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The Question of Regulating Lake Freights. __ There was quite a large attendance at the meeting in Cleveland 'Wednesday of members of the Lake 'Carriers' Association, who are consid- efitig the question of changing the by-laws of the association so as to admit of the adoption of a scheme for regulating freight rates in certain lines. President James Millen and Secretary 'C. H. Keep were present; as well as nearly all of the leading Cleveland owners who:are not associated with the ore companies. (Messrs. A. A. Parker and John Pridgeon came from Detroit with President (Millen. (A lengthy discussion of the subject resulted in the appointment of a committee, representing different' ports around the lakes, It was agreed that if a plan involving the maintenance of fixed reasonable rates of freight throughout the season could be arranged the shipping concerns would take an interest. in the scheme, on account of the advantages to 'be derived from assurance of stabilty in rates. This general committee is expected to take the matter up with shippers and be prepared to report at the annual meeting of the association in Detroit, which, according to action of the executive committee, will be he'd beginning January 19.. Members of the committee that will have the lake freight subject in'hand are: A. A. Parker, 'Detroit; 'M. A. Brad- ley, 'H. A. Hawgood, B. 'L. Pennington, H. D. Goulder and Capt. J. W. (Moore, Cleveland; 'Wi. H. 'Wolf, Milwaukee; 'C. W. Elphicke, Chicago; W.'S. Brainard, Toledo; C. A. Eddy, 'Bay 'City, and \A. B. Wolvin, Duluth. Complaint About Early Removal of Buoys. In a letter from (Gladstone, Mich., date of Dec. 10, to Geo. L. Mc- Curdy of Chicago, Capt. Wm. Jamieson of the steamer Minneapolis says: "IT think you are about the only friend the vessel masters have on the lakes, so you will please excuse me for making this complaint to you. The light-ships and gas buoys, of which so much is expected as aids to navigation, are like the story of the Dutchman's anchor--'At home when wanted.' If there is any need for them in summer, we surely need them more now when we have only nine hours of daylight in the twenty-four. The two gas buoys in Poverty passage were taken out about two weeks ago. I have made two trips to Buffalo but have seen none, and the light- ship on Eleven-Foot shoal, eight miles south of Escanaba, is taken in, and I saw by a notice in one of the papers that the light-ships on Lakes Huron and 'Michigan would be taken in the 10th of this month. . Now, there are seven large steamships here, and. four of them of steel, and the 'Centurion and others coming in, all loaded and going to load flour and grain here for Buffalo, which will take all of eight days yet to finish. Then we have to grope our way to Buffalo with millions of dollars under our feet the best way we can. 'Masters wonder where that fine ship Gresham is, which is to protect our lake marine. I would state for myself and the masters - who are now sailing that we would thank the 'powers that tbe' to put out no gas buoys or light-ships again unless they keep them out while hun- dreds of boats are still sailing. This is the time when we need these gas buoys and light-ships, more so than at any other time of the season. I have not yet seen ice enough between. Buffalo and Squaw point at this port to break an egg shell, and that such a state of affairs should exist where so much property is at stake appears unjust to the vessel captains whose epicty and bread and butter depend upon channels properly lighted and uoyed." "te From the Head of the Lakes. Wiest Superior, /Wis., Dec. 15.--It is expected that the new machine - shop at the works of the 'American Steel 'Barge Co. will be completed about Jan. 1. The shop is now roofed, and a Westinghouse generator of 150 K. {[W., as well as an engine and several motors are on the ground. Work is now well under way on both the steamer and tow barge that are to be built during the winter, and up to the close of navigation there was ~ a vessel'or two getting repairs every day. 'Repair work during the winter will also be quite heavy, as a number of ships of the 'Minnesota company's fleet, as well as those owned by the barge company and laid up in this vicinity will require overhauling: There are also two or three extensive special jobs. The Magna, which was-here on a late trip, struck at the "Dyke" Nov. 26 and has four bad bilge plates and nine broken frames and futtocks. She will be repaired during the winter. The 'Constitution fur- nishes the last dry dock job of the season at this point. It_is annoying to everybody interested in this vessel to find that she was very unforturlate during the season.» (On her second trip down the lakes she sustained bot- tom damages, and on her third trip a jam at the Sault resulted in damages to side frames and plates. Then on her last trip up the lakes she fetched 'up at the Lime-Kilns and at the "Dyke," so that final necessary repairs were made quite extensive. 'With a vessel like the Constitution tnese accidents seem especially unfortunate. Judges of a good steel barge say that the fairness of her stringers and deck plating is always noticeable, as compared with a number of other steel barges that might be named, and this is what tells in the big barges, as many of them when loaded show bulges and dents in the stringers and deck plating. _ The wonderful movement of soft coal that was crowded into the clos- ing days of the season made a great difference in stocks on the docks of Duluth and Superior. .A few weeks ago they were almost bare, but with heavy deliveries in the latter part of November they assumed immense Proportions and were much like the great piles of ore that loom up on Lake Erie docks in the fall. Proposed Improvement of New York Harbor. _ New York, Dec. 15.--One of the largest projects to be presented to the river and harbor committee of the present congress is the proposed improvement of New York harbor, in accordance with surveys and esti- mates authorized in the last river and harbor act for a 35-foot channel rom the Narrows to the sea. Philadelphia and other places will undoubt- edly seek big appropriations from congress on account of this movement in New York, but the heads of the large transatlantic steamship lines and usiness men generally will not relax their efforts on account of the plans of other cities or the determination of some members of congress to reduce _ftiver and harbor appropriations. : ; The present main ship channel is 1,000 feet wide and carries 30 feet at mean low water, and as there are now seven transatlantic steamers. CaF aa 7 outer TSE LEER IS ON = AES SRE 8 SR a gy ee AE ln, ON Sees which draw between 29 and 30 feet of water, two that draw from 30 to 31. feet, and one that draws 82. feet, plying between this 'aud foreign ports, - besides which there are several vessels being built which will have a draft of from 30 feet to 32 feet, the necessity of a deeper channel is apparent. 