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1903.] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD, 25 and he has framed a vigorous reply. Col. Symons was instru- mental in drafting the bill providing for the enlargement of the canal and he is probably better versed in the subject of canal enlargement than any man in the country. "T have no hesitation,' said Col. Symons, "in declaring that Mr. North's reasoning and deductions as to the actual cost of the Erie canal improvement are erroneous and made without a full knowledge of the facts. His main point is that the estimates of the engineers who did the work are unreliable because certain other engineering projects have been carried out at an actual cost in excess of that which was estimated. In this instance there are two good and sufficient reasons why this argument is not sound, and why the method of figuring the cost by adding a definite percentage for error based upon certain other works is fallacious. : "The first of these reasons is that these estimates were not made in the manner that the ones he refers to were reached. In all my experience I have never had to do with the making of estimates where so great liberality was shown in providing for the cost of everything which would or could enter into the con- struction. We had in mind at the time not only these instances which Mr. North has cifed, where the actual cost had overrun the estimates, but others as well, and we were determined that in this case we would allow so wide a margin for all contingencies, to so figure labor and material at the highest possible prices that our estimates would stand and that the actual cost of the work when completed should not only not exceed the estimated cost, but be well within it. Not only did I have this in mind, but the other engineers and all who were connected with the figures were so minded, and every possible thing was provided for, all quanti- ties were enlarged and the prices put high in order that we might discount this very criticism when it came, as it has now. So sure am I of the extreme liberality of this estimate that I would per- sonally like to undertake the work of improvement of the Erie canal under the proposed plan, under a guarantee that I could complete it for less than the estimated cost of $101,000,000. "Another point that Mr. North ignores, and which is proba- bly not as fully understood as it might be by the voters of New York, is that in the drafting of this bill we spent many months in getting up an administrative plan, which we have embodied in the bill and by which the work will be so systematized, the ex- penditure of the people's money so carefully checked, that it will be as effective as is humanly possibl@ in preventing any fraud or the carrying out of pernicious practices in the execution of the work. Having been so careful in making estimates so liberally that we could stake our reputation upon their not being exceeded legitimately we devoted, as I say, months of time and thought to devising a system for the carrying out of the work, and placed provisions in the bill which will, I think, prevent these estimates from being exceeded illegitimately. We have under this bill a system which will place the work of construction on a different footing from any similar work of which I know. It is impossible for me to conceive how any fraud or diversion of funds can go on under this system. It provides that the administration shall be by a board of five engineers'(of which Mr. North might be one) and the amplitude of the estimates and the method provided for the expenditure of the money is a complete answer to the charge that the canal enlargement cannot-be made within the estimate. "Of course," went on Col, Symons, "the public has come to think that it is fair to add a large percentage to the estimate for all public works of an engineering or a contracting nature. They hear more of these works where the estimates are exceeded, either through careless figuring or poor.administration, than they do of those works which do not exceed the estimates. As a matter of fact, most government work is done within the estimates, and it would be quite easy to take nine other cases of such a nature and figure out a percentage which should be de- ducted from the estimate, thereby proving as conclusively, as Mr. North proves his contention, its very opposite, namely, that the Erie canal improvement can be made for a much less sum than called for in the bill. In this case the estimates are far more liberal than those I made for the construction of the Buffalo breakwater, which was built well within the estimated limit. 'Fhe breakwater in the Delaware river, a three million dollar job, has recently been finished at about 50 per cent. of the estimate, and the jetties at the mouth of the Columbia river were built for very much less than the original figure. No government work on the lakes has exceeded the estimates, and the figures for the so-called 20-foot channel through the lakes were so ample that for much of the distance a 21-foot channel has been dredged. When it comes to talking about a possible ship canal from Buffalo to New York, the estimates are neither so careful nor so liberal. It is my judgment that even if the necessary influence could be brought to bear to induce the national government to undertake the construction of a ship canal the cost would be so great that New York's proportion would be no less than 'the entire cost of building the barge canal; but with this difference that New York will own and control the barge canal exclusively. There is another point, too, which has not been brought out by these ship canal advocates nor others, which is that ship canals are projected in many parts of the country, and should New York succeed in getting one