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NEWS AROUND THE LAKES. —— eee BUFFALO. FREIGHT ARRANGEMENTS FOR NEXT SEASON MOVING ALONG Stowry—CanaL MEN AGAIN ORGANIZE— WATER RISING. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Buffalo, Feb. 25, 1896. There is altogether too much holding off on the part of some of the lake people for the last of February. One of the lake-line managers expresses himself as get- ting anxious over the situation in that body. The meet- ings go on and there is the usual amount of talk, but there is not a word of new business yet. All the pro- ceedings have been over the closing up of the business of last season. If this isa fair sample of the progress to be made when the new percentages are reached, the first boat will be going out before anybody knows whether there is to be a new association or not. : There is nothing done in lumber yet, but a letter from Bay City puts down the Duluth rate to Lake Erie at $2.25 with confidence, but does not think that more than $1.62}4 can be got from Lake Huron points. About next week something will be done, it is thought, but that has been the word for some time. As to ore Cleveland is better posted than Buffalo, though it may be that people there will give a closer opinion outside than they will at home. A letter from a Cleveland broker is sure of the coveted $1.25, though Ihear one or two vessel men here say that they might take $1 15, though they have refused $1.10. Coal men are doing nothing. They say the produc- romises to be small early and that there will not tion be aoe eagerness to rush hard coal forward. They do not expect much to be left over anywhere. The late move of the Delaware & Hudson Company to go out of directly handling it in Chicago seems to be in line with what most of the other lines have done. The Lacka- wanna went out several years ago; also Scott & Co. Hereafter the D. & H. coal will go tothe Crescent Coal Company, of which Mr. Bogle, the former agent of the line, is president. The Pennsylvania Company will go out of the dock busines in Chicago entirely if the docks can be sold, a8 rail coal pays best. — y \ The canal men are the most active of all. -Aftera continuous session of nearly a week they have organ- ized as a boatmen’s association with Louis Schoellkopf, president; W. F. O’Rourke, vice-president; W. H. New- comb, secretary; and G. D. Gilson, treasurer. These, with Ira M. Rose, of Tonawanda, Ira Betts, of Phoenix, and Michael Doran. of Duchamyiile, will make up the freight committee. The addition of the last three names to the list is quite significant, as they are the heaviest boat builders on the canal and hold mortgages on a great many boats. As the roads have made a rate of 5 cents on wheat to New York it is expected that the open- ing rate on wheat by boat will be 4cents. Quite a con- siderable amount has been offered, but the rate has not yet been made. Dé retirement of M. M. Drake from the managemont of the KelderhouSe syndicate boals, America, Brazil, and Maytham, was rather made necessary by his going on the board of public works, though it is not a secret “that there are other people who bélieve they can get as much money out of the boats as hedid. John Kelder- house will now manage the boats in person. They are all good ones and capable of making money when any- thing does. : W. H. Defrees, president of the Muskegon Terminal Railway Company, was down here last week, in the in- terest of a new cross-lake line of car ferries from Mus- kegon to Milwaukee. He seemed pretty sure of the line, said that connections were in sight,and that he was looking for some help in the matter of harbor improve- ments at Muskegon. He seemed to think that the Lake Carriers’ Association could do something and paid a Visit to Secretary Keep, probably not being aware that the body considers such matters too local to look after. Hingston & Woods have gone to pumping on the steamer Shrewsbury again, after waiting most of last week for the cold weather. The boat is having things a good deal her own way and has gone down once or twice after she was partly raised. It is reported that Capt. Brown, marine superintend- ent of the Northern line, fears an attack of appendicitis. He has not been able to do much work for some weeks and often does not come down town at all. ~. Grattan & Jennings, who are at work on the rebuild of the Erie coal trestle, are pleased to report that they caneas'ly find room for men enough to finish the job before May. They now have about 250 men employed. When done the trestle will have 88 pockets and will be one of the finest in the harbor. Everybody is taking a long breath on account of the raising of the boycott against the fueling with the hard coal shippers dnd it does not look as though there would be an occasion for another set-to of the sort in a long time. There will be a new fueling scow this season put out by the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Company, which with the Hedstrom, Pickands-Mather and Wick scows, ought to make @ full fleet. There is some reason for hoping that the lake levels will be at least a trifle higher than they were last sea- son. ‘The report for Lake Erie last month shows only “prizes for engineers. THE MARINE RECORD. 