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14 MARINE REVIEW. -- BENEFITS OF WATERWAYS. Buffalo, July 22.--A perusal of the article by Mr. S. A. Thompson on the benefits of waterways, showing their great value still and their increase in Europe, spite of the multiplicity of railways, prompted me to make a direct application: of the principles laid down and possibly to add some- thing to the showing in a general way also. It will, of course, be hard to show that the canal or even the natural water course is ever going to be indispensable again for the mere local commerce, though it appears that even this loss of value has passed its lowest point and has made a distinct gain in late years. Our merchants have found that they must order freight from Cleveland by boat if they expect prompt delivery and flour comes through from the west in much shorter time by lake than by rail. But this is partly on account of the extra flexibility of the waterway and partly because the roads are undertaking more than they can do. They can carry about so much freight in a given time and the competition among them has become so great of late that they must come fairly up to capacity all the time or they cannot make much profit. So it often happens that there is a considerable excess of business offering. _It will never pay the roads to provide regularly for this excess. Their only profitable course is to equip themselves for the average amount of busi- ness, yet how far this method is away from the requirements of the carry- ing trade need not be said. All that need be done is to point to the rapid increase of this fluctuation in the demand for transportation. Every year this demand is farther and farther from being met. ae There are, of course, only the waterways to meet this condition. The freight train makes a quicker trip from Chicago to Buffalo now than ever before and it carries a heavier load, but the average time of a consignment of freight in transit by rail between the two cities is growing longer and the water route is much the shorter and surer one, in spite of the fact that the water route is longer than the rail route by 350 miles. This difference will widen for a long time yet, from the fact that the increase, and particularly the fluctuation in amount of business is more marked than the increase of rail facilities. Besides it will never be a more profit- able business for the roads to carry promptly all the freight that offers than it is now. Rather the opposite. So we must stand up for the water route and the roads should do the same, for the relief afforded them by the taking care of the excess of com- merce, always something that they do not want and are bound to handle at a loss and therefore to do badly. - The all-rail time for flour from the other side of Lake "Michigan to Buffalo is no longer known. It may be days--it may be so many weeks. It has. been known to be six months. ~The water time can be told within a few hours usually. An eastern agricultural paper last week boasted that it had no opinion on the subject of the enlargement of the Erie canal outside of the known opposition to it by the New York state farmer, who would never exchange one cent of taxation for $100 of benefit, especially if it appeared that any one else were likely to share with him largely in the benefit. Now this is the attitude to be expected of the farmer, whose surroundings always incline him to special and not general reasoning. It is strange that any portion of the press should further this method of thought, merely to enable it to stand in with its readers. The point brings us to the second reason for canal advocacy, the building up of the country. It may possibly be argued that water, and especially canal, prominence in this direction is over, but when are the railroads going to begin? It is fully fifty years since their ascendancy began and if they have increased the city population it has always been at the expense of the country, a very doubtful proceeding. We look now for the waterways, and especially the Erie canal, to multiply manufactories and through them to increase the population again indirectly much faster and more to the general welfare than before railroad days, and we look for the two to work together, each in its well-defined province, to the same end--the making of human effort and human labor more effective. There is no movement so calculated to accomplish this as the effort to modernize our canal systems, especially where they are in position to carry on a large through traffic. It is not believed that the people at large will be turned from the accomplishment of this end by the efforts of any interest that'is willing to injure itself in order to injure another interest more. JOHN CHAMBERLIN. SUMMER MANEUVERS OF NORTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON. Summer maneuvers of the North Atlantic squadron off the New Eng- land and middle Atlantic coasts have begun. From now until the end of the first week in September the squadron will work out problems pre- pared by the general board and busy itself with drills and evolutions with short interruptions for coaling and taking on supplies. The picturesque feature of the summer's work, and the one which is exciting the most interest, will be the attempt of several war vessels, representing an enemy, to gain the coast through a vigilant defending squadron. The latter will send out scouts and use its utmost endeavor to locate the invaders before any of them slip through the lines and put the guardians of the nation's safety to shame. The navy department now announces that this feature of the maneuvers will take place from Aug. 20 to 25, inclusive. The move- ments involved in this problem game, it is announced, will not extend below Cape Hatteras to the south or beyond Eastport, Me., to the north but the specific limits within which the enemy's ships will be defied to reach the coast will not be made public. Only the officers in command of the ships engaged will possess that information. It is understood that the attacking forces will have certain specified limits within which to strike, and the defenders naturally will be made aware of these limits. It is not desired to make the information public property, for fear that fol- lowing the movements so closely may result in information as to the vessel's whereabouts at the critical time finding its way to the opposite side, thus, destroying the value of the game and depriving it of its zest This "war game" will cover an area of water 800 miles down the coast and perhaps 500 or more out in the Atlantic. The division of the North Atlantic squadron into an attacking and a defensive force has been placed entirely in the hands of Rear Admiral Higginson, the commander in chief of the station, The "enemy's" ships will be the fleetest which can be