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12 : MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. - - Published every Thursday at No. 409 Berea building, Cleveland, Ohlo, by John M. Mulrooney and F. M. Barton. 2 Sunscription--$2.00 per year in advance. ~ Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders sent, 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 aggregate gross tonnage 711,034.28; the number of vessels of this class owned in ail other parts of the country on the same date was 316 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 Number. - - Tonnage. Steam vessels. 1,792 . 924,630.51 Sailing vesselS and DArges.............sceccccsesescsesssevsese 1,125 354,327.60 CRTAL DORE oiittcrsccsscescoecense cocesece peenenicescecsersaserees 416 45,109.47 MO talicsjccccccocveres dacensacuacsucvestensesccceese 8,333 1,324,067.58 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on the lakes during the past Se ear, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, igs as follows: ; Year ending June 30. 1891 204 111,856 45 ib aehe ue oe 1892... 169 45,91 ss eS Sy 1893... 175 99,271.24 cake re G P8042 sad ceeshy: aegis sts, cece - 106 41,984.61 ee See o BOS eccsrererocdccsdaustacecnaeestbecoten 93 36,352.70 a = ee ABOG Seren coe ete cccel ens vecneesvasas tens a RLY, 108,782.38 Tho tall eee hc sestes hed cck hovestdsecnsel davsestee ha 864 444,216.36 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. (From Official Reporte of Canal Officers.) St.Mary's Falls Canals. Suez Canal. 1896* 1895* 1894 1896 1895 1894 Number of vessel passages- 18,615 17,956 14,491 3,409} - ~ 3,434 8,352 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|) 365 365 865 1895 and 1896 figures include. traffic of Canadian cana) at Sault Ste. Marie. "One of the most common failings of those who compare water and rail transportation," says the Railroad Journal, '"'is the assumption that because the state pays for the maintenance of the waterways, therefore it costs the people nothing. Mr. Erastus Wiman, who is at present an advocate of the enlarged Erie canal, in order to supply cheap transporta- tion to the seaboard, falls into this error in his efforts to impress upon the people of the country the importance of his pet project. He claims that the enlagement of the Erie canal, which is now being made by the state of New York at a cost of nine million dollars, will give to the canal a carry- ing capacity for western food products equal to that of the five trunk railroads paralleling it, and he adds, 'the railways now carrying these products are exacting rates equivalent to paying fixed charges on- five hundred millions of capital; the canal, being free, exacts no such tribute.' Mr. Wiman forgets to explain who pays the nine million dollars, and why that sum should not be considered an expense of transportation just as much as any other sum paid out by the railroads; nor does he make it clear just why the people of the state of New York should pay out this nine million dollars in order that the people of the west may ship their food products at lower cost and without charge so far as any compensation for that particular outlay is concerned. Although it is true that no sufficient data can as yet be supplied to demonstrate the proposition, it would seem as if the experience of recent years has established the fact that an artificial waterway cannot live in competition with the railway. Indeed, it is doubtful if wherever parallel routes are possible, any waterway can suc- cessfully compete with the railway for long distances. It is, of course, possible that with improved methods of water transportation the present apparent disability of the waterway may be overcome, but just at present _ the rail carrier seems to be ahead in the race." j An International Congress on Navigation will be held in Brussels dur- ing latter part of July, 1898. It will deal with both maritime and internal navigation, and may be considered as the continuation of the congresses already held in various cities in Belgium, France, Germany and England. It will be held under the patronage of the king of the Belgians, and under the honorary presidency of the ministers of agriculture and public works, finance and foreign affairs. The work of the congress will be divided into five sections, dealing with the canalisation of rivers, canals for internal navigation, maritime canals, sea ports, and monetary questions. As at other congresses, the nature of the proceedings will consist in the reading and discussion of papers, the examination of maps, plans, and models, and excursions to places of interest in Belgium. The papers will be printed in the language in which they ar e written, and also in French. All particulars are to be obtained from M. Dufourny, Secretaire General du Septieme Congres International de Navigation, Rue de Louvain, 38 Bruxelles. General Manager Schwerin of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. is thus quoted in a dispatch from San Francisco which discusses plans. of that company: "We have now on paper two 10,000-ton twin-screw steam- ships, designed both for speed and carrying capacity, which we contem- plate putting in the Oriental trade. These are to be built in American shipyards, with American capital, and are to have Ameican registers. These vessels are to be far superior in speed and comfort to any now on the Pacific. The plans and details are all on paper and approved, so we are prepared to begin the actual-work of.construction at any time. We have not rushed their construction, as we wish first to see the steamships