1.9 feet below the normal on the average, while Decem- ber averaged 21. The water in Buffalo harbor has been unusually high for some time. 2% CHICAGO. A LARGR DELEGATION SETS OFF FOR WASHINGTON IN THE City’s INTEREST—THE FREIGHT SITUATION— THE GRAIN FLEET LOADING. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. CHICAGO, FEBRUARY 26. Lieutenant Rineberg, who succeeds Lieutenant Bald- win, deceased, as inspector of life saving stations, ar- rived here on Monday to take charge. The Dunham Towing Company towed the steamer John Harper from Miller Bros.’ dry-dock to her winter dock near the Pacific elevator; the steamer D. C. Whit- ney to the city elevator to load; the steamer Bulgaria to the Indiana elevator to load ; the steamer Mecosta to the Santa Fe elevator to load; the steamers Caledonia and Phoenix to Armour’s elevator to load ; the schooner James G. Blaine to Armour’s A and B elevators to load. The sum of $600 was allotted by the Goodrich Trans- portation Company at the opening of navigation last season to be distributed among the—officers on their steamers who made the best record during last season. The prizes were awarded to the winners last week. Captain A. Gallagher, of the steamer Indiana, won the captain’s prize; W. H. Jerome, chief engineer, and John Flint, second engineer of the steamer Atlanta, won the The prize for stewards was di- vided between T. A. Egan, of the steamer Indiana, and H. J. McCarthy, of the steamcr City of Racine; and the prize for clerks was won by J. F. Fifield, ot the steamer Atlanta. Grain freight rates are steadfast, 33,c on corn to Os- wego, 2c to Buffalo, 1544c to Port Huron, and 2%c on wheat to Toledo. The steamer John Emory Owen was chartered for oats to Buffalo at 14%4c; schooner Gifford for oats to Port Huron at 1%e; the steamer Parnell for wheat to Toledo at 2%c, steamer D. C. Whitney for corn to Oswego at 4c, vessels to pay tolls; steamers Bulgaria and City of Ber- lin for corn to Buffalo at 2c. J. J. Rardon & Co. chartered the steamers Mecosta and Phoenix for corn to Buffalo at 2c. H. A. Hawgood, James Corrigan, and C. R. Jones, of Cleveland, and W. D. Young and, Captain Thomas Taylor, of Bay City, have visited Chicago this week. Captoin George Robarge is here looking after the re- pairs being done to the steamer George W. Morley in Miller Bros.’ dry-dock. Captains William Keith and John Higgie are in- specting vessels at this port for classification by Inland Lloyds. : A committee of prominent citizens representing the Association for the Improvement of Chicago River started Tuesday evening for Washington. On Thurs- day they will meet all the representatives for Illinois for a conferenfe, and will go before the Rivers and Har- bors Committee to present their case. The following gentlemen form the committee: J, S. Dunham, presi- dent of the association and chairman of the committee; George R, Brine, for Armour & Co.’s elevator interests ; W. Hz. Harper, elevator interests; B. A. Eckhart, sani- tary district; George Merryweather, coal interests; John C. Spry, lumber interests; L. O. Goddard, vice president C. B. & Q. R. R. railroad interests; W. R, Sterling, vice president Illinois Steel Works, iron inter- ests; J. P. Tracey, Deering Harvester Co,, manufac- turing interests; J. B.Galloway, real estate interests ; Alderman M. B. Madden and W. D. Kent, commissioner of public works, Chicago city interests; Hon. George EK. Adams, Hon. T. J. Henderson, Hon. Abney Taylor, in- terests at large. The Independent Tug Line towed the schooner Iron State to Armour’s A and B elevators to load, and back to her dock near 12th street; the steamer C. S. Parnell to the Air Line elevator to load; the steamer Chauncy Hurlbut from her dockin the Illinois Central slip to the Keith elevator to load; the steamer J. Emory Owen from Peabody’s coal dock to Armour’s C elevator to load; the schooner Northwest from Chicago Avenue Bridge to the Keith elevator to load; steamer George W. Morley from Polk street to Miller, Bros’. shipyard ; schooner D. K. Clint from Illinois Central slip to the Keith elevator to load; schooner Oak Leaf to the At- lantic elevator to load. The social progressive euchre and supper party given by the Masters’ and Pilots’ Association on Saturday evening, and by the Ship Masters’ Association on Mon- day evening, at their hall, was largely attended by the members and their friends, and vcry enjoyable evenings were spent. Captain D. Nicholson, of the steamer Tom Adams, and Mrs. Green won the prizes given by the Masters and Pilots, and Capt. Minskey and Mrs. Capt. Frank D. Root those given by