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exists for English people when the management of a shipping company as its headquarters in England, and when the ships trade from British orts. If patriotism does not count for much in trade, it does count for much that the managers of a business concern are Englishmen, with head- quarters in England; that their methods and sympathies are British, and that their interests are centered in this country. These things help to 'keep business with us, but they will be changed to our permanent detri- ment should the eagerly sought Morganatic alliance be consummated," Fairplay, a representative journal of the ship owner in England, takes the most cheerful view of all. It may be said that Fairplay has a very in- timate knowledge of the British shipping trade. It says: "The press is gradually beginning to realize the true inwardness of the great shipping upheaval of which the sale of the famous White Star line to an American trust is the outward and visible sign, but even yet the full significance of the event has not been generally grasped. Still progress in enlightenment has been made and that in itself is a distinct gain. On April 23, the Shipping Gazette was quite cross about the com- bine and wrote: "The commerce of the world cannot be dictated to by bodies of this description, however excellent they may be, and however weighty the names of those composing them. It is much better to look facts fairly in the face and recognize that the Amiericans have stolen a march upon us.' I am not quite sure that we have not stolen a march upon the Americans, who could, if they pleased, acquire the whole ton- nage of the United Kingdom on similar terms; but let that pass; between April 23 and April 26 something occurred, and Saul the denouncer became Paul the apologist, for on the latter date the Gazette ceased to pout, and wrote: 'The public may make up its mind that most of the wild sugges- tions which have been put forward as to the harm which the combination will do to the British flag are founded almost wholly on supposition. British shipping is well able to take care of itself.' As no doubt the 96 per cent. of it remaining after deduction of the transfer to the combine both can, and will, for after all is said and done, the tonnage now being dealt with is less than 4 per cent. of our total tonnage. "The fact is that the cleverest thing in the whole history of the White Star line is the manner in which its fleet has been landed on the trust, subject of course to existing contracts, either with the government or with other lines. The White Star, in a word, found itself between the devil and the deep sea. With the American railway companies in combination with a trust bent on acquiring that portion of the North Atlantic trade represented by the lines prominently engaged in it, it became a simple question of selling at once or losing money later on; for it is not a ques- tion of English shipping fighting American shipping, but of English shipping fighting American railway companies, which in two years could have put as many vessels in the water as they required, regardless of cost, and regardless of profit. How far this position was foreseen by the man- agers of the ship building and ship owning concerns interested it would be hard to say, but the rate at which that eminent patriot and deus ex machina Mr. Pirrie has been providing tonnage in the trade suggests that unless his usual astuteness was at fault he must have looked for something like the present way out for his ventures. If Sir Edward Harland assisted at the birth of the White Star, Mr. Pirrie presides over its obsequies. The line under the late Mr. Ismay had a long and successful career, but once merged in the trust--as an independent line--it will become as dead as mutton, It may fly its flag for a time, and keep its organization so far as the latter may be useful to the trust; but when an American trust acquires a controlling interest in anything, large or small, it means to control that thing in the interest of the group of millionaires who run the show, and not in that of any separate component entity. In order to enter more rapidly into its kingdom the trust has bought a number of boats, some of which it certainly would not now biild--neither would anyone else. It will probably in time replace them, and it would not be surprising if Mr. Pirrie were to figure usefully in that business, for it must be many years before American builders can hope to' compete with the British yards. In any case American ship building does not, and never can, leave room for profits on the scale demanded by trusts. In the meanwhile, in the betting on the coronation stakes, Mr. W. J. Pirrie's Peerage has gone back from evens to 7 to 4." CHICAGO CORRESPON DENCE. 'Chicago, May 21.--The value of vertical lift bridges received a strik- ing illustration on the Chicago river on Thursday last, when five 60-ft. elevated road cars ran past the danger signal and on to the draw of the lift bridge across the river, just as it was opening for the passage of a vessel. The draw continued to rise and the cars stopped and slid back on the track, damaging only the hoods and platforms of the cars. One car was derailed and traffic was delayed only an hour. Nobody was hurt. Had this been a swing bridge the entire train would have certainly plunged into the river, 40 ft. below, and the accident would have been a repetition of the viaduct horror at Cleveland some years ago. Many people have expressed doubts as to the stability of these bridges when opening, or opened, but a train of cars offers a pretty good test and the saving of that train alone was worth the price of the bridge, as the cost of the property, the loss of life, and the blocking of the channel would have figured to an enormous total before it was all settled. Why don't the Lake Carriers' Association get after the tunnels under the Chicago river? The street railways, the city and the drainage board are all agreed that they should be lowered, but each is trying to saddle the expense on the other. The result has been inaction for three years and it will continue indefinitely unless some body or bodies get together and force action. The attorneys of the Lake Carriers' could surely find a way to get action on the tunnels. Boats are getting stuck on these ob- structions so often now that the daily papers no longer think it worth while to chronicle the delay to traffic. : The tugmen's strike is delaying traffic by water to a serious extent here, particularly since the order went out not to tow any boats having contracts with the Great Lakes Towing Co. The line boats are also under the ban and the only boats