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1903.] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. : 29 SEEN AND HEARD ON THE LOOKOUT. Many well meaning persons are still considering Jack Tar a rather irresponsible being who is fleeced at every turn. Now without denying that an occasional sailor becomes the possessor of some variety of gold brick, the twentieth century inhabitant of the forecastle is, as a rule, rather well read and quite able to look out for his own interest. Herewith the description of an episode on the coast of Java: The flush-decked, slate-colored, English tramp steamer Elsie was anchored off Samarang, a small town on the north coast of Java, while from a lighter alongside the last "kranjangs" of sugar were being hoisted on board. At Batavia, the capital, is the only harbor the island boasts, and though Soera- baya, Java's second town in importance, offers fair shelter to anchored ships, Samarang remains many miles to the southward of thither consigned vessels, and is only visited by the captains. To réturn to the Elsie: From the lighter the last basket of sugar has been safely transferred to the steamer's hold. The crew has succeeded in safely transferring some sugar to the forecastle for private use, and here comes the captain who is being' safely trans- ferred from Samarang to his boat in the agent's steam launch. Ordinarily English captains take care not to load their ships be- low the white ring commonly referred to as Plimsoll's mark, but loading sugar off Samarang that is consigned to Ancona, a small seaport in Italy, the Elsie's captain had given orders to "fill her up," risking the under-the-circumstance remote chance of being fined for the sake of a good name with the owners, or perhaps a "douceur." While taking leave from the agent, who is in the act of getting over the rail to board his launch, the captain hears from the mate that the crew refuse to heave anchor. When all hands are gathered aft the overloaded condition of the ship is given as the reason of the men's refusal to commence the homeward trip, and neither the captain's threats, his promise of grog, nor his ex- planation that a voyage to Italy in summer time could safely be undertaken in a Chinese sampan alters the crew's determination to fight for their right on principle. After a hurried consultation in the cabin the mate goes ashore in the agent's launch to secure the services of a Lloyd's surveyor, a few policemen, the British con- sul and whatever other authorities the agent may deem necessary for the exigencies of the occasion. It is after supper when the captain enters the forecastle with seemingly irrelevant informa- tion that he has been master of British ships for fourteen years, that he is married to an estimable lady of Whitby, and the father of five children. It may never be known whether it was the re- cital of this tale of domestic felicity, or the thought of the extra work that the discharging of part of the cargo would occasion, but a note from the skipper to the effect that he owed each sailor £2 for overtime destroyed the purpose for which a Mr. Plimsoll caused a white circle to be painted on the Elsie's sides, N. B.--It was early the next morning when the agent's steam launch brought the mate alongside, and though to the view of Samarang, as had from the Elsie's deck, distance was lending en- chantment, the crew can never be convinced of that Javanese town's importance on account of their first officer's inability to even bring back one bare-footed guardian of the peace. - "Talent builds a bridge, while genius flies across the preci- © pice," a witty Frenchman once remarked, and to some of the bridge builders among the human family it appears that that that especially-in-America-so-numerous class of flying mortals known as inventors has adopted the motto of homoeopathy "similia simili- bus curantur," or like cures like. No sooner has one genius in- vented a torpedo boat capable of routing a fleet of gunboats than someone else produces a vessel guaranteed to destroy a school of torpedo boats; and if we read in our morning papers that the naval authorities are experimenting with a gun that is expected to pass a projectile through any warship, in the evening papers we will notice a description of a newly-invented armor plate that re- fuses to open to whatever projectile's knocking: Inventors among boat builders and engineers have made swift traveling at sea pos- sible, but while other inventions, as, for instance, the watertight compartments, have minimized the danger of ocean crossing, the speedy greyhounds are often a menace to the as-ever-still-so- numerous sailing ships. To quote a Gloucester fisherman, "if one of those flyers ever goes over my schooner she will be 10 miles from the place of execution before the shock of the collision jars the swinging glass trays in her saloon." As might have been ex- pected a device for quickly arresting the speed of the fastest of boats has now been invented. Said invention is a water brake, or a folding fin attached to each side of the vessel and operated by levers in the wheelhouse. When not in use the fins fit close against the ship's side so that no extra friction may have to be overcome. Though engineers at once declared that the sudden rush of water against the exposed fins would wrench them from their hinges, and that in the event of their faithfully doing the duty assigned them the impact would certainly cause the people on board to be hurled from their feet, it is claimed that recent ex- periments with the water brake showed that a boat making 12 knots could be checked within her own length after stopping the engines, and, of course, in a shorter distance if the engines were reversed, while the predicted jar was unnoticed. The fins are fitted with hydraulic cylinders, and, as stated, operated by levers in the wheelhouse, while another advantage of a thus-equipped boat is that the opening of one fin results in the vessel immed- iately swerving from her course, and this a great deal quicker than could be done by the