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are a few vessels exceeding these di- mensions somewhat, but it remains to be seen whether they have not exceeded the proper limit. One great difficulty is that modern harbors are not suited to vessels any larger than those of the present fleet and it is found that a great deal of pa- tience and calculation have to be exer- cised now to get along. Certain slips are found to be too short for unloading the larger vessels and when they are long enough it is merely by dint of allowing the vessel to jut out across the stream adjacent and cut off navigation while it is unloading. To add much .more length would mean demoralization. JoHN W. CHAMBERLIN. OBITUARY. Gibson L. Douglass, vice president of the Western Transportation Co., and for many years one of the most prominent managers of traffic on the lakes, died last week at his residence, 215 Highland. avenue, = Buffalo. : Mr. Douglass was nearly 70 years of age, having been .born, in Chazy, N.Y, Jan, 22, 1839, had 'been in poor health for several years and his death had been momentarily expected for some time. Mr. Douglass entered the employ of the Western Transportation Co. as a clerk in its. Troy, N.-¥.; office at the age of 19 years. In 1865 he succeeded to the management of the Troy agency, which position he held for upwards of 15 years, during part of which time he also represented the New York Central & Hudson River as agent for the Blue Line, and sub- sequently the Merchants' Dispatch Transportation. Co, From: 18/2 to 1877 he "was also;-the: Intoy agent for the Northern Transportation Co., a canal-and-lake line doing business between New York city, northern New Nork sand, 'Ganada, via Champlain canal and Lake Champlain. He was a director of this company and also at one time general superintendent. In 1881 he was appointed general freight agent of the Western Trans- portation Co., with headquarters in New York, and when the New York Central purchased the organization in 1884 .and it became the Western Transit Co., he continued 'to represent them until 1890, when he enlarged his field of usefulness by accepting the position of manager of the floating property and elevators of the New York Central and West Shore rail- roads in New York harbor. In January, 1897, he was elected vice president and general manager of the Western Transit Co., since ""TAE MarRINE REVIEW which time he has had charge of the entire business of the Western Tran- sit Co., and also the City and Niagara elevators. Mr. Douglass is suryived by his wife, one daughter, Mrs. Arthur Crone, of Plainfield, N. J.) end "ye sone. Edwin T. Douglass and Robert Ff) Douglass, both of Buffalo: Dr. Bea- man Douglass, of New York; Gibson L. Douglass Jr., of Duluth, and Waites J. Douglass, of Ogdensburg. SHIPBUILDING IN BALTIMORE. (The ship yards of Baltimore find that their output for the year 1908 is valued at more than $1,000,000 less than the tonnage produced at that port during the year 1907. The 1907 output had an aggregate value of more than $2,500,000, this being an increase of $1,000,000 over the value of tonnage produced in 1906. Thirty-nine vessels were built in Bal- timore during 1908, the total value of which amounts to $1,476,900. The ag- gregate tonnage is 19,356. | The. Maryland "Steel. Go,, at Spar- row's Point, was the largest producer, © building eight steel -vessels with an ag- gregate tonnage of 11,899, valued at $1,375,000. These vessels were: tan, Galveston and Navesink, sea-going suction dredges for the United States engineer corps; a hull for the pipe line dredge Morgan, for the same depart- ment; three steel dump barges for the Isthmian canal commission; steam light- er No. 154 for the Pennsylvania Rail- toad Co. Other Baltimore yards produced ton- nage as follows: William E. Woodhall & Co., two 80-ft. open lighters; Booz Bros., one 80-ft. open lighter; Charles L, Rohde & Sons Co., six open light- ers, two covered lighters, one pile driver, two derrick lighters, two pon- toons and one elevator dredge; Oliver Reeder & Son, wooden tug Howard Reeder, three open lighters; Skinner Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., two covered lighters, one open lighter, one railroad pontoon; Chesapeake Marine Railway Co., two covered lighters and two open lighters; Spedden Ship Build- ing Co., two open lighters. The Southern Pacific Railway Co. has recently completed and put in service the ferry steamer Melrose, built at its yards' at Oakland, Cal She 1s 273 1%, long, 423 ft. beam and has a gross ton- nage of 2,662. Another stern-wheeler, to be called Navajo, is also building by the Southern Pacific for use on the Sacramento river. She is expected to be one of the fastest of her kind on the coast. Rari-' "Dayo Dock (o,, 53: SHIP YARD NOTES. The Hutton Machine Works, Seattle, Wash., is constructing the engine for the steamer Daring, now being built at the yard of Crawford & Reid at Ta- coma. The engine is designed for 200 revolutions per minute with 250 pounds -- of steam and has cylinders of 10, uA and: 28 in. x 16 in. 'stroke, Bids received by the lighthouse in- spectors at San Francisco, Cal., for mak- ing repairs to light vessel No. 76, were as follows: W. A. Boole.& Son, Inc.,- San Francisco, Cal., $2,291; Union Iron Works, San Francisco, $2,475.70; Moore & Scott Iron Works, San Francisco, $2,896.50; Ker-Lloyd Iron Works, San Francisco, $3,193.50; Risdon Iron & Lo- comotive Works, San Francisco, $3,673. Bids received by Col. Dan C. King- man, of the corps of engineers, Savan- nah, Ga., for making repairs to the gov- ernment dredge Savannah, were as fol- lows: Kensington Ship Yard Co., Phil- adelphia, Pa. $12,077; Merrill-Stevens Co., Jacksonville, *"Fla., $12,570; Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock. Co., Newport News, Va., $12,726; Maryland Steel Co., Sparrow's Point, Md., $13,182; William Kehoe & Sons, Savannah, Ga., $14.145. The Newport News Ship Building & Newport News, Va., has recently been awarded two important re- pair contracts. One is for the British steamship Cartago, which was for several weeks ashore off the coast of Nova Scotia. She will need about 150 new plates and other overhauling to the amount of $100,000. It will take about six weeks to complete this work. The other contract is for effecting repairs to the steamer Julia Luckenbach, owned by Lewis Luckenbach, of "New York, which was damaged in a collision with the steamer Camaguey off the Capes of Vir- ginia. The repairs to the Luckenbach will amount to about $6,000. Cook & Lake, Ballard, Wash, "are building for the Alaska Commercial Co., of Seattle, a river steamer and two barges for service on Alaskan rivers. The steamer is to be 110 ft. in length, 24 ft. beam and 4 ft. deep. She is to_ have accommodations for 60 passengers and will carry 50 tons of freight on a draught of 24 in. Lhe hull of thre steamer is being built on the largest of the two barges, which has a length of 100 ft. and a beam of 30 ft. The ma- chinery for the steamer is being built by the Willamette Iron & Steel Works, at Portland, Ore. and is to be shipped to the north on the smaller of the two barges. On arrival at Seldovia the steamer will be launched and the machin- ery installed. The smaller barge is 65. ft. long and 20 ft. beam.