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~ May, 1919 Isherwood system. Steam turbines de- velop electric current which is carried to two 350-horsepower motors directly connected to the single propeller shaft, giving the tankers speed of 11 knots, loaded. + sa Enormous increase in the importation cf coffee through New Orleans is re- ported for March. Nearly 400,000 bags were brought in late in that month by four steamers, all American owned and 7 } ee ECISION of the regular Alaska steamship lines to raise the pas- senger fares between Seattle and the "North 40: 3% 'eents. a. anile has prompted Gov. Thomas Riggs Jr., executive of Alaska, to propose the establishment of, a government line. Governor Riggs urges the Alaska legis- lature to take steps to bring this about. The plan is to charter and operate four government vessels on the various Alas- ka routes. <A bill has been introduced providing for an Alaska shipping board for the purpose of operating one vessel to Nome, two to southwestern and two to southeastern Alaskan ports. For some time there has been dissatisfac- tion over service to Alaska. - The oper- ating companies have contended that Alaskan rates had not risen in pro- portion to other routes. The war par- tially depopulated the northern terri- tory resulting in decreased business. On the other hand the remaining resi- dents have complained until now the 0 territorial government proposes to meet the situation in the novel method out- lined. The increase in passenger rates amounts to about 20 per cent. * * K Following many requests, the ship- ping board has finally assigned tonnage to the Puget sound-Hawaiian route, three new steel steamers having been allocated to this service. Puget sound shippers are hoping for regular service as there 'is a. large trade with the islands. This -has been almost all cut _ off during the last two years owing to the withdrawal of vessels. Resumption of service with Siberia is also prom- ised, three large new steel steamers having been assigned to this trade. Likewise the shipping board has allo- cated four new vessels for the freight- ing of flour from Puget sound to At- lantic ports. | : ee With the resumption of work at the shipyards, deliveries of government ves- sels are again being. made and assign- ments have toned up the shipping sit- uation in the Pacific Northwest. Sev- eral large repair jobs, which were de- layed because. of the strike, are now well under way. One of these is the 'steamship ApMIRAL WatTsoNn, which was idle during the time the strike was in effect. The vessel was sent to Brit- ish Columbia for repairs but the work- men on the other side refused to touch the hull and it was towed back to Seattle when the yards opened. + ee : Although the wood yards of .Wash- ington are in position to accept for- eign contracts, none has been awarded as far as known. Inasmuch as the SUNN while the "ment as soon as the regular THE MARINE REVIEW operated. PAWNEE brought 84,380 bags; AMESLAND, 87,089; Epwarp Pierce, 83,- 942, and WinnesBaco, 90,000. * * * The board of commissioners of the port of New Orleans expended on the industrial canal and on harbor improve- ments and upkeep nearly $13,000,000 during 1918, according to report filed recently by the secretary. The board received, from all sources, $12,133,543.78, shipping board has cancelled a number of contracts, the yards are operating with reduced forces and the future of the industry appears to be in doubt. On the other hand, British Columbia yards are busy with foreign contracts, a recent survey of those plants indi- cating that they have 62 contracts for wooden steamers and sailing vessels for French, Belgian and Norwegian owners. * K * Residents .of Alaska will miss the steamship Humsotpt which has_ been withdrawn from northern service, sold and placed on the run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This famous vessel was known as the "gold ship" of the North, having brought millions im dust' to. Seattle, She has made approximately 600 round voyages be- tween Seattle and Skaguay and _ has been famous for her good fortune in escaping mishap. + ae The first wooden vessel launched following the strike was the CAPRARIA from the Meacham & Babcock yards, ELpENA was the' first steel hull, she having been built at Skinner & Eddy yard No. 2. The Meacham & Babcock yard is in the hands of .a temporary receiver, W. C. Dawson, a well known shipping man of Seattle, _ having been named to manage the affairs of the company. Q Ke oe With the withdrawal from the Philippine service of three steamers of the Matson Navigation Co. and _ their return to the run between San Fran- cisco and 'Honolulu, the company finds that there is little further need of the wooden steamers of the United States shipping board, which have been hand- ling the movement of sugar from the Hawaiian islands to the Pacific coast. Arrangements have been made to turn the wooden boats back to the govern- Matson liners LurtineE, Manca and MHyapes return to their. former runs to the islands. These three vessels, together with the ENTERPRISE, which is already in' this service, are able to carry as much cargo as_ the wooden steamers and it is expected - that nothing will be lost in the quan- tity of freight transported. The _ ship- ping board steamers slated to be re- leased. from the San _ Francisco-Hono- lulu. service are the BLYTHESDALE, Betpinc, NrpoLELA, YAKI. YAKIMA, NEEOLAH, Forster, WAKANNA, ANOKA and CuHimo. It is not known, as yet, what disposition the gpvernment in- tends to make of the released écraft. The Matson company will still retain whole. fleet of -MTIRAL EvANs 259 and paid out $12,709,364.89. In other words, the cost of operation and de- velopment of these utilities exceeded the income of the board by $131,304.35. All of the loss came from the operation of the wharves, supposedly due to lack of shipping during the war. The cot- ton compress and warehouse, and the big grain elevators, however, showed good profits, while the industrial canal called for an expenditure of $5,401,- 629.50 of the total. ; Df fe oo versitile tae some of the government steamers until such time as the movement of troops across the Atlantic permits the release of the company's liners Marsonta, Mavi and WILHELMINA, now in. that service, * OK Ox A fleet of 20 wooden steamers has been allocated to the Charles R. Mc- Cormick Lumber Co., San _ Francisco, for transporting ties to the Atlantic coast. The vessels will move a total of 28,000,000 feet of material through the canal and up the Atlantic coast. The last shipment is to be on its way east by August. The ties are for the use of the railroad .administration. It is re- ported that five wooden steamers are to be allocated to the food administra- tion for the movement of flour, as a test _ of the vessels for this sort of. service. | Ok Re The $10,000 bet' won by the' Fore River shipyard employes, Quincy, Mass., from the Union Iron Works, San Fran- cisco, was paid March 14. The wager was that the -Fore River men could 'turn out more destroyers in 1918 than could the. Pacific coast plant. The eastern plant won, 18 to 6. AGH Oke The 5500-ton steel freighter DetistE was launched by the Hanlon Ship- building & Drydock Co., Oakland, Cal., recently. * Her, tail. shaft was not in place, but this will be installed when the vessel is placed in drydock for final painting. ee ok - Maintaining the pace of turning a completed steel hull off the ways once a month, the Schaw-Batcher shipyards in South San Francisco, Cal., launched the 8800-ton freighter West ALeETa re- cently. The West Cactus was launched April 12. During the past five months, the plant has been turning out vessels for the Emergency Fleet corporation at 1ecord speed. The West Atcoz was launched Feb. 25... The West Vaca, which was launched Noy. 3, got away on her maiden. voyage to the Orient under the management of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. on March 30. Oa oe eee The Pacific Steamship Co. has sold ~ out passenger accommodations' for | the next two months on all vessels of its. fleet available for service to Alaska. The steamers ApmiraL Watson, Ap- and ApmirAL KNIGHT are all to be overhauled preparatory to resuming operations to the north and the ApMrIRAL SepreE will be put in this service upon her return from the At- lantic.