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310 she had steam up and was practically ready to go in commission. It is re- ported that she furnished a spectacu- lar launching. * * * The fourth lock at the Soo will be opened in July, it is announced. S. B.: Harding, who has charge of the elec- trical installation, recently inspected the work. ee Repairs to the steamer W.. GRANT Morven which was drydocked at Port HAT a few shipbuilders on the north Pacific view the future of : the industry with some concern is indicated by the prediction made that the yards at Portland, Oreg.,. will be closed by next November. This statement was made by J. R. Bowles, president of the Northwest Steel Co., Portland, Oreg., at a conference recent- ly held at Portland upon call of Mayor George Baker, who asked the ship- builders to get together with the idea of insuring the future of the indus- try. Mr. Bowles called attention to the gravity of the unemployment situation, stating that his firm will begin to dis- charge employes in June, continuing un- til October when he expects operations to cease. From 30,000 to 50,000 men, he said; will be thrown out of work in Portland alone 'and other coast cities will face the same conditions. Cancel- lation of government contracts "with autocratic rules which make it impos- sible for us to obtain foreign contracts," was the reason assigned by Mr. Bowles for this sudden cessation of work. The first wooden yard on Puget sound to close is the Allen plant at Seattle, which has launched three hulls for the ship- ping board, One of these has been fitted as a steamship and the other two are to be completed as barges. * * 2K Labor troubles are again threatening in Puget sound waterfront circles. Longshoremen at Seattle are insisting on the closed shop while employers have refused to hire the men at the union halls. Work has been delayed on several Oriental liners, one having been diverted to Tacoma, Wash., as the result. When Director General Walker D. Hines, of the railroad administra- tion, was in Seattle recently, the union longshoremen appealed to him to re- verse the order establishing the open shop on railroad piers. It was this rul- ing which precipitated the present con- troversy. ek & In Lake Union, a fresh water body within the city limits' of Seattle, are anchored 14 wooden hulls built for the shipping board. Only two of these hulls have engines installed and they may be placed in service. The others are awaiting disposition. So large is this fleet of idle vessels becoming that it has suggested the famous expression _ "Bridge of ships" which will shortly bridge the little lake. Lake Union is connected with Puget sound by the THE MARINE REVIEW Arthur, Ont., cost approximately $25,000. Fifteen plates were removed and 12. faired in place. ' eo 8 The steamer Maraara got beyond control and hit the pier at Two Har- recently. or a tea pipe and damaged two plates. She was taken to. the Su- perior shipyard for repairs which were immediately begun. © ek wrecking equipment of The the I RR and Down the Pacific > sun ee ee eee ec nr Lake Washington locks, completed about two years ago. It is an_ ideal water basin for idle vessels. The shipping board is planning to double the num- ber of hulls, some being towed from the Columbia river and Grays Harbor to the local storage basin. * * * The Belgian motor schooner Gasy, completed months ago at Grays Har- bor, Wash., for the Belgian government, is unable to put to sea because of a controversy with the county authorities who have assessed a county tax of $1,794.75 against the vessel. The own- ers contend that this is an unjust charge and they are contesting it in the courts. A counter claim against the county for $8,050 damages and $350 per day de- murrage has been made. The case is of interest as the court's decision will likely establish a precedent. He It has been estimated that the steel _ shipyards of Puget sound expended $28,000,000 last year for steel plates and freight on ship material. These facts have been presented as an additional argument why a steel plant should be established at a north Pacific point. For several years, there have been rumors that such an industry would be cen- tered there and it is known -that various groups of capitalists have made investi- gation. With ore in abundance in Brit- ish Columbia and ample coal supplies, it is pointed out that this is a logical location for such an industry. The: fu- ture of shipbuilding would be assured, it is believed, were a steel plant estab- lished. oe ok The wooden steamship BROOKDALE, recently completed at Grays Harbor for the shipping board is to be remodeled and used as a training ship for seamen apprentices. The BrooxpaLe is now at Seattle and will soon undergo extensive changes. It is intended to make -oft- shore cruises to Alaska and the Ha- waiian islands. eh ok The Todd Dry Docks, Inc, repair plant on Harbor island, Seattle, has been in successful operation for sev- eral months. It has been busy during the past month. The three drydocks have been in constant use. General re- pair work, combined with work for the shipping board has crowded the plant's capacity. Several 7500-ton steel vessels, She broke one of her. June, 1919 Great Lakes Towing Co.'s wrecking steamer Favorite, which recently was placed in commission, includes a com. plete oxyacetylene welding and cut. ting outfit. The use of this equip. ment for wrecking purposes is com- paratively new but it will be employed in making repairs by welding and in cutting out rivets, broken plates, ete, Tanks containing acetylene gas and oxygen were furnished by the Linde Air Products Co., New York, to be filled at the various supply depots at Great Lakes' ports. oast ML launched by the Todd yards, Tacoma, Wash., are being completed at the Seat- tle yard. | ce eo etm The Ames Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Seattle, has begun the construc- tion of the first unit of its 18,000-ton drydock which it will locate adjacent to the company's shipbuilding plant in the West waterway. The dock will be built of wood in six pontoon sections, each unit to take more than 1,000,000 feet of lumber. It is expected to have the dock completed by the end of the present year which will give Seattle the best drydock capacity and facilities of any north Pacific port. The Todd Dry Docks, Inc., has three large docks in operation, Skinner & Eddy Corp., one large dock, and the Heffernan Dry Dock Co. one, all of which have been taxed to capacity for many months. * * 2 According to the official report of the investigation of the wreck of. the Ca- nadian Pacific steamship PriNceEss SOPHIA, which was lost between Skag- way and Juneau, Alaska, last October with an appalling loss of life, the mas- ter of the vessel was not under restraint from his owners as to his decisions with respect to sending the passengers ashore. The investigators assume that he used his best judgment in keeping passengers and crew aboard believing that the ship's position was secure and that there was no immediate danger. * * * Rather a novel experiment is to be attempted by Alaska with the passage by the territorial house of representa- tives of a bill authorizing Alaska to en- ter the steamship business with char- tered vessels. An appropriation of $300,000 is made available for this pur- pose.- A thorough investigation of con- ditions is to be made before definite action is taken by the commission m charge, of which the governor is made secretary-treasurer. For a long time Alaskans have complained of poor steamship service which the _ private operators state is due to poor business and low freights. * *K * The Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Co. Los Angeles, recently organize in that city as the result of community agitation of the necessity of direct con- nection with the Orient, is now booking freight for its first vessel from Los Angeles to the Far East. The WEST