it would only be at the cost of con- cessions which would provide for many others, and thereby cre- ate a competition for her own waterway which would divert freights that can be controlled and held by the barge canal for New York state and New York city. _» "Just one word about that transshipment bugaboo at Buffalo, - which is raised as an argument against the carrying out of the barge canal improvement. I want to say most emphatically that this transshipment at Buffalo cannot be avoided by any plan whatever without diverting the freight from New York. As a matter of fact a ship canal would not prevent the breaking of bulk at Buffalo for the simple reason that the large lake vessels could not afford to navigate the Erie canal, and if a ship canal were by the Ontario route, these vessels would find it much sim- pler and cheaper to then cross the lake to Montreal, which would mean that the freight would not come to New York at all. You can avoid transshipment at Buffalo, it is true, but if you take that business away from Buffalo, you take away at the sdme time all lake business from New York. This transshipment at Buffalo is a bugaboo for another réason, which is that' 90 per cent. of this transshipment at Buffalo does away. with transshipment at New York. Were it possible to come through Buffalo without breaking bulk by the use of the large lake steamers in a ship canal, it would then be impossible to transfer the freight direct from these lake vessels. to the ocean steamers, for the simple reason that they could not lie alongside. It wouid then be necessary to transfer the freight by light- ers here in New York harbor, where this work is more expensive or else through elevators where the cost is higher than it is at Buffalo. A transshipment must take place at some point if the freight is coming through New York, and it can be done much more cheaply at Buffalo than at any other point. This transship- ment question 1s not an argument against the barge canal, but dis- tinctly an argument against a ship canal, by whose advocates it is brought forward. "I believe in the barge canal improvement," concluded Col. Symons, "because New York must do something to retain her commerce, and she is in a unique position to utilize this water- way. It is a rare opportunity to grasp a great situation which is to extend the benefits of the cheap lake freight rates clear through to New York." . Ce a ae CONSOLIDATED LAKE SUPERIOR CO. The minority stockholders of the Consolidated Lake Superior Co., headed by E. C. Miller & Co, W. W. Kurtz & Co., Brice Monges & Co., bankers, have started a movement to appoint a re- ceiver for the company. They have issued a circular to the stock- holders in which they say: "The management of the Consolidated Lake Superior Co., having refused our just demands made upon them through our counsel for the names of the subscribers to the $11,088,400 con- tract of subscription to the preferred stock of the company upon which the company's report of June 30, 1902, admits a balance of $9,239,100 was then due and unpaid, and having failed also ta give any reason whatsoever for, not having enforced the payment of said subscriptions, it is important that immediate steps be taken for the protection of our rights as stockholders. As the best means of accomplishing the desired result it is proposed to apply for the appointment of a receiver or receivers for the cor- poration, this being regarded under the advice of counsel as the most effective course to pursue." _ The statement asks all stockholders "who are 'determined to assert their rights to ascertain the true financial status of the company before accepting the proposed scheme of reorganization" to join in the movement for a receiver, The banking concerns mentioned above represent $5,000,000 of the stock. of the company. The Consolidated Lake Superior Co. is a Connecticut company and application for a receiver will have to be made in that state. The laws of the state require that no less than one-tenth of the total capitalization of the company must assent to the application before the court can receive it. The total capitalization of the company is $102,000,000. On the other hand it is maintained by the company's officials that the appointment of a receiver would be of no practical value. The company is preparing to issue a formal statemeft of its af-~ fairs. Some adverse criticism has been directed against it lately owing to the fact that certain of the stockholders were unable to get at the books. The books were supposed to be in Philadelphia but when they were demanded it transpired that they had been removed to Sault Ste, Marie, Ont. Mr. Elisha Greene, an old vessel man, died at the home of his son in Deckerville, Mich., on Sept. 6. He was eighty years old, having been born in Vermont on Jan. 4, 1823. He is sur- vived by a widow and nine children. When he was nine years old his father removed to Edwardsburg, Canada, and a few years later Mr. Greene engaged in sailing on the St. Lawrence river between Montreal and Quebec. He was captain of a steam- er at the early age of twenty-one and is said to have been the first man to pilot a raft over the Lachine rapids. His family consists of four boys and five girls as follows: Mrs. Samuel Bingham, Mrs. P. S. Cooke, Port Huron, Mich.; Mrs. S. C. Rutledge, Alpena, Mich.; Mrs. Henry Keil, Burchville, Mich.; Mrs. F. C. Earnst, Peoria, Ill.; Mr. B. M. Greene, Deckerville, Mich.; Mr. B. E. Greene, Creswell; Mr T. S. Greene and Mr. Malone Greene of Burchville, Mich. The Kensington, building at the yard of the Craig Ship Building Co., Toledo, for the Kensington Transportation Co. of Bay City, Mich., is nearing completion and will be ready for her owners in a few days. The car ferry Grand Haven is also receiving her finishing touches. :