of the Japanese Oriental Co. that are to run on our schedule 'on May lt next. We want to see them so that we can build superior ships. That we shall build our new steamers is, however, a certainty. They will be ready to go into commission within the next fiiteen months. John R. Thomas, in a letter to the New York Tribune concerning the proposed selection of ex-Secretary Herbert as counsel for the govern- ment in the suit brought by the Cramps, says: "This would be a queer case, when the lawyer for the defendant was.the cause otf the delay, prin- cipally through his incapacity to fill so exalted an office as that of secretary of the navy, his antipathy to a Republican firm of ship builders in a patri- otic city and state, and his narrow views of statesmanship in handling so extensive a business as that of building up the navy, with 'cracker' views of a crossroads country lawyer from Alabama.-,By his action, or want of action, these contractors were hampered and 'delayed in their work to such an extent that before a fair and impartial tribunal there will be ac- corded them substantial damages." On Oct. 1 of this year the strength of the United States navy, accord- ing to the annual report of Chief Constructor Hichborn, just issued, was 141 vessels all told, including the ships of both old and new navies. The report of the chief constructor records the advance toward completion of twenty-three vessels, which, when added to those already in the service, will raise the effective sea power of the United States within a year to im- posing proportions among nations of the first rank and make it second, Mr. Hichborn says, to Great Britain and France in practical efficiency. During the first ten months of the present year no less than twelve new vessels have been added to the commissioned fleet. These have brought the numiber of war vessels completed in the last fourteen years up to fifty- seven, all of which are of the most modern type. ere _ An illustration of the result of the practical disappearance of sailing-' vessels from the building yards of the north-east coast of England, and the almost universal adoption of pole and derrick masts in steamers, was made apparent recently in one of the largest Tyneside establishments, where out of a very large permanent staff only one draughtsman could 'be: found capable of drawing out a spar and rigging plan for a vessel under construction by the firm. ae Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, will publish «: the end of Oc- tober John R. Sparks' book entitled "The History of Our Navy," The work is divided into four volumes and will have about 300 illustrations. The earlier volumes have many contemporary engravings, portraits and documents of exceptional rarity and interest, while in the latest ones the resources of photography and of the best' artists have been called into play. Capt. Campau of the steamer Fairbairn is a careful and capable vessel master. There may be some inistake about the charge that refuse from his vessel was dumped in the Duluth- Superior harbor. It is quite certain, however, that most vessel owners will-commend the action of the United States authorities at Duluth in taking steps under the law to protect a harbor on which the government is spending thousands of dollars annually. _In accordance with the programme of gradually re:noving all center piers from the river, plans are now being prepared in.Chicago for a bascule : bridge to be built over the south branch of the river at Archer avenue, replacing a swing bridge of the ordinary center pier type. The Japanese government has placed an order in France for the con- struction of an armored cruiser of 9,400 tons. It is said that other orders will follow. Steel Hatches. Editor Marine Review:--Having just returned from,abroad, I have been looking over the numbers of your esteemed paper which have come during my absence. In the August 19 number I observe an article on steel hatches, in which it is said that they will probably be adopted on the lakes in advance of their use elsewhere. Perhaps it may interest your _readers to know that such hatches were first put on the steam colliers of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, on the plans of which I was engaged 1872 to "74. They have also been fitted on the Red D line ships trading between New York and Venezuela. These hatches were strongly framed in one piece, and were made watertight by rubber strips, and fastened by hinged bolts. They have been very satisfactory, being easily handled and absolutely tight and safe. I may add that on the above named colliers iron deck houses, with iron watertight doors, were first fitted; also com- plete iron decks, without any wood covering, which has since become the universal practice. , ' JOHN HAUG. Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 20, 1897. The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 'Co. has placed an order with the Pusey & Jones Co. of Wilmington, Del., for two steel tugs for use in towing car floats in the vicinity of New York. They will be 110 feet long, 25 feet molded beam and 14 feet deep. Engines in each case will be compound with cylinders of 20 and 40 inches diameter by 28 inches stroke. The'boilers will be 14% by 11% feet and will be built to withstand 140 pounds pressure. Changes in the suburban service on the Nickel Plate--Lorain accom- modation, No. 19, leaving Cleveland at 8:40 a. m., and No. 21, leaving Cleveland at 5:45 p. m., also Lorain and Cleveland traius leaving Lorain at 6:45 a, m. and 4:18 p. m., will be discontinued after Sunday, Oct. 17, No. 362, Oct. 31