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at ; 476 THE MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO MARINE ENGINEERING, SHIP BUILDING AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES Published Monthly by The Penton Publishing Company Penton Building, Cleveland. CHICAGO - - - - - - - 1521-23 Lytton Bldg. CINCINNATI - 503 Mercantile Library Bldg. NEW YORK 507 West Street Bldg. PITTSBURGH 2148-49 Oliver Bldg. 206 Corcoran Bldg. Prince's Chambers WASHINGTON, D. C. - " C BIRMINGHAM, ENG. - - - 2 -- Subscription, $2 delivered free anywhere in the world. Single copies, 20 cents. Back numbers over three months, 50 cents. Change of advertising copy must reach this office on or before the first of each month. 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 Co., Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C., England. Entered at the Post Office -at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. (Copyright 1914, by Penton Publishing Company) subject. December, 1914 Pollution of Lake Waters The International Joint Waterways Commission is now considering the pollution of boundary waters and is making a tour of lake cities to investigate the The Commission some time ago, under the direction of Dr. Allan J. McLaughlin, made an ex- haustive study of the waters of the lakes from the head of the lakes to the outlet into the St. Lawrence river and while the main body was found to be pure, considerable pollution existed off the shores of the leading cities and in the connecting rivers. Obviously the great sources of pollution are the cities. Every city, village and hamlet pours its sewage untreated 'into the waters of the lakes. This process goes on 24 hours of the day and 365 days in the year. Viewed dispassionately, it is a sad commentary upon our intelligence that we have allowed countless tons of untreated sewage to be poured into our drinking sup- ply for generations. The time is, of course, coming when this dangerous practice will be stopped and it is hoped that the Commission will reach some definite conclusion on the subject. Incidentally the Commission is investigating the pollution caused to the water supply by vessel traffic. Dr. McLaughlin's report indicated that there was some slight pollution existing at certain points that could not be traced to any other source than the vessels themselves, as, for instance, in Whitefish bay. This pollution is obviously infinitesimal in comparison to the great pollution caused by the municipalities. The statistics gathered by the Steamboat Inspection Service show that about 15,000,000 persons travel on the Great Lakes during the navigable season. Their life on the water, however, is of a very brief duration THE MARINE REVIEW December, 1914 and probably would not average much over five or six hours per passenger, as one-half of this traffic is on the Detroit river, where the runs are brief. Grant- ing that each passenger is on the water for six hours, the figures would work out into a permanent popula- tion of about 12,000 persons. The lakes have a stretch of 1,000 miles and it can well be seen how little such a vast body of water would suffer were the pollution confined to such a source alone. In fact, "+t would not exist at all, because sunlight and fresh air would rectify it. It would accomplish no purpose whatever to compel the vessels to sterilize their sewage in retaining tanks before discharging it overboard. The representatives of the Lake Carriers' Associa- tion and the Dominion Marine Association discussed these points with the Commission during the present month and jointly assured the Commission that they would do all in their power to safeguard the public health, but they naturally felt that whatever they might do under conditions at present prevailing would be utterly lost. Regarding drinking supplies.aboard ship, the Com- mission was assured that the health of the crews is thoroughly safeguarded in that particular. Instruc- tions have been issued to all masters to fill their drink- ing tanks in the middle of the lake, preferably Lakes Huron and Superior, where Dr. Laughlin's report proves that the waters still retain their pristine purity. Lake Trade Elsewhere in this issue is published an account of the opening of the new canal and third lock on the American side at Sault Ste. Marie. This new lock is 1,350 feet long, or 350 feet longer than the great locks of the Panama canal. Looking back, it is astonishing that the commerce of the lakes should in such a brief space of time require sO enormous a chamber as this for its accommodation. Two steamers were locked down on the first down lockage carrying 23,000 tons of ore. Either of these two. steamers could have easily carried in their capacious holds not only the total annual commerce of Lake Superior of sixty years ago, but all of the vessels carrying it with plenty of room to spare. The first canal at Sault Ste. Marie was completed in 1855 and 1,449 tons of ore were moved during that year. Prior to that time only a few small vessels were trading on that lake and all ore was portaged at the Sault and transferred to vessels plying to lower lake ports. There are men identified with lake trade who saw the beginning of it in a commercial sense and its development since have certainly been very wonderful. It is doubtful if elsewhere in the world there. has been anything to equal it. The volume of business handled on the lakes annually during these latter years is equal to that handled in a decade in the earlier years. Natural- ly, such a wonderful increase coming so suddenly has brought its physical problems with it, but they have been magnificently handled and the equipment is such now that it can accommodate itself to very wide fluctuations. In fact, the physical equipment on the lakes has not been tested to its full capacity. It has the surprising quality of extending itself, and efforts that formerly appeared to be herculean are now accomplished with ridiculous ease.