con- veniently assigned to that duty, for a slow moving craft would furnish too easy prey for the defending ships and scouts. Gen. MacArthur's temporary assignment to the command of the department of the east will [July 24 cover the period to be consumed in the maneuvers. Gen. MacArthur and Rear Admiral Higginson have received the libretto of the war drama that is to be played, and the assignment of characters and the rehearsal of parts will be their own work. The joint maneuvers, according to the present plan, will begin the second week in September. ADDRESS BY MR. JAMES GAYLEY AT DULUTH. The launching of the new steel steamer James H. Hoyt at the Ameri- can Ship Building Co.'s West Superior (Wis.) yard last Saturday was attended by a number of the officials of the Steel Corporation. After the launch a dinner was given to the guests by Capt. and Mrs. A. B, Wolvin. Among those who were present were 'Mr, James Gayley, first vice-president of the Steel Corporation; Mr. W. R. Walker, New York, assistant to President Charles M. Schwab; Mr. W. E. Corey, Pittsburgh, president of the Carnegie Steel Co.; Mr. D. M. Clemenson, president of 'the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.; F. Morrison, Pittsburgh, managing di- rector of the Carnegie Steel Co.; D. G. Kerr, Pittsburgh, ore agent of the Steel Corporation; W. H. Johnson, Ishpeming, Mich., agent for the Oliver Iron Mining Co. : ee Mr. Gayley made a speech of great significance. He spoke of the beneficial effects of the organization of the Steel Corporation. The first among these he placed the stability which it has given to the iron and. steel market. Buyers of iron and steel products are assured that prices will be stable, and therefore are not forced to buy simply from hand to mouth in the fear of an uncertain market. The purpose of the corpora- tion is to maintain this stability of price. Another direction in which the organization has worked beneficially ts 1 the foreign field. For the surplus product of the manufactories a market is found in foreign coun- tries and the corporation caters to this trade by learning its needs and requirements and modeling its output to suit them. Formerly the differ- ent manufactories did business with foreign countries in rather a desul- tory way, selling their surplus here and there as best they could. Now the foreign market is closely studied and gets what it wants and not what it will not take. Mr. J. L. Washburn made a brief speech, in the course of which he hoped that the offices of the corporation, now located at Duluth, would not be moved elsewhere. This remark brought Mr. Gayley to his feet to 'say that mining and transportation offices of the corporation had been located at Duluth after deliberation and were there to stay. It is generally agreed that the mining offices are properly located, but the establishment of the transportation offices of the company at Duluth, especially in view of their separation from the ore railways of the Steel Corporation, has been from the beginning a matter of surprise to everybody connected with lake shipping. NOVA SCOTIA STEEL & COAL CO. At a full meeting of the directors of the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co., held in Montreal last week, Mr. Graham Fraser, the managing director, submitted to the board a most gratifying report of the business of the company for the first six months of the present year, showing that the various departments were being fully operated with very satisfactory results. He reported the completion of a modern and fully up-to-date coal shipping pier at North Sydney, having a storage capacity of 5,000 tons, the loading facilities being exceptionally good, there being a depth of water of 30 ft. at low tide along its shipping side, the height being 66 ft., thus enabling the largest steamers afloat to be bunkered promptly. What may be considered a record was made at this pier recently, when with seven chutes aboard, coal was loaded at the rate of 100 tons per minute, the breakage reduced to a minimum, and being much less than by any other system at present in use. Ample provision has also been made for the loading of sailing craft from chutes, when there is not sufficient depth of water for steamers to load. The coke ovens at Sydney mines and Ferrona, with their auxiliary washing plants, are in operation, making a very superior quality of coke, and fully supplying the present requirements of the company. The steel plant at Trenton was reported crowded with orders, and every department working full time. The company's fleet of ten large time-charter freight steamers, aggregating over 53,000 tons total dead weight, are doing ex- ceptionally good work this season. _The company was very fortunate in securing, with the purchase of the old Sydney mines coal property, a large tract of land at Sydney mines. On account of the location of the blast furnaces and the extension of the company's coal operations, this land has become very valuable, and is being rapidly disposed of at good prices, the anticipation of a town of 15,000 or 20,000 people growing up, leading to rapid and permanent build- ing operations. The purchase of two freight steamers in Scotland was also reported. These boats are to ibe used in the transport of coal from Sydney mines to the St. Lawrence and lower province ports. They are of the most modern type, being admirably adapted for the coal business-- self-trimmers, light draught, and with every appliance for rapid discharge. DOUBLE-HULLED STEAMSHIPS. The St. Louis & Beaumont Transportation Co. has been formed to construct a combination gulf and river steamboat under the patents of Capt. George O. Rogers. The idea is to construct a steamer that can navigate the rivers with ease and the gulf with safety. The usual light draught of a river boat makes the navigation of the vessel in the heavy seas a dangerous one, The Rogers vessels are what may be called double- hull. The inner hull is a complete steamer in itself, subdivided by bulk- heads into compartments containing the engines, boilers, quarters for the crew and cargo. This inrier hull is susceptible of being moved up or down while the outer one remains practically stationary. This movement is controlled by a series of hydraulic cylinders secured to the outer hull with rams attached to the inner one. When the inner hull is raised to its highest point it projects from 6 to 8 ft. above the outer one, and the bot- toms of the two hulls are then in the same horizontal plane and the excess of weight on the inner hull over its displacement is taken by the outer. In this position the vessel will be capable of running in rivers and shoal harbors. ,When the inner hull is lowered to its lowest point its keel or bottom is about 6 ft. below the bottom of the outer hull, In this position great stability and steadiness is attained,