opposition, therefore, if the law is invoked against those who insist upon Sunday work. Let the leaders of this movement proceed by arresting the violators of the law. This is their only cer- tain course of success. They will have the sympathy of the. majority ee them and will be opposed only by the individuals who are at fault. he? Newspapers all over the country have devoted columns to accounts of the stranding of the United States protected cruiser Brooklyn, which struck a ledge of rock in the Delaware river, a few days ago, and dam. _ aged plating and frames in her bottom for a length of about 125 feet, admitting water into the double-bottom compartments under engine and fire rooms. A dozen suchiaccidents, as far as the extent of bottom damages are concerned, are liable to occur to big steel steamers on the lakes, during a single season of navigation, without any special atten. tion being given to them. Big steamers with practically their entire bottoms ripped and bent in all shapes, and with hundreds of frames broken, are hurried into dock, and hundreds of men--night and day forces--put to work on them. It rarely happens that these vessels are in dock for a period of more than about ten days. In the case of this big cruiser there will, of course, be considerable handling of guns, ammunition, stores, etc., in order to lighten her up so as to gether into dry dock, but the damage to her bottom is not sufficient to warrant the great fuss that has been made over it. The Chicago Journal of Commerce credits the Review with the following: "Vessels now in commission on the great lakes are fast outnumbering the American craft engaged in the foreign trade. This is proven by statistics showing the number of vessels on the lakes to be 383, as against 247 on the Atlantic and gulf coasts, and 45 on the Pacific coasts. The tonnage of the lake vessels is almost 200,000 in excess of that of the salt-water boats." The figures in this item refer to vessels of 1,000 tons and over that amount. It is unfortunate that they have been quoted by one of the press associations and also by several trade publications. The lakes have more vessels of the 1,000- ton class --that is big freight vessels--than all other parts of the country combined, but it is well understood that there are more ves- sels of all kinds, big and small, on the Atlantic coast than there are on the lakes. Vessels of all kinds on the lakes number 3,333 of 1,324,068 gross tons, while the number of vessels of all kinds on the Atlantic coast is 16,786 of 2.667,314 gross tons. These figures are from the latest report of the United States commissioner of navigation. Few vessels propelled by gas, naptha or electricity in this coun- try are above 15 tons burthen, and it is not probable ,therefore, that the duties or salaries of steamboat inspectors will be greatly increased on account of the number of vessels of this kind coming under their supervision in accordance with the law recently passed by con--- gress. Neither will there be any great increase, on account of this law, in the number of new places open to pilots and engineers, as the act, in addition to excluding vessels under 15 tons ,has reference only to such vessels as carry passengers and freight for hire, With an increase in the future, however, in vessels so propelled, the law may prove advantageous to pilots and engineers. One feature of the act will interest all owners of vessels of the naphtha and electric kind. It is provided, without regard to tonnage, that all must carry lights. similar to those carried by steam vessels and must use the signals adopted for steam. vessels when meeting and passing each other. © All of the disturbance in Detroit. about the marine postoffice has served to direct attention to the fact that the river postoffice is not a Detroit affair; that where a few hundred vessel owners and ship- pers were interested in the limited private service of years past, there are now thousands of men in every branch of employment aboard ship, who stand ready to proclaim the benefits of a government serv- ice that assures to the humble deckhand the same security regarding his mail that is accorded to the letters or telegrams passing between the millionaire vessel owner and his captain. It is strange that J. W. Westcott and his friend, Congressman Corliss, could not see the effect --damaging on their side--that was certain to result from any oppo sition to improyment in this service. The opposition has brought out facts that are certain to insure liberal appropriations for the service in the future. Following up the suggestions of the United States deep waterways commissioners, who recently made a report to congress, Senator Davis has introduced an amendment to the sundry civil appropriation bill providing for an appropriation of $150,000 for surveys and examl- nations of different routes over which a 20-foot canal may be provided from the lakes to the Atlantic seaboard. ay Army and nayy charts of the lakes are kept in stock by the Marine Review, Perry-Payne building.