use of the rudder. ; The mention of "lighthouse" almost ever suggests to most of us a foam-bordered ocean perch that is intermittently visited by the northwester and sleet, the southwester and rain and the north- easterly wind with its company of snow and cold. From Novem- ber to March this may certainly be considered the weather's rou- tine in the vicinity of such lighthouses as Minot's Ledge off Bos- ton harbor, The entrance to this lighthouse is half-way up the -- tower and a precarious looking iron ladder answers for stoop to the keeper's front door. Another spot that the mariner involun- tarily associates with snow, sleet, storm and general discomfort, not to mention danger, is the Diamond shoals, off Cape Hatteras, and where a lightship, fitted with engines and boilers so that she can move under her own steam if required, has been stationed. Any seaman who has for any length of time sailed in regions where flying fishes abound, and where the weather bureau official would only have to guess between hot and hotter as a prediction for the next day, cannot have failed to long for a break in the monotony of perpetual sunshine, stifling heat and absence of wind. On a coral reef in the Red sea a lighthouse is to be seen by any- one traveling on board one of that large fleet of steamers going through the Suez canal to India. Of the four men that are hired as keepers of this light three are on duty while one of them is home for his yearly three months' vacation. During the day it is too hot to go fishing, or even to walk on the small uneven sur- face of the reef that shows above water, and as at night it is their duty to remain inside the tower, monotonous is a word that only incompletely expresses the existence of the four Red-sea prisoners. Two Italians, one Frenchman and one Englishman have charge of the lighthouse, and, as if to. prove the truth of the late Max O'Rell's assertion that should an Englishman be cast away with a number of men of different nationalities upon an uninhabited island all of them will soon adopt the dominant Anglo-Saxon's mode of speech, the language spoken on the reef in the Red sea is English, and though at first the Frenchman attempted to ac- quire a little knowledge of the Italian's language, the stern com- mand "Speak English, you 'dagos'" effectively terminated further linguistic experiments. -- LARGE INCREASE IN FOREIGN COMMERCE The foreign commerce of the United States in the fiscal year just ended is larger than in any preceding year in its history. The total of imports and exports as shown by the department of commerce through its bureau of statistics is, for the year 1903, $2,445,610,417 against $2,310,937,156 in the year 1900, which was considered the banner year prior to 1903. Imports are larger than in any preceding year and exports are larger than in any pre- ceding year save in the exceptional year 1901. The imports for the first time crossed the billion dollar line, the total being $1,025,- 619,127 and the exports for the second time crossed the $1,400,000,- . 000 line, being $1,419,991,290 or practically $1,420,000,000. The single year in which the value of exports exceeded those of 1903 is the fiscal year 1901 when the total was $1,487,764,991. The im- ports exceeded those of 1893 by about $159,000,000 and the ex- ports exceeded those of 1903 by about $572,000,000. The imports, therefore, have increased 18.4 per cent. during the decade and ex- ports have increased 67.5 per cent. during the same period. Comparing the figures of 1903 with those at decennial periods at earlier dates, it may be said that the imports of 1853 were $263,-- 000,000; those for 1863, $243,000,000; for 1873, $642,000,000; for 1883, $723,000,000 ; for 1893, $866,000,000, and for 1903, $1,025,000,- ooo. The exports of 1853 were $203,000,000 ; those for 1863, $204,-. 000,000 ;. for 1873, $522,000,000 ;. for 1883, $823,000,000; for 1893, $847,000,000, and those for 1903 were within a fraction of $1,420,-. 000,000. The imports of 1903, therefore, are less than four times those of 1852, while the exports for 1903 are practically seven. times those of 1853. The growth in importation, which is the most striking char- acteristic of the year's commerce, is very largely in materials for use in manufacturing. Only eleven months' figures are yet avail- able in such detailed form as to show the increase by great growth, but the figures of the eleven months ending with May show that articles in a crude condition for use in manufacturing increased $62,000,000 or about 20 per cent. as compared with the correspond-- ing months of last year; articles partially manufactured for use in manufacturing increased $4,000,000 or about 5 per cent.; articles. manufactured and ready for consumption increased $18,000,000 or about 13 per cent., and articles of voluntary use, luxuries, etc., in- creased $14,000,000 or about 12 per cent., while articles of food and live animals increased $15,000,000 or about 8 per cent. SAMPLES OF A GOOD LUBRICATOR. The United States Graphite Co. of Saginaw, Mich., one of the best known concerns of its kind in the United States, is so well. satisfied that all the essentials of a first-class lubricator are to be found in their No. 205 lubricating graphite that they are anx- ious to furnish without charge to any enquirer a sample quarter- pound can for trial, together with an instructive booklet on graphite lubrication. Marine engineers are requested to give name of vessel and name of fleet to which she belongs in making ap- plication for this trial package, which in the case of vessels of the lakes will be delivered through the Detroit marine postoffice if desired. This graphite is guaranteed absolutely pure and per- fectly prepared. It is also conveniently usable mixed with oil as a roof or stack paint or pipe-joint compound. It would seem ad- visable to make this trial test so confidently offered.. The tug Gillen, which was sunk just outside Superior entry. some weeks ago by the steamer Mauna Loa, was raised last week. The boat is in worse shape than was anticipated. 4