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1903. ] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. oo le of grain. The report from Buffalo that a rate of 40 cents to Lake Superior and 50 cents to Lake Michigan has been fixed on first cargoes of hard coal is not encouraging to the vessel men, as 45 cents was expected on Lake Superior business. It has been agreed that in the ore trade during the coming season the lake freight to be paid from Marq::ette will be only 5 cents less than the freight rate from the head of Lake Superior, and that the rate from Escanaba will be only 15 cents less than the rate from the head of the lakes. This is a cutting down of differentials. In the past the Marquette rate his been 10 cents less than the head-of-the-lake rate, and the Escanaba rate 20 cents less. EARLY OPENING OF LAKE NAVIGATION. Weather conditions in the upper-lake region are such that it is expected the ice will be sufficiently broken up to permit of the passage of vessels not only through the Straits of Mackinaw but also through the Sault river about April 1. Of course there is a possibility of cold weather changing the opinions now pre- vailing on this score, but everything points to a very early open- ing. 'This is not welcome news to the vessel owners, who prefer a short season from the standpoint of freights, and many of them will not have their vessels ready on the opening, as they are not at all anxious to hurry matters. With the Steel Cor- poration and its big fleet of ore carriers the situation is different, however, as their aim will be to employ the ships to the fullest capacity and they will probably be ready to start as soon as the channels are clear. It is understood that the railways be- tween the mines and shipping ports will try to have the docks filled with ore by the time vessels begin to move, but if the rivers and the straits are open as early as april 1 more difficulty will probably be found in getting the ore from the mines than the vessels will encounter in reaching the shipping ports. Pas- senger vessels on short runs across Lake Erie and up and down Lake Michigan are already in commission, but the real opening of navigation on the lakes follows the first passage of ships through the Straits of Mackinaw. Following are the dates on which the straits opened during sixteen years past: 10702 April, 17 1605.3 70.000 April 11 LOGS. May 4 1600. . s April 16 1800. Maro 25 180). (2220, April 9 18007. ag. April 8 1200 24. Apt. 2 TOOL e. . io April 15 TG00K Gocas April 26 1802 ooo. April. 3 LOUG oie. cos April 18 £804, 6. 2. April 17 TOOL a oe April 14 18040033 April .2 T0022. oa, Apri: 2 COAL MOVEMENT ON THE LAKES. Through some kind of a summary of reports from collectors of customs, the treasury department bureau of statistics figures that the total movement of coal, hard and soft, throughout the lakes in 1902 was 15,504,540 tons (2,000 lbs.) and in 1001, 15,- 868,023 tons. These figures are given siniply fur what they are worth, as it has several times been explained in these columns that the customs house figures are not all the time reliable, and the refusal of the railways to give out reports of the coal mov?- ment does not admit of the kind of complete statistics as to that trade that have been compiled for years past regarding iron ore. 'These coal figures from the Washington bureau seeta too high. The report in which they are contained says: "Returns from 168 fueling and steamship companies show a total of 2,639,252 net tons of coal put on board lake vessels for their own steaming purposes during 1902, all except 488 tons o1 which were soft coal. The quantity (fuel) reported for the year I90I1 was 1,765,864 net tons. Coal shipments combined with fuel consumption by vessels amounted to 1¢,855,971 tons in 1902, in comparison with 11,052,418 tons in 1o01. If to these totals be added the quantitv exported through iake ports (whi-h was 4,648,569 tons in 1902 and 4,815,605 tons in 1901), the grand total of the coal trade on the lakes would be 15,504,540 tons for 1902 and 15,868,023 tons for,1go1." GOVERNMENT DREDGE TO BE BUILT. Advices from Washington are to the effect that the war de- partment will build a suction dredge for service on Lake Erie. The construction of this dredge was authorized last year, since which time the matter has been pretty thoroughly threshed out between private interests and the government. It was thought the construction of the dredge might be discretionary on the part of the secretary of war but the attorney-general is reported as holding that the act is mandatory. Gen. Gillespie, chief of en- gineers, has prepared a report urging the construction of the dredge and Secretary Root has given it his approval. In his re- port Gen. Gillespie says: - Se "A very important class of dredging on Lake Erie is of an emergency character, and for the purpose of restoring chan- nels from the lake into the various important harbors. This work has to be provided for now by the use of private dredges which are not adapted to such work, making its. cost unneces- sarily expensive and resulting in delays most injurious to the interests of navieation. 