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(ESTABLISHED 1878.) PUBLISHED EVERY ‘THURSDAY BY THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., [INCORPORATED. | GEORGE L. SMITH, President, C. E. RUSKIN, ‘ : P : MANAGER. W. L. McCormick, . ; : é Error. THOMAS WILLIAMS, Chicago, . : ASSOCIATE. CLEVELAND, CHICAGO, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING, ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDING, FOURTH FLOOR. ROoM 308. SUBSCRIPTION. One copy, one year, postage paid, $2.00. ’ One Gopy, one year, to foreign countries, $3.00. Invariably -n 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. ‘CLEVELAND, O., SEPTEMBER 10, 1896. HERE AND THERE. There is something said, now and then, about the,in- creased cargoes which the larger classes of vessels are able to bring down from Lake Superior since the open- ing of the new American lock. This is undoubtedly true in individual cases, but the increase has not yet shown itself to any great extent. The average freight cargo for the month just closed is 8813g tons for each ship. This is larger, it is true, than the average for July of 798 3-5 tons, but is decidedly less than the aver- age for last year of 910 5-7 tons per ship. The low average is, of course, accounted for by the passenger boats, and still more by the many boats which return to Lake Superior without cargo. x * And now that the Bazin roller shiphas been launched, another crank springs up, this time an American, with an idea (!) for increasing the speed of a ship. This man is a resident of Germantown, Pa., a suburb of that great seaport, Philadelphia; and yet he has pat- ented asystem for making ships go faster by lifting them out of the water. A principal element in the idea is the putting in of a screw at the bow, to ‘‘assist in lifting the bow’’ from the water, in order that the ship may slide over the waves, instead of plowing through them. This is certainly a radical departure from the ideas heretofore followed out by such eminent naval architects as the designers of the Campania, Lucania, St. Louis, St. Paul, North West, North Land, and used in still larger proportion to the size of the hull in the fast little Philadelphia steam yacht Yankee Doodle, of broadening the hull at the stern in sucha manner as to allow as little as possible of the ordinary- “squatting’’ tendency of vessels when going at high speed. This brilliant inventor, whose name is Pea- body, needs to learn a good deal about resistance and skin friction, and incidentally something as to the ad- visability of keeping the propeller down into the water. While it is gratifying to notice the unremitting en- thusiasm shown by Seaboard, a coast marine paper, in upholding the American merchant marine and measures proposed for its protection and advancement, it 1s to be regretted that poor judgment and bitterness should al- low it to stigmatize as treasonable the more calm and mature thought of its most able contemporary. ‘The Marine Journal, while still heartily in favor of the enactment of the Elkins bill, points out some obstacles to its passage which may be difficult to overcome, and THE MARINE RECORD. expresses itself in favor of liberal mail subsidies as “the next best thing,’? in case thé Elkins bill should fail of passage. Suchatrain of thought is certainly judicial, conservative, and broad, and indicates as sin- cere a regard for the welfare of its clientage as does the frothy abuse of a paper whose continuous bombast has a tendency to become tedious and to thus weaken its very excellent cause, One of the Journal’s sugges- tions in regard to the Elkins bill, however, is that its passage would necessitate the revision of a score or more of the United States treaties. Then let the bill be passed by all means, If there is anything that the country needs badly, it is a revision of a good many of her commercial treaties, under the superintendence of a Secretary of State or a commission to be appointed by him who should be at once aggressive and recipro- cal in their policy, and whose aim should be to increase the exports of the United States in all directions, and regulate importations so as to favor American ship- ping. Foreign nations would not be justified in tak- ing offense at such a movement, and a vigorous foreign policy which shall be closely in touch with the commer- cial and industrial interests of the country and the pro- tection of its citizens abroad would certainly meet with the heartiest approval of the mass of citizens. * = * London Fairplay discusses the question of wages in the United States and Great Britain incidentally in writing of the coming election. ‘‘Ship fitters,” it says, are paid (in America) 11s 4d to 12s 6d ($2.85 to $3.12%) per day, which is almost 50 per cent more than our usual time rates (in Great Britain). Again, carpenters at 13s. 6d. ($3.374¢) per day get double what we pay, and the same applies to smiths. Taking it all around, the wages paid are on an “average 70 per cent more than what is paid in this country. I came acrossa Yankee a few days ago who endeavored to explain that American workmen can do mttch more work in a given time than any other workmen. If this be true, then the cost of production even with the higher rates paid, will on the total be as cheap as ours.’ In all such state- ments as to rates, etc., it is difficult to make compari, sons without knowing‘ the details. There is only one thing to be said, and that is, if Americans could pro- duce as cheaply as we can they would get more work to do.” : ee %, The closing deduction is very true, but has its saving conditions. American shipyards are just beginning, one may say, to get a foreign reputation which British yards have had for acentury. American coast yards are pretty well supplied 'with work, some of it on foreign orders. The records made by the naval and mercantile products of American shipyards are calling attention to these yards from every civilized country in-the world. The discrepancy between American and British. prices is being rapidly reduced in consequence of the intro- duction of improved machinery, and this difference in price that remains goes into the pockets of the Ameri- can workman, who is, certainly, a hustler when he wants to be. ee It is a matter of sincere regret that Commissioner K. T. Chamberlain, of the Bureau of Navigation, is pre- vented from visiting the lakes this season. The region needs only to be seen to be appreciated, and it is a pleasure to record that Vice President Stevenson and a party, who have been spending some time at Mackinac Island, have been’ visiting the Sault. ‘The Vice Presi- dent is hardly in a position to act directly in lake inter- ests, but ‘‘it all helps.’’ “Mir; Stevenson was. accom- panied by his wife and daughter, Judge and Mrs. Wm. M. Springer, Chaplain and Mrs. Springer, of the United States Army, Hon. and Mrs. A. D. Lynch, of Washington, and Miss Whitcomb, of Chicago. % 3 *% Some fault has been found on the coast because lake papers have commented upon the immense outlay upon southern harbors, ‘“because it has a tendency to divert the grain trade from the Great Lakes and rie canal to Galveston.’”? Holy smoke! When the lake grain freight reaches such a figure that there will be a chance for the southern route to offer inducements, there will be achance for the lake boats to make some money, and we will not see 4,000-ton ships lying idle atthe docks for lack of cargoes. If any such comment has been made, it has been merely to emphasize the fact that the returns to commerce upon the perennial ex penditures for keeping open the Mississippi and so: southern harbors does not begin to repay the expe1 iture. The Great Lakes have had little reason of lat years to complain of government neglect, but the sav ing for a single season in the amounts paid by t Aimerican people for transportation by reason of tt improved waterways of the Great Lakes far m than repays the entire expenditures for river and ha bor improvement.. The Great Lakes no longer a the government to expend money in the hope of creat- — ing a future commerce. They ask that proper care be taken of the channels of an already great and ever in- creasing trade, in the link of the great east and west route, along the lines of which the nation’s commerce must always travel. « * ® The new Canadian government is charged with being indifferent to the project of establishing a fast steam- ship line between Montreal and Great Britain, with Halifax as a winter port. The idea, it is true, has not — been definitely abandoned, but the government seems very lukewarm on the subject, especially Sir Richard Cartwright, the Minister of Trade and Commerce, who has announced that as neither the Huddart tender nor that of the Allan Line was in accordance with the pro- poscd conditions, and