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oo EE CE PO ON Pe NY SE a ee TT EE FOREIGN TRADE WITH THE ISTHMUS. While it is quite generally known that there is only one American steam- ship line operating to the Isthmus of Panama from. American ports it may be surprising to some to learn that there are eight such lines which are operated by foreign interests from European ports. .It is true that the United Fruit Co. does maintain a service between New Orleans and Colon : via: Bocas' del Yoro and Port Limon and that it is an American cor- poration, but all its vessels are of foreign register. and so constitute no portion of the American merchant marine. The great number of merchant ves- ~sels of both England and Germany have enabled these countries to drum up a very prosperous trade with the Latin-American countries of Central and. South America, in: addition to carrying many commodities which are required in the construction of the canal itself, a practice which it was possible for the last congress to have abolished by the passing of a joint resolution to restrict this trade to American vessels, but which came to much the same end as other legisla- tion designed to aid this most worthy trade. By the time the canal is completed these countries will have laid the foundations of an enormous traffic, while the United States is doing prac- tically nothing to secure its share. The foreign steamship lines oper- ating in this trade, most of which have weekly sailings, are as follows: - The Compagnie Generale Transat- lantique plying between Havre and Colon, via the. West Indies, with two steamers of nearly 10,000 tons gross each, and having a speed of 16 knots. The Leyland Line between Liverpool and New Orleans and~- Colon via Jamaica. "Fhe "Royal Mail" Steam Packet Co., between Southampton and Colon via New York and the West Indies. The Harrison Line between Liverpool, New Orleans and Colon, via Belize, British Honduras. The Compania Transatlantica Espanola, plying between Genoa, Barcelona and Colon, via Cuba and Porto Rico. The La Veloce between Genoa, Italy, and Colon, via ports on the north coast of South America. The Hamburg-Amer- ican between New York and Colon, via Port Limon, Bocas del Toro and Jamaica. The only American line plying in the Colon trade is the Pan- ama Railroad Steamship Co., operat- _ ing five steamers. All these lines car- ry both freight and passengers and 0S RT coy ae 'dred 'and 'forty-five TAE MarRINeE. REVIEW besides them there are a large number of freight steamers under the Nor- wegian and British flags which sup- ply the Panama Railroad Co., and the Isthmian Canal Commission with coal and lumber. BOSTON MARINE NOTES. Boston, July 8--The fleet-footed scout cruiser Salem is again back to the yard of her' builders, the Fore River "Ship ~ Building Co, there' to remain about three weeks to receive her finishing touches preliminary to delivery to the government at the Boston navy yard. When the Salem was from her trials, Capt. Evans sighted a disabled power-boat anchored about seven miles off Boston lightship and immediately the large ship's course was shaped toward the crippled craft. Upon investigation it was found that the 55-ft. launch was out of gasoline. Capt.. Evans,. who in his tow boat days in Massachusetts Bay has given a helping' hand to 'many a "lame duck": took the little 'cratt ini tow and steamed toward Boston harbor. The launch which was an expensive one proved to be the Mickey return- ing from New London, Conn., where she had been attending the Harvard- Yale rowing races. Steamship Kazembe, of the Bucknall line, arrived at the port of Boston last week from India and Ceylon on her maiden voyage with a cargo of 10,000 tons of 'choice teas. She is operated by a crew of 53 Lascars and: left. Calcutta May 17. On June 27, 1907, this ship left New York and since that time has sailed more than 50,000 nautical miles, making 32 sea- ports along the line. The Kazembe which has a freighting capacity of 7,/00 tons is 400 ft. long and was launched at Glasgow in May, 1907. Judge Dodge, of the United States States district court for the district -of: Massachusetts sitting in Boston im- posed a fine of $400 on the Cunard Steamship Co., for failure to prevent an alien from landing from one of its ships before being examined by the immigration officials. Twenty-nine thousand, seven hun- less immigrants artived<.at. "the .. port:.of = Boston during the fiscal year ending June 30 than for the corresponding period of last. year, During .the fiscal year: just. passed 52,600 aliens arrived at Boston, compared with returning | 19 82,345 of the year before, making a decrease of over 36 per cent. Imports for the week ending June 26 amounted to $1,368,010 compared with $1,843,313 for the same week of last year. Exports for the same week of this year amounted to $1,530,974, as compared with $1,731,249 of last year. BIDS FOR NAVAL COLLIERS. On July 1 the navy department opened bids for the purchase of three colliers of American registry and of 7,200 tons deadweight. The Massachusetts Steam- ship Co., one of the four bidders, offers to sell its three colliers, the Everett, Mal- den and Melrose, recently built at the plant of the Fore River .Ship Building Co. at Quincy, Mass., for $525,000 each. These vessels comply in every way with the requirements but the price is the limit of the appropriation. The New York Ship Building Co., of Camden, N. J., of- fered to construct three vessels of 11% © knots speed and 7,450 tons at $439,000 each, or two vessels at $444,000 each. The Maryland Steel Co., Sparrow's Point, Md., bids for the construction of 12-knot vessels at the rate of $403,000 for one, $397,000 each for two or $376,000 each for three, to be of 7,200 tons, twin-screw type. For single-screw type vessels. of 1214 knots speed and 7,200 tons this com- pany's bid was $377,500 each for two vessels or $370,000 each for three. The William Cramp & Son Ship & Engine: Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., bid $475,- 000 each for one or three vessels, to be of 11 knots speed and of 7,200 tons. The Everett, Malden and Melrose, of- fered by the Massachusetts Steamship Co., are sisterships, and are the largest colliers under the "American flag, each having.a capacity of 7,200 tons. The ves- sels were built for the coal trade. They are particularly suited for deadweight cargoes, which can be loaded by means of chutes and discharged by mechanical grabs. Each has ten exceptionally large hatchways, each 28 ft. wide and 14 ft. long, with two hatches to each of the five cargo holds, which latter are each A8 ft. long. They are 400 ft. long, with -an extreme breadth of 53 ft. a depth of 32 ft. and a gross tonnage of 5,107 tons. The vessels are of the single-deck type, with single screw and_ triple-expansion surface-condensing engines, and four sin- gle-ended Scotch boilers, constructed for a working pressure of 180 lbs. All the machinery is aft. They have towing bits and towing rail aft. The Pusey & Jones Co., Wilmington, Del., has secured. the contract for re- pairing light vessel No. 2 on a bid of $7,052.89.