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8 MARINE Opportunity to Settle the Lake Levels Question. Congress has just appropriated $150,000 to be expended for sur- yeys, examinations, etc. of deep water routes from the great lakes to Atlantic tide water, in accordance with the report of the Deep Water- ways Commission submitted to the president in January last, and herein lies the opportunity of lake shipping interests to secure as mem- bers of the engineer commission that is to expend this money men who will give consideration, in connection with the seaboard canal sur- veys, to the question of regulation of lake levels. There is no doubt of the authority the new commission will have to consider this ques- tion. One of the chief recommendations of the International Com- mission that reported in January last, and the first of its reeommenda- tions, in fact, was that complete surveys and examinations be made and all needful data to mature projects be procured for controlling the level of Lake Erie and projecting the Niagara ship canal. The new appropriation calls for a commission of three engineers, to be designated by the president, and of which one member shall be from civil life. The other two may be detailed, one from the army engineer corps and one from the coast and geodetic survey. The wording of the law is important, as it is clearly provided that one of the engineers must be from civil life, while the president is authorized to select the other two members as he sees fit. He may detail one each from the army engineer corps and the coast survey corps, but he is not required to do so. It is expected, of course, that one member of the commission will be from the army engineer corps. The other two should be engineers who have a full knowledge of the requirements of lake commerce, and who may be expected to submit a report cover- ing the question of regulating lake levels, in which vessel men are so very much interested. When this appropriation was under consideration the Lake Car- riers' Association suggested that the clause in the sundry civil bill re- lating to the appropriation be amended so as to make a specific provi- sion regarding the subject of regulating lake levels. This was not done, for the reason that it was understood that the new commission would follow out the recommendations of the old one and there was no necessity of specifying any particular line of investigation. But the interests of the lakes will be best served if attention is given to the make up of the new commission. Mr. Cooley of Chicago, should be continued in this work, both from the fact that he is one of the best equipped egineers in the country to carry on such investigations intelli- gently, and also that the large amount of gratuitous service he has already rendered should have some recognition. As asecond member of the commission it is about certain, of course, that an army engineer officer will be selected, but there are grave doubts on the lakes as to the advisability of having the third member selected from the coast survey corrps, for the reason that officers of that corps are wholly in experienced in the work of lake waterway improvements. The third member of the commission should be an engineer who would really be looked upon as a representative of lake shipping interests. While the main object for which the International Commission was organ- ized, and which will largely occupy the attention of the new commis- sion, is the determination of the best route for a canal from the lakes to tide water, it is the opinion of the vessel interests that the important question of regulating the level of Lake Hrie by a dam at Niagara, and the subject of lake levels generally, should form an essential part of such investigation. The development of a rational system of im- provement in lake waterways and harbor channels should keep pace with any scheme of canal construction which may be projected from the lakes to tide water. Under the present system of improvements, channel depths on Lake Erie will still be dependent upon the pre- vailing stage of water, after dredging has been carried out on the 20- feet navigation scheme. We will still have depths varying from 16 to 20 feet. Such conditions are essentially bad for economical tran- sportation, for in order to meet the demands of commerce the lake tonnage must be adequate to carry the lake freight during seasons of low water when steamers can take only partial cargoes, which results in a surplus tonnage in high water periods, the cutting of rates and general depression in vessel interests. This is all wrong. No matter what depth may be decided upon ~ as that which should be obtaind for our lake channels, it is essential that such depth should be maintained as nearly constant as possible throughout the entire season of navigation, so that vessels may be constructed for some fixed draft and carry full cargoes at all times when in commission--a condition which is of far greater importance REVIEW. to the lakes than that of having deep-water connection by canal with New York. Such being the case it is the duty of commercial bodies on the lakes to ask for a representative on this new commission who will give attention to the important question of regulation of lake levels. Trade organizations in several of the western cities have recom- mended the appointment of Mr. Geo. Y. Wisner of Deiroit as a third member of the commission. No better selection could be made, Mr. Wisner is recognized by all lake interests as an engineer specially suited to work of this kind. He has probably given more attention than any other engineer in the country to the problem of regulating lake levels. He possesses a full knowledge of conditions surrounding lake commerce, and in his dealings with officers of the Lake Carriers' Association and boards of trade in different parts of the lakes he has been regarded at all times as a man of very sound judgement. The new commission is undoubtedly authorized to consider the lake levels question, but if two of the members are antagonistic to the project it will undoubtedly be pigeonholed indefinitely. This is why Mr. Wisner's appointment as the third member should be urged very earnestly: That the level of Lake Erie can be regulated and controlled by a dam at Niagara, is no longer questioned by any one who has given the mat- ter careful study, but how such result may be most economically and successfully obtained can only be determined by further investigation. The sooner such investigations are made, the quicker will we be able - to profit from improvements which will give channels a greater depth and constant stage. Recognizing the Importance of Lake Shipping. 'he New York Sun of recent date pays this tribute to the lakes in connection with a discussion of the traffic of St. Mary's Falls canals during 1896: ; 'The number of vessels plying to the port of New York or elsewhere in the ocean service, and carrying more than these ships of the inland lakes, is very small indeed, so far as bottoms owned by Americans are concerned, and with the single exception of one line of ocean passenger ships, there is nothing to equal these newest lake fleets. While these ships are very differently modeled from those on salt water, they are every whit as substantial, and receive the highest ratings from Lloyd's and other associations. Indeed, many of the notable recent advantages in marine architecture have originated on the American lakes. The first quadruple expansion engines to be used in the merchant marine were put into the two express passenger steamships of the Great Northern railway, which are scheduled for shuttle-like runs between Duluth and Buffalo at a sustained speed of twenty miles an hour. On the lakes and the connecting shallow channels, be it remembered, this is very different from the same speed in a seaway with plenty of water under the keel, no tortuous river to thread, no currents to push against, and no stops at way ports and lift locks. On the lakes too, were first used in merchant service tubulous steam generators in place of the time-honored boilers. The lakes have developed, under stress of cireumstances, new methods of steel construction for hulls, and the channel system in use at most lake yards for the larger ships is supposed: to be ahead of any other method for strength and saving. The lakes, too, have the only ex- clusive passenger express steamships in the world in use for long- distance travel. They have facilities for cargo despatch that are the wonder and admiration of all who see them. Lake ships can be loaded with grain at the rate of 1,000 bushels a minute, or with ore at the rate of 1,000 tons an hour, or with coal by whole car loads at once, the loaded freight cars being picked up in hoists, run over the ship, turned bottom side up, and returned to the dock, all in less than two minutes. Ore and coal are unloaded from the vessels' holds, either by hand shovelling or by automatic' operating machines, at the rate of 250 or 300 tons an hour. This rapid despatch is necessitated by the short season, the short distance traveled and the enormous amount of freight to be moved. It is probable that not less than 40,- 000,000 tons of freight will be moved on all the inland lakes of the chain this year."' The large single-sheet chart of Georgian bay, just issued by the British admiralty, was prepared from the surveys on which Staff Commander J. G. Boulton, R. N., has been engaged for several years past. This chart may be had from the Marine Review for $1.75. The price is higher than is usually charged for navigators' charts, but this one takes the place of probably ten sectional charts and is corrected up to date,