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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. Published «every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg , by the Marine Review Pub. Co Vou, XXIII. CLEVELAND, ©, TAN. 17. 1900. Subscription $3.00 a year. Foreign $4 50 a year. No. 8 ANNUAL MEETING OF, THE LAKE CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION. Detroit, ‘Mich., Jan. 17.—As had been expected, the proposed estab- lishment by the Lake Carriers’ Association of a benefit fund for men em- ployed aboard the ships, which was the principal question discussed at the annual meeting just closed in this city, does not meet with approval from the leaders of labor organizations. Officials of branches of the American Federation of Labor that include the sailors and dock laborers, were in Detroit during the meeting for the purpose of watching the pro- ceedings and their opinions were reflected in the daily newspaper articles that referred to the proposed organization as ‘a plan of the vessel owners to thwart the attempt of the American Federation of Labor to obtain complete control of the men employed on lake vessels.” A similar cry was raised throughout Europe when the Federation of Seamen was formed in England, but that organization now has about 200,000 mem- bers, and it is the intention of the lake ship owners to offer to the 9,000 men on their vessels, if a year’s trial of the scheme proves successful, inducements of a far more satisfactory nature than those prevailing in the European organization. As regards the action of the Detroit meeting on the subject, it may be said briefly that the general plan worked out by the executive committee was endorsed with the understanding that the new president, Mr. A. B. Wolvin, was to appoint a large committee, of which the president and secretary were to be members, to work out the details and make the scheme operative if possible with the opening of navigation in the spring. This committee is also to make arratigements that will overcome difficulties which the association has encountered in its business affairs in the past on account of the loose methods attending re-enlistment of members each year. The association will very probably be incorporated in the way that chambers of commerce, boards of trade and other similar commercial organizations are incorporated. Members of the committee, as announced by the president just before the close of the meeting, are: F. J. Firth of Philadelphia; G. L. Douglas, W. C. Far- rington, Buffalo; H. Coulby, E. S. Mills, J. A. McGean, H. A. Hawgood and J. H. Sheadle, ‘Cleveland; -A. W. Colton, Toledo; C. W. Elphicke, Chicago; David Vance, Milwaukee; Thos. Cranage, Bay City; A. A. Parker, Detroit; J. C. Gilchrist, Geo. P. McKay and Harvey D. Goulder, Cleveland; C. H. Keep, Buffalo; A. B. Wolvin, Duluth. There is really no general organization of the men on the vessels proposed in this plan of insurance as far as it has progressed up to this time. The proposition is simply to give to the men the advantage of a fund that may be drawn upon in a moderate way weekly in case of loss of time on account of accident, and from which quite a large sum of money would be paid in event of total disability or death. On account of their hazardous calling, the men aboard the vessels can get no accident in- surance from the companies regularly engaged in that business. The men are, of course, expected to contribute to the fund, but it is pro- posed, as soon as a proper basis of contribution can be determined, to have the ship owners contribute as much, if not more, than the men themselves, to the maintenance of the fund. Organizations of this kind are not new. The experience of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. and other large employers of labor are being followed in the matter. For the part which they propose to take in building up such a benefit fund, the ves- sel owners hope to secure a more steady and reliable class of men. The fund is to be under the management and control of five trustees. The president of the association will be an ex-officio member of the board of trustees and the other four members will be chosen at the annual meeting of the Lake Carriers’ Association each year. The secretary, treasurer and counsel of the association will act as secretary, treasurer and counsel, respectively, of the board of trustees. Thus far it has not been proposed to give to the men representation in the management of the fund further than in an advisory way—arranging, for instance, for a delegation of about fifteen representatives of the men to meet once or twice a year with the trustees for the purpose of presenting their views and suggesting changes. But this plan may be changed, even to the extent of giving the men representation in the board of trustees, as details of this kind are entirely in the hands of the committee. ‘A book of membership in the Federation of Seamen, or whatever it. may be called, will be an important document in the hands of the man applying for employment, if the scheme is carried into effect. For this book $1 will be charged as a membership fee. The holder of such a book will have preference in employment in any vacancy occurring on any ship or with any ship master or owner affiliated with the Lake Carriers Association. In case of desertion, failure to join ship or misconduct or unfaithfulness in service, the benefits carried by this book of membership may be revoked. It is proposed for a beginning that the holder of the book of membership shall pay into the fund, in addition to the dollar, 2 cents a day, which sum is to be collected as often as once a month by the master of the vessel and forwarded as often as once a month to the treasurer of the Lake Carriers’ Association. This payment of 2 cents a day will very probably never be increased and may be very materially reduced when the amount which it is thought the men should contribute cansbe more definitely determined. The benefits are to be graded from $400 for death or total disablement down to $5 for minor accidents inca- pacitating a man for work, but this, too, may be radically changed if it is found that more liberal benefits can be paid under the assistance that is to be rendered by the ship owners. The insurance is to be operative only while the men are actually employed on vessels of the association, and it follows also, of course, that the portion to be contributed by the