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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, ier by John M. Mulrooney and E. M. Barton. Sunscriet1on--$2.00 per year in advance. Single copies 10 cents each. binders sent, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Convenient Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second class Mail Matter. he books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1896, contained the ine' 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 316 and their age 685,204.55, so that more than half of the best steamships in all the United Stators owned on the lakes. 'The classification of the entire lake fleet on June 30, 1896, was as follows: 5 Gross Number. poe, Steam vessels....... : A ,630. Sailing vessels ANd DATZeS..........ccccseecssersssssssesconsene 1,125 354,327.60 MOTT ALSO RE Morera cectes cccurcliccs couvessstoccveccescccrssacesas 416 45,109.47 ; TOGA cccaktescsevecnte Pixteaanesvaceeetossuoseunsene 3,333 1,324,067.58 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on thé lakes during the past six years, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is as follows: ing June 30. 1891 204 111,856 45 Year end oie 1892 169 45,968.9: a *s fe 1893... 175 201. . a of aS 1894... 106 41,984.61 ae sf " 1895... 93 36,352.70 ae ss So 1896. 117 108,782.38 TN eM Re les Seek eee sccass ensuasenectoon® 864 414,216.36 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. (From Oficial Reports of Canal Officers.) _-- St.Mary's Falls Canals. Suez Canal. | 1896 1s96* | 1995* 1894 | 1895 1894 Number of vessel passages 18,615 17,956 14,491 3,409. 3,434 3,352 Tonnage, net registered...... 17,249,418] 16,806,781} 13,110,366)| 8,560,284) 8,448,383] 8,039,175 Days of navigation...... ...... 232 231 234 365 365 365 *1895 and 1896 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie. Tn a communication from a lake captain in this issue of the Review attention is called to the fact that masters and mates in Chicago have an advantage over those in other lake ports of learning navigation, under the teaching of a government instructor. At first thought it seems reasonable that Cleveland which is accessible to a larger num- ber of captains than Chicago should have the same advantages. But the navigation school conducted in Chicago by the assistant hydro- grapher, Mr. C. L. Wilson, isin no sense a government school, and Mr. Wilson gives his time, outside of the hours he is engaged in: his office duties. The organization of the school was the result of his own personal effort, although the project was endorsed by the chief hydro- grapher. At the time the Chicago school was established the matter of having a similar school in Cleveland was brought up. Mr. Wilson was a graduate of the naval academy, and there not being any vacancy in the navy for him at the time, he was assigned to the hyd- rographic service. Therefore he is peculiarly fitted to teach, as the assistant at Cleveland would not be, although he is familiar with the subjects. If another Mr. Wilson was willing to be assigned to the Cleveland hydrographic office as assistant and was wiling to give his leisure time to teaching navigation, and the present head of the hydro- graphic office were willing, Cleveland might havea navigation school. Otherwise she could not. It would seem, however, that all this might be accomplished, if there is a general demand for it. Captains and mates who would take up the study if a Cleveland school was established might write the branch hydrographic office, Cleveland, about it. The Quarrel in the Navy, A brief telegraph dispatch published recently said that Secretary Long of the navy refused to accept the resignations of three cadets of the Annapolis Naval Academy. It also said that this was the first time in years the secretary had interposed his veto when junior officers desired to leave the service. Thereby hangs an interesting tale, says an exchange. Those three cadets--George Weber of Arkansas, H. L. Collins of Pennsyl- vania and P. L. Pratt of Illinois--want to leave the service to go into private business; public business obviously is not profitable enough. That seems a strange condition of affairs. Ordinary men are glad to get into public service. They are like all the engineer cadets, either sult from it. in the army or navy, the very flower of the graduating class. They are like cadets of that character for the past fifteen or twenty years-- the desired men. Great establishments like the Carnegie and Bethle- hem steel works want them in their service. Each of the three haye offers of positions at salaries from $3,500 to $12,000 a year, They want to exchange the $1,800 a year positions the government will give them for the more lucrative ones to be had in private life. The government makes no distinction in pay between the brightest men graduated and the dullest. The only difference is that the engineer cadets will visit Europe for a post-graduate course to study the actual conditions that exist in building ships on the Clyde or building Krupp guns in the establish- ment of the great iron master. They will also cruise during this post- graduate course of two years. Then they will receive commissions as assistant engineers, with the relative rank and pay of ensign--$1,800 a year. : The less bright cadets will not become expert engineers. They will cruise two years and become ensigns. They will be the executive officers on board the war vessels. What will the engineer cadet get if he stays in the navy? He will not even have a title that is recognized by the public as anything indicating high grade. First he will be an assistant engineer. That's a title suggestive of dirty and greasy over- alls, and work in a stifling hot engine room, without gold lace or glory. Then he becomes a passed assistant engineer--suggestion of more work under same conditions. If old age does not cut him off he becomes a chief engineer--a full fledged engineer, whose "relative rank" may be anything from that of a lieutenant to captain. These engineers are staff officers and the men who were dullers are line officers. Usually they are spoken of as line and staff; the line officers have precedence over the staff. And there is no peace between them because of this pernicious practice in precedence. vessel has its quota of line and staff officers. The lowest line officer in authority outranks the highest staff officer. Suppose the battleship Iowa were in a fight and all the line officers except the youngest en- sign were killed. Suppose also the engineer officer had the rela- tive rank of captain. The difference between an ensign and captain among line officers in the navy is equal to the difference between a colonel and the youngest second lieutenant in thearmy. Well, under such conditions, the youthful ensign would be in command. He would issue orders to the engineer, who might be his grandfather. Wants a Navigation School in Cleveland Editor Marine Review:--In your issue of July 1st I noticed an article about prizes for captains and mates, offered by Mr. Geo. L. McCurdy, the insurance man, to encourage attendance at the Chicago Navigation School. I would like to ask why not establish schools of navigation in other places besides Chicago. Under the present arrangement the Chicago men have an advantage. This is an age of progress and in order to keep up with the times we must keep up with all improvements. apply themselves most studiously to that which will increase their proficiency will come to the front as successful men. I for one would like to learn all that is possibie-in this business and would avail my- self of an opportunity to attend a school if there was one near where I lived. I have no doubt that there are others just as anxious to learn as myself. I hope this may be taken up and that something may re- E. L. Sawyer, master barge Magna. Fairport, O., July 17, 1897. Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store in regular eleva- tors at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes, July 17,1897: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. CO CANO eter ee sl ees vi 3,635,000 7,750,000 DDE ee ae ge en. 805,000 10,000 Mnliwaikeenee toc tg 109,000 3,000 ID GUTOR ed ber ae ee ae eee 8,000 24,000 Bee LO eC Ome hie. ae geen S recs 195,000 301,000 BUM ORR re eee 595,000 363,000 5,347,000 8,451,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show, at the sev- eral' points named, an increase of 343,000 bushels of wheat and a decrease of 476,000 bushels of corn. Each -- In order to do that it requires study. Those who .