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March, 1916 of, and good will for, my efforts in try- ing to assist young men in whom you are interested to improve their intellec- tual condition, and I assure you, gen- tlemen, that I value your good will far more highly than any present which your money can buy, although I shall always prize this watch many fold more than its intrinsic value, because it is a token of the good will of the mem- bers of the Lake Carriers’ Association. T THE annual meeting of the A Great Lakes Protective Asso- - ciation held at the Statler Ho- tel, Detroit,.Jan. 21, the. necessity for the continual exercise of the utmost caution in navigating steamers was emphasized. Inasmuch as the asso- ciation carries a substantial portion of the insurance of its members on a Aeceidents Imerease “An analysis of the list of acci- dents shows a sharp increase im the closing months from which the com- mittee draws the conclusion that any relaxation in vigilant care as the season draws to a close 1s neither conducive to good results in the operation of the association nor to the subscribers themselves as ves- sel owners. Navigation during the fall months is not necessarily more dangerous than at other periods of the year .but greater caution must be exercised. “The committee is aware that low stages of water requiring constant revision of available drafts, caused many carefully navigated vessels and vessels purposely loaded short, to fetch-up in the rivers, notably be- low the Lake St. Clair canal, but notwithstanding this the commuttee is distinctly disappointed in the ac- cident returns. Masters should be instructed to extend their care and watchfulness in the navigation of the ship in proportion as the pres- sure of business increases. By a strict observance of the rules and regulations laid down by this asso- ciation for the navigation of ves- sels the avoidable accident can al- most be entirely eliminated from the lakes.” ———— ee _______ mutual basis, the length of the acci- dent list has an unusually direct bearing on the assessments levied to cover losses, and the organization, therefore, has become a powerful fac- tor in promoting safer operations. The association has been in exist- ence for seven years, during three of which 25 per cent of the risk has been reserved from conventional in- surance and carried by the associa- tion itself. From a purely financial standpoint, the season recently closed The desire to encourage good works, is the noblest attribute of humanity, and it is this disposition of the Lake Carriers’ Association which commands my affectionate regards. It is the spirit which extends a helping hand to the weak. It is the spirit which demon- strates man’s humanity to man and is the spirit which sympathizes with dis- tress. “And I assure you, gentlemen, backed was entirely satisfactory, inasmuch as present computations indicate a profit of 18 per cent. The executive com- mittee, however, expressed itself as being by no means satisfied with this result, since in its opinion many of the accidents which occurred were avoidable, materially influencing the financial result. At the opening of the season it was believed that it might be ‘necessary to increase the amount of insurance car- ried, on account of the disturbed con- ditions abroad making it impossible to cover the 75 per cent placed in the open market at a reasonable rate. No such difficulty, however, was ex- perienced, and the association con- tinued to carry a quarter of the risk. It is doubtful if any change will be made during the coming year. The final settlement of this question, to- gether with the amount of the initial contribution, was left to the advisory committee and no definite action was taken at the annual meeting. The roll call at the meeting indi- cated that 698,233 tons were repre- sented out of a total of 779,912 tons. Therefore, 8914 per cent of the ton- nage was represented, this being far in excess of the amount necessary for a quorum. Advisory Committee Re-elected The advisory committee was re- elected intact, including J. S. Ashley, J; A Sheadle« W.-C. Richardson, G. L.° Hutchinson, - Harry. Coulby, °C. .D, Dyer, R. A. Williams, John J. Bo- land, William Livingstone, D. Sulli- van and W. H. Becker. As hereto- fore, the following officers were se- lected for the ensuing season: J. S. Ashley, chairman; W. C. Richardson, treasurer; Harvey D. Goulder, coun- sel, and George A. Marr, secretary and attorney-in-fact. As indicated in the accompanying table, the report of the operations for 1915 show a surplus of $55,325.90, which is equal to about 18 per cent of the net contributions, as against 42 per cent in 1914. However, the THE MARINE REVIEW. 91 by faith in the impregnable promises of our Lord, that your unselfish interest in promoting the welfare of your 12,000 or 15,000 employes, by your liberal financial remuneration for their services, and better still, your extending to them facilities for improving their intellectual condition, thus instilling a sense of self- reliance and ability to more abundantly provide for themselves, shall have its reward.” , Protective Association rate of initial contributions for the past season was 0.25 per cent below that of 1914, which partly accounts for the reduced earnings. Also, two steamers were lost in 1915 and there were no total losses in 1914. The steamer WESTERN STAR, which was wrecked in Georgian Bay, may be added to the total losses for 1915. Inside and Outside Courses “Tt is very gratifying to the asso- ciation to know that the separate courses on Lakes Huron and Super- tor have been generally adopted by the Masters of our vessels, and the absence of head-on collisions on these lakes is apparent as a result. Navigators generally are to be com- mended for their carefulness in ob- serving these courses—and all the more so because no specific issue has been made of it during the last year by the association. No acci- dent chargeable to any deviation from this rule by any of the ves- sels has occurred during the year. In this connection it is with regret that we mention the Wahcondah- Choctaw collision on Lake Huron, which we consider was caused by one of the interested vessels failing to contply with this rule. However, the accident brought forcibly before the Canadian owner the advantage of the separate courses, and within a short time after this occurrence the Dominion Marine Association adopted them without reservation for the vessels enrolled in its mem- bership. Undoubtedly separate courses will eventually be made im- perative for all vessels navigating the lakes.” She was insured for about $200,000. At the close of the year there were 163 vessels of 779,912 tons in the membership of the association. On these vessels 168 certificates of in- surance were written covering an ag- eregate risk of $40,038,828. Following is an abstract of the an- nual report which was read at the Detroit meeting: “In comparison with 1914 the result has been distinctly retrograde though