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134 these reserve compartments were prop- erly designed to provide a suitable ex- cess in reserve buoyancy, several of them could be laid open to the sea, through damage, without reducing the reserve buoyancy to such an extent:as to per- mit the sinking of the dock; and no ' drainage system would be necessary -for THE MARINE REVIEW them. I think the comparatively small additional cost of such a construction would be amply justified by the great gain in safety and the insurance against accidental sinking. "In conclusion I wish to state that, on the whole, I think the Dewey a very well designed and efficient dock April, 1912 and I would not advocate any radical changes in future designs except to provide reserve buoyancy compartments as outlined above. There are, of course, some minor points where improvements might be made, but these are not of sufficient. importance to be considered here." ' The Lake Season of 1912 _ It is Expected that. the Season Will Recoup the Losses of -- 191]--Hall I nsurance--Dock Charges--I ndictments Quashed portance happened in lake circles dur- f@c tthe past month, and indica- tions are that the year 1912 will re- coup the losses of 1911. Navigation will officially open on April 15, when the insurance rates become operative, but practically it will not open until May 1. The rivers are still filled. with ice and the inde- pendent vessel owners are not eager i (an .cafly§ siatt.. The later ime tact, ,the brisker. will. be the season. Considerable ore has already been sold, the buying being stimulated, of course, by the extremely low prices which work out at a reduc- tion of 75 cents for old range and Mesabi Bessemer and 65 cents for old range and Mesabi non-Bessemer from last year's prices, making old range Bessemer $3.75, Mesabi Bessemer $3.50, old range non-Bessemer $3.05 and Me- sabi non-Bessemer $2.85. Furnacemen, confident that prices could not go lower, have been liberal buyers. In fact, it is doubtful if this scale of low prices will obtain much longer, as_ shippers are already exhibiting some reluctance to sell at these figures. These prices are lower than any that have obtained since 1904 and will result in sending more lake ore east of the Alleghenies than ever before. Corrigan, McKinley :& Co. early in the month announced that they had contracted for tonnage to move 1,000,- 000 tons of ore at 40 cents from the head of the lakes, a reduction of 5 cents. from last season's rate. The lead- ing vessel interests all denied that they had taken any of this ore and Corrigan, McKinney & Co. declined to divulge the names of the contracting parties. The trade was somewhat skeptical about this news at first, but subsequent devel- ANY things of im- opments tend to prove that the tonnage has actually been covered at these fig- ures. It is quite easy 'to see wherein an owner of a bonded vessel who had been without any business to speak of for nearly two years, would tie up his tonnage at a figure that would insure, ai any rate, the interest on his bonds, if nothing else. It is even intimated that continuing contracts have been made on this basis, covering a period of three or Tour. years. On the other hand, about 100.- OOO tote. nas ~ been. placed at 45. cents, atid some of . the' ves- sel men say that they will run wild rather than take less. -The unloading charge will also be reduced. Last year the vessel paid 15 cents per ton for un- loading and it is expected that this year the charge will be 10 cents a ton. Some effort has been made to establish the unloading charge at even a lower figure but some of: the less modern docks claim that they cannot operate profit- ably at a lower figure. Should the un- loading charge be fixed at 10 cents, as is likely, the rate from the head of the lakes will be 55 cents during 1912. In order to reduce expenses a number of the lake fleets have been operating without insurance during the past few years. G. "Ace Tomlinson,::of Duluth, has now added his fleet to this class arid will operate 14 setamers with- out insurance during the coming season. Six steamers of the Acme Transit Co. will also operate without insurance dur- ing the season. The other companies that carry. their own insurance are the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Great Lakes Steamship Co., Wilson Transit Co. and the Cleveland Steamship Co. Underwriters have fixed the rates for hull insurance for the season of 1912. To begin with the valuation of the vessels has been reduced from $53.50 to $51.00 per gross ton, a reduction of $2.50, which means a saving of "4 of 1 per cent. The underwriters have also been persuaded to create a preferred ciass of tonnage which have been given a reduction of % of 1 per cent over the rate of last year or 534 per cent. For vessels not in the preferred class the rate will be the same as last: year, or 534 per cent, though of course they will have the benefit of the reduction in valuation. The preferred list has not as yet been announced and vessel owners are naturally looking forward to it quite anxiously. These insurance rates have been brought about by the efforts of 'the Great Lakes Protective Association to minimize the dangers of navigation on the lakes. No change was made in the' insurance _ season, which will begin on April 15 and end Nov. 30. Lake Erie docks heid a balance of 9,131,664 gross tons of ore on Dec. 1 last. Since that time 2,098,739 tons have gone forward to furnaces, leaving a balance on dock as of: April 1 of 7,- 032,925 tons. Lake 'Erie' docks held a balance of 6,687,325 tons' on May 1, 1911, and as the movement has been brisker this year than last, it is expected that there will be considerably less ore on dock May '1 than there was at that Mme tast year. In 'fact, it would net .be surprising if the docks held 750,000 tens less than last year as the move- ment to furnaces has increased mater- lally of late, some of the docks work- ing to their 'full 'capacity.' On' the other hand, shipments from upper lake ports are not expected to begin until May 1. It may be later than that be- fore the fleet actually gets under way. During the month indictments re- turned against Dan R. Hanna and R. L. Ireland of the firm of M. A. Hanna & Co., and D. T. McCabe, of the Penn- sylvania railway, for rebating ore-hand- ling charges at Lake Erie docks, were quashed. Fines, however, were imposed upon railways and dock companies as follows: Pennsylvania Co., Te bating and $10,000 rebate, total $30,000. $20,000 for for conspiracy to