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24 : ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. ._ The New York Ship Building Co., Camden, N. J., has received an order to build two steel barges for the Con- solidation Coal Co., of Baltimore. _ Fire which originated in the Union grain elevator in East St. Louis, spread to the freight car yards of the terminal association and caused a loss estimated at $1,- 000,000, The new stone dry dock recently completed at the Boston navy yard is now in commission. The courtesy was extended to the White Star line of docking the steamer Romanic in it. : The Wm. Skinner Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Md., launched last week an open cargo lighter for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Co. It is 80 ft. long, 28 ft. beam and 8 ft. deep. . The Gas Engine &-Power Co., and Charles. L. Sea- bury & Co., Consolidated, Morris Heights, New York, has received an order from F. C. Havens, of San Fran- cisco, Cal., for an 84 ft. power boat to be driven by two SoH. P;. motors, Avis H-.:P.: boat, 32 ft: long, supplied wiih 'twin pro- pellers 'has been added to the equipment of the life saving station at Fire island. If the boat proves to be a success, similar craft will probably be added to the equipment of other life-saving stations. The business of Elisha Webb, Jr., trading under the firm name of Elisha Webb & Son, carried on at the north- east corner of Water and Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, has been incorporated under the name of Elisha Webb & Son Co. Mr. Webb will continue with the company as its president and general manager. J. He Darling, of. the. United States engineer coz Ds, has made careful examination of the north pier at Du- luth, to ascertain what damage was inflicted by the steamers that struck it during the November gale. He found that the steamer Mataafa, which collided with the pier head on had done no damage to the structure on the water. The Coen Vessel. Co., 117° West oath street, New York, has contracted with G. W. Kurtz and associates, of Toledo, to build two twin-screw excursion boats for the Maumee river service to be ready this summer. The boats are to be constructed of steel 130 ft. long, 24 ft. wide and 16 in. draught. They will have compound en- gines and water-tube boilers. At the annual meeting of the Association of Masters and Pilots of Steam Vessels at Washington last week, the fol- lowing officers were elected: J. .C. Silva, Boston, president; M. L. Cullom, Camden, N. J., first vice president; Wm. McFarlane, San Francisco, second vice president; A. R. 'Mackey, Pittsburg, third vice president; B. F. Perkins, Cam- den, N. J., secretary; L. B. Dow, Brooklyn, treasurer. The towing of the large side wheel steamer Olympia, by the steamship Zealandia, from San Francisco to New York will prove a record breaker. The trip is one of the longest ever undertaken by a vessel with a tow as large as the Olympia, and it will be unusual because of the fact that the Zealandia will make the passage around the Horn, making only one stop on the protracted voyage. A specially constructed tow line has been. made which is one half a mile in length, of strong steel wire. The Zea- landia will also carry extra hawsers in case the steel tow line should part. Capt. Roberts, of the Zealandia, expects to make the voyage to New York in eighty days. The steamer will carry 3,000 tons of coal, and will put in at Point Arenas to report. A number of alterations have been made in the steam- e-s City of Cleveland and City of Detroit of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co.'s fleet. It is expected to put 7 committee this week, Mr. "TAE MaARINE. REVIEW those steamers in operation at the earliest possible mo- ment. Mr. A. A. Schantz, general superintendent of the company, honed to put the City of Detroit in commission on Feb. 15 but the change of weather will probably delay this date. Hon. T. E.: Burton, . chavekan. of the committee on rivers and harbors of the house of representatives has introduced a resolution in the house looking to the preservation of Niagara Falls. The International Waterways Commission is instructed in the resolution to report to congress what action is necessary to prevent further depletion of the water flowing over Niagara Falls in order to preserve the falls in their natural condition. The Baltimore Steam Packet Co., Baltimore, Md., com- monly known as the Old Bay Line, has made plans for another steamer to be added to their fleet plying be- tween Baltimore and Norfolk. The new vessel will be schooner-rigged with two masts, and will be 333 ft. 8 in. long, 33 ft. beam and 22 ft: 6 in. deep. The propelling , power will consist of a triple- expansion, engine, supplied with steam from two Scotch boilers. Announcement has been made that the United States Transportation Co. will appoint the following captains to the vessels of its fleet, but have not as 'yet assigned them. to. thé boats: Ralph..J,..Lyons,° hy ik. Rattray, J. H. Driscoll, C. Z: Montague, Frank Boyer, Harvey L. Mills, George W. Pierce, Sidney Lebeau, C. D. Wood- ward, A. W. Stalker, Alex. Forbes, F. H. Reid, Wm. exh Blattner, Wm. McAlpine and F. C. Folsom. The Ocean Steamship Co., of Savannah, has oh ccd lan order for the construction of a new ship with Roach's Ship Yard, Chester, Pa., The new steamer will, be 306 ft. over all, 370 ft. keel, 49 ft. beam and 35 ft. deep. She will register 6,000 tons gross and will have accom- modations for 120 first class, 36 intermediate and 66 steerage passengers. It is intended to make her the finest vessel in the coastwise service plying out of New ork. In his testimony before the senate interoceanic canal John F, Wallace,' formerly chief engineer of the Isthmian canal commission, de- clared that he had resigned his office because of Wm. Nelson Cromwell's relations to the project. He felt that while Cromwell had no official status in canal manage- ment everyone was subordinate to him in that he had the president's ear. Mr. Wallace charges Cromwell with having promoted the revolution in Panama. From designs by Henry J. Gielow, of New York, a new.passenger boat has just been built for the Bay Road Construction Co., for use on Oneida lake. The steamer is 08 ft, over. all, 88° ft. 9. in: -keel,. 22, ft. 3° in. , beam;:and 7 ft. deep. She is propelled by a surface-condensing engine 14 and 28 in. cylinder diameters by 18 in. stroke, built by the Morris Machine Works, Baldwinsville, N. Y. 'Steam is supplied by a safety water-tube boiler 90 ft. long 9 ft. wide, 6 ft. 5 in. high and allowed 250 Ibs. steam pressure. The Sharptown Marine Railway Co. has received con- tract to build a four-masted schooner for Capt. E. G. Ben- nett, of Sharptown. The vessel will be 150 ft. long, 34 ft. beam and 12 ft. deep. She will be built of white oak and Georgia pine, and her auxiliary equipment will include a 12 H. P. gasoline engine for hoisting sails and anchors. The schooner when completed will be managed by S. J. Cooper & Son of Sharptown. The Sharptown Marine Railway Co. is also building two barges 175 ft. long, 30 ft. beam and 13 ft. deep for the P. Dougherty Co., of Bal- timore. : The annual meeting of the Pittsburg Coal Co., and its subsidiary company, the Monongahela River Consolidated