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TAE MARINE REVIEW 35 FREIGHT SITUATION. Shifting of boats at Lake Erie ports for coal cargoes has continued throughout the week and at all of the coal re- ceiving ports vessels are holding coal for the opening of navigation. Probably more coal is handled today than at any time prior to actual navigation before. Indications still point to an early opening though vessel owners will not attempt to force the opening as they did last year. That exepriment proved not only costly but actually de- layed the opening for the vessels that attempted it, as all had to go into dry dock. There is ice in the rivers but not much in the lakes, and it is not expected that the same difficulty will be experienced this year as was experi- enced last. Interest, however, attaches to the stages of water, the levels being somewhat lower than last year and for open- ing trips at any rate the boats will not load to a greater draught than 18 ft. Shortage in coal exists at upper lake ports and a number of vessels that do not usually bother with that commodity will carry it on the opening trip. Coal chart- ering has opened at 30 cents to the head of the lakes which is the samé rate as was paid last year. STEEL CORPORATION TO LEASE HILL LANDS. 'Contracts have been drawn for the leasing of the iron ore properties on the Mesabi range controlled by James J. Hill of the Great Northern railway for a term of thirty years to the United States Steel Corporation: By the terms of the contract the Steel Corporation is to pay 70 cents per ton for ore mined during the first two years and 80 cents for carrying it to Duluth on the Great Northern railway. At the expiration of two years the price is tobe increased 5 cents a ton every two years until at the end of twelve years the price shall be $1 and stay at that figure for the remaining eighteen years of thelease. The Great Northern, moreove:, is to be guaranteed freight amount- ing to 10,000,000 tons annually during the life of the lease. This leasehold does not include all of the Hill lands as some of them are already under leaseholds to independent interests but the deposits involved in this deal are estim- ated as containing 300,000,000 tons. While the contract for a transfer of this property has not been definitely signed as yet, it is understood that it will be. LAUNCH OF STEAMER ABRAHAM STEARN. The steamer Abraham Stearn, building for the Haw- goods of Cleveland, was launched from the West Super- ior yard of the American Ship Building Co. on Wed- nesday of this week. The steamer was christened by Miss Josephine Ross, of Duluth. Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Hawgood, Mr. F. P. Smith and Mr. Roy Williams, of Cleveland attended the launch. The Stearn is 545 ft. over all, 525 ft. keel, 55 ft. beam, and 31 ft. deep, and is equipped with triple expansion engines and Scotch. boilers. She will be commanded by Capt. C. C. Balfour who last year sailed the Bransford. ae OBITUARY. Capt. Alexander Begg died at his home in Bay City on Monday night last. He was compelled to leave the steam- er M. A. Hanna of the Mitchell fleet last fall owing to ill- ness. Capt. Begg was fifty-two years old and was well liked along the whole chain of lakes. Capt. Charles Scott, for over half a century a captain on the lakes, died of pneumonia in Cleveland last week. He was -born*in Port Covington, N. Y. in 1833. He went to Cleve- land in 1849 but had prior to that time sailed on the ocean. He retired from active service on the lakes about ten years ago. (es Henry -C. Kelley, assistant superintendent of the Kelley's Island Lime & Transportation Co., was accidentally killed by a street car on Euclid avenue, Cleveland, on Sunday last. He was a resident of Kelley's Island but had been in Cleve- land .visiting his brother. Mr. Kelley was born at Kelley's Island. He was about forty-eight years old. _John Stanton, the first president of the old New York Mining Exchange, and one of the best known copper men in mining circles, died at his home,. 419 West Twenty-third street, New York, on Friday last. Mr. Stanton was in no sense of the word a speculator and for that reason probably was little known to the general public, but in the copper industry itself he.was a foremost figure. He was intimately associated with the development of the copper mines of the Lake Superior country, having gone into that region as early as 1852. Among the properties which he developed there were the Mohawk, Baltic, Michigan, Winona and Wolver- ine properties. He was of a quiet and unassuming nature but his judgment as a mining engineer was of the highest character.and he was much sought after. He amassed a great fortune in the trade, estimated at about $10,000,000. Hutchinson & Co., of Cleveland, named one of their latest vessels after him, Mr. Stanton personally attending the launch at the Lorain yard of the American Ship Building Co. last fall. Mr. Stanton was born at Bristol, Eng., and was seventy- six years old. AN INSTRUCTIVE COURSE OF LECTURES. Capt. Thomas Donnelly is giving a course of lectures on _ practical navigation at Kingston, Ont., which are being very well attended. Recently two lake masters commanding steel steamets out-of Cleveland, attended one of the lectures and complimented Capt. Donnelly highly upon his ability as an instructor. They gave credit to the interest in the meetings to the practical and interesting blackboard instruc- tion which appeared to them as being the plan necessarv to be followed to interest the masters in the lectures. Capt Donnelly makes his lectures of practical value by referring to collisions and strandings that have taken place in recent years on the lakes. He has the decisions of the courts at hand and does not refer to a case unless it has been settjed. He then tries to show how the master in charge might act in navigating his vessel in such cases according to the rules. CALENDARS. Magie Bros., 9 and 11: North Canal St., Chicago, dealers in cylinder engine and dynamo oil, have just issued a cal- endar advertising their Rock Brand oils. 'The illustration upon this calendar is a photogravure of a photograph by C.-H. Anderson from the living model. It represents a young woman in a statuesque pose and from the photo- graphic standpoint is excellent. The Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Co. has issued one of the most beautiful calendars of the season, taking for the pictorial' element one of. Asti's half-length figures of a young girl. The painting has been faithfully reproduced and is in fact an exquisite specimen of the printer's art. The important dredging work in the Duluth-Superior har-- bor will be started as soon as the ice is out of the bay. A channel about 2,500 ft. long, 250 ft. wide and 20 ft. deep will be dredged from the north channel of the Mesabi ore docks directly across the bay and connecting with the south channel on the Superior side. Contract for this work has been let by the Duluth, Mesabi & Northern Railway Co. to the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., Chicago. The Dalzell bill incorporating the Lake Erie & Ohio -River Ship Canal Co., passed the house of representa- 'tives this week by a vote of 196 to 81. The bill now goes to the senate.