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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. VOL, a X1; Bublshed every Tharedn se aritree- CLEVELAND, O., MAY 17, 1900. Subscription $2.00 a year. Foreign $3.50 a year. No. 20 APPROPRIATIONS IN SUNDRY CIVIL ACT. The sundry civil act, which has passed the house and is now under consideration in the senate, contains generous allowances for the light- house service and for improvements of harbors. Provision has been made for the continuance of numerous lake contracts. In all of its essen- tial features the act will 'be passed 'by the senate as it now stands. Fol- lowing are some of its provisions: ee Continuing river and harbor improvements--For continuing 1im- provement of harbor at Cleveland, $175,000; for continuing improvement of Chicago river from its mouth to the stock yards on the South Branch, and to Belmont avenue on the North Branch. $62,000; for continuing im- provement of harbor at Duluth and Superior, $793,187.50; for continuing improvement of water communication across Keweenaw point, $110,000; for continuing improvements at Ashtabula Harbor, $110,000; for im- proving Buffalo entrance to Erie basin and Black Rock harbor, New York, $191,701.75; for continuing improvements at Black river," $125,000; for continuing improvements on Detroit river, $200,000; for continuing improvement Hay Lake channel, St. Mary's river, $250,000; for com- pleting improvement harbor of refuge, Milwaukee bay, $105,650; for com- pleting improvement of outer harbor at Michigan City, Ind., $195,000; for completing improvement at Portage lake, Mich., $85,000; for completing improvement of harbor at Racine, Wis., $67,650; for continuing improve- ment of harbor at St. Joseph, Mich., $253,950; for continuing im- provements at Sand Beach, Mich., $150,000; for completing improve- ment at Sheboygan, Wis., $52,000; for continuing improvements at To- ledo, $132,500. : Light-house service--For completing a light ship and fog signal near Cape Elizabeth, Me., $20,000; for removing Long Island head light station, Massachusetts, to a new site, $4,500; for a new steam tender for the third light-house district, New York, $62,500; for continuing the construction of sea wall at Staten Island light-house depot, New York, $25,000; for a new steam tender for the fifth light-house district, $20,000; for completing the removal of Cape San Blas light station, $15,000; for rebuilding Sand Island light and fog signal station, Alabama, $65,000; for establishing a light and fog signal station on Sabine bank, Gulf of Mexico, $50,000; for establishing a fog signal at Michigan City, Ind., $5,500; for the construction of a steam tender for the ninth light-house district, Lake Michigan, $50,000; for a light and fog signal station to mark the southern entrance of Buffalo harbor, $45,000; for the purchase of land and erection of boat house on the mainland for the use of the keepers of Detroit river light station, mouth of Detroit river, $1,000; for the construction of a large powerful seagoing tender for the thirteenth light-house district, $120,000; for the establishment of a light and fog signal at Brown's point on Commencement 'bay in Puget. sound, $6,000; for constructing a new steam tender for the sixteenth light-house district, $30,000; for general supplies for light-houses, $475,000; for repairs to light-houses, $625,000; for the lighting of rivers, $300,000; for three superintendents of life saving stations on the great lakes, $5,400. Coast and geodetic survey--For surveys of the Pacific coast includ- ing the Hawaiian islands and Alaska, $107,500; for continuing researches in physical hydrography, $5,000; for off shore soundings and examination of reported dangers, $10,100; for continuing magnetic observations, $50,000; for repair and maintenance of vessels, $29,600; for rebuilding and refitting the steamer Bache, to be immediately available, $60,000; for all necessary employees to conduct the work, $182,745. Marine hospitals--For marine hospital improvements at Cleveland, $5,000, marine hospital improvements at Detroit, $3,000. For general revenue cutter service, $1,200 000. For hydrographic service, $12,000. Circulars sent out recently by the United States Civil Service Com- mission indicate that ship masters or engineers aspiring to places on the local boards of the steamboat inspection service have an opportunity to secure such appointment. The circulars announce that there are vacan- cies on the eligible lists of both boiler inspectors and assistant hull in- spectors. Examinations for these places will be held in all cities where local boards exist on June 19 and 20. The age limits are twenty-five to fiity-five years. The vacancy open for a boiler inspector is at Charleston, S. C., where the salary is $1,500 a year; and for assistant inspector of hulls at Baltimore and New Orleans. with salary in each case of $1,800 a year. Forms of application will be supplied by the United States Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C. Reports from blast furnaces throughout the United States show that on the first of the present month the capacity of the active furnaces had increased 4,368 tons weekly, as compared with the first of April. This increase took place notwithstanding a falling off of nearly 1,000 tons in the weekly capacity of the active charcoal furnaces, the coke furnaces turning out a heavier output. The increasing production of pig iron is attended with an increase in the stocks of pig iron carried at the furnaces. The increase in stocks of furnaces was 43,545 tons during the month. This is by no means a serious addition to furnace stocks, as the total stocks now held are quite small, but it is a significant manifestation of the* falling off in the consumption of pig iron. Within the past three months the various lake yards of the American Ship Building Co. (Consolidation) have launched twelve mammoth freight carrying steamers, including two 500-footers. These craft cost $4,500,000, and their combined carrying capacity is 70,000 tons. There are now on the stocks in the yards of the company eleven more large craft, the combined carrying capacity of which is 60,000 tons; cost, $4,- 000,000. Here are twenty-three new craft, with carrying capacity of 130,000 tons, costing $8,500,000. In lake ship yards outside of