The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

14 , MARINE REVIEW PROFITABLE YEAR FOR UNDERWRITERS. - A SEASON ON THE GREAT LAKES IN WHICH UNDERWRITERS ESCAPE WITHOUT THE PAYMENT OF A SINGLE TOTAL LOSS OF A MARINE KIND--ONLY A FEW FIRE LOSSES--DEPARTED VESSELS WERE ALL OF THE UNINSURED KIND. Marine underwriters will remember the season just closed on the great lakes as the most fortunate they have ever experienced. The un- derwriters have not been called upon to pay a single total loss of a marine kind. They paid two or three total losses that were due to fire, but no total losses involving marine insurance. In the small list of total losses it will be noted that the vessels were almost without exception of. a kind on which no insurance could be secured. In this matter of light losses, the season is the most remarkable in the history of lake naviga- tion, especially in view of the high freights that prompted the operation of a large number of vessels long after the expiration of insurance. Losses due to the stranding of steel vessels in connecting waterways oi the lakes, which are usually largely in excess of the total losses, on ac- count of expensive bottom repairs, were also lighter than in any year for probably ten years past. The months of October and November seldom pass without a couple of heavy storms, but this year there were not half a dozen days during which navigation was interfered with by heavy weather.. The insurance companies were also very fortunate from another standpoint. With very liberal policies and low rates they suf- fered heavy losses in 1898. This year limitations of various kinds were placed in the policies and rates increased. The number of vessels on which insurance was refused entirely, or on which rates were placed so [December 21, REPORTS REGARDING FOUR MORE MORGAN LINERS. In answer to a telegram from the Marine Review, President C. B. Orcutt of the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co. said that officers of the company are not as yet at liberty to talk regarding the contract for four more Morgan liners, which, according to press des- patches sent out from Newport News, has been closed within the past few days. It will be remembered that the Newport News company has within the past six months completed four large modern steamers for the Morgan line. The vessels now spoken of will, it is said, be of the same general design. They will be, according to rumor, 406 feet' over all length, 48 feet beam, molded, 33 feet 9 inches depth, molded, and of 4,660 tons burden. The cost of the new vessels is reported as about $600,000 each, making the aggregate amount of the contract $2,400,000. After names had been selected for the four Morgan liners built at the Newport News yard this year, it was decided to make a change and use instead the names of the old vessels (also products of the Newport News yard) which had been purchased by the government during the Spanish war. The supposition is now advanced that if additional vessels are built they will be given the names originally chosen for the steamers lately completed. The new vessels are presumably designed for service between New York and New Orleans. NO RIVER AND HARBOR BILL. Chairman T. E. Burton of the river and harbor committee of the house of representatives says that in all probability no river and harbor bill will be presented until early in the session which convenes in De- cember, 1900. According to Mr. Burton there are many reasons for this conclusion, among them the difficuty of framing a bill at the short VESSEL LOSSES ON THE GREAT LAKES, SEASON OF 1899--LIST INCLUDES ONLY TOTAL LOSSES, VESSELS THAT AOTUALLY PASSED OUT OF EXISTENOE. Name of Vessel. Date. Type. Cause. Where. Cornel a Owner. WGI, Yo Westsocrsscasqsbn0s0cande05c Feb. 16. Steamer. Foundered. | Off Giand Haven......... 