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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 ies once iiss aceees 73-74 Journal Bldg. BUFFALO. .... cscs ssse sense 932 Ellicott Sq. CHICAGO. .....0:0600+.-- 1328 Monadnock Blk. CINCINNATI....... First National Bank Bldg. NEW YORK........... 1005 West Street Bldg. PITTSBURG. 5.050 cles ss sess 510 Park Bldg. SEATILE. ......csccccers 302 Pioneer Bldg. Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. Subscription, U. S. and Mexico, $3.00 per annum. Canada, $4.00. Foreign, $4.50. 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 18, 1909. MARINE INSPECTION SERVICE BILL. Elsewhere in this issue will be found the text of the Miarine Inspec- tion Service bill in all of its essential details. alike to vessel owners and the crew A great point 'of interest aft is the provision for three watches in. the engineers' department on all runs of over forty-eight hours' dura- tion. This presumably includes the lakes on certain runs, though it is probably intended to apply to ocean- going runs' where the ship is actually in. the open sea over 48 hours. There is also a provision of great interest' 'to ithe forward crew which provides. that it will be unlawful for - the master of a seagoing vessel to permit ian officer to 'take charge of the deck watch immediately after leaving port who has not had at least four hours off duty before taking such watch. This would relieve the mate of watch duty when leaving port, if his time has 'been consumed in supervising Be: THE MarINE REVIEW loading and unloading operations in port. At any rate, these provisions are now undergoing voluminous dis- cussion by masters, mates and en- gineers. Naturally both ends of the ship look at the matter from their own point of view. Among the com- munications submitted to the Marine Inspection Commission was one from Marine En- pro- a lake member of the Association six-hour gineers' Beneficial testing against the present represented that at watch. It was such a port as Gary, for instance, where a 10,000-ton ship may enter, and discharge her cargo in six hours, the engineer can spend all this time clean- ing boilers and then stand his watch as the steamer leaves port, probably 'carrying steam in only one boiler while the other is undergoing finish- ing cleaning touches. It is claimed that the fact that the larger class of vessels now carry three engineers does not relieve the situation any, as the engineers below the of chief represent that the chief has simply taken advantage of the third engineer to ease his own labors. On the other hand, lake masters, while admitting that stretches crank the mate frequently has long of fatiguing labor to per- form, are frank to confess that they engine-room do mot see how the force can be overworked. They point to the fact that in running the rivers the master is continuously on duty. If a steamer has a tow it takes about -eighteen hours to go from Bar Point to Port Huron,. during which time the master is standing continuous watch, while the engine-room force is enjoying its regular periods of rest. Again, in fog which inay last for days together, the master is continually on watch while his ship is in motion. During this period the engine-room force can observe its regular habits, In other words they claim that it is only while in port that the hours of force the engine-room may be en- croached upon, while they may be en- -croached upon at all times forward. There are many, many provisions of the bill that will have to be amended or stricken out before it becomes a Undoubtedly 'time will be given to the many interests sensible measure. affected to discuss the provisions of the bill in committee. If passed in its present form it will do more mis- chief than good. It would certainly demoralize the motorboat industry, OCEAN MAIL BILL. The amendment to the Ocean Mail Act of 1891 is now pending in the house committee on post roads and post offices in the form in which it passed the senate on March 20th last, There is some talk of adding the 'bill to the post office appropriation bill during the present session. If passed there is no doubt whatever that it. will give a great impetus to the revyi- val of industry in this country as it will 'call for the immediate construc- tion of 'a number of ocean-going steamers. The amendment as it passed the senate is as. follows: AN AGT To amend the act of March. third, eighteen hundred and _ ninety-one, entitled. "An act to 'provide for ocean mail. service between the United States and foreign ports and to promote commerce." Be it enacted by the house of representatives of the United States senate and of America in 'congress s- sembled, That the postmaster-general. is hereby.authorized to pay for ocean- of March and ninety- mail service under the act third, one, in vessels of the second class eighteen hundred on routes to South America, to the, Philippines, to Japan, vo China and to Australasia, four thousand miles or more in length, outward voyage, at a rate per mile not exceeding the rate applicable to vessels of the first class as provided in said act, and in ves- sels of the third class on said routes, at a rate per mile not exceeding 'the rate applicable to vessels of 'the second class, as provided in said act: Provided, That if no contract is made under the provisions of this act. fof. a line of ships between a port on. the Atlantic coast south of Cape Charles and South American ports, the post- master-general shall, provided two of more lines are established from North Atlantic ports, require. that one of said lines shall, upon each outward and homeward voyage, touch at at least two ports on the Atlantic coast