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10 MARINE REVIEW. Opposition of Engineers to Civil Service Rules, In some parts of the country, the army engineers in charge of river and harbor improvements, fortification works, etc., have raised strong ob- jection to the application of civil service rules to the great number of as- sistants. under their direction. The subject is not new. It has been under consideration in the war department for more than a year past, but little of the correspondence has found its way into the newspapers. A letter covering quite fully the ground taken by the engineers who are opposed to the civl service regulations was written by Major Thomas H. Hamby of St. Louis shortly atter the regulations went into effect. It was addressed to the chief of engineers, and as it makes very interesting reading it is here reproduced in full: : : ; "T am greatly distressed and unsettled in my mind as to how I am to carry out the requirements of circular No. 8, June 29, 1896, from your of- fice, and at the same time conduct the works in my charge to which it is to apply in a manner economical and advantageous to the government. Un- der the new conditions which it imposes, restricting the latitude hereto- fore allowed the officer in charge of a work and the subordinates under him regarding the selection of the men to carry out the duties enjoined upon each of them, I am at a loss to know where the responsibility for the proper conduct of the work and disbursement of the funds appropriated for its execution is henceforth to rest. Heretofore there have been no grounds for misapprehension upon this point. eee Leia "During the ninety odd years that have elapsed since the organiza- tion.of the Engineer corps its officers have been charged with a multi- plicity of public duties, and with the disbursement of almost fabulous sums of money. They have expended and disbursed upon plans and projects prepared by themselves and under their directions,.in works of military defense, river and harbor improvements, and other objects for which con- gress has made appropriations, over $300,000,000. In the expenditure of this sum and in carrying on the works for which it was appropriated there has been no question at any time as to who was responsible for any part of either the work or the funds. The officer or agent charged with the ex- ecution of the work was permitted to employ and control the individuals necessary for the purpose, and was held responsible for their actions. He was likewise permitted to select the persons to whom was necessarily in- trusted from time to time, for the payment of labor, purchase of materials, and the many other objects connected with the work, large amounts of the public money for which he was responsible. Under the system and meth- ods early adopted and which have been enlarged and perfected during these years, these works have been carried on without friction, or conflict of authority, or question of responsibility; and the funds have been hon- estly and economically disbursed, without defalcation or scandal of any kind. A practical system of service has grown up in the engineer depart-. ment which embodies all the good results to be obtained from civil-service enactments, while containing none of the evils and inconveniences which these impose upon public business. As results show, this system, for ef- ficiency and economy in the transaction of the particular kind of govern- ment business to which it has been applied, may challenge comparison with any other to be found in the civilized world. It is only in a few in- stances, within recent years, where the privilege accorded to officers in charge of works of selecting their own men to carry them on, which is the basis of this system, has been interfered with by higher authority. that any juestion of fixing responsibility for results could possibly be raised. "Now that the provisions of the circular above mentioned, and the civil-service rules which the president in his wisdom has seen fit to require shall be applied to the operations of the engineer department at large, are tc take the piace of this system, and the officer is no longer to have choice or say, or at least very limited, as to who shall occupy important positions upon the works in his charge, execute his orders, and supply him with data and information on which depends the accuracy of reports that-go to congress and important projects involving the expenditure of large amounts of money, but this important function is to be left to a body of men whose occupation and habits of life are entirely foreign to this class of public business, the question of fixing the responsibility for results comes at once to the front and should be authoritatively settled at the earliest practicable moment. It is respectfully submitted that the conditions which prevailed in other departments of the government for many years prior to the passage of the civil-service act, and which made this law a necessity to good service in those departments, did not pertain in the engineer depart- ment; and, furthermore, the conditions under which the operations and public business of that department must necessarily be carried on to insure expeditious work and economical expenditure of the funds appropriated are such that rules and regulations such as are contemplated by that act and based upon it cannot be made to apply without an entire abrogation of the present system and a manifest decriment to the government interests involved. In carrying on the operations directed from this office during the last fiscal year, over $1,100,000 were expended by my predecessor and myself. For this amount, and the execution of that part of the project for the improvements for which it was appropriated, we were responsible; and, 'rom ourselves down to the lowest laborer employed, there was a well- recognized system of accountability and indisputable authority of control. There is available for expenditure during the present fiscal year over $700,- 000.. The amount authorized to be expended during the next four years upon works in charge of this office is $3,400,000. "Since, under present requirements, I can no longer have the selec- tion of the men who are to execute the work to be done by this large amount of money, and am restricted in my control over those who may be assigned to me for that purpose, and, as I am not permitted to select nor fully control those who must necessarily be employed to assist in handling and disbursing this money, and in the preparation of the accounts and papers