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Up and Down the Great Lakes Illinois River Channel—Radiobeacons—Y ear-Round Service—Lake Levels—Ore Movement Less—Ship Auto Parts—Capt. Fick Dies N EMERGENCY appropriation A by congress soon is expected to start work early in January on the Illinois river channel link of the Great Lakes-Gulf waterway project. Following a recent conference be- tween Gov. L. L. Emmerson of Illi- nois and Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley it was announced that Illi- nois is ready to build 12 bridges with which the waterway project must be spanned. This is one of the features of the state’s part of the joint federal- state waterway agreement. A $22,500,000 deficiency bill is be- fore congress to supply funds for the waterway development, one item of which is for the Jllinois project. Illinois already has spent $20,000,000, and the Chicago sanitary district $70,000,000. The federal government, according to an agreement made in 1930, will complete the Lockport-Utica stretch in Illinois at a cost of $7,500.- 000. Engineers say the waterway project can be completed within two years. Haste was made in getting the work started at this season to provide re- lief for unemployment. Committees of the Chicago associa- tion of commerce have recommended the creation of a regional port com- mission, which would systematically map out Chicago’s harbor develop, ment in preparation for the opening of the Illinois waterways project. Operation of Radiobeacons With the closing of navigation’ on the Great Lakes, which will be virtu- ally complete by the end of December, the system of United States radio- beacons operated upon these lakes reached the point where all 29 sta- tions were automatically operated, ac- cording to the lighthouse service of the department of commerce. hes Vour-Round Service What is probably the first attempt in the history of shipping on the Great Lakes for a boat line to main- tain an all-year freight service was inaugurated recently by the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co. in a regu- lar daily freight trucking service from Cleveland to Detroit. At the begin- ning of the past season the Detroit & Cleveland line established a system of store-door delivery and pickup serv- 54 ice for the accommodation of shippers between Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo and Chicago. The success of this service induced the company to inau- gurate the daily trucking service be- tween Cleveland and Detroit. Prior to this year patrons were compelled to seek other means of transporting their freight from Detroit to Cleveland after the close of navigation. With this new development there will be no interruption in the freight service during the entire year. This will give employment to men and terminals which ordinarily would be _ idle through the winter months. November Lake Levels The United States Lake survey re- ports the monthly mean stages of the Great Lakes for the month of Novem- ber as follows: Feet above Lakes mean sea level SME DORFOT oa3 cessisichtes erteacss gua 602.50 Micghigan—Turone <.:,eiccivsisieccenccs ete 579.82 Bibs © PA eer ae esis ae koe Ro os 574.78 bog Co BOSS pat oA eae OR ale aa ea esta or rca 571.84 OMEAPIO§ ere ors easese seca ase 245.65 Lake Superior was 0.27 foot lower than in October and it was 0.27 foot lower than the November stage of a year ago. Lakes Michigan-Huron were 0.54 foot lower than in October and they were 1.34 feet lower than the Novem- ber stage of a year ago. Lake Erie was 0.45 foot lower than in October and it was 0.95 foot lower than the November stage of a year ago. Lake Ontario was 0.59 foot lower than in October and it was 1.01 feet lower than the November stage of a year ago, 0.53 foot above the average stage of November of the last ten years. Movement of Ore Decreases The total movement of iron ore on the Great Lakes for the 1930 season amounted to 46,582,982 tons according to the Lake Superior Iron Ore asso- ciation. This is a decrease from the movement in 1929 of 18,621,618 tons or 28.56 per cent. The season’s total for this year is the smallest since 1924 when 42,623,572 tons were moved. The shipments of ore for November this year reached a total of 1,987,688 tons, a decrease of 1,953,836 tons or 49.57 per cent over the November total of last year which was 3,941,524 MARINE REVIEw—January, 1931 tons. The all rail movement of ore for 1930 is expected to be 650,000 tons as compared with 961,764 tons last year. Shipments of Auto Parts Shipments of automotive parts from the Ford plants in Michigan by boat to the new dock of the Ford Mo- © tor Co. at Torrence avenue, in the Calumet river, Chicago district, were started late in the 1930 navigation season. These shipments acted as a stimu- lus to harbor development for Chi- cago, as they awakened possibilities of an industrial harbor in Lake Calu- met, which is several miles from the outer harbor. The Ford shipments included 8800 motors, 20,000 axles, and many other parts. Most of these parts were used in the Ford assembly plant in the Chicago district, while the remainder were shipped by rail from Chicago to Des Moines, Indian- apolis, Milwaukee and other points. The Ford dock, which is 570 feet long, was not used to any great extent dur- — ing the last navigation season, partly as a result of the slow automotive de- mand during the past year. Lake Captain Dies Captain F. Allen Fick, one: of the ~ best known and most picturesque — characters on the Great Lakes, died at — his home in Cleveland, Dec. 11. a Captain Fick was born at Port — Rowen, Ont., March 23, 1844. He began sailing at the age of 12 and was mas- ter of a little 90-ton schooner at the age of 17. He was with the Tomlin- son fleet for a number of years, during which he brought out the Sonora, the SINABLOA, and the JAMES E. DAvmpsoN. Captain Fick saved many lives dur- ing two ship disasters. This occurred when the steamer Kasora was cut in two when struck by the passenger boat Ciry oF Detrorr in July 1890 and also when the steamer Frepora of which he was part owner caught fire. Captain Fick was a second cousil of Thomas A. Edison and knew in timately President Grover Cleveland, Admiral George Dewey, Senator Mal- cus A. Hanna, and included Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth and .,Ethel Barrymore among his friends. Capt. Fick is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary Thornton Fick.