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1903. ] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. 29 SEEN AND HEARD ON THE LOOKOUT. It was during some naval maneuvers recently that of six torpedo boats, steaming at great speed in what is known as "wedge formation," three were placed "hors de combat" through the breaking of a wheel-chain. After the accident the question was asked why these boats were allowed to come in such close quarters while going at top speed, and the intention of forming what football players would term a "flying wedge" was given as explanation. : Five torpedo boats, moving swiftly, are expected to protect the sixth of their number with their own frail sides against the fire of one of the enemy's battleships that has been selected as their prey. ; : Naval authorities are unanimously of the opinion that, though five mémbers of this "flying wedge" are doomed, the sixth has a good chance to launch a torpedo and thus destroy the bat- tleship in question. : The cost of a torpedo boat is $750,000, and it carries a crew of about forty, so that in order to destroy one battleship in the manner above indicated the lives of 200 men, to say nothing fur- ther about the five boats, must be offered on the altar of Mars. During a bull fight some one claimed that this distinctly Spanish sport could never become popular in Anglo-Saxon communities because the odds were too unequal, and that the bull, while some times able to do some damage, had no chance to retain his life, fight he ever so valiant. : However, this may be, the crews of the five torpedo boats, cooped up in their steel coffins, are in the prize bull's predicament, and above each of these boats' gangways the inscription on the portals of Dante's Inferno might be appropriately displayed: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." 'Though disgraced for this very reason one of the followers of Leonidas survived the unpleasantness at Thermopilae; several members of the Light Brigade could have furnished Tennyson with data for his poem anent the Balaklava affair; the sinking of the Merrimac did not result in loss of life, but, of the 200.men comprising the crews of the five boats selected to shield one of their number not even one has a single remote chance of saving his life. The non-martial among us.will hold to the opinion that to be a live ass is preferable to being a dead hero; a yearly increasing -number of citizens will listen approvingly to Tolstoi's Gospel of Peace, while the views of all must coincide with the gentleman's sentiment who so vigorously held that "War is Hell." A short while ago the crew of a dismasted coasting schooner took to their boats, and after passing an uncomfortable night in their narrow quarters were picked up by a tug. All such cases where sailors save their lives by means of the ship's boats are ever referred to as "a miraculous escape," "an astonishing feat for a small boat," etc. Because, during the summer season espe- cially, numerous rumors are heard of small boats, sailed by ama- teurs, becoming "unmanageable," and imperiling the lives of their occupants the average non-professional has conceived a dread of the so misjudged open boat, and is reluctant to trust himself to the miniature that violently: pitches to leeward of his steamer. Of course, dreadful is the situation of a ship's crew that has taken to the boats far from land, out of the track of vessels, and without provisions, but, when comparatively close to a safe shore, or a harbor, because there must, as sailors express it, "stand a tremendous sea" that a well-handled life boat cannot ride, the chance of loss of life is smaller than might appear to a lands- man. Though everyone can understand that it is with a suspicion of hesitancy the average passenger forsakes his luxurious cabin for a seat in an open boat, in fact, while the idea of trying to do in a cockleshell what a large steamer could not accomplish seems in- congruous, it should be remembered that such boats were built for this purpose, and, when handled by experienced seamen, the chance of their being "swamped" is remote. ; If all steamboat passengers understood the seaworthiness of the boats ranged on either side of their vessel's upper deck the so- called "panics"often ensuing at the time of danger would greatly diminish, Much as we hear of the decline of this country's merchant marine, the immense fleet of yachts displaying the stars and stripes that gathered in the vicinity of Sandy Hook during the recent international races eloquently testified to the nautical in- clinations of wealthy Americans. ; : The owners of these yachts must necessarily be rich, and should anyone assert that the presence of so many pleasure craft, some of them carrying a crew of forty hands, also enables many poor Americans to go down to the sea in ships, it must be understood that only one in twenty of all the sailors shipped on board the yachts above alluded to is American born. As nobody can conceive of the possibility of the owners and captains to be believers in the vulgar prejudice of national supe- riority, and-as everyone is aware that a captain selects the mem- bers of his crew solely with regard to their ability and experience as seamen, it séems that America does not produce the particular brand of seafaring men required on these pleasure boats. The contention of aggressively patriotic people that foreign- ers are favored on account of their greater docility cannot be ac- cepted in this case, and until a law has been passed making it compulsory for American vessels