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22 : MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. [Mar. 26, VESSEL OWNERS AND LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. A sensational feature in lake shipping circles this week is the announcement that officials of the American Association of 'Masters and Pilots of steam Vessels have ordered their mem- bers not to report for duty until certain differences with the Pittsburg Steamship Co. (Steel Corporation fleet) regarding mates of their vessels for the coming season are fixed up. After the Lake Carrier's Association. had agreed upon a sche- dule of monthly wages for mates, the management of the Steel 'Corporation proposed a season contract, which they claimed was better than the monthly schedule for the men. 'The members of the Association of Masters and Pilots objected to 'the season contract and in the controversy that followed some dissatisfaction developed between the management of the Cor- poration vessels and a few of the men who had been appointed as mates. Then the management of the steel fleet withdrew the season contract proposition, accepting the Lake Carriers' monthly schedule, but the association now claims that although the question is no longer one of wages it will follow that some of their members who were appointed to vessels of the Pitts- burg company's fleet will not get places on account of the trouble that arose over the proposed season schedule. © This is the cause of the alleged order to all members not to report for duty. A conference' on the subject with the executive committee of the Lake Carriers is planned for Friday of this week. Of course not even the vessels of the Steel Corpora- tion fleet are as yet ready to start, so that there is no telling how effective the order of the pilots association would be to its members. Officers of the association are reported as claim- ing that they 'have about 90 per cent. of the licensed deck men 'within their ranks. They certainly have a very large propor- tion of the captains as well as the mates, and as regards the 'men on Steel Corporation vessels the proportion is unusually large, as there is considerable feeling against the big- vessel organization among the masters and pilots. | However, the 'difficulty now refers to so few men that there is little danger of a general tie-up of the vessels, although such a condition, from the standpoint of freights, would certainly be welcomed by the individual vessel owners. It would do for the smaller owners what they can not do for themselves--keep the vessels 'in port and thus strengthen the freight market. 'ane vessel owners and Lake Erie port dock managers have been in conference all week with representatives of other unions and their work will probably run into the coming week. 'The executive committee of the Lake Carriers' Asso- ciation has undertaken a settlement of the differences be- tween the Lake 'Tugmen's Association and the Great 'Lakes Towing Co. Of course the one main point at issue -between these interests is the question of what to do with some thirty or forty men who remained in the employ of the tug company during the strike last summer. All interests are represented at the conference. The Lake Carriers' are also 'working on a schedule of wages with the firemen, oilers and watertenders and expects to close with these men during the present week. Then will follow a conference between the same men and representatives of the Lumber Carriers' Asso- ciation. The Lake Erie dock managers have made progress enough with the representatives of the ore and coal shovelers to look for a settlement within a few days. It has been agreed that the men will be paid 14 cents a ton for shoveling ore as against 13 cents paid last year and that the day shall consist of eleven hours, the same as last year. Details regarding work connected with automatic shovels, etc, are yet to be settled. The increase of 1 cent a ton for shoveling will probably mean an increase to 20 or 21 cents for unloading, which the vessels will pay, as against 19 cents paid last year. LAKE FREIGHT MATTERS. From present indications vessels will be loading iron ore on the lakes, some of them probably on single-trip charters, before anything is done in the way of the usual season con- tracts. It is certain that the big fleet of the Steel Corporation, unless something now unthought of interferes, will be loading ore at the very first opportunity, probably next week, and this without anything having been done towards the engagement of the so-called outside vessels. With increases all along the line of operating costs, it is not reasonable to expect that ves- sels will accept an 80-cent season ore freight and the-- can not get 85 cents. No doubt some of. the independent ore inter- ests would be quite willing to pay 85 cents on season contracts cs, WES Tar "A. AES a sews = Sen WING a SER LES ae CY ' G SS SSS ne ASS & aN 7 A yee if the Steel Corporation would take the lead, but an early open- ing and a long season ahead, with large stocks of ore at Lake Erie docks and in furnace yards, has caused the big steel or- ganization to "stand pat" on the lake freight situation, arrang- ing in the meantime to use its own big fleet of ships to fullest capacity. In view of this situation the independent interests dare not make contracts at 85 cents, as they fear the possibil- ity of the big company getting an advantage of 5 cents or more a ton in lake freight by its present attitude of inactivity. Thus the rumor of a possible tie-up of all vessels of the lakes through dissatisfaction on the part of masters and pilots was really in the minds of independent vessel owners too good to be true, as their -one hope just now rests in a delayed opening of navigation. Unfortunately they are now, as in the past, unable to agree among themselyes upon measures of delay, although it can be said that there is less hurry this year than in any previous year towards fitting out, except in the case of vessels controlled 'by ore interests. MR. FRANK JEFFRIES GOES TO UNION IRON WORKS. Mr. Frank Jeffries, superintendent of the Lorain yard of the American Ship Building Co., has been elected vice-president of the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, which is now a sub- sidiary of the United States Ship Building Co.,.and will leave for San Francisco on Wednesday next to have general charge of the plant at a salary, it is understood, of $10,000 per year. Mr. Jeffries is a Scotchman, having been born at Aberdeen and having served an apprenticeship in the ship yard of Hall & Rus- sell in that city. He remained with this small though excellent ship building firm for five years, after which he came to this country and sought employment in the New York ship. yards. About seventeen years ago he came to the great lakes region and has been a steady and continuous worker ever since in lake ship yards. He was first at Superior and then ptt in some time at the Wheeler yard, West Bay City, coming to Cleveland after the American Ship Building Co. was formed and taking charge of the Lorain plant. His experience in lake ship building has been uncommonly thorough, and though the years during which he has been working are many he is still a yeung man, having just passed the fortieth milestone. Mr. Jeffries has never been in San Francisco and, of course, has never seen the Union Iron Works plant. His dealings were entirely with Mr. Lewis Nixon, president of the United States Ship Building Co. Mr. Nixon assured him that he believed lake methods of ship building to -be in advance of coast methods in dispatch and economy and that the United States Ship Building Co. desired an energetic and practical ship builder with his eyes fixed upon the cost- sheet as well as the efficiency of the vessel. Mr. Jeffries frankly admitted that he had not technical education, meaning college training, but Mr. Nixon told him that the company was not looking for that kind of a man. The Union Iron Works has some merchant vessels on the stocks and is doing considerable repair work but its heaviest contrects. are for warships. It is building one battleship, two armored cruisers, one protected cruiser and two submarines for the navy department. Mr. Jeffries is determined to approach his new labors in the most sensible manner. He has no fads to exploit, no reorganization plans to put into execution, but intends to do his work through the present staff. Mr. F. C. LaMarche succeeds Mr. Jeffries as superintendent of the Lorain works. Representatives of the agencies engaged in hull insurance on the lakes met in Buffalo Wednesday and agreed to a con- tinuance during the coming season of the rates that prevailed last year. It was also agreed thet there should be no change in forms of policy.. Of course as in some past years agreements of this kind may be badly shattered by the operations of insur- ance brokers, if they can secure reductions in the London market. It is believed, however, that the general disposition this year is to repeat last season's rates and last season's poli- cies. A notice from Commander P. Garst, light house inspector at Buffalo, says of the float lights for Lime-Kiln crossing, De- troit river: "On the opening of navigation three float lights will be placed to mark the easterly edge of this channel. The floats will be small and painted red: 'The lights shown will be fixed red and will mark the south end, the middle and the north end of the edge of the channel." ,