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12 MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 409 rene nae building, Cleveland, Ohlo, ; by John M. Mulrooney and F. M. Barton. SunscrieTion--$2.00 per year inadvance. Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders seut, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second class Mail Matter. The books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1896, contained the names of 3,333 vessels, of 1,324,067.58 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, 1896, was 383 and their ageregate 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 315 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 a hes DOL Oabest STOAM VESSEIS!....cccccecsconscccscscsesscsssesvaccssessccscosnsscses ; ,630. Sailing vessels ANG DALZeS.........cscceesccscecsrerececeesere 1,125 354,327.60 EMO ATL AIS OU Serre eee eeree cece crecnekersestsstvecsensesoastesss 416 45,109.47 Motels' se dscccc eee bree aati 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: Year ending June 30. 1891 204 111,856 45 se eae at 1892... 169 45,968.98 a Me se 1893... 175 99,271.24 - = 4 1894... 106 41,984.6. re sf es SOD Meercc er renete nes tecrseaeoessescte' 36,352.70 ce nM ss 1896 117 108,782.38 MO falecssrcecs css ccecesesecenccsscsccsateceseess Georeseseeecastae 864 444,216.36 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ C\NAL TRAFFIC. (/vom Oficial lteports of Canal Officers.) St. Mary's Falls Canal. Suez Canal. 1895* 1894 1893 1895 1894 1893 No. vessel passages.,............ 17,956 14,491 11,008 3,434 3,352 3,341 Tonnage, net registered...... 16,806,781] 13,110,366] 9,849,754!| 8,448,383] 8,039,175) 7,659,068 Days of navigation.............. 231 234 219 365 365 365 % * 1895 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie, which was about : ¥% per cent. of the whole, but largely in American vessels. Vessel owners of the lakes are showing no direct interest in the new tariff bill, although it would seem that there is a great deal in the measure as now proposed that is of considerable importance to them. Statistical reports from the treasury department show that during the year ending June 30, 1896, there was shipped into Canada from Ohio avd Pennsylvania, by lake and rail, 3,045,965 tons of coal, of which 1,675,109 tons was bituminous and 1,370,856 was anthracite. A very large part of this coal, especially of the bituminous kind, was moved in vessels from Lake Erie ports, and the vessel interests should join the producers of Ohio and Pennsylvania in opposing an in- crease in the duty on coal. There isa good prospect that the Cana- dian government will reduce its duty on bituminous coal if our govern- ment shall not make an advance in its present duty. Then, too, it is understood that the imports of coal on the New England coast from the Cape Breton district and on the Pacific coast from the Vancouver district do not amount to more than 1,000,000, as against more than 3,000,000 tons going into the convenient market across the lakes from Ohio and Pennsylvania. The lake vessels interests should do all in their power to help the coal dealers of Ohio and Pennsylvania, who would be justified in asking for the entire removal of the duty on soft coal. But they do not doso. They simply ask that no advance be made in the duty, or that a reciprocal provision be made that our rate of duty on bituminous coal shall not exceed the Canadian rate of duty on the same article; and that in the event of a reduction of the duty by the Canadian government, our rate of duty shall be equalized with theirs. Candidates for the office of commissioner of navigation are now quite numerous. Capt. Daniel McLeod, whose name is mentioned in connection with the office in a communication elsewhere in this issue, will certainly secure the support of acquaintances among vessel owners on the lakes, and it may be noted that his friends are as numer- ous in Chicago, Milwaukee, Buffalo and other lake cities as they are in Cleveland. It is unfortunate that there. are three candidates from lake states--Wm. W. Bates, Frank A. Flower and Capt. McLeod. In the east, and especially in Philadelphia and New York, an effort is being made to retain Mr. Chamberlain, on account of the excellent manner in which he has attended to the duties of the office. The Philadelphia Maritime Exchange adopted resolutions a few days ago declaring that, although it has been the custom of the exchanye scru- pulously to avoid making recommendations for appointments to pub- lic office, Mr. Chamberlain's excellent fitness for the office of commis. sioner of navigation impelled the members to depart from their time. honored practice, and to earnestly petition the president to re-appoint him to the commissionership. The competition among naval officers for places on the light house board and for the position of chief of the bureau of navigation is attracting attention outside of naval circles, on acount of the wide influence of the light-house institution of late years, and the close re. lation which it bears to merchant shipping. If the influence of repre: sentatives of lake interests is successful in this matter, Capt. Robley D. Evans will succeed Rear Admiral Ramsay as chief of the bureay of navigation and Commander Gridley will probably be one of the officers appointed for service on the light-house board. The present naval secretary of the board, Commander Geo. F. F. Wilde, has made many friends among lake men who have had occasion to visit Washington, and if he can be retained on the board, even be. -- yond his present term of duty of this kind, the lake interests will be greatly pleased. At a meeting to be held in New York in afew days representa- tives of the principal Atlantic steamship companies, as well as the eastern ship builders, will decide upon plans to be adopted witha view to securing action in the present congress relative to some measure of assistance for the American merchant marine. Representatives of leading commercial organizations of the country will attend the meeting, and President Griscom of the International Navigation Co. will very probably be the presiding officer. Messrs. F. J. Firth of Philadelphia and Charles H. Keep of Buffalo will represent the Lake Carriers' Association, but it is not probable that Mr. Goulder, the third member of the committee, can attend. It is understood that ex-Senator Edmonds has been selected to represent the shipping inter- ests in their dealings with the new congress. Senator McMillan of Michigan has introduced a bill in congress authorizing the Northern Michigan Railway Co. to construct a bridge across Portage lake and one of the canals of the Portage district on plans approved by the secretary of war. As the Portage lake canals are owned by the government and entirely in charge of the war depart- ment, it is not probable that the railway company will be permitted - to construct a bridge that will prove a serious obstruction to navigation. The bill will not receive from the vessel interests the attention that has been given tothe several Detroit river bridge measures, as the commerce of the Portage lake district is largely of a local nature, and the conditions are not at.all like those presented at Detroit. Capt. Gaskin, well-known vessel owner of Kingston, doubts the ability of the Canadian government to complete the St. Lawrence canal improvements, so as to provide 14-feet navigation through to Montreal within two years. Improvements on all of the canals excepting the Soulanges are practically completed, and rapid progress is being made on the Soulanges, but Capt. Gaskin says that after the canal work proper is finished a vast amount of rock blasting, dredging, etc., in channels outside the canals remains to be done, and he is of the opinion that it will be several years before this big job can be completed by any government. Only the politicians will oppose the action °of Secretary Alger in retaining Superintendent McKenzie at the St. Mary's Falls canal. The vessel masters of the lakes, who are most capable of appreciating the value of thorough methods in the management of the canal, were almost unanimous in asking for the retention of Mr. McKenzie. It is understood that Mr. Hanna, the new senator from Ohio, joined the Michigan senators in this move to eliminate politics from the manage- ment of the canal. President Thwing of the Western Reserve University, Cleveland, writes in the April Review of Reviews on "How to Choose a College." His article deals with the practical questions likely to present them- selves to students about to select a college home for four years, or t0 the parents of such students, and is characterized by the fulness of information and general breadth of view which have made President Thwing an expert on this and allied subjects for many years past. Take the Nickel Plate road to Boston. Through sleepers from Chicago. 2 Mar 31 FEM at aaa eal