to carry boys, or apprentices, foreigners shall certainly man the 'few vessels that fly stars and stripes. The time is again fast approaching when every mer- chant in this commercial country. commences his yearly "stock taking" preparatory to replenishing it, but since her former su- premacy on the seas America has neglected to take stock of her available supply of sailors, only ordering the ready-made article from abroad as the occasion demanded--Sweden being the prin- cipal importer. Should a young American desire to "follow the sea,' and learn the art of reefing, knotting and splicing, his request for a boy's berth on one of the coasting schooners will not be granted because accomplished graduates from practical foreign forecastles are occupying all the bunks. Thanks to the foresight of foreign- ers who passed a law compelling captains to engage in the man- ufacture of seamen, American ship owners are able to procure "men before the mast" at a moment's notice. _ A French marine journal comments at great length on the failure of the sardine crop. The reasons given for this shortage in the catch is the cold weather France experienced this sum- oe the scarcity of the codfish-roe which the fishermen need or bait. It is an ill wind, etc., and France having ever furnished this country with choice sardines it is possible that American fisher- men may now find a European market should the quality of their catch compare favorably with the product of Spanish waters. Can it be possible, however, that the reason given for the shortage of this season's catch is correct? Even taking for granted, as the French paper claims, that a substitute for their accustomed bait cannot be found, those hav- ing read Wm. P. Smyth's article in the consular report, will doubt that codfish-roe cannot be obtained. In this article is a description of the so-called "cod-mount- ains" near the Lofoden islands--shoals of fish 120 ft. in vertical thickness, and for two months these shoals keep up a continuous procession along the coast, each shoal of this kind containing at least 120,000,000 fish. Whales and lobsters are getting more scarce year by year, but codfish, like the poor, shall remain with us ever if the predictions of fishermen are accepted, and perhaps the Frenchmen's unsatisfactory hauls are the result of the sar- dines sharing the lobsters' fate. BEL: GOVERNMENT AID TO SHIPPING. Probably at no time has there been a more combined effort than at present on the part of interests naturally dissociated to obtain for American shipping a mediocum of recognition from congress. Various movements are under way, several of them springing spontaneously to the assistance of those who have labored long for the cause. The New York Board of Trade & Transportation has begun an active campaign and is compiling much data on the subject; the ship cwners of the coast are also feeling the pulse of the public and have sent representatives into the western states to discover their temper. Of course the hope of legislative assistance lies in the western states. These states must be made converts. The coast states already understand the handicap under which American shipping is struggling. What is now needed is the co-operation of commercial institu- tions throughout the middle west. They must be brought to think about the condition of the American merchant marine. In the past they have not thought about it because it has been a subject somewhat remote to their daily lives. But a common- wealth cannot get along without an adequate merchant marine no more than it can without an adequate railway service. It seems to be useless to put a bill either into the house or senate and trust to both bodies to pass it. There has been altogether too much jugglery about it. If one passes it the other shelves it and the shipping interests are placated with the explanation that the bill was killed by circumstances. Different tactics must be adopted. It is now proposed to have congress appoint a com- mittee to inquire into the state of American shipping and to pre- pare remedial measures upon the facts obtained by the inquiry. This is a business-like and sensible thing to do. It is to be hoped that something tangible may come of it. REPORT OF NEW YORK DOCK CO. The report of the New York Dock Co. for the fiscal year ended July 31, was made public this week. The income account showed a decrease in gross earnings compared with the previous: year, of $171,877. A decrease in operating expenses of $220,328 resulted in an increase in net earnings of $48,451. The surplus, after interest charges, amounted to $402,985, an increase of $51,661, and equalling 4.03 per cent. on the $10,000,000 of preferred stock. . The preferred stock is entitled to 5 per cent. before any dividend is paid on the common. _ President David H. King, Jr., makes this statement to the stockholders : "During the past year a general overhauling of the property and important improvements have been made which will provide additional room for steamships and simplify the methods of handling business. The dredging has been nearly completed making it possible for vessels of the deepest draught to be accom- modated at our piers. Electrical equipment for hoisting from new central stations has been added, and the use of portable engines. dispensed with, thereby effecting a large saving in coal consump-. tion, as well as reducing the danger from fire. All of the im- provements commenced last year and those commenced this year have been completed, except dredging and two sheds which. are now in course of construction."