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10 AMERICAN STEAMSHIPS ATTAIN THE ACME. The steamship St. Paul, the newest and best of the American Line, has won for the American flag a very proud position again. It is only three years ago that President Harrison inaugurated this new line of Ameri- can transatlantic steamers after more than thirty years of decadence of our flag on the ocean. It was then stipulated that two steamships should be built in this country as good as the two owned by the line which were built abroad. These ships would have to sustain a sea speed exceeding twenty knots and pass muster in character available for auxiliary navalcruisers. It was a big undertaking as a new venture, yet no limit to the conditions was asked atter the contract was made, and the result has shown that American skill and energy not only equaled but easily surpassed the conditions called for. The American shipbuilders have done more. They have produced ihe fastest vessels for their horse-power and coal consumption that the world has ever dreamed of, while giving the most luxurious ac- commodations for passengers that have ever been fur- nished afloat. Surely this isa supreme triumph for. the American Line, for the American shipbuilders, for the nation and for the flag; but it is merely illustrative of what we can do if sufficient governmental encourage- ment is afforded. Does it not prognosticate the return of American commerce to pre-eminence on the ocean? “If not, our legislators, our patriots and our business men will be far behind their promise. The latest achievement of the St. Paul i is well worthy of record. On her run last week from Southampton to this port she made a course of 3,113.7 knots in the: hith- * erto unprecedented time of 6 days, 5 hours.and 52, min- utes. . The best previous record for the voyage was that of the steamship New York, of the same line, in Sep- tember, 1894, making the time of 6 days, 7 hours and: 14 minutes over a course of 3,047 knots. The best average hourly speed of the New York was 20.15 knots, while the St. Paul made an average of 20.82 knots for the total distance across, and for more than 48: hours »con- tinuously made an. average speed of 21.74 knots per hour.. This speed compares marvelously ahead of the new giants of the veteran Cunard line, in consideration of the conditions. The St. Paul’s tonnage is 11,629, her horse power 20,000, and her coal consumption 310 tons per, day. The Lucania and;Campania are each) 12,952 tons, with 30,000 horse power, and burn 540'tons of coal per day. The Lucania’s best hourly average for the voyage to Liverpool has been 22.01 knots and the Cam- pania’s 21.82 knots. The St. Paul on her trial trip did not make the speed of her present record, but has stead- ily increased it, coming up to an average of 20.34 knots some trips ago and now indicating that she will proba- bly be able to maintain an even 21% knots for the voy- age before very long. Onno day of her most recent voyage did she travel less than 500 knots in 24 hours after getting clear of land, her daily runs being 487.8, 921.9, 521.7, 513, 508.6, 518.9, and 41.8 knots to Sandy Hook. The self-contained power necessary in a vessel in or- der to accomplish this record can only be realized by contemplation of the wonderful development and pro- gress made in steamship building in recent years Every one can remember when a sustained sea speed of ten knots per hour was considered excellent. ‘To have more than doubled that now for ordinary commercial purposes is certainly one of the greatest achievements of the age, and that a firm of American shipbuilders have been able to accomplish the acme of success in this line —the greatest speed with the greatest economy—is surely the proudest attainment of their splendid record. Critics of war ships built by the Cramps have averred that they never equaled the ‘speed attained on their official trials. The showing of the St. Paul, with her continuously in- creasing development of speed, amply refutes any such insinuation of inability on the part of the Cramps’ ship- building productions. Ofcourse no little credit is due to the commander and engineer of a steamship for ac- complishing such a world’s record, and Capt. J. C. Jami- son, with Chief Engineer Carnegie, of the St. Paul, have it in full measure. But speed alone cannot win custom for a ship. The efforts of the American Line officials in every detail to please their patrons is being crowned with success. Passengers find that on account of the high freeboard. of the St. Paul, St.) Louis, Paris, and New York and their ease in a sea way owing to their excellent model, they are the most comfortable of THE MARINE RECORD. any transatlantic craft. In point of speed it is certain that, with her latest improvements, the St. Louis will not be far behind her-sister. The day is surely coming wher these ships will but be illtistrations of the finest commercial fleet under one flag that the world eversaw. Ameérican ability has been conclusively demonstrated. —Marine Journal. The record of the American line steamer St. Paul will undoubtedly do much for American shipbuilding. The country will rejoice at it, as an exhibition of what Americans can do in the way of fast steamers. But it is of greater yalue as an evidence of the capabilities of the American shipbuilder, showing not only to Ameri- cans but to other maritime people that the shipyards of this country can send out as fast and as good boats as can be found anywhere, and that with sufficient orders the American yards will find a way to compete with any in the world. Americans themselves should re- member this fact, and not cling to the belief, which they evidently do at present, that there must be some radical change or. wonderful transformation before they can venture into shipping again. The St. Paul is a wonder, compared with steamers of greater:horse- power. The Cramps and other builders are mak- ing the way for the rebuilding of merchant marine easier.