'The proposed government dredge is to be a powerful sea-going boat, which will perform the class of work referred to at a greatly reduced cost to the United States, and in a fraction of the time now required. A protest against the construction of such a dredge is in effect a protest against the granting of such relief to the navigation interests of the lakes as they pray for and are entitled to. Numerous exam- ples can be presented showing the excessive cost and delay arising from a dependence upon private dredges on Lake Erie and illustrating most emphatically the necessity for the construc- tion of the dredge as proposed." The emergency work to which Gen. Gillespie refers is the re- moval of bars at the mouths of the rivers, which form during the winter time and which are an impediment to deep-draught ves- sels which seek to enter the harbors at the opening of navigation. The engineer branch of the government claims that these bars can be much more cheaply removed by a government dredge built for the purpose than by letting the work to dredging con- tractors. 'This is denied by the contractors, and they say also that with ordinary precautions on the part of the engineer :n charge--making arrangements early enough each year for the dredging--no part of the complaint about sand bars at harbor entrances could be charged to the concerns doing the work. Gen. Gillespie's report conveys the idea that the vessel interests are clamoring for a government dredge. Such is not the case. If the suggestion to the engineers to build the dredge was from Senator Hanna, the demand upon him undoubtedly came from some source other than the vessel owners, who are not encourag- ing the government to enter into competition with the private enterprise of its citizens. . Neither has the engineer of the Cieveland district been urged by any of the vessel owners to go to the extreme of building a government dredge in order to care for the harbor entrances. Of course the railroads, who would have all their private dredging put into a river and harbor bill if they could do so, will encourage a step of this kind. Not- withstanding tne fact that Gen. Gillespie says the government dredge can do the work for which it is to be built at a greatlv re- duced cost to the United States, it will very probably be found when operating and non-operating expenses are calculated, with interest on the investment and high charges in government methods, that the people are paying a stiff figure for the work. LAKE SHIP YARD MATTERS. | It was related some time ago that the Detroit River & Lake Erie Railway Co. had plans under way for the construction of a combination car ferry for service on Lake Erie between Con-. neaut and Port Stanley or Port Dover, and a'so a twin-screw car ferry for service between Sarnia and Port Huron. These plans were being designed by Mr. Frank E. Kirby of the Detroit Ship Building Co. when the Pere Marquette system took over the Detroit River & Lake Erie Railway Co. The Pere Mar- quette company has now decided to build these two car ferries and has entered into contract with the American Ship Building Co. for their construction. One will be built at Detroit and the other at Buffalo. The Lake Erie ferry will be fitted with tracks but is not designed to carry cars across the lake. The coal cars will be run aboard the ferry and the coal dumped into the hold. The tracks will be so arranged as to foid up, making a sort of continuous hatch for the operation of clam-shell hoists at the Canadian port.° The Port Huron-Sarnia ferry will be the customary type of car ferry but will have twin-screws at either end. These new ferries are not to come out until 1904. In addition the Pere Marquette railway is having built at the Cleveland yard of the American Ship Building Co. the two big car ferry steamers for its Lake Michigan service. A special from Sault Ste. Marie is to the effect that Hickler Bros. are to build a marine railway and ship yard at that point. The yard will be of sufficient size to handle all kinds of lake craft up to 1,0co tons burden and is designed principally to care for repairs upon this class of craft. Hickler Bros. have secured the necessary site and are now petitioning the council of Sault Ste. Marie to vacate the foot of a street which separates two pieces of property held by them. The marine railway is to be of the type built by the H. I. Crandall & Sons Co. of East Boston, Mass., who are well known in this kind of work and who have built some of the best marine railways in the country. Tt will be 180 ft. long and 50 ft. wide, with 7 ft. water for vard and ta ft. aft. An illustration of one of the Crandall marine railways will be found in the advertisement of the company elsewhere in this issue. They are now tendering on a large steel marine railway to be situated at Perosus, Harbor of Athens, Greece. The steamer George L. Craig was launched from the yard of the Craig Ship Building Co., Toledo, a few days ago. She is for the Monroe Transportation Co. and is 360 ft. in length, 50 ft. beam and 28 ft. deep. The launch was very successful and was attended by thousands of persons. Miller Steamship Co. is the name of the corporation that will own and operate the 5,000-ton freight steamer building at the Buffalo works of the American Ship Building Co. for J. E. Ball, J. J. McWilliams and others, and which is to be named P. P. Miller. Directors of the company are J. J. McWilliams, P. P. Miller, O. G. Donaldson, J. E. Ball and Edward Smith.