pertaining to it, I am naturally desirous of an authoritative Opinion, so far as this can be given without recourse to courts, as to how far I am now to be held responsible for the conduct of the work and disbursement of the funds pertaining thereto that are committed to my charge. When- ever it has been clear to my mind that the interests of the service demand- ed it, I have never hesitated to assume responsibilities in connection with my works, trusting that my action would be approved by those in author- ity over me. In this instance my judgment is not in accordance with my duty under the requirements of my orders, and I have therefore no desire to do otherwise than to strictly obey the orders, letting the responsibility for results rest with those who issue and interpret them, _ "This question is of so great importayice not only to engineer officers having charge of government works and intrusted with the disbursement of public money, but to the government also, that it seems proper that it be referred to the honorable the attorney-general for legal opinion. [ therefore respectiully request that the foregoing facts be placed before him, and that his opinion be requested as to how far an officer placed in charge of government works and intrusted with the disbursement of the funds appropriated for carrying on the same is to be held responsible for their execution and the disbursemcnts of the funds under the conditions that must prevail when the requirements of this circular are complied with." Navigation of Duluth-Superior Harbor. Major Clinton B. Sears, engineer officer-in-charge of the harbor at Duluth and Superior, is anxious that there shall be no inisunderstandinge among vessel masters regarding the rules and regulations for this harbor, which were formulated with the approval of the secretary of war and which went into effect on the Ist inst. These rules, which are in accord- ance with authority conferred upon the secretary of war by river and harbor act of August 18, 1894, are as follows: 1. No vessels shall be moored to any entry pier. 2. No material of any kind shall be unloaded onto or loaded from the entry piers, except for the use of the United States, unless by special permission of the engineer officer-in-charge in each case. 3. Vessels shall not anchor in the entrance canals, or in any of the navigable channels, except in the harbor basins, and then only where not in the way of passing vessels. 4. Vessels and rafts shall not be anchored or otherwise fastened where they will be liable to swing into the channels by reason of a wind Or current. 5. Vessels and rafts shall take great care not to run into, strike, rub against or otherwise injure the entrance piers, buoys or beacons in the harbor. A oa 6. 'While dredging operations and the rebuilding of the piers are going on, all vessels will slow down to six miles an hour, while passing said piers, or the dredges, upon being requested to do so by the display or waving of a red flag, or red lantern. 7. 'Dredges and attending scows and tugs are expected and required to give half the channel for passing vessels and rafts, and the latter are required to do the same when passing the dredges or other craft. 8. The signal for opening the draws of all bridges will be three long blasts of the whistle, or horn where the vessel is not navigated by steam power, and will be given in ample time when approaching the bridge. The only exception to this is when a vessel going into St. Louis bay from Superior bay intends to pass through the Wisconsin draw of the Northern Pacific bridge; it will then add one short blast after the three long blasts. 9. Upon such signal being given, the keeper of the drawbridge, which is signalled, will open it promptly and fully, and will give all vessels right of way over all trains, cars, wagons, foot passengers, etc. _ 10. Where there are two or more channels leading to a given point, in one of which improvement work is going on, it may be temporarily closed to navigation by the engineer officer-in-charge, after due notice. 11. All rafts shall enter or leave the harbor by the Wisconsin en- trance, and no rafts will be permitted to use the Duluth canal. 12. All rafts in passing the bridges will use the rafting spans, and will not be permitted to go through the draw span openings. 13. Rafts at all times will be handled by sufficient number of tugs ~ to enable them to avoid obstructing the channels, and to give half the channel to passing vessels, or in passing dredges. Stock 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 elevators at 'the principal points of accumulation on the lakes, Sept. 25, 1897: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Ginicale Ong Pea ays Rae ae He Pee 3,180,000 18,269,000 Olathe ce cntes: ccs ee ee 2,040,000 267,000 Mit Wia tice eisai 3 pty eg oe. ete 102,000 330,000 Detroit net eee eee 277,000 20,000 Mlioled Opesicegee te eee a mo ato eek tees 313,000 496,000 Butta Oaperscs ts Wire 1h ec nysiageie din cal oe. 1,377,000 1,332,000 7,289,000 20,714,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show, at the several points named, an increase of 1,979,000 bushels of wheat and 579,000 bushels of corn. On the same date there was afloat on the lakes 3,391,000 bushels of wheat, 2,965,000 bushels of corn and 1,701,000 bushels of oats. Grain afloat on the canals aggregated 224,000 bushels of wheat, 834,000 bushels of corn and 10,000 bushels of oats. Although an officer of the navy recently reported that the old gunboat Yantic, which the department offered to the Michigan naval reserve, was a few feet longer than any vessel that has as yet passed through the St. Lawrence canals, officials of the Michigan organization are confident that they can, by cutting away the bow of the vessel and making a few other changes, manage to move her through the smallest of the canal locks. It has been therefore agreed, according to the latest dispatch from Wash- ington, that the navy department will, as soon as possible, deliver the vessel at Montreal, with the understanding that the Michigan represen- tatives will provide funds for the transfer through the canals and lakes to Detroit. The Yantic is now at Boston preparing for the voyage, and the work will be hurried in order that she may reach Detroit early in No- vember. 'F. W. Wheeler & Co. will make such changes in the vessel as will be required in moving her through the canals. -- The characteristic of the light at Passage island station, northerly part of Lake Superior, has been changed from fixed red to flashing white every 10 seconds.