1,500 § 50,000 Crosby Trans. Co., Milwaukee. IN AIROY 7 cphasnehoncontsadee nepaconouerec s May 13. Schooner. | Foundered. | Off Grand Marais......... 1,400 12,000 Mitchell Trans, Co., Bay City. Gan veSe ecndestere ones te c-vs emer - ee: May 16. Schooner. | Collision. Mouth Detroit River..... 650 4,000 W. H. Oades, Detruit. Tie treet cscees Bd yslisbiisssdickeis = May 18. Tug. Stranded. Near, Dunkitks:..ccccsss05 |) iene: 3 6,000 W Hz. Hill, Erie, Pa. . Stewart, REG. ith avess cocks June 4. Steamer. Burned. Apostle Islands........:... 300 7,000 C. O. Flynn, Duluth. INEISO TREO Seller seat ocasbic emacs June 5. Schooner. | Stranded. On Pilot'Island........... : 400 2,000 P.Hanson, Washington Is., Wis. Torrent. Nellie............0....ccee eee June 22. Steamer. Burned. Head of Lake Huron. 500 12,000 G. W. Jackson, Bay. City. Satisfaction! cte.ont-asitset ee osebes June 18. Tug. Burned. Off Sheboygan.........0.2. |) cesses 2,500 John Madden, Sheboygan. PBETMGO fle pices hes en nnoon cuiep hs. «ee June 22. Schooner. | Foundered. | Off Sandusky......... ..... 700 3,500 John Mullen, Amherstburg. Olwill, Margaret................005.. June 28. | Steamer. | Foundered. | Off Lorain........... 0.006 - 900 10,000 L. P. & J. A. Smith, Cleveland. Minch, Sophia..............0-0...06- July 15. Schooner. | Stranded. Near Ashtabula............ 1,150 8,000 Nicholas Trans. Co., Cleveland. Breden, JOHN .............c0ecsseeeeee July 21. Schooner. | Foundered. | Lake Huron......... cae 600 500 M. S. Jones, Detroit. DL G tee Hotes east lesa. ocean) sctacle eb eats uly 29 Tug. Burned. Near Menominee.......... | s...06- 5,000 Spaulding Lumber Co.,Chicago Ruelle, Grace..........cecseeeeeeeec ees July 29 Tug. Foundered. | Saginaw Bay............. oe saab - 600 A. Ruelle, Jr., Detroit. @mitatl OMe ceas. sess vse cieess ss Seseeuer od Aug. 10 Steamer. Stranded, | Jackfish, Lake Superio 1,200 12,000 John Cornwell, Sombra, Ont. Cleveland, H. G.........:...2..0s006- Aug. 13 Schooner. | Foundered. | Off Cleveland,Lake Erie 600 ~ 2,000 Frank Jenkins, Cleveland. Savidge, Hunter............... .... Aug. 20 Schooner. | Foundered..| Pt. au Barques,Lak.Hur 350 3,000 Jno. Mullerweiss, Alpena. RE GNOIGUG ee ness. 2essreoanee=! A2-=e> Sept. 3 Tug. Foundered. | Cedar Point; Vake-Bries\ 0 ccc ee Nie tap cece Great Lakes Towing Co. VIS ig eect cone see iain ec mee to 3 Sept. 3 Schooner. | Foundered. | Lk. Huron, nr.Goderich 600 3,500 Matthews Bros., Toronto. PRIRETIC Ame eee sen eee tetcasnce ase Sept. 8 Schooner. | Foundered. | Near Chicago................ 200 500 Barry Bros., Chicago. [Dyeyar,. (Gra: l{cooncssddeas boo odsodadsbnedee Sept. 24. Tug. Foundered. | Near South Chicago...... | .....:. 5,000 O.B.GreensDredgeCo. Chicago ING Mees eee eeee one: ocosearesas: Sept. 26 Steamer. Burned. Pelee Island, Lake Erie 300 14,000 John Corrigan, Cleveland. EVIIIG TayAI Vc Gt nee ectete acces Sept. 26 Schooner. | Stranded. Wake Ontario... ..csss.-a; 400 6,000 Sv ecnnes site eae renes see sacee ce eee MB PON seston ee grctetlekeerensrente > Oct. 14 Schooner. | Collision. Wake; ERUTOM <0 s.cl-cusssetne 780 4,000 | H. Henderson, Cleveland. BACT ne stieatacs ccttareerer cists ches. Oct. 24 Schooner. | Stranded. acer nO nieces cere ec 150 2,000 'J. E. Kirtland, Green Bay. (Grover Chrisie 7.t ccs secsecncres. Oct. 25. Schooner. | Stranded. Take Superior....:......... 300 2,500 Jacob Werner, Marquette. fay allied there tite bPRecseLR ed. Sansa Nov. 3. Schooner. | Foundered. | Lake Erie.................... 450 2,500 Chas. Hern:s, Cleveland. INA ahs at eee ce ten ance cri face: Dec. 6 Steamer. Foundered: | Lake Erie........ .......... 600 20,000 'J. & T. Matthews, Toronto. ROinteAbinoce.1s Fete! ci. ose <5 Dec. 11. Steamer, Stranded. Ballast Island, Lk. Erie 325 3,000 | Nelson Mills, Port Huron. INTC Igy ere (et sseccs- 6h savichtisdcmedc sess Dec. 9. Steamer. Burned. St: Josephiic. aes as o eeeone 18,000 Graham & Morton Co.,Chicago Moriinion Stati ssn cinadiasse. 