able to get tugs at all are the schooners; they are moving freely. One result is that captains who formerly thought they Must use tugs are now using the river without them and it is thought the bugbear of the current, which made owners think they must have tugs, will ave disappeared to a large extent by the time the sttike is over, so that less towing will be done as a result of the tie-up. The captains say they are MARINE REVIEW. a Vy 5 s practicing diligently now while the river is practically empty and that many of them will be able to do. without tugs in future, even when the river 1s crowded. They also say that the thing to do is to go towards Twenty-second street in the morning when the current is practically nothing and they can come out to the lake against the current at any time, and about as well as ever. The trouble has always been in stopping when going with the current, without swinging around so as to block the river or hit something. This is obviated by making trips that way in the morn- ing. _ Charles E. & W. F. Peck report having the largest business in hull insurance this season that they have ever had, but say that cargo insurance is very light. Added to the scarcity of grain it is found that vessel owners are afraid to send their boats here owing to the tugmen's strike. Several of the brokers estimate that only about 25 per cent. of the business usual in this port is now being done. . The Chicago Yacht Club house was opened for its first meeting May 20. The club has a membership of 400 and they will probably raise the limit to 500. Secretary Fox is now at work upon the new annual, which will contain the addresses of members and the kinds and sizes of the yachts they own. The Warrington Iron Works is building a steam launch for the club, which will be used in carrying its members to and from the club house until the basin, which will be a park some day, is filled up sufficiently so that they can reach the club house by walking. AROUND THE GREAT LAKES. Repairs to the large package freight steamer Mauch Chunk, just completed at the works of the Chicago Ship Building Co., amount to about $20,000. : The Bertram Engine Works Co., Toronto, Ont., replying to a letter from the board of trade of London, Ont., say that they are considering the advisability of establishing their branch ship yard at Port Stanley. j Notice is given that a gas buoy, painted black, showing a fixed white light during periods of ten seconds separated by eclipses of ten seconds' duration and marked 'South Fox," has been established in about 26 ft. of water on the southerly side of the passage south of South Fox island, two miles south by east from the lighthouse. Also that a second-class nun buoy is established in about 30 ft. of water on the southerly end of the South Fox island shoals, nine miles south by west from the lighthouse. Supplementary estimates asked for by the dominion government for the year ending June 30, 1903, are $5,739,301. Among the appropriations in western Ontario are $100,000 for improvements in Port Colborne harbor; $5,000 dredging at Amherstburg; $5,000 extension of wharf at Pelee island; $14,000 to complete repairs to piers and for dredging at Port Stanley; $4,500 for new pile protection works and repairs to old work at McGregor's creek (Chatham); $8,200 dredging River Thames; Chatham m ae St. Clair, and $10,000 repairs to piers and dredging in Rondeau arbor. The Northern Navigation Co.'s new steel passenger and freight steamer Huronic will make her initial trip from Collingwood, Ont., to Sarnia, on Saturday of this week. The Huronic is constructed of open hearth steel throughout and is 325 ft. over all, 308 ft. between perpendicu- lars, 43 ft. beam and 27 ft. molded depth. She has triple-expansion engines with cylinders of 26, 42 and 72 in. diameter and a stroke of 42 in. Steam is supplied by four Scotch boilers, 12 ft. 6 in. diameter by 12 ft. long: The new steamer has first-class accommodations for 270 saloon passen- gers, having a double tier of cabins with outside staterooms. Another large freight steamer for the Messrs. Hawgood of Cleveland was launched Saturday and named J. M. Jenks. The Jenks is one of two steamers building at Lorain for Messrs. Hawgood. The second boat will be launched in about three weeks and will be named H. B. Nye, The steamer launched Saturday is 434 ft. over all, 414 ft, keel, 50 ft. beam and 28 ft. deep. She will have triple-expansion engines with cylinders of. 22, 35 and 58 inches diameter by 40-inch stroke. Two Scotch boilers to be fitted with the Ellis & Eaves induced draft will furnish the steam, The launch was attended by a very large number of friends of the owners from Cleveland and other lake points, Following is a summary of the cost of constructing, enlarging and improving the system of St. Lawrence river and canal navigation from Montreal to Port Arthur on Lake Superior, The amount expended to date is put down at $66,525,937.71. Of this sum $24,014,340.01 has been put into Welland canal, $4,093,025.60 into the Sault Ste. Marie canal, $8,615,997.65. into Williamsburg canals (of which $4,531,236.06 has been spent on the Gaipus portion), over $11,000,000 on the Lachine canal, over $6,000,000 on Soulanges canal, nearly $7,000,000 on the Cornwall canal, while $2,859,382.28 has been expended on channels in the river, including $1,043,106.49 on the North channel above 'Cardinal. NOTES FROM KINGSTON. Kingston, Ont., May 21--The biggest vessel that ever went down the St. Lawrence rapids was taken from Kingston to Montreal recently. It was the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co.'s steamer Montreal, having a length of 350 ft. and a beam of 60 ft. She was entrusted to Capt. George Botten, pilot. Fifty men are at work enlarging the big government dry dock at Kingston, Capt. Augustus has been appointed marine inspector for Inland Lloyds from Kingston to Quebec. 3 Capt. Henry Wilson of New Orleans is in Kingston. He has just completed the purchase of three upper lake steamers. They will be taken to the coast to engage in the oil trade. The C. O. Bartlett & Snow Co. of Cleveland has just issued a cata- logue devoted to chain belting and sprocket wheels. The company's. busi- ness is quite varied and includes the making of machinery for oatmeal mills, flour mills, grain elevators, conveying and elevating machitiery, fer- tilizirig" machinery; 'cement machinery, paint mills. paint: 'mfxets, steam dryers, direct 'héat dryers, carbon mills, feed mills}\'shellers, 'crushers, pearled barley and rolled wheat machinery. The catologue is of 140 pages, is abundantly illustrated and well indexed. The illustrations of the com- pany's conveying machinery are especially fine.