the Ameri- can company craft have been launched, or are almost ready, with capacity of 40,000 tons, making a total of new tonnage of the largest class of 170,000, and total valuation of about $11,500,000. CLERGUE'S LAND GRANTS FROM CANADA. Francis J. Clergue of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who has become well known to lake shipping interests on account of the great water power development that he has undertaken on both the Canadian and American sides of the rapids of the St. Mary's river, has secured the passage of a bill in the Ontario legislature granting aid to the Algoma Central Rail- way, 'by means of which he proposes great development of mineral and timber lands in the Algoma district above Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The bill grants 1,400 acres of land for every mile of the railway which may be constructed. The road is to run from Sault Ste. Marie almost due north to intersect the Canadian Pacific, and must throw off a branch to Michipi- coton harbor, the total line being from 200 to 225 miles in length. The lands granted are to be in alternate blocks of 148,000 acres each. They are to be conveyed in fee simple to the company and shall include all ores, mines and minerals, as well as all standing timber. For the pine, how- ever, the company shall have to pay whatever price the government gets for the pine on the alternate blocks not granted to the company. All nickel ore or combined ore of nickel and copper found on the lands is to be subject to such regulations as to treating or refining as may be ap- plied to other lands of the province under any general law. None of the lands granted are to be nearer Sault Ste. Marie than twenty miles, nor nearer to Michipicoton harbor than ten miles. The following conditions are to.'be fulfilled in order that the company may be entitled to this grant: 1. The railway must be begun before June 1 next, and the whole road must be completed by May 1, 1903. _ 2. The Lake Superior Power Co. (one of Mr. Clergue's corpora- tions at the Sault) must develop 40,000 horse power in addition to that already developed at their works; must begin within sixty days the con- struction of the canal or canals necessary for: this increase, and must complete and equip the new power works in three years. Also the power company must begin within sixty days to construct smelting and reduc- tion works of an ore capacity of 300 tons per day, and must complete them in two years. And the same company must within sixty days begin the erection of chemical works and complete the same in two years, such works to be of capacity to use 5,000 horse power for their operation. 3. The Sault Ste. Marie Pulp & Paper Co. (another of Mr. Clergue's companies) must erect a pulp mill additional to that now operated at Sault Ste. Marie, the new mill to have a daily capacity of fifty tons and to 'be completed within a year. 4. In the center of each of its blocks of land the Algoma Central Railway Co. must place a station, and shall erect a school house and public hall sufficient for the requirements of 500 people. 5. The railway company must establish within a year an immigra- -tion office in Toronto and another in Great Britain. 6. The railway company must carry into the country it traverses 1,000 male settlers each year for the next ten years, each of such male set- tlers to be not less than sixteen years old. 7. The railway company must establish a line of not less than four steel steamships for regular traffic 'between Michipicoton and Sault Ste. Marie, each vessel to be of not less than 2,000 tons capacity. 8. None of the pine or spruce on the company's lands shall be exported in the unmanufactured state. FREIGHT SITUATION ON THE GREAT LAKES. Although admitting that freight conditions thus far in the present season of navigation on the lakes are not what was expected, the vessel owners are not worried over the situation as they would have been if the proportion of vessels under contract were about what it has been in pre- vious years. It is well understood, of course, that there never was a year when vessels were engaged on contracts as they are at present. This is why the so-called wild business will not be looked upon during any part of the season as the important factor that it has been in the past. On this score one of the vessel owners who is always closely in touch with the market says: "The wild rate from the head of Lake Superior was announced as established at $1.05, or 20 cents below the contract rate, but this was done by the charter of three small lumber boats, not regular ore carriers, and of a combined capacity of only 4,000 tons. Anything that has since been done in charters from the head of the lakes amounts to little more than this first transaction, and it is probable that wild charters from all the ore shipping ports since the opening of navigation would not cover more than 20,000 to 25,000 tons. This is a small item compared with the eighteen millions of contract tonnage. It must be admitted also that the ore move- ment has been greatly delayed by the fact that the shippers have been un- able to provide for their contract vessels on account of slow working of steam-shovel mines. If the Rockefeller interest, as it is claimed, has the great bulk of surplus tonnage, such a condition is certainly to the ad- vantage of all other vessel owners. It is far better to have this tonnage under one control than to have it distributed, especially as that one in- terest is strong enough to hold the vessels for satisfactory rates and to tie up, if necessary, the entire fleet. The result of a large amount of vessel oe being tied up by that powerful interest will readily 'be under- stood." The foregoing is the general tone of discussion regarding freights among the vessel men. The Bessemer company, which it has been ad- mitted from the beginning holds the key to the situation, seems to keep its own council and thus there is little in the way of general interest in the market. The absorption of the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Richmond Steamboat Co., or York River line, by the Chesapeake Steamship Co. of Baltimore, was completed last week. The Chesapeake Steamship Co. was incorpor- ated on Jan. 25 with a capital stock of $350,000 which latterly was in- creased to $600,000. ei e