23 Dec wie Schooner. | Stranded. Lake Michigan........... 400 1,500 F. X. Ulrich, Milwaukee. law ileye Re Iescesec.cccieeet or vats: Dec. 12. Tug. Foundered. | Lake Erie.................... es oeteee 5,000 Great Lakes Towing Co. Whalebackoll5*<...0.-u-i.-2c--2 +s Dec, 13. Barge. Steel barge.; Lake Superior.............. 3,200 80,000 John D. Rockefeller. 17,955 $307,600 *Search is still belng made for this vessel which parted from her steamer on Lake Superior more than a week ago, but hope is about given up. high as to be prohibitive, was also increased. Requirements as to vessels carrying grain were also of a kind that furnished more protection to car- goes and at the same time made the ship a better risk. As a result the season started off with a minimum of loss on the big fleet that took grain from Chicago to Buffalo in the spring and everything afterward seemed to turn in favor of the insurance companies. The following tables have no reference whatever to partial losses or to what are known as constructive total losses, namely, such cases as -involve practically an entire loss but which invariably result in the re- building of the vessel. The tables relate only to vessels that have actu- ally passed out of service. Z LOSSES ON THE GREAT LAKES--VESSELS THAT HAVE AOTUALLY PASSED OUT OF EXISTENCE DURING PAST FIVE YEARS. j Capacity, * Approximate Year. Number. gross tons. value. SOO Rep Ae wet oc... sha 33 17,955 $ 807,600 SOB ears ye oar. fsstioce caves. 6s 64 46,670 1,208,200 Oars gisele ot aes 35 21,450 372,000 WS OG Riper et 35 21,435 380,500 Usb 5 ae oes SSR eee 63 48,975 1,200,000 A very interesting story about Porteus of mythology, one of the gods of the sea for whom an organization of New Orleans that takes a prominent part in the Mardi Gras is named, has been sent out from the office of Horace See, naval architect of New York, in connection with the launch of the steamer Proteus at the works of the Newport News company. The Proteus is a sister ship of the Comus, launched Nov. 9, and which was fully described in the Review. OE session and giving it proper consideration in conference after it has passed the senate with amendments. Another reason for delaying the preparation of a general bill is the fact that there is urgent need of hurry- ing improvements at important points that must be provided for in the sundry civil appropriation bill under the system of continuous contracts, notably the mouth of the Mississippi river, the Delaware river below Philadelphia and the St. Mary's river between Lakes Huron and Su- perior. Then, too, contractors are busy, the prices of material are high and the army engineers have about all they can attend to for some time to come in making plans and supervising the work authorized under previous measures. : NEW REVENUE CUTTER SEMINOLE. Capt. Russell Glover, superintendent of construction of the United States revenue cutter service, is highly pleased over the showing made during the trial a few days ago of the cutter Seminole, just completed by the Columbian Iron Works, Batimore, Md. On the official trial over a course of 8.75 knots in Chesapeake bay, the new cutter averaged 16.47 knots per hour. The greatest speed attained was 17.59 knots. No allowance was made for the current and the figures represent the actual speed attained. The Seminole is 188 feet in length over all, 170 feet be- tween perpendiculars, 29 feet beam and 16 feet depth. Her engines are of the vertical, inverted cylinder, direct acting, triple expansion type with cylinders of 20, 32 and 50 inches diameter and 27 inches stroke. The indicated horse power on trial was 1600. Steam is supplied from boilers 13 feet in diameter by 10 feet long with a working pressure of 160 pounds The vessel is fitted with a Williamson steam steerer Hyde windlass and Gibson & Kirk's mechanical telegraph.