men will be required of them only while they are in employment. If, they quit a vessel for work ashore or for any other cause the insurance Is 1n- operative immediately upon the book being surrendered by the captain, but they begin to participate in the benefits of the fund again when they take up employment on some other vessel of the association and can rely upon preference in employment if the book record is of a right kind. According to another provision of the scheme, any holder of a benefit book may, if he chooses, elect to pay the sum of 4 cents a day or 6 cents a day, in which case the amount of death or weekly benefits payable to him in event of death or disablement would be two or three times what it would be on the 2-cent basis. GRAIN SHOVELING AT BUFFALO. Next to this plan of insuramce for men employed on the vessels, the grain shoveling question at Buffalo was considered of most importance, and it was also taken up in executive session, on account of the great difficulties encountered in the labor troubles of a year ago, but it was soon found that the system involving the employment of a superintendent by the Lake Carriers’ Association has worked so well that there was unanimous endorsement of the committee report in favor of continuing it. The report showed that $529,218.15 was collected from vessels during the season for shoveling; that of this amount $187,000 was paid for rent - of steam shovels, and the men were paid about $316,500. The balance was largely taken up in the salaries of Supt. T. W. Kennedy and his assistants, office rent and other expenses, but there was quite a com- fortable surplus due the vessels and it was decided to make this the nu- cleus of a sinking fund that may possibly be required in the conduct of the business next year, as it was the sense of the meeting that the shovel- ing charge for next season should be reduced 5 cents per 1,000 bushels, making it $3.30 instead of $3.35. Of this $3.30 per 1,000 bushels the grain shovelers will get $2.00, the steam shovels $1.20, and the balance of 10 cents will be devoted to the expense of conducting the business. It was a source of great satisfaction to the meeting to learn that the shovelers in their union at Buffalo had passed resolutions endorsing the system of the past season and asking that it be continued. Everything pertaining to the Buffalo work was left to the grain shoveling committee of the past year, which was reappointed, but with the understanding that Mr. T. W. Kennedy was to continue in the position of superintendent. Mr. Ken- nedy and his principal assistant, John J. ‘Manion, were in Detroit during the meeting and were congratulated upon the success of the methods they have inaugurated at Buffalo. The grain shoveling committee is composed of Edward Smith, W. C. Farrington, M. M. Drake and C. A. Brunn of Buffalo, A. W. Colton of Toledo, L. ‘C. Waldo of Detroit, A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, H. Coulby and James Corrigan of Cleveland, and D. Sullivan | of Chicago. The work of attending to this Buffalo business rests mainly however, with the four Buffalo members acting as a sub-committee. The committee held a meeting before leaving Detroit and engaged Mr. Ken- nedy for another year. OPENING PROCEEDINGS—ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The members were somewhat tardy in presenting themselves at the opening session on Wednesday morning, but when they were once as- sembled business was transacted with considerable dispatch. The asso- ciation was called to order by W. 'C. Farrington of Buffalo, its president. Secretary Charles H. Keep proceeded at once with the reading of the annual report of the board of managers, which is a most comprehensive review of the business of the year and will be found in detail in another column. The report, as will be seen, is devoted largely to an account of the visit of the congressional committee to the lakes during the past summer and to the appropriations expected in the river and harbor bill for the principal river and harbor improvements. The report also re- views at considerable length the efforts of the association to secure relief from difficulties of navigation in the Chicago river on account of the current due to the drainage canal. Of distinguishing interest in the re- port is a paragraph showing that of the 800,000 tons of vessels in the association one-half is made up of vessels owned by individuals engaged in the general carrying trade; three-eighths is made up of vessels owned by the owners or consumers of iron ore, and one-eighth of vessels carry- ing package freight and running in connection with land lines of trans- portation. In other words the railroad lines and the fleets owned by mining companies and steel companies, combined, just about equal the tonnage doing an independent carrying business and having no affiliation with other interests. Secretary Keep also read the annual report of the treasurer, Capt. George P. McKay, which shows the financial condition of the associa- tion to be most satisfactory. In fact the association has a balance on hand, aside from a surplus in the Buffalo grain shoveling fund, of $67.23, and would, indeed, have a respectable sum in addition had not a check for $390 of the light-house board been returned as unpaid owing to a technicality regarding its receipt. This, too, is touched upon in the report of the board of managers and serves to enliven an otherwise © prosaic document with its exquisite humor; for assuredly the govern- ment’s way of doing things is frequently unconsciously droll. The sum of $390 is to reimburse the association for three clusters of piles to sup- port lights placed in Lake St. Clair in 1896. The association originally placed lights on the piles, but the lights were later replaced by govern- ment lights. The warrant is to reimburse the association for the cost of the piling. The check was sent to Capt. McKay, the treasurer, in due season, but the accounting officer of the treasury department called upon Capt. McKay for a copy of the by-laws of the association, defining his duties. in order to see whether he had authority to receipt for the money. It so happens that the by-laws do not expressly authorize the treasurer to receipt. though they do authorize him to collect dues and disburse funds. The accounting officer, therefore, refused to pay the warrant without a resolution from the board of managers authorizing the treas-