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December, 1913 Large Boiler for Panama The Newburgh Steam Boiler Works, Newburgh, N. Y., recently shipped a large boiler of interesting construction to the Isthmian Canal Cotamiussion at Panama. = Phe ac: companying photograph shows Mer- ritt & Chapman's 100-ton lighter lift- ing the boiler aboard ship. The boiler was 15 ft, diameter by 14° it lone THE MARINE REVIEW Order in Waterways Improvements By G. Hatton* "Order 18 God's first law!" --Diae so palpable a truth should have been so long ignored by the governmental wisdom of as great a country as the United States in the appropriation and expenditure of the millions of money applied to the improvement and maintenance of its great natural LOADING A 90-TON BOILER FOR THE ISTHMIAN with three furnaces and built for 180 Ibs. steam working pressure under Lloyds requirements. The boiler weighed about 60 tons, and as this was in excess of the steamer's cranes, the loading derrick of Merritt & Chap- man was used to hoist it on board. The boiler was too large to be low- ered through the steamer's hatches and had, therefore, to be carried on deck. As no dock equipment existed on the Isthmus capable of handling such a weight, the tube holes, fur- naces and steam outlets were plugged and the boiler was rolled from the deck to the steamer into the sea where it was towed ashore. Lake Erie Ore Receipts Out of a total shipment of 6,521,884 tons of iron ore during October, 5,220,673 tons came to Lake Erie ports, distributed as follows: t Gross tons. Bunels Be hie bie ain cs ar ore a cena > 692,362 Pie is be eas SG aaa ate 136,397 Conneaute ut. ase wee es 1,166,031 Achtabitlac 14.0 acess oo ve 1,035,970 Painporte olga eo cle mi ents 136,319 @leveland. 4 ees vite crs 1,213,532 TlOrai nh 2 es eee be hae ane eee 468,448 PA GTOW oo Le es es ba eee 112,140 Cushy oh eos aa raigaiet es Toledo De 160,018 Meteo. a ee 99,456 TE OLA ees Oo ss ee lean ker 5,220,673 The steamer I. W. Nicholas, strand- ed at North Point, Lake Huron, has been abandoned as a constructive to- tal loss. CANAL COMMISSION waterways, seems incredible; and yet, such was the fact until the National Rivers and Harbors Congress had for some years conducted its cam- paign of education and enlisted an enlightened public sentiment and. co- operation in this worthy cause. Appropriations were made at ran- dom, rather than in strict accordance with well-matured, impartial and com- prehensive plans formulated by scien- tific and responsible experts. They were made according to the "pork bar- rel" method, and manipulation was often-times more potent than merit, in securing necessary appropriations for the all-important improvement of our waterways. Long intervals be- tween the appropriations was the pre- vailing custom and a river and harbor bill was introduced about every three years. Owing to the extent of our country and its great diversity of in- terests, the struggle of the different sections for recognition in these bills was terrific; envy, hatred, malice and all uncharitableness were engendered, and it is impossible for one unfamil- iar with the facts to appreciate the difficulties of such a situation. Work for which there was a partial appro- priation was commenced and some- -- times began to decay before another appropriation could be obtained to continue it, great loss frequently re- *Director National Rivers and Harbors Con- gress, Portsmouth, Va. 461 sulted and the delay was attended by many evils. The National Rivers and Harbors Congress was called into existence to correct these conditions. Its slogan: "A Policy and Not a Project," is pregnant with meaning. The cre- ation of a great national public sen- timent by means of mutual enlighten- ment and wider appreciation by the different sections of the country of ithe needs and endeavors of all other sections, was to be its method by which old conditions were to be made no longer possible. The supply of money for the improvement and main- tenance of our waterways was to be put on the same basis as other sup- plies for governmental needs, they were to be made annually, rather than tri- ennially, the "pork barrel" methods were to be eliminated, and business methods substituted; the framing of a river and harbor bill was to be- come a matter of important commer- cial concern, a matter of civil and 'mechanical, rather than political en- gineering. And there has already been so much of realization in the aspira- tions and hopes of this great organi- zation, that since 1910 we have had regular annual appropriations, some- thing of uniformity, symmetry and impartial recognition of merit has been introduced, the work has been given a scope and a comprehensive- ness never before known; the great importance of our waterways in the proper development of our commerce has been brought to the attention -of the public with a thoroughness never before attempted; the influence of our waterways upon freight rates has been manifested to the people at large and a wholesome information has been disseminated which can only be pro- ductive of great and good results as the problem of internal transportation becomes more difficult and more com- plex. Regularity and uniformity have come to be considered essential in the making of these appropriations, par- tizanship is giving way to principle and all of this has greatly encour- aged the army engineers in planning and executing the work. If The Na- tional Rivers and Harbors Congress, during the few years of its life has brought this about, surely no apology for its existence is necessary. On the middle Atlantic seaboard, the im- portance of this work has full appre- ciation. At this port (Norfolk and Ports- mouth, Va.), is located the largest na- val station in America, and it is rec- ognized as a place of the greatest stragetic importance from a naval standpoint. Naval experts, after care-