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10 ee REPORT OF THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. Gen. Supt. Sumner I. Kimball, of the United States life-saving service, has just issued his annual report in book form, A synopsis of the reportewas printed in THE RECORD some weeks ago, but the volume contains much of interest to the lake region which will not admit of condensation. The following table is a summary of the work on the Great Lakes for the year ending June 30, 1895, as com- pared with the work of the whole service: = a : 3 f — -4 n figs Sone. s| 2 8 iS 4 2) a 1 ee ap ES eo . D = (5) > a Ea I n ° YL val a nD g =a vo = | Z g R a Said a o o NATURE OF} & oe v Plies Bat Es m > aaa "i Bo pas Ay oy) = au 2 * a CASUALTY.| 5 | S82 os | 3 f ieee ii Feria fear 5 Sa Bey ™ n |E8x| 8 5 5 2 Zs ae c= P| nl@eg 2 2 2 =| =e} ea ° OR 1S =| =] a By oo) Be 1 6 eb he eed) B-| ne. Loe w| a So hee ee re BO | eh ie | Founderings .| 11 | 4,535 204 11 9 2 3 88 49 Strandings....|/107 | 3,667 {101,205 84 14 93 79 |1,267 1 Collisions..... 62 | 7,295 | 50,320 37 7 55 441 157 14 Other Causes.| 76 | 4,537 | 45,300 49 10 66 277 269 | 12 Total........1256 | 20,084 '197,029-! 181 40 216 800 '2,972 76 Referring to the above figures, the report says: ‘‘It must not be understood that the entire amount repre- sented by the figures (stating the total value of property saved) was saved by the service. A considerable portion was saved by salvage companies, wrecking tugs, and other instrumentalities often working in connection with the surfmen. It is manifestly impossible to ap- portion the results accomplished. It is equally impos- sible to give even an approximate estimate of the number of lives saved by the station crews. It would be preposterous to assume that. all those on board vessels suffering disaster who escape would have been lost but for the aid of the life-savers; yet the number of persons taken ashore by the life-boats and other appliances by no means indicates the sum total saved by the service. In many instances where vessels are released from stranding or other perilous predicaments by the life-saving crews both the vessels and those on board are saved, although the people are not actually taken ashore; and frequently vessels and crews escaping disaster entirely are undoubtedly saved by the warning signals of the patrolmen; while in numerous cases, either where vessels suffer actual disaster or where they are only warned from danger, no loss of life would have ensued had aid been rendered. In addition to those saved from yessels, 114 persons (this includes the whole service of the United States) were rescued by the surfmen under circumstances of such peril that in most instances life would undoubtedly have been lost but for the opportune assistance afforded. Twenty-four of these had fallen from piers, wharves, etc.; 14 were bathers whose strength had been exhaust- _ed; 3 were intoxicated men in danger of perishing from _exposure on the beach at night; 48 were imperiled in .four instances on waterworks cribs and distant break- waters where there was a heavy sea; 9 were adrift on ice floes in Lake Michigan; 11 were cut off from shore by the rising tide while fishing from outlying rocks; three fell into the water from a dismembered raft; and one was an aeronaut who had fallen from his balloon into Lake Ontario. The number of disasters within the scope of the service exceeded that of any past year by 790. This large excess is due in some measure to the extension of the service by the establishment of new stations, but chiefly to the conditions of weather which prevailed during the year. The proportion of loss, however, is smaller tham in any previous year since the general ex- tension of the service upon the sea and lake coasts, except, as to life, the year 1888, and as to property, 1884. The average annual loss of life from 1877 to 1895 in- clusive, has been one out of every 107 persons on board vessels inyolved in disasters, and the average loss of property 22 per cent. of the amount involved. The following table shows a summary of disasters which have occurred within the scope of the life-saving operations from November 1, 1871, to June 30, 1895. It should be*observed that the extent of the service during the period named was as follows: 1871-72, coasts of Long Island and New Jersey; 1872-74, coasts of Cape Cod, Long Island and New Jersey; 1874-5, New England, Long Island and New Jersey coasts, and from Cape Henry to Cape Hatteras; 1875-6, all the above, and from Cape Henlopen to Cape Charles; 1876-77, and since, all THE MARINE RECORD. SSS a a ee a the foregoing, with the addition of the eastern coast of Florida and portions of the lake coasts, and, since 1880, the coasts of Texas : Total number disasters .............00200e 8,302 Be Valie:of Vessel siaci.ci.) sks seaneme $92,956,220 £8 CARP OCS yoy hiig secrecy pees $40,685,754 ss “¢ property involved..... ...... $133,641,974 ve ie SAVCC se tsa cree tees $102 ,342,047 ef & or lost . iin. eee $31,299,927 ‘¢ number persons involved........... 