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PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING C@., [INCORPORATED. ] GEORGE L. SMITH, President. CHICAGO, ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDING, ROOM 308. CLEVELAND, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING, FOURTH FLOOR. C. E. Ruskin, MANAGER. W. L. McCormick, EDITOR. Tuomas WILLIAMS, Chicago, ASSOCIATE: SUBSCRIPTION, One copy, one year, postage paid, $2.00. One copy, one year, to foreign countries, $3.00. Invariably in advance. ADVERTISING. Rates given on application. All communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office. THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING Co., FOURTH FLOOR, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING, CLEVELAND. Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as Second-Class Mail Matter. ee — CLEVELAND, O., MAY 21, 1896. SST co THE river and harbor bill is now almost ready to go to the President. The conference committee has agreed on all but one thing and that rests rather ona technicality than anything else. It seems now that nothing is likely to occur to hinder its final enactment. ——<— rr ar SECRETARY ‘OF WAR LAMONT appreciates the im- portance of making the new American lock at the Sault available as soon as possible, and has made a contract _which virtually amounts to a bonus four Mr. Donnelly if he gets the approaches dredged out by the time the canal is finished. This means that the new lock will be in use by August, and that delay will be at an end. <r oe aa TE conferees on the sundry civil bill have agreed on the provision for building two more lake revenue cutters. These will cost $200,000 each, and will mean a shipbuild- ing contract amounting to at least $350,000 for the two boats, to be awarded to lake builders. This will bea very acceptable addition to building; and the bidding on the new boats will probably be lively. They will doubt- less be constructed with a view to converting them into war vessels in time of need. ——$—$ $$$ e — Tr is now claimed on the Canadian side that American fishermen continue their gill-net fishing in Canadian waters, but do not buoy their nets. This theory has been scouted, but it is not impossible that some of our enter- prising fishermen haye been applying the science of navi- gation to the location of their nets by taking bearings and buoying their nets by means of bottles or small blocks of wood which would be observable at a few yards distance, but which would excite no attention in the or- dinary observer. While the position taken by the Cana- dian government in the matter of fisheries does not ad- mit of criticism, it must be remarked that Yankee ’cute- ness is going to keep the Dominion executive officers guessing. es Tre Detroit River marine postoflice is steadily grow- ing in favor with the masters and crews of lake vessels, and the river service is receiving more co-operation, and and is consequently being more usefulevery day. Last year many masters considered it a “‘frill” and rather a nuisance, and would go up and down the river at full speed to give evidence of their views. Nearly all, how- ever, have found instances in which the river service provedof practical convenience and value to them, and most of the boats now check down. About 600 pieces of | mail age delivered daily, and whenever a boat is missed i. THE MARINE RECORD. the boatmen have to make a report to the main office. The skill shown is something wonderful, and the boat- men deserve great credit.for their proficiency. On a recent Saturdays only on@& boat was missed out of 129. And the government offers but $50 per month to boatmen for this sort of work. —— n> aaa CAPT. W. A. GORDON. Capt. W. A. Gordon, mate of the schooner Emma C. Hutchinson, fell overboard last Monday, as the vessel was coming down lake Erie, and was drowned. He had been acting strangely all day, but Capt. T, K. Wood- ward, of the schooner, thinks the drowning was acci- dental. ‘The accident occurred thirty miles this side the dummy, on the course for Ashtabula, Capt. Gordon was last season master of the schooner Cc. C.. Barnes, and was a quiet man, faithful to duty. His family live on Prouty avenue, Toledo. He leaves his wife, three sons, aged 19, 14 and 10 years and a daughter. I ; rr os SUDDEN DEATH OF CAPTAIN BERNARD WILDS. Captain Bernard Wilds of the steambarge St. Paul, died suddenly on board his boat at 5:40 Sunday morn- ing while crossing Lake Krie.. His death was due to a stroke of apolexy received Friday, while the boat was at Conneaut, O,. Captain Wilds was owner as well as master of the St. Paul, and commanded her for*two seasons. He was Y sa “; : : SS St e ?: TY EES 8: \ CAPT. BERNARD WILDS. born at Lancaster, O., 62 years ago and most of his life was spent on the lakes. He brought out the steamer Lansing, of which he was part owner, with David Whitney. He was also at one time commander of the Alice Wild, which sank in