—New York Maritime Register. (0 a A NON-SINKABLE LIFEBOAT. The invention of Mr. J. C. Walker, of Waco, Tex.,, is claimed to be one of the most complete lifeboats ever conceived... The boat is practically incapable of being sunk, and can be, capsized and righted again in the heaviest sea without danger to its occupants. The boat is of the whaleback form, and has all the openings in its upper deck closed by automatic doors, so that in case of a capsize the water cannot enter the hull. The boat is immediately righted after capsizing by air-tight compartments ‘in its:upper deck. For propelling the boat forward the inventor:contemplates using a strong “STO Olt md HAND Il jet of water ejected from the stern of the boat. ‘This water is first drawn into the hull through a pipe at the bow. The vessel is divided into a number of compartments, each. of which communicates with the water-ejecting pipe, so that if one of the compartments is stove in the water is drawn from that compartment and used in pro- pelling the boat. A number of oil tanks are arranged about the inside of the hull, and are adapted to discharge their contents by means of a force pump through apertures in the sides of the boat. When the boat goes to a rescue in very rough water it takes a course to windward of the wrecked vessel and starts the oil pumps, and as it passes around the wreck oil is poured upon the waves and lessens their force. Air is pumped into the closed hull at any time desired through suitably covered apertures. A cupola with glazed sides is ar- ranged for the steersman. Charles H. McLellan, of Tims River, N. J., has se- cured a patent (No. 561,807) on a buoy or life preserver, which ought to be effective and lucky, since it is made in the form of a horseshoe, open at one side, and having itsends provided with projections adapt- ed to engage with the arms, when ap plied to the body or person, and hold it in place. EE THE MARINE RECORD’s Directory of Masters and Byn- gineers fills a long-felt want, and is an invaluable book for handy and speedy reference regarding those in com- mand of either end of the vessels on the Great Lakes. A large amount of work is necessary in compiling such a book, and it is sure to be very popular with all vessel owners, as well as masters and engineers. THR RECORD is to be complimented in its work, Rigs 25 cents.— De- troit Journal. TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL NOTES. Jenkins Bros, of No. 71 John street, N. Y. are dis- tributing very handsome half-tone views of the Russian imperial yacht Standart, to which several hundred of the Jenkins valves have been supplied. John A. Flajole, of Bay City, has been putting one i his water-tube boilers in the tug Jim Pullar, at Port Huron. Messrs. Yarrow & Co., of Poplar, Eng., have re- ceived orders from the Chilian government for the im- mediate construction of six torpedo boats, 150 ft. in length by 15 ft. beam, armed with torpedoes and quick-firing guns, of the same type as the Viper, re- cently supplied by them to the Austrian government. A new era in the car-building industry has opened by the shipment to Saratoga, by the Carnegie Steel Co., of the first steel cars ever mantifactured. The cars are to be exhibited at the national convention of the Master Car Builders’ Association. The company, while going to the expense and labor of constructing the cars, says it will not enter into their manufacture. ‘The life of a wooden car, they argue is about twelve years, while the | steel car will remain serviceable from twenty to twenty- five years. Ina wreck with the old wooden car the de- bris is generally burnedand the material is a dead loss. A wrecked steel car can be sold for scrap at the rate of $10 per ton, and, besides, a train of seventy steel cars will carry as much asa train of one hundred wooden cars. The windlass equipment of the steam yacht Enquirer, described in last week’s RECORD, was furnished by the American Ship Windlass Co., of Providence, R. I. This same company has just furnished a windlass to the yacht building at the Erie Basin, Brooklyn, N. Y., for Mr. C. D. Borden, under plans of J. Beaver-Webb, which yacht is said to be the largest ever built in) this country. The Atalanta, George J. Gould’s steam yacht, is exchanging her Providence windlass, with which she was equipped thirteen years ago, for one of the latest styles of the same make. H. G. Trout, Buffalo:—We beg to inform you that the propeller wheel we purchased from you last summer for the tug Copananing has given us most excellent satis- faction. Our men inform us that it is the best wheel we have ever put on the tug. Yours truly, H. H. Cook, President, The Ontario Lumber Co., Ltd., Toronto. rr ee cr The frontispiece in Scribner’s for July is from a painting by Walter Gay, which suggested adramatic ~ story, written by his cousin, which appears in this number. Sir William Martin Conway gives a graphic account of atrip of ‘‘A Thousand Miles Through the Alps.’’? Julian Ralph gives a very fine description of Coney Island, which he says “‘still remains the king of all popular resorts in America.’”? Henry McCarter, the impressionist accompanies the article with, some of his striking illustrations. es VISIBLE SUPPLY OF GRAIN. As compiled for THE MARINE RECORD by George F. Stone, Secretary Chicago Board of Trade, June 13, 1896: ITIES WHERE | WHEAT. | coRN. OAT RYE, BARLEY c STORED. Bushels. | Bushels. Baal: Bushels, | Bushels, Albany? sctiee. since 90,000 Baltimore .... 308,000} 820 000 620,090 58 000 929,000 247,000 18,871,000] "5,577,000 EEG Steal Seen ae 121,000 18,000 Duluth and Superior, . “3 413,000 5,000 St aflatla roc ck esl Ons es indiangoolig” aa 30,000 94,000 Kansas City, ......... 1,010,006 80,900 Milwaukee, , G2 de 503,000 2,000 <¢ afloat |. 7. Rusiniaiasinetuilie Sip siscactole ce pepe es Ae eae S fea 17,050. 000 55,000 i 19,006 ontreals a) ctpenee 456.000] 51,000] 366, j New York... ......., 2 459,000 900 3.000 000 «afloat 122,000 i OSWESO eee ee eae sie alt Peoria ,.... 17,000 Philadelphia . 166,000 SE oui ook ccs 471,000 «Sp ereatloats nie ea> 113,900 Toledo.c.. oc, anca seu 257,000 MS vafloatys e755 | eee aa a Toronto siete eats 98,000 j 00 on Sis Rennsis se aCiee 1,232,000 A mn Lakes,,.... 1,182,000 ‘ On Mississippi... 103,000} 93,900; 38.000/.2.2 22. |... eee Grand Total, ......... 49,486.000| 9,406,000] 8,4: Correshontine Aare 9,406,000) 8,480,000 990.900 877,000 ISOS se siciek teks 47,717,000} 10,785,000} 8,686 000 117,000 118,000