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Pore eee 1899. ] MARINE REVIEW. . iS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN SHIP BUILDING. LEADING REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INDUSTRY ON THE OTHER SIDE ADMIT ALARM OVER AMERICAN COMPETITION, NOTWITHSTANDING GREAT ACTIVITY AT PRESENT IN SHIP YARDS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM. Quite a flurry has been created in British ship building circles by the remarks of Mr. J. Y. Short on the occasion of his recent re-election as chairman of the Sunderland Shipowners' Society. He began by quoting statistics showing how rapidly foreign shipping competition is advancing against Great Britain. He expressed surprise that the United States, the most progressive nation in the world, had ever allowed the supremacy of its merchant marine to decline, but impressed upon his confreres the fact that they might rest assured that the Americans would never be satis- fied until it was restored. In 1850, he said, American vessels carried 75 per cent. of their country's products; in 1860, 65 per cent.; but today only 15 per cent., while the Americans are at present paying foreign. ship owners $500,000 daily in freights on American goods. He followed up these reflections by the statement that had it not been for the introduc- tion of iron and subsequently steel in ship building, the union jack would have been swept off the ocean by the stars and stripes. Finally he called attention to the boom in ship building in America which has re- sulted from cheap production of ship material and thought it probable GRAIN DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE AT WORK. Buffalo, April 18--The joint committee on the distribution of grain cargoes in Buffalo harbor held its first meeting today and formulated a plan of operation. It was arranged to send out a blank to the agents of vessels at all lake ports where grain cargoes originate, asking them to wire the committee of the departure of cargoes for Buffalo, giving the name of vessel, grain as divided up, hatches and consignee. When the vessel arrives at destination she will find an elevator provided. The dis- position of the cargo as to hatches must be known, as it is not safe to unload a vessel amidships first. Grain in the bow is usually taken out first. The plan is called ideal, though it may possibly be found that some snags will make their appearance. One member of the committee brings up the possible chance of the consignee turning the cargo or a part of it over to some one else while it is in transit. Cargoes are sometimes sold while on the way. It appears to be the idea of the committee that the consignee will not be allowed to upset the arrangement by anything that he may do. A second point raised by another member of the committee is pretty sure to come up and that is the practice of certain of the line companies that own elevators of rushing their own boats to the elevator out of turn. The Western Transit Co. is charged with having done a great deal of this and may wish to coutinue the practice. The member of the committee who mentioned this matter hglds that the cargoes are in the custody of the committee till they are given an elevator and that the fact that the elevators are in the pool will prevent such a plain violation of ee | Tm eM: | | i CMMI ULL Tn i PAL HY mont UY | ITS ANY FN mT I mT pute ae Ee ts) QO ON 0 0 tt DOO IOOON NON 00 MONON ONO OOD DOO ON Hi 0000 MONNOn nnn I 10000 100000 D0 0000) PLANS OF THE FLOATING DRY DOCK, DESIGNED BY OLARK & STANDFIELD, LONDON, ENG., AND BUILDING BY THE MARYLAND STEEL CO., SPARROW"S POINT, MD. that the next generation might witness "a keen contest between British owners and the pushing and enterprising Yankees." Of course the Short address had caused all sorts of comment ranging from flippant to mourn- ful. The general tenor of the technical press, however, seems to be a concession that America is the coming competitor in ship building and the ocean carrying trade, but that the present safeguard of the British is found in the fact that the American ship builder will not exert himself to the utmost until it is seen what the government will do in the way of bounties. Meanwhile reports indicate a prosperous condition at present of British shipping and ship building interests. The launching of the Oceanic has restored Liverpool to its former position of being the home port of the largest ship afloat. The rumor that ere the Oceanic makes her maiden trip the keel will be laid for a still larger vessel continues to cir- culate persistently, and it would indeed be not surprising if before long two vessels, one German and one British, both larger than the Oceanic, will be found under construction. It is announced also that Harland & Wolff of Belfast, Ireland, builders of the Oceanic, have so many orders on hand that no more will be taken for delivery under five or six years. A company has been formed at Middlesbrough with a capital of $1,485,000 to make steel ship plates by a new and cheaper process, it is claimed, than the present method. The steel is to be made from Cleveland (north of England) pig iron, instead of hematite. Ship owners of Great Britain con- tinue their agitation for greater encouragement by the government for the employment of boys who undertake to qualify themselves for the naval reserve. The only encouragement offered at present is in the form of an abatement of one-fifth of the light dues on certain terms to those ships which carry these boys. As the abatement of light dues will amount to only $5 per annum per boy, while it would cost from $80 to $100 per year to keep a boy, it can readily be seen that ship owners would not be gainers to any considerable extent by the operation. Arrangements are being made at the works of the Chicago Ship Building Co. for the launch on Saturday next of the passenger steamer Illinois. This is the vessel building for the Northern Michigan Transpor- tation Co.'s service on Lake Michigan. the general arrangement. All vessel owners as such should be interested in the maintaining of the committee's authority over the cargoes. If this is not done the arrangement is worthless from the outset. It is believed that the plan will work, and if it does it is worth all the time and -- expense of the bill-of-lading agitation. , A remark made the other day by a vessel owner shows the strides that have been made in vessel building of late. Before Capt. Reid had done half his work on the Cayuga it was said that if she were raised she would be out of date. And now a vessel owner is saying the same thing of the Harlem, that was so lately the pride of the Western Transit Co. "Let her alone," he said. "She is only second class!' So there is but one first-class package-freight carrier on the lakes, the Troy. When the new Buffalo is finished there will be another. What is to be the end of all this? Certain criticisms made regarding the use of the names Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida and Wyoming for the new monitors now under construction--from the standpoint that the names for states should be reserved for battleships--have called forth a letter from Secretary Long of the navy department, in which that official says that the use of names of this character was necessary, in view of the stipulations of the act authorizing the construction of these vessels. The selection of names for naval vessels authorized by the last congress has given general satis- faction. The battleships will be designated Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia; the armored cruisers West Virginia, Nebraska, California; and the cruisers Denver, Des Moines, Chattanooga, Galveston, Tacoma and Cleveland. ws Officials of the Morgan line, New York, have decided that the four steamers now building at the works of the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Uo.. Newport News, Va., shall bear the same names as the vessels which they sold during the Spanish-American war to the United States government, and accordingly the names have been changed back from El Dia, El Alba, El Siglo and El Libre to El Sud, El Norte, El © Sol and El Rio.