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318 No great exception can be taken to the second clause of this section in the main. The qualifications of an able sea- man set forth therein are moderate, ex- cept in so far as the last proviso is con- cerned, viz., that no person will be con- sidered to be an able seaman unless he has passed an examination as to eye- sight, hearing and physical condition held under the rules prescribed by the department of commerce. It seems a pity that the United States authorities, in framing this act, should not have had more consideration for the law and practice of foreign nations. It has never been the practice of the British board of trade to require an eyesight test as a qualification for sea- “men, and the operation of this section practically itieans that all British sea- men must in future be made to obtain a certificate not only for sight and hearing but for general physical condition. This is not the place to. discuss the respec- tive merits of the American and the British practices in this respect. That the British practice of insisting only upon officers passing a test in eyesight is open to criticism goes without saying. But the point at issue is whether it is prudent on the part of any one nation to impose upon the remainder of the maritime interests of the world the ob- ligation of amending their regulations with respect to the qualification of the personnel of their vessels, for that. is what the effect of the said law will really amount to in such an important degree. Discipline By section 16 the punishment by im- prisonment for desertion of seamen from a foreign ship in a United States port will no longer be operative after the necessary period required in the notice to the foreign countries concerned. Desertion from British ships in United States ports has been for a long time a serious question for ship owners on this side. Such desertions have been fre- -quent in the past and have occasioned considerable inconvenience and expense. It is much to be regretted, therefore, that the United States authorities are no longer willing to punish such de- sertions by imprisonment—probably the _ most effective deterrent—and the result of the change will doubtless he to in- crease the number of desertions. It is too early to predict with any de- gree of certainty the full effect of the seamen’s act on the shipping of foreign nations, as only experience of its opera- tion will disclose the measure of its in- fluence. On the whole it may be taken as adversely prejudicial to the interests of British ship owners and is certainly not calculated to promote harmonious relations between the mercantile interests of Great Britain and the “powers that be” in the United States. THE MARINE REVIEW Tender for Lake Liners The growth of Great Lakes passenger and summer resort traffic has developed an interesting type of auxiliary or tender for the large lake liners. These craft, generally gasoline-powered, are used to transfer passengers and baggage between steamship piers and various hotel docks. The accompanying illus- tration shows a typical gasoline ferry- tender, Orrawa, operated by the Grand Rapids, Holland & Chicago electric rail- way in connection with the Graham & Morton Transportation Co. OTTAWA plies between a pier in Macatawa bay, GASOLINE FERRY OPERATED ON MACATAWA BAY, MICH. Mich., and various hotel landing-stages. ‘In addition to her regular traffic, she is also employed in general ferriage. She is 65 feet long with 1714-foot beam, has a carrying capacity of 170 pas- sengers and a speed of nine miles an hour. uly Lake Levels The United States lake survey reports the stages of the Great Lakes for the month of July, 1916, as follows: Lakes. Ft. above mean sea level. DUDEHOR Coes isa mane eis eRe 603.65 Michigans Huron: 1) acs. <ie aoe. wna ws 581.16 bers in Ceeei ace Oe NUp Cmcety Sen feat Es tN nS Brute SC Oca Ot 573.24 COMPATIOS Tate eae ee ee 247.93 Lake Superior is 0.17 foot higher than last month, 1.40 feet higher than a year ago, 1.25 feet above the average stage of July of the last ten years, 0.17 foot below the high stage of July, 1876, and 2.17 feet above the low stage of July, 1879. During the last ten years the July level has averaged 0.2 foot higher than the June level and 0.2 foot lower than the August. level. Lakes Michigan-Huron are 0.22 foot higher than'last month, 1.26 feet higher than a year ago, 0.29 foot above the average stage of July of the last ten years, 2.42 feet below the high stage of July; 1876, and 1.26 feet above the low stage of July, 1896. During the last ten’ years the July level has averaged ‘about: the same as the’ June level and September, 1916 about the same as the August level. Lake Erie is 0,02 foot lower than last — month, 1.20 feet higher than a year ago, 0.50 foot above the average stage of July of the last ten years, 1.17 feet be- low the high stage of July, 1876, and — 1.78 feet above the low stage of July, 1895. During the last 10 years the July level has averaged 0.1 foot lower than the June level and 0.1 foot higher than the August level. Lake Ontario is 0.07 foot higher than last month, 2.80 feet higher than a year ago, 116 feet above the average stage of July of the last 10 years, 0.79 foot below the high stage of July, 1862, and 3.34 feet above the low stage of July, the June level and 0.3. foot. higher than the August level. Cargo Handling (Concluded from page 304) used at some of the Atlantic coast terminals. Traveling and stationary cranes and the ship’s winch are used for the secondary movement of load- ing. , The author believes that on the ship should be at least two double winches for each hatchway, and suf- ficient booms for burtoning the load, simultaneously, either upon the shore or lighters. The quay or piers should be equipped with traveling gantry jib cranes, one for each 100 feet of lineal frontage, spanning two or three rail- way tracks between the shed and the quay wall. Within the shed there should be overhead movable cross tracks con- necting with fixed side tracks, so as to assort and distribute the freight and to serve every cubic foot cf space by a continuous succession of movements, without rehandling or using floor space; and, also, so as to afford a short path across the shed from the vessel on: one side of the pier to another vessel on the other side. The freight should pe moved without congestion or delay, by bur- toning between the hooks of the gantry cranes or of the ship’s winches and the hooks of the traveling hoists. Freight should be transferred be- tween the shed. and any floor of a warehouse by one direct movement of the gantry cranes. In order to secure the greatest rapidity and eco- nomy in freight movements, the de- .sign of ships and the plan and layout of the elements of terminals should receivé careful co-operative study. For bulk material, the mechanism should be able to reclaim as_ well as store, and to distribute at a con- siderable distance from the quay walls.