'As a result of the: stirveys authorized' last year, thé' engineers report states that the net cost of dredging a channel 35 18¢t deep and 1,000 feet wide from the Narrows to the sea would be $1,740,000. The report also. estimates that a channel of the same depth and 1,500 feet wide would cost $2,772,000 net, while the cost of a 35-foot channel 2,000 feet wide would be $4,180,000. These estimates respectively include the cost of building: the four, five and six additional dredges, at $100,000 each, which would be' -- needed to do the work. Ifthe work should be done by contract these - figures should be increased about 20 per cent. to inc'ude contractor's profits. and interest on investment. Nea Ss : Ge 'Considering the moderate cost for which this improvement could be made, remembering that during the last fiscal year over 37 per cent. of the total exports and 63 per cent. of the total imports of the United States "passed through the port of New York, shipping men believe that a united effort should be made by the commercial organizations of the poit to - secure the passage of an appropriation in the next river and harbor bill. sufficient to carry out the work. 'Moreover, it is be'ieved that the matter of making a deeper channel should be got under way as soon as possible, in order that other necessary improvements which are now under consid- eration by the light-house board, and the carrying out of which to a meas- ure depends upon any changes that may be mae in the har>or, may not be postponed longer than necessary. 'A re-survey of the harbor is now being made which it is expected will be finished in three or four months. ~ When it is completed, the practicability of deepening the east channel, a shorter and more direct route to the ocean than the main ship channel, will be considered. {While the marine interests first seek a 35-foot channel they would also prefer a less complicated and shorter route than thle main channel affords, and it will be their endeavor to have a sufficient appro- priation made to accomplish one or both of these ends. General Use of the Model Tank. It will interest ship builders throughout the country to know that, although the model tank now under construction at the Washington navy yard is intended primarily for the work of investigating and determining the most suitable shapes and-forms to-be adopted for United 'States naval vessels, this tank will be open to ship builders throughout the country. 'The act 'providing for the construction of this tank states that "upon the authorization of the secretary of the navy experiments may be made at this establishment for private ship builders, who shall defray the cost of material and of labor of per diem employees for such experiments; and that the results of such private experiments shall be regarded as confiden- tial and shall not be divulged without the consent of the ship builder for whom they may be made." : poeta The 'Washington tank, on which work is now progressing very rap- idly, may be said to be the result of persistent efforts of Chief Constructor 'Hichborn, and, following out his direction, the plant will be upon a scale considerably in advance of anything abroad. The completed structure will consist primarily of a concrete-lined basin surrounded by a one-story 'brick building, which is surmounted by a steel-trussed roof. The build- ing is 500 feet long and 50 feet wide, with extensions for the ventilating, heating, pumping, filtering and power plants. The main basin is 370 feet long and 48 feet wide, and will have a uniform depth of 14 feet. At one end will be a narrow, shoal extension, 70 feet long and 6 feet wide, from which the trial runs will be started, and at the other end, one 34 feet long and 8 feet wide, into which the models will be carried upon the comple- tion of the runs. The latter extension will have no special features; but at the starting end there will be a pit on each side and. at the rear for the purpose of providing convenient means for measuring the models as they . float in the basin preparatory to the trials. _ hy - nek an - The tracks on which the carriage will travel are to be of the heaviest railroad type, made as rigid as possible. The towing carriage is driven by four electric motors run on the trolley system. Two will be. needed for runs at speeds from 1 to 12 knots, while all four will be required at 20 knots. It may be stated here that a 20-knot run on the part of a model is the correlative of a speed of perhaps 40 knots or more in the contemplated craft. The high speed at which it may be needful to run the carriage--20 knots, or 23 miles an hour--necessitates some special and reliable arrange-' ment at the end of the run for bringing the carriage to a halt' without' undue shock to the heavy mass in motion. This is to be accomplished' by a huge friction brake carefully graduated in its pressure by 'hydraulic cylinders, and operating uniformly on each side of the carriage. When' this brake is in operation it will be possible to bring the carriage to a stop: from full speed within 20 feet. \A supplementary. or emergency brake, in the shape of an immense hydraulic cylinder, is automatically thrown into gear upon the failure of the friction brakes and will be absolute in case of accident. In order to lessen the chance of disturbing draughts, the walls' of the building will be without windows, light and air coming in through. a glazed skylight. The steel-trussed roof is both unique and light, 'and' does away entirely with any obstructing supports against the walls of the building, and leaves an unbroken run for a gallery on each side' where the' models may be conveniently stored after trial, and space also for a foot- path from which photographs of the models under way may be taken and other observations made. The entire structure inside will be painted white, and besides providing a light and convenient building for the work in hand, will present an attractive appearance. "Te yuyey as The Buffalo grain shoveling contract will again be a subject of con- tention at the annual meeting of the Lake 'Carriers' Association in Detroit next month. Propositions from labor unions will not be considered; as there would be no responsible parties to deal with in the unions, but vessel owners who were opposed to giving the work to Contractor Kennedy a year ago on the claim that profit in the business was very great are again lending support to a movement to hhave a responsible contractor in Buffalo put in a bid at a figure considerably lower than that of a year ago.