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20 DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY INTEREST CONNECTED OR _ ASSO- CIATED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Published every Thursday by The Penton Publishing Co. CLEVELAND. < BOSTON: «6 cus vo sec eces s 73-74 Journal Bldg. BU PRADO Ls soos be iweb ices vols 932 Ellicott Sq. CHICAGO) soo a ks sec Sees 1328 Monadnock Blk. CINCINNATI.......First National Bank Bldg. INTE WL YORI: 6, ccc cee « 1005 West Street Bldg. PITS BURG 6. critic cece sks ss 510 Park Bldg. PHAE LUE cs ie tees u es 302 Pioneer Bldg. Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. U.S: Canada, $3.00 per $4.50. and Mexico, $4.00. - Foreign, Subscription, annum. Subscribers can have addresses changed at will. : Change of advertising copy must reach this office on Thursday preceding date of publication, The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the Marine Review through the regular channels of the American News Co. European Agents, The International News Company, Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C., England. Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. February 11, 1909, A WARNING. The sale of the Boston Steamship Co.'s liners Shawmut and Tremont, to the United States government, to be used as transports in the Panama Canal service, matks the end of an- other disastrous attempt to opera{. a line of American steamers in the trans-Pacific trade in competition with foreign subsidized lines. For six years these splendid ships ran between Se- attle and the principal ports of call in Japan, China and the Philippines. But it was a losing game and had to be given up. The ships were not only left to fight out their existence without sub- sidy and with niggardly remuneration for their mail service, but even after they had secured -a contract to carry government freight to the Philippines they were never given but a small fraction of the business because the quartermaster's department of the army gave steady preference to for- THe Marine REVIEW which and tramp steamships into transports eign built were converted even went to the length of giving an occasional entire cargo to a for- eign tramp. The quartermaster's de- partment probably pursued this course en the of economy. And such far-sighted economy it is that drives the American merchant ships-- the only ones we can depend on in grounds time of war or stress--from the Pa- cific ocean! Japan is slowly and surely tighten- ing her grip on the marvelous com- merce of the orient and will be soon carrying all the freight to and from our own Philippines and Hawaii! Meanwhile we sit idly by and let our tonnage dwindle to nothing. The owners of the American mer- chant vessels are loyal, patriotic cit- izens but they cannot battle with the odds when, as in the case of the Shawmut enormous and against them, and Tremont, they are not only denied government aid but are actually forced to compete with the there is nothing left to do but to government, quit. Meanwhile the navy department continues to engage foreign ships to carry coal to the Pacific coast-- the last fixture was made a week ago --on such terms as leave the for- eigners free to prey on the rem- nant of American shipping left on the The partment says it cannot get Ameri- western ocean. navy de- can tonnage "at a reasonable price" for this But it at teast = could cease foreign service. sending bottoms to the Pacific to compete with American ships engaged in the general trade. All this on the grounds of econmy! with its billion dollar congresses, so poor that it can- Is our government, not afford to protect its own ship- ping where it is most needed? It is high time for America to wake up! Some fine day we will have a a teal war with a- first 'class the think we do not need a merchant marine war, power, and people who will learn a lesson they will never forget. It will be a lesson written in blood and its burden will be humil- iation. MARINE INSPECTION SERVICE BILL. The commission appointed by Presi. dent Roosevelt last May to examine the laws of the United States with a view to the better security of the lives of passengers and crews aboard vessels, have submitted their report to the pregj- dent and it has now been transmitted to congress. The commission consisted of Capt, Adolph Marix, chairman of the light- house board; Charles Earl, solicitor of the department of commerce and labor; Eugene Tyler Chamberlain, commissioner of navigation; George Uhler, superyis- ing inspector general of the steamboat inspection service, and Commander Wm, Strother Smith of the United States navy. The report of the commission is the result of extended In order inquiry. to put the matter upon an_ intelligent basis for congress to work upon, all acts which are now law and all necessary re- visions, together with new matter, were embodied in the form of a bill divided into six articles. The salaries of the fixed at $3,000 per annum and in order to get supervising inspectors are the best possible men for local inspectors their salaries have been advanced to $2,500 per annum in the most important districts and $2,000 in other districts. To relieve the inspectors of a great deal of work outside of the regular inspection. of vessels, eight examining boards are to be created for the purpose of examining and licensing officers of the merchant marine and to try cases of misconduct. Under the present sys- tem such cases are first investigated and the trials are then conducted by the same officials. It is proposed to make more _ vessels than not only to insure their being properly subject to inspection at present constructed and equipped but also that they may have on board regularly li- censed officers. All steam vessels and all motor boats carrying passengers for hire are to be subject to inspection. Also all other steam and motor vessels of more than 35 ft. between perpendiculars. It was considered advisable to make the meas- urements by length rather than by ton-