collision on Lake Michigan several years ago. He accumulated property worth about $75,000. He leaves a widow and three married children. James Tobin, formerly mate of the St. Paul, has as- sumed command. ee CAPT. FERD JORNS. Capt. Ferd Jorns, of hgg Harbor, died at his home in that town on the night of May 6. Capt. Joris was born in Hamburg, Germany, Sept. 18, 1842. When thirteen years of age he went to sea and he followed that until 1857, when he left his ship at New York and came west, subsequently sailing on the Great Lakes. Abandoning seafaring Capt. Jorns located at Bailey’s Harbor, and from thence he removed to Kgg Harbor, where he re- sided for upward of a quarter of a century. He was married at Bailey’s Harbor, and a widow andten chil- dren survive. His older brother Adolph died in the vil- lage of Bailey’s Harbor only a couple of months ago. ‘expected to occur very soon. scsi MA NOTICE TO MARINERS. IMPROVEMENT IN ARNPRIOR ISLAND LIGHT. < The mast from which a light was shown on an islet opposite the town of Arnprior, Chats Lake, Upper Otta- wa river, has been replaced by a new mast 10 feet higher We i af than the old one, and the pressed lens lantern has been replaced by a 7th order dioptric lantern. The color of the light .has also been changed from white to red. The light in future will be fixed red, elevated 40 feet above the ordinary level of the water, and should be visible eight miles from all points of ap- proach by water. aces The white shed at the base of the mast remains as heretofore. CHANGE IN KINGSTON HARBOR BUOYS. On the opening of navigation this year the three platform buoys heretofore maintained on Penitentiary shoal, Myles shoal and Bolivia shoal respectively, in Kingston Harbor, Lake Ontario, were not moored in position but were replaced by wooden spar buoys sure mounted by slat-work globes or spheres. eee The buoys are painted as heretofore, viz., in red and © black baads, and are moored as near the middle of the shoals as possible, in 12 to 14 feet water. Vessels should give the buoys a good berth‘ as the shoals extend some distance. tive THE FREIGHT SITUATION. The down-freight situation in ore and grain has shown more weakness than at any time since the opening of navigation, and rates have reached some unexpectedly low figures. The ore rate from the head of Lake Supe- rior is holding none too strong at $1, The Marquette rate isweak at 80c, and the Escanaba rate has gone down to 55c. This is almost entirely to the sudden fall- ing off in grain shipments, the Chicago corn rate hav- ing dropped to 1%c with very small business. The Duluth wheat rate dropped to 2%c, but this was due to a lull in flour shipments which placed the line boats in active competition for grain. A recovery all around is Steel billets have begun to move at the advance fixed upon by the combination, and this means a realization of the long-expected im- provement in the iron market. This will undonbtedly help ore sales at once, and while the docks are working pretty fully now, means will be found to get forward still more ore. Shipments from Marquette will take a sudden jump upon the completion of the new railroad there. At the worst low rates will not prevail more than two months of the present season. The feeling in lumber is already better, and the outlook for the class © of boats engaged in this trade is very favorable. ED Oe —e WHEN? The MARINE RECORD always contains matters of in- terest to vesselmen, but the last issue of May 14th has’ more than the ustial features to attract its readers. A half-page picture is given of the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the steel steamer Coralia, which is 432 feet long and has carried 5,066 net tons on 15 feet 9 inches draft. A picture is also given of the launching last week of her sister ship, the Sir Henry Bessemer, which is of the same dimensions. <A fine. picture is also given of the sidewheel steamer City of Buffalo, which is described as ‘‘the finest sidewheeler afloat,” and on her first trip’ to Buffalo yesterday received ‘a great ovation. When will Lake Ontario be opened’ to these ships, and to the many other new upper lake crafts which are described in the MARINE RECORD?—Oswego Palladium. Do ___ ASHTABULA BRIDGE HEARING. Col. Jared A. Smith Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., met the parties interested in the Ashtabula bridge question at the Stoll House, Ashtabula Harbor, Saturday. Capt. George P. McKay, representing the Lake Carriers, was in attendance and asked that the channel be widened from the present 108 feet to 130 feet. He recommeuded that property on the eastside of the river be condemned and a channel dredged east of the abutment, which’ He saidif the bridge were moved to swing from the east’side of the river the con- ditions would be much bettér, and further asked that. would straighten the river. points above and below the draw ‘be appropriated: and dredged off 1o help straighten the ¢hannel.