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'DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY INTEREST CONNECTED OR ASSO- CIATED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. ' Published every Thursday by -- The Penton Publishing Co. c LEVE LAND. BOSTON NEW YORK DULUTH : PHILADELPHIA: HICAGO- PITTSBURG . CINCINNATI Correspondence on ape Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. 'Subscription, $3. 00 per annum. To Foreign Countries, $4.50. ee oan can have adéresses changed at will. Change of advertising copy must reach this office | on Thursday preceding date of publication." The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the Marine Review through the gue channels of the American News Co. Furopean Agents, The International News Company, :Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C. England, Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. February 21, 10907. OUR MERCHANT SHIPS. Announcement comes from the Pacific that the steamers Lyra, Pleiades and Hy- ades, belonging to the fleet of the Bos- ton Steamship Co., would be withdrawn permanently from the Oriental run, ow- ing to lack of encouragement from the general government. These steamers were built at'a time when it was believed that the government would come to the res- cue of shipping in the foreign trade. Practically a definite promise was made at the time that American ships operat- ing in the over-sea trade would be as- sisted by the government, but the prom- ise was never kept. These ships have made a loyal effort to keep the American flag afloat on the Pacific, but apparently without success. Since they were aban- doned by the government, not a single ship has been built in the United States "TAE MARINE. REVIEW for foreign trade, except two steamers for the Ward Line, which receive a mod- erate subvention for carrying mails to the West Ind:es and Mexico under the postal act of 1891. The | present bill before congress to remedy in part this deplorable condition is a very moderate measure and in all conscience should be passed. The pres- ent state of things is a shame. The country is so vast, so resourceful, so self-contained, so complete in itself un- der all normal conditions that it is blinded to a distressing circumstance which has in it the potentiality of gtave danger. Provided we are willing that the: foreign- er should reap the profit, the over-sea commerce of the country can be carried in foreign ships in times of peace very well; but how about times of war? A clash between Great Britain and a con- tinental power would stagnate our for- eign commerce. Moreover, how are sea- men to be got for our naval vessels if we have no merchant ships upon which to train them? We are building up a great navy, a navy rapidly becoming sec- ond to Britain's, and all the time the cry is for men. It is difficult to. under- stand the government's attitude toward its merchant marine. To try the experi- ment of governmental aid contained in the present bill would not cost as much as it does to build a single battleship.' Why is this niggardly policy pursued towards the merchant ship? The mer- chant ship is of primary importance; the naval ship of secondary account; yet towards the navy a policy of magnificence is observed and towards the merchant ship one of parsimony. SECTION 42 OF THE IMMIGRA- TION ACT. The effect of Section 42 of the new Immigration Act which has just passed both branches of Congress is an increase after Jan. I, 1909, by nearly 25 per cent in the minimum space allowed for each steerage passenger on ocean steamers coming from Europe, Asia, Africa, Aus- tralia and South America. On the decks where steerage passengers are mainly car- ried the law of 1882 requires that there shall be 100 cubic feet of space for each passenger. As the height between decks is usually about 7 feet, the deck or floor space allowed is thus 14% sq. ft. The British law of 1894 requires 15 sq. ft. on the deck, and the new immigration law inereases this area to 18 sq. ft. The legislation in effect follows the develop- ments in modern ocean steamship build- ing. In 1882 when our present law was passed the Servia, 7,392 gross tons, was the crack trans-Atlantic liner. Ten years ago the Lucania, 12,952 gross tons, was the largest ocean steamship, and there were only 10 ocean steamships of over 10,000 gross tons. Recently the two new Cunarders of 32,000 gross tons each have been launched and there are now 102 steamships over 10,000 gross tons each, the majority of which are engaged in the immigrant business to the United States. Many of these large steamers and some ror "léss tonnage already pro. vide accommodations as ample as the minimum prescribed © by the new act. Thus during the past fiscal year 175 steamships brought steerage passengers into the port of New York. The maximum number which they were all allowed to carry (one trip each) was 254,712. The maximum number which these same steamers would be allowed to carry under the new act: is 203,769. The maximum number which they did carry (taking the voyage when the larg- est number was carried ) was 193,724. Of the entire number 100 carried no more on any voyage last year than they are allowed to carry under the new law. On one or more voyages 75 steamers carried more than would be permitted under the new legislation. ; Generally speaking, the passenger steamers from northern Europe do not cafry any more passengers in the steer- age than will be permitted after 1909 un- der the new legislation. The bill will ap- 'ply chiefly to steamers coming from the Mediterranean, which already carry at times nearly to their full legal capacity and must two years hence either carry fewer passengers, or increase their ac- commodations. Substantially, Section 42 takes standards of accommodations al- ready voluntarily established by some of the principal steamship lines and requires other steamship lines to bring their ac- commodations up to such standards. Of fifty-six steamships arriving at New York with steerage passengers during January,, 1907, nine carried more than would be allowed under the new law. . 4 :