67,329 o $* lives lost..... TE OAM 750 we we persons.succored.. ......««. *12,013 se se days succor afforded....... 31,353 EKighty-five of those lost perished in the disaster to the steamer Metropolis in 1877-8, when service was impeded by discance, and 14 others in the same year from similar causes. The report contains a series of thirteen valuable tables relating to casualties on the Great Lakes, of which the following is a summary : | 1 . ivy +3 S 4 © oe = z 5 2 3 £ 7 RD 2B pi es Ea el a A 2. aa o g 2 <4 ips} he ae oes e| bot 88 SA iS 5 2s 6H =) A i= ie = i= Number of disasters. 75 : 50 107 232 675 Value of: vessels.....) $566,635 $908,900] $1,932,440! $3,407;975| $8,075,075 Value of cargoes.....|. $ 69'890 | $455,385} $218,880| $734,455] $2,650,100 Persons on board.... 582 744 1,163 2,489 5,823 No. of persons lost. - 3 0 7 10 26 No. days succor at stations............ 99 127 65 291 2,232 Value prop’rty.saved| $522,605 | $1,112,920} $1.980,995 $3 616,520] $9,220,265 Value property lost.| $104,720 | . $251,365| $169,825] $525,410) $1,504,910 Total losses vessels. . 3 3 5 il 73 The report notes the placing in commission of the Duluth station, and the conversion of the old station at the mouth of Chicago River, which was used as an adjunct to the Jackson Parkstation, into a fully equipped station. In regard to compensation the report says: “The act approved July 22, 1892, increasing the jcom- pensation of surfmen from $50 to $65 per month relieved the service of the difficulty it had for a considerable period experienced in enlisting and retaining competent men for tbe crews. Although the rate then fixed was smaller than many thought should have been accorded, it sufficed to secure the requisite ability and to restore contentment in the stations.’’ *Included rescue of persons not on board vessels. EEE Oe TACOMA’S OCEAN COMMERCE. Harbormaster Hoflin makes the following report of the ocean commerce of the port of Tacoma for the month of August, 1896: IMPORTS. Cargoes of steamers Victoria and Annan- dale from China and Japan, value........... $ 408,855.78 Previously reported.........ccccccsrceeserececnveseess 2,113,743.86 Total imports eight months.......... vases, $2,522,599.74 EXPORTS. VALUE. 20,275 barrels flour (China and Japan)........ $ » 61,885.50 5,000 bales cotton drills (Shanghai) ............ 162,740.00 865 cases condensed milk (Japan) ............ 32,000.00 2,247,053 feet lumber (China and Australia) 22,810 00 2,379,000 feet lumber (coastwise)...... See 20,086.00 32,576 tons coal (San Francisco)...............04. 97,728.00 Miscellaneous merchandise to China and JAPAN. ....0ccccrsccsecrerearonss aksedtibissacedead siete aoc 18,100.00 Miscellaneous merchandise to British Co- VGN Dl eicncccscesnveasecucouas sot buvessaetats veusaubataccens 25,398.43 PGPAL eths Uh caiecea’ solss<dhcrens” setasesecesece sates $ 413,067.93 Previously reported icescccscssoscipe svbvecees 3,838,328.04 « $4,251,395.97 2,957,930.03 Gain-Over last Year ic. .ccccsccbececchacocsteseces $1,293, 465.94 Inward registered tonnage, 53,682; outward regis- tered tonnage, 49,374; inward cargo tonnage, 10,505; outward cargo tonnage, 43,752; arrivals, 42; depart- ures, 38. Total exports eight months............. Same period last year.........s..seceeees EDO ee CLEVELAND, January 27, 1896, H. G. Trout, Buffalo:+We have used a number of your wheels on different boats belonging to us, and have always found them to give good satisfaction. We find that in several cases they have increased the speed of the boat and have also reduced the consumption of fuel. J. C. GILCHRIST, Ee —e Beeson’s Marine Directory is doubtless as complete and reliable as any a government commission could prepare.