the Ship Masters. WILLIAMS. PORT HURON. THE NEw FLOATING Dry-pocK WiLL, Cost $50,000—Sr7. CLAIR RIVER COMPLETELY BLOCKED WITH ICE. Spectal Correspondence to The Marine Record. Port Huron, Feb. 25, 1896. Hon. George S. Lester died at Aipena, on Tues- day, aged 84 years. Mr. Lester was formerly a resident of Port Huron. street and built the house where General Hartsuff now lives. ° iar Capt. J. W. Weismer, of Bay City, is visiting at the residence of Colin McLachlan. Baris It is understood that the new floating dry-dock which John C. Mclaughlin and others will build in Port Huron will cost $50,000. - ; : The third of the series of socials which are being given by the marine engineers, was held in their parlors a few evenings ago. Progressive pedro was the game of the evening and about 50 of the members and their families participated. Prizes were awarded as follows: First lady’s, Mrs. Robert Dorman; first. gentleman’s, George Ingham; second lady’s, Mrs. A. Bein; second . gentleman’s, W. Thorn; boobies, Mrs. Depew and H. Depew. After the prizes followed a bountiful repast, music, and dancing. . The marine engineers are about to issue their annual directory. James Gammock, who has lived on the river bank for nearly 30 years, says he never saw St. Clair river so completely blocked with ice as it was on Wednesday. Capt. John Symes ison the gain. He is so he can walk out, and if nothing happens to set him ba k he will.be around all right in about three weeks. A large delegation of sailors attended the meeting of the shriners at Detroit on Friday. John &. Mills, Ed. J. Kendall, and Capt. Chas. Lud- wig have purchased the barge Montgomery of H. M. Loud & Sons, for $3,800 cash. They will give her an entire rebuild and have her ready for the opening of navigation. Capt. Ludwig will sail her and tow with the Nelson Mills in the lumber trade. Her capacity is 850,000 feet. IDE UES -S DULUTH AND SUPERIOR. THE OUTLOOK IN LUMBER FREIGHTS SOMEWHAT STRONGER —GENERAL NEWS, Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Captain Sinclair, of Ashland, contemplates opening a © vessel agency in Duluth. The general offices of the Northern Steamship Com- pany and the Great Northern and Eastern Minnesota railways will soon be removed to the seventh floor of the Board of Trade building. The market is better this week than it has been since - last summer. Deals aggregating nearly seven million five hundred thousand feet of lumber and five million fiae hundred thousand lath are reported, all to go east during the coming season of navigation The B. B. Richards Lumber Company has sold 5,000,000 feet, and tho Lesure Lumber Company and Merrill & Ring about seven hundred thousand between them, all to Hurd & Hauenstein, of Buffalo. Besides the Richards people have sold the lath referred to above to the same ~ concerns. F. Ll. Gilbert has sold 1,500,000 feet of boards. Shippers are offering $2 on first trips to Buf- falo, but do not wish to make charters at that rate for later dates. Vesselmen want $2.25 to Chicago. z The total of wheat in store at the two ports, according to last Saturday’s report, is 11,646,829, an increase of 421,874 bushels during the week. Of this 512,000 bushels is afloat. Apportioned among the terminals and eleva- tor lines the stockis as follows: Belt Line, 1,272,893; Consolidated, 3,2 7,362; Globe, 4.051,066; Great Northern, 791,625; Superior Terminal, 1,415,163; Consolidated B, 267,961; Consolidated H, 108,757. In store at Minneap- olis there is 19,978,614 bushels of wheat. CLEVELAND. THE NEW FISHERIES BILL, INTRODUCED IN THE OHIO LEG- ISLATURE—TALK OF A TUNNEL. _ CLEVELAND, Feb 26, 1896. The new bill regulating fishing in the state waters of Lake Erie will be introduced in the Ohio legislature in a day or two by Chairman Dutton, of the House Com- mittee on Fish and Game. It provides for a closed sea- son extending from from December 15 to March 15 and provides other regulations as printed in the RECcoRDa few weeks ago. The city officials are discussing the advisability of tunneling the old river bed at Willow street, instead of placing a new bridge there. ‘Teamsters are said to be decidedly in favor of the plan, and there is no question of its benefits to navigation in that locality. The only difficulties that might present themselves would be of an engineering character, and those would not be of an insurmount ble character. General Manager John F. Pankhurst, of the Globe Iron Werks Co., will leave Thursday for a two weeks’ stay at Hot Springs, Va, The case of the masters of the Hurd and Cayuga, who lost their licenses because of the collision of those two, steamers, has been reopened. Col. Jared A. Smith, Engineer Corps, U. S. A., an- nounces that there will be a public hearing in the Cham- ber of Commerce rooms, at Toledo, on Monday, March 2, at 9 o’clock, a. m., to further discuss the subject of proposed harbor lines at that port. He built a saw mill on Water —