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

= a MN. A RUA ON KR. BE. ON a ee 25 Representative Butler was opposed to granting the large ap- propriation for increasing the navy recommended by the navy department and the president accordingly sent for him. Mr. Butler assured the president that he was not opposed to a proper increase in the navy but was opposed to a constant increase incidental to the administration of the department. The president informed Mr. Butler that he believed the policy of adding ships to the navy should be continued, and expressed the hope that congress would adhere to that policy. The navy department has recommended that $45,000,000 be appropriated the coming year for the increase of the navy. Preliminary steps looking to the establishment of a steel ship building industry at Halifax have been taken. The Shipbuilding & Investment company has been organized and has secured a favorable site on the water front at: that point, fifty acres of land being available. .The directors who have been selected are Mr. Hunter of Swan & Hunter, ship- builders at Newcastle-on-Tyne; George S. Campbell, George Stairs, John Longford, B. F. Pearson and Ald. J. A. Johnston of Halifax. George S. Campbell will be president of the com- pany, which has been incorporated under the new joint stock company act of Nova Scotia. The new company will en- deavor to secure the building of lake steamers for Canadian firms, the contracts for which in the past have gone to Eng- lish ship builders. Secretary Morton of the navy department has seen fit to publish a statement to the effect that the bid of the Midvale Steel Co. for 8,coo tons of armor plate for the battleship New Hampshire and armored cruisers North Carolina and Mon- tana was not rejected because the Midvale company had sublet' a part Of its previous' armor plate contract to the Carnegie and Bethlehem Steel companies. On the con- trary he appreciated the motive which led the Midvale com- pany to divide its contract and commended it for doing so. While the bid of the Midvale company for supplying 8,000 tons of armor for these last war vessels was the lowest the secretary concluded it to be wise to give the work to the Carnegie and Bethlehem Steel companies, because the Mid- vale company has not as yet begun the regular product of armor in quantity. Until it had the opportunity to deliver plates for trial in suitable quantities the bureau of ordnance did not feel warranted in giving it further orders. The steam-iyacht.. Privateer; owned by Ri-C.: A smith of New York, who has recently been elected vice commodore of the Larchmont Yacht club, is undergoing extensive altera- tions at the yards of the James Reilly Repair & Supply Co., Jersey City. When the alterations are completed Commodore Smith will have a vessel unique in many ways. 'There will be nine staterooms and saloon aft, communicating by enclosed passage, with large dining saloon forward on main deck, in addition to which there will be another deck saloon for- ward in the mahogany house on upper deck. With the new arrangement Privateer will have a complete promenade deck from stem to stern, and as all the rooms are unusually large, well laid out, ventilated and lighted, she will be most attrac- tive. Her high speed and excellent seagoing qualities have been noted during the past two seasons, when she has been constantly in use by Mr. Smith and his guests. The work is in charge of Messrs. Gardner & Cox, her designers, and will be finished May 16. The subject of electric towing on the Erie canal is now being considered by a committee of the board of commis- sioners appointed to investigate and report upon this subject to the New York legislature. The board included a joint com- mittee of the senate and assembly, the state engineer and sur- veyor, the superintendent of public works and five engineers appointed by the governor. A sub-committee met recently to receive and examine detailed plans and _ specifications offered by various persons for electric towing. Ex-Representa- tive John Murray Mitchell, No. 25 Broad street, attended as a representative of the International Towing & Power Co. He introduced Percy Thompson, the president of the company, and read a letter from Wm. Barclay Parsons commending the system of the International company. Richard Lamb, an engineer of 136 Liberty street, was also present. He is the inventor of a system of electric traction. He has a patent for an electrical conduit on the surface of the tow path and another for an elevated wire or conduit. On Thursday last a conference of much importance in re- gard to the North Atlantic rate war was held in Liverpool. The meeting, which was of a private nature, was attended by Capt. Moller of Copenhagen, Mr. Acheson of the Anchor -- Line, and well-known chief representatives of shipping inter- ests in Liverpool. The principal matter of discussion was the Scandinavian passenger business, and this, it is understood, was finally adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties. Capt. Moller when he left Liverpool seemed perfectly satisfied with the arrangements made, and it is believed that, so far as this section of the long-standing dispute is concerned, all has been satisfactorily arranged. The status now is such that the war may be regarded as practically at an end, though the Cunard and White Star Lines may have some administrative matters to settle between themselves. It may be added that the chief points in dispute with regard to the third-class rates to be charged on the various classes of steamers have been more or less settled, and the remaining difficulties have been nar- rowed down to a small margin. A report made recently by the British Board of Trade on the naval expenditures of the leading powers for the latest available year presents interesting figures. The report deals with the year ending March 31, 1903. From the exhibit it appears that the United Kingdom spends more on its navy than Russia, Germany and France spend on their combined fleets. The British naval expenditure is more than double that of the United States. Russia's naval expenditure for the year named was five times as large as that of Japan. Russia spent less than 6 per cent of her revenues on her navy. Japan spent g per cent of her revenues in this way. The country which now spends most on its navy next to Great Britain is the United States. The British mercantile marine exceeds in ton- nage that of Russia, Germany, France, Italy, the United States and Japan put together. The mercantile marine ton- nage of Great Britain reaches 10,268,604 tons; that of the United States 888,776, registered for over-sea trade. Russia's tonnage is 678,594. The position of the United States is next above that of Russia and below that of Japan, with 979,423 tons. Germany's mercantile marine tonnage is 2,203,804. OBITUARY Capt. James A. May died at his home at Windsor, Ont., last week. He was for fifty years in the employ of the Grand Trunk Railway ferry service, for.the past fifteen years being in command of the car ferry transfer Lansdowne. Capt. Daniel Mabee died at Milwaukee last week. He had followed the lakes since boyhood. He was born in Fleming, N. Y., Jan. 6, 1829, and had lived in Milwaukee for nearly fifty years. The last steamer he commanded was the George Brown. Capt. Theodore Lane, one of the oldest and best known vessel men on the great lakes, died at his home in Racine, Wis., last week. He went to Racine in 1836 and began sailing when he was fourteen years old. In 1855 he took command of the schooner Pacific in the grain trade between Chicago and Buffalo. He served two years during the civil war and then returned to the lakes. ati aaa SS SU A a ee I coh) St A ee