—Milwaukee Sentinel. For sale at MARINE RECORD office, $5, STANDING BY THE NEW RULES. A full meeting of vessel owners, managers, and underwriters was held at Buffalo last Friday, and took action upholding the rules for the navigation of the St. Mary’s River, prepared by direction of the Lake Car- riers’ Association. Capt. J. H. H. Brown, president of the association, was instructed to issue the following letter, as expressing the sentiment of the Buffalo con- tingent. As Buffalo is the headquarters of the line boats, this expression, coming from the source it does, is of especial value: “The criticism of the so-called Sault River rules would seem to indicate that those rules have not been effective in securing protection in the navigation of the Sault River. An examination will demonstrate, however, that the rules have so far proven satisfactory and effec- tive in preventing collisions, because there has been a total absence of not only serious. but. minor collisions in the Sault River this season, as against the large number of collisions last season, and in previous years. Masters who appreciate care are loud in their praises of the effectiveness of the new rules, and have no word of fault to find with them. It is to be regretted that an effort should be made to do away with the rules, or toso modify them as to destroy their usefulness. “It seems as if the criticisms took a personal turn, and the responsibility for the rules seem to be attributed to Capt. W.S.Mack, of Cleveland. Capt. Mack was merely an instrument in the hands of the Lake Carriers and others, and formulated the rules in connection with others of a committee named for that purpose and the work was well done. These rules had the indorsement not only of the Lake Carriers, but also of the lake underwriters, who, from bitter experience, appreciated the necessity for greater care in the navigation of the Sault River. “It is to be regretted that owners of vessgls and masters cannot appreciate the fact that it is better to submit to a trifling delay in navigating narrow and dangerous channels than to incur the possibility of not only loss of life and property, but of the infinitely greater delay in dry-dock, undergoing repairs in conse- quence of disaster incurred in navigating such channels under speed, which also involved more or less reckless- ness. “There is no question but that so long as human nature is what. it is, all masters will not consider their duty in the same light. Whereas some would, under any circumstances, whether there were rules or not, exercise the greatest care and caution, others of a more reckless turn, but perhaps quite as skillful, would take greater chances, involving in many cases serious dis- aster. It is wise therefore that a check should be put upon all, and it seems incomprehensible that owners of vessels or masters should not recognize the necessity of hs regulation such as those now in force in the Sault iver. “Tt is possible that experience may demonstrate that the rules may be modified in some respects, but this will not justify an agitation for a hasty abrogation of the rules which, under the careful administration of Capt. Davis, have proven to be a great boon to vessel owners and all interested in the lake marine. “TIt.is to be boped that newspapers generally willtake pains to inform themselves as to the correct situation when, no doubt, they will be as loud in praising the ety as some of them are now adversely criticising em. mm THE LIBRARY TABLE. The New Orleans Picayune, in its issue of Sept. 1, de- votes considerable space in an enlarged edition to a review of the history and a showing of the rapid growth of the port of New Orleans. Mr. Lloyd Brice having sold the North American Re- view and retired from all connection with it, the Sep- tember number is issued by the North American Review Publishing Co. Sir Alfred Moloney, governor of British Honduras, in the September issue describes the financial condition of the colony under the silver standard and the results of the change to good money. Ina thought- ful contribution, Mr. John W. Stahl, secretary of the Farmers’ National Congress, shows conclusively that the agricultural population has always voted for sound money when the issue arose, and holds out arguments to show that they will do so again this fall. He points out the significant fact that only in a few isolated cases has the Populist vote made any showing outside the larger cities. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin addresses a convincing open letter to Senator John Sherman in reply to a cold- blooded statement of that worthy that Amerjean mises ¢ sionaries in Turkey were not entitled to the ‘ptotection — of the United States Government, in which his state- ments seem to call into question the great friendship of Russia for the United States. Another very important contribution is “The Duty of the Hour,” a presentation of the wants of the two sides of the fall campaign, by ~ Hon. Warner Miller and Hon. Richard P. Bland.