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Sophia Steinbrenner Dies, Long Active in Shipping Mrs. Sophia Steinbrenner, 79, presi- dent of the Kinsman Transit Co., died suddenly at her home in Cleveland, Dec. 12. She was the daughter of Philip and Anna C. Minch, who came to this country from Germany in 1840, and settled at Vermilion, O. Her father became interested in lake ship- ping and in 1842 started the forerun- ner of the present fleet. Capt. Philip Minch died in 1887, and his widow continued to manage the fleet until her death in 1905, when Henry Steinbrenner, who had married their daughter, became manager. Henry Steinbrenner died in 1929, and since then the company has been man- aged by his son, George M. Stein- brenner. Throughout her long life Mrs. Steinbrenner was intimately associated with lake shipping. AS a girl she spent much time aboard her father’s vessels. She retained until the very end her active interest and participa- tion in shipping affairs, and seldom missed an annual trip on the lakes. Many interesting and some tragic incidents in connection with lake ship- ping are associated with her career. In 1884 the large schooner SopHIA MINcH, named for her by her father, was blown ashore during a gale at Cleveland. Many Clevelanders still remember the heroic endeavors to stop the schooner from becoming beached. At a time when steel vessels were first projected for the lakes, Mrs. Stein- brenner’s mother built the big steamer WESTERN RESERVE. On Lake Superior, Aug. 30, 1892, this vessel broke in two, and all on board, save one man, were lost. Her brother, Capt. Peter Minch and his family were lost in the disas- ter. Again, on Lake Superior, Sept. 15, 1915, the steamer Onoko sank with no loss of life. This vessel was espe- cially significant in the development of lake shipping. Built for Mrs. Stein- brenner’s father in 1882, the ONoKO was the first iron vessel of the present type bulk cargo carrier to sail the lakes. Vessels and schooners which have comprised the fleet in the past are as follows: Schooners and Wooden Steamers Schooners, LINDEN, C. J. RorpER, BurR- TON Parsons, J. W. NICHOLAS, CHARLES P. MincH, Emma C. Cowen, H. J. WEBB, SAMUEL MatTHer, Frep <A. MorssE, GEORGE H. WARMINGTON, SOPHIA MincH, ABERDEEN, and DUNDEE. Steamers, JOHN N. Guippen, A. Ev- ERETT, WILLIAM CHISHOLM, J. H. Drv- EREAUX, PuHiItIp Mincu, Horace A. TUTTLE, and J. H. WADE. Steam Steel Vessels ONOKO, WESTERN RESERVE, I. W. NicHoLAs, and ANNA C. MINCH. The present fleet of today consists of the following Kinsman Transit Co. vessels: Grorce M. Humpurey, Harry L. Frnpuay, WORRELL CLARKSON, PHILIP MincuH, and Henry STEINBRENNER. The steamers George M. HUMPHREY and WoRRELL CLARKSON are 600-foot vessels, and are among the largest on the lakes. Coal Movement Up Coal shipments from Lake Erie ports for the season of 1933 are sub- stantially greater than those for 1932 and are somewhat in excess of those for 1931. The falling off in ship- ping toward the end of the season is reflected in the weekly average for the four weeks beginning Noy. 20 and ending Dec. 18 which was 402,122 tons. The total cargo movement in coal for the present season up to Dec. 18 amounted to 31,255,689 tons as com- pared with 24,482,871 tons for the corresponding period in 1932. This is for cargo coal alone. In addition to cargo coal vessels continued to move greater quantities of bunker coal. The total for this sea- son up to Dec. 18 was 979,054 tons, compared with 608,452 tons for the corresponding period of 1932. The total coal movement, cargo and bunker, for the season 1933 to Dee. 18 was 32,234,743 tons as compared with 25,091,823 tons for the corre- sponding period of 1932, and 31,385,- 931 tons for the same period in the season of 19381. From these figures it is clear that the coal movement during the season of 1933 not only greatly exceeds that for the year 1932 but is also slightly over the movement for 1931. It is, however, 5,922,629 tons less than the same period in the season of 1930. The figures given above are nearly complete for the season as only a comparatively small movement is ex- pected after Dec. 18. New Association Formed The Gas Powered Industrial Truck association has been organized with the following officers: president, Ezra W. Clark, vice president, Clark Truck- tractor Co., Battle Creek, Mich.; vice president, L. J. Kline, general man- ager, Mercury Mfg. Co., Chicago; sec- retary-treasurer, John A. Cronin, 60 East Forty-second street, New York City. The directors include the president and vice president and the following: D. H. Ross, Ross Carrier Co., Benton Harbor, Mich.; R. C. Howell, Howell Industrial Truck Co., Cleveland; and W. F. Hebard, W. F. Hebard Co., Chi- cago. A code of fair practice has been adopted and has been filed in Wash- ington. The association has been elected to membership in the Machin- ery and Allied Products Institute. MARINE REvieEw—January, 1934 Coast Guard Instructions For Vessels in Distress The United States coast guard be- ing vitally interested in promoting safety of life at sea recommends that radio equipped vessels when in dis- tress transmit their messages giving all information, leaving no doubt as to what the trouble may be and the position. A vessel in distress should not fail to transmit her own ship’s call repeatedly so that direction find- ing equipment may be used, permit- ting assistance to come without dif- ficulty and delay. The following instructions are is- sued for the guidance of all vessels when another is in distress: 1. Give absolute priority to distress calls and messages relating thereto. 2. Cease all transmissions likely to interfere with the conduct of distress communications. 3. Maintain absolute silence if with- in range and not actually taking part in the conduct of distress communica- tions. 4. Concentrate attention on the dis- tress case and intercept all informa- tion possible. 5. If unquestionably in vicinity of distressed vessel, acknowledge receipt of the distress message, if received, giving your position to the vessel in distress, and stating action you are taking. 6. Be extremely careful not to in- terfere with stations more favorably situated to handle the case. 7. Do not try to silence other units, that is “QRT” unless you are in con- trol. Permit the vessel in distress to han- dle the situation without interference. The vessel in distress may delegate this control to some other station more favorably situated. Do not in- terfere. with the station lawfully con- trolling the situation. In minor cases of distress or other trouble use the urgent signal “XXX,” or the general call “NCU” for any coast guard unit. Propeller Club Meeting The Propeller club, port of Cleve- land, held a luncheon meeting on Dec. 14 at the Hollenden hotel. A. B. Kern, past president of the club presided and introduced the speaker, David S. Ingalls, former assistant secretary of the navy, for aviation. In a resolution presented by Capt. R. W. England, manager of the Inter- state Steamship Co. vigorous exception was taken to the proposed consolida- tion of the coast guard service with the United States navy. It was pointed out that should such a consolidation become effective, the Great Lakes might lose the services of the fine new cutter EscaNnaBA, and others to be (Continued on Page 38) 37