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carry coal up on their first trip, but the corporation will carry its own vessels than is the requirements of its no more coal in necessary to meet own railways and mines. The hard coal shippers were in the market at Buffalo for tonnage' dur- ing the week, and were compelled to pay an advance of five cents to Chicago over the prevailing rate to Lake Michigan. The soft coal rate immediately advanced in sympathy, one Cleveland vessel. owner | taking a contract to move 50,000 tons to Lake Michigan at 50 cents. The stages of water are low and mas- ters of the Pittsburg Steamship Co.'s ves- sels have been notified not to load deeper than 17% ft. IRON SITUATION. A scarcity of semi-finished material has curtailed the normal product in many iron and steel mills during the past week, and a few of them have totally suspended operations. As yet there is no retrench- ment apparent on the part of the rail- roads. An important eastern line has made a second addition to rail tonnage originally ordered. Heavy specifications are being received from steel car inter- 'ests on plate contracts, and the situation -in this product is extremely strong, caus- ing premiums to be freely paid. There is a good inquiry for shapes and in steel bars thes demand is very active with deliveries far behind. Premiums offered for prompt delivery have been refused on account of the mills' inability to make shipments on contracts. Pig iron is firm- er. The recent heavy buying by the Carnegie Steel Co. and Steel Co. and the announcement _ that their requiretnents are not yet filled has strengthened the market. Bessemer pig iron has advanced from 50 cents to $1 per ton for second quarter delivery. Prompt foundry iron is scarce. LAUNCHING THE H. P. McIN-. TOSH. | ; The bulk freighter H. P. McIntosh, building at the West Bay City yard of. the American Ship Building Co. for the Gilchrist Transportation Co., of Cleve- land, was launched on Wednesday of 'this week and was christened by Miss Olive Marie McIntosh in honor of her father. The, loyalty of the men to the shipyard during the present trouble with labor was recognized by the board of trade of Bay City, a luncheon being ten- dered to the men by the board of trade after the launch, the business men of Bay. City acing as waiters. The party from Cleveland included Mr. H. P. Mc-. Intosh, J} C. Gilchrist, F. W. Hart, Capt. J. L. Weeks, James Mitchell and Robert Logan. The McIntosh is a duplicate of the Steamer Gen. Garretson, and is 540 ft. over all, 520 ft. keel, 54 ft. beam and 31 'at present unnamed. the . Cambria © ¢ TAE MARINE REVIEW ft. deep. She has sixteen hatches spaced 24-ft. centers. Her engines are triple-ex- pansion with cylinders 22%, 36, and 60 in. diameters by 42-in. stroke, supplied with steam from two Scotch boilers, 13 ft. 9 in. in diameter and 11% ft. long, fit- ted with Ellis & Eaves draft and allowed 180 Ibs. pressure,: Capt. W. E.° Stewart will sail the McIntosh. MONOLITHIC FLOORING ON LAKE SHIPS. The C. Clemente Co., Park building, Cleveland, manufacturers of Sawdolet, a monolithic flooring, has received an or- der from the American Ship Building Co. to fit out eleven steamers with this flooring. These steamers include the J. C.. Morse, Elba, Leland S. DeGraef, W. M. Mills, Odonah, Crete, Cyprus, Adria- tic, Verona, and 356 and 357, which are This flooring has met with great success upon the vessels on which it has already been introduced. The flooring is practically indestructible, being impervious to liquids and dust. It is fire proof and is an especially poor con- ductor of heat. Through its use it is possible to make cool and desirable living quarters over the boilers. When ap- plied the substance is plastic, about the, consistency of mortar, made up of pul--- verized and granular wood fibre and min- eral Substances: It can be colored to meet any decorative scheme, solidifying into a compact and lasting floor within a few hours. SUB-MARINE SIGNALS ON THE LAKES. The Pittsburg Steamship Co. of Cleve- - land, operating a fleet of over I00 ore carriers on the Great Lakes, have ordered ° the equipment of the following steamers with submarine signals: G. W. Perkins, Sir William Fairbairn, Norman B. Ream, Saml. F. B. Morse, Rensselaer, Doug- las Houghton, J. Pierpont Morgan, W. E. Corey; Eo oH. "Gaty, +H, C. Frick, (Peter A. B. Widener and H. H. Rogers. ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. Capt. A. C. Majo of Duluth has pur--- chased the small steamer Crescent of Charlevoix. Richard J. Flinn, West Roxbury, Mass., has put out a little circular de- scriptive of the Flinn Steam Trap. Mr. Harry Coulby, president and gen- eral manager of the Pittsburg Steamship Co., will probably return from England next week. ; Mr. E. T. Laundon, formerly with Cor- rigan, McKinney & Co., has opened a general insurance office in the Western Reserve building, Cleveland. Pickands, Mather & Co. entertained the captairs of their lake fleet at dinner at the Hollenden on Tuesday. Mr. W.- 21 P. Murray of Pickands, Mather & Co., presided. -- The San Francisco Dry Dock Co., San Francisco, Cal., is having plans for a new dry dock at Hunter's Point alongside the other two docks. The new dock will approximate 1,000 ft. in length. The charter of the Ross Valve Co. having expired, George Ross, his sons, Wim. Ross, John C. Ross and Adam Ross II will continue the business as successors under the firm name of the Ross Manufacturing Co., Troy, N. Y. The Clinton Ship Building & Repair Co. has been formed in Philadelphia to engage in ship building. The yards are located at the foot of Tioga street. Mr. E. B. Clinton is president, E. T. Jacobs manager, and Joseph F. Clinton, treas- urer. ; The Peoples Line between New York and Albany and the Citizens Line between New York and Troy-- now a part of the consolidated steam- ship lines--have just put out an ex- cellent folder concerning their ser- vice. The Safety Car Heating & Lighting Co. and Pintsch Compressing Co., of New York, announce the removal of their offices on March 16 to the seven- teenth floor of the United States Ex- press building, Trinity place and Rec- tor street, rear of Trinity 'church. . The Racine Boat Manufacturing Co., Muskegon, Mich., has received contract from the government for a steel light ship 88 ft. in length to cost $40,000. The light ship will be self-propelling, having © a. triple-expansion engine and ..water- tube boilers. HO Cae een Mr. Henry J. Weidenthal, a. well- known newspaper man of Cleveland, has been appointed contracting passenger agent for the Lake /Shore Navigation Co., which will operate the steamer East- land between Cleveland and. Cedar Point during the coming summer. The Rev. E. W. Matthews, secretary of the British and Foreign Sailors Soci- ety, London, England, who has been on | a tour round the world, and presented some gifts of Victory copper to the White House was entertained to lunch by the directors of the American _Seamen's Friend Society, N. Y. During the lunch the president, C. A. Stoddard, announced that Mrs. Russell Sage had given $150,- ooo to the New Seamen's Institute to be erected on West street. Mr. Matthews, - on behalf of the British and Foreign Sailors Society, and in the name of the king, asked the president, to present as a souvenir of the occasion to. Mrs. Sage, a bust of Nelson, mounted on oak, taken from the timbers of Admiral Lord Nel- son's former flag ship Victory. This is the largest gift ever given the merchant seamen's cause,