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of the United States district court at Milwaukee, the steamer CHRIS- TOPHER was held at fault for the loss of the wooden steamer TorEKA on Aug. 15, 1916. These vessels were in colli- sion on the Canadian side in the Detroit river near Mullen’s coal dock. TopPEKA sank to the bottom. As the wreck was an obstruction to navigation, the Lake Shore Stone Co., Milwaukee, owner of TopekA, was obliged to remove the hull. A damage suit for $150,000 was filed by the Lake Shore Stone Co. against the Christopher Steamship Co., owner of CHRISTOPHER. It.is reported that a commissioner will be appointed by Judge Geiger to fix the amount of damages to be paid. & a recent decision by Judge Geiger, Peg: ae John Marron, Cleveland, agent for the Great Lakes Transit Corporation, died at his home in Cleveland recently after a brief illness. Mr. Marron was formerly a member of the firm of Farasey & Marron, steamboat agents, and later agent for the Anchor _ line. When the Great Lakes Transit Corpo- ration was formed in 1916, Mr. Marron was appointed Cleveland agent. be ok * Ice conditions at Buffalo early in Feb- ruary made it difficult for tugs to shift vessels to and from the grain elevators. Owing to the increased demand for ex- port grain, tugs have been struggling during the severe weather to shift ves- sels with as little delay as possible. There is still a large amount of storage grain at that port to be unloaded before April 1 k * * James Falconer, chief engineer of the steamer WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE, of the Richardson fleet, died at his home in Cleveland, Feb. 1. Mr. Falconer had been connected with the Richardson fleet for about 20 years. He was 63 years old and is survived by Mrs. Fal- coner and two sons, Timothy and Ira, who are both engineers in the Richard- son fleet. KS ok OF The lake steamer Maryann, former- ly owned by the Milwaukee-Western Steamship Co., which was sold to coast interests last year, foundered Dec. 26, 1916, about 389 miles east of Sandy Hook. She was enroute from Philadel- phia to London with a cargo of miscel- laneous merchandise. MaryLANp was owned by the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railway Co. oe J. M. Clifford, formerly agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad at its ore dock at Escanaba, Mich., died recently at Green Bay, Wis. Mr. Clif- What's Doing and Who's Doing It 000000 ford had been in charge of the Escanaba dock for many years and was. well known by lake vessel men and masters. eae Great interest is manifested in the pool tournament for the Sheadle cup which opened Feb. 5. This tournament is open to members of the welfare plan of the Lake Carriers’ Association and is being conducted by Richard Harrison, traveling commissioner for the asso- ciation. Oe eee Extensive plans have been made for the improvement of Lorain harbor next season. ‘The rivers and harbors bill provides $18,000 for the extension of the west breakwater to the shore line, and the city council of Lorain recently appropriated $3,000 for the same pur- pose. An additional appropriation by the council of $18,000 for the widening and redredging of Black river is pend- ing. The proposed changes include the removal of the B. & O. ore-unloading plant from its present location to a site on made river-front land south of the Nickel Plate railroad bridge, the erec- tion of a new coal wunloader by the B. & O. railroad and the straightening of the Black river channel south of the Erie avenue bridge by dredging away the west bank of the stream. Pe eee Lieut. Eben Barker, who has been in charge of the United States coast guard at the Soo for the past two years, has been transferred to San Juan, Rico. He will be succeeded by Lieut. E. S. Eddison, who has been in charge of the cutter ITAsca at San Juan. He ek The car ferry MICHIGAN CENTRAL has been sold by the Kelley Island Lime & Transport Co. to Chicago interests. The steamer is now undergoing repairs. Ee ok * Capt. Charles B. Galton, master of the steamer Witt1AM C. AGNEW, will bring out the new 600-foot freighter building for the Buffalo Steamship Co. This steamer will be launched in March. * * bs Capt. John Babbitt, Lorain, master of the steamer Wit11Am LivINGSTONE, has been appointed shore captain of the Richardson fleet. Captain Babbitt is well known as a successful navigator, and has been in command of vessels of the Richardson fleet for a number of years. * ok x Murray M. Duncan, general manager of the Cleveland- Cliffs Iron Co., has been elected vice president of that com- pany, to succeed the late Jasper H. 116 _ Steamship Co., Porto. eee il ‘all at Lake Ports Sheadle. Mr. Duncan will retain the duties of general manager, with offices at Marquette. * x John C. Fitzpatrick, formerly a Cleve- land vessel owner, who was associated with Capt. John Mitchell, died recently at Chicago. He was 68 years old. oR William L. Leng, Sheboygan, Wis., fleet engineer for the North American died suddenly of pneu- monia at Cleveland on Feb. 5. Mr. Leng was chief engineer on the steamer Joun P. Rerss during 1916. eke O. C. Tyson, for many years ship- yard foreman at the Lorain plant of the American Ship Building Co., has been appointed chief electrician to suc- ceed A. B. Walton, who recently re- signed. et ee The steamer Pontiac, of the Cleve- land-Cliffs Iron Co.’s_ fleet, and the steamer REPUBLIC, owned by the Repub- lic Iron Co., M. A. Hanna & Co., man- agers, have been taken over by the Crescent Transit Co. and will be oper- ated by W. C. Richardson & Co. during 1917. These vessels have been engaged in the ore trade on the Great Lakes more than 25 years, and have a com- bined carrying capacity of approximately 8,000 gross tons. On the Chesapeake By Hollis F. Bennett The Spedden Ship Building Co. has about completed alterations to the sea- going tug DorotrHy F. Wacker. She was formerly the menhaden fishing tug of the same name. The same company launched the tug Gypsum Prince for the J. B. King Transportation Co., New York. Gypsum Prince broke loose from her launching ways and _ prematurely launched herself. No one was injured. OR Ok ; The American-Hawaiian Steamship lowan made an 18-day record run from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore. | 3K xk K Capt. W. J. Quillen and others of Bethel, Del., have purchased the strand- ed wreck of the American four-masted schooner’ Massasoit. She lies on the beach, just north of Cape Charles, Va. The new owners will float and rebuild the vessel. * * x There are 10 wooden vessels under construction in Baltimore and 14 on the Chesapeake bay. The work is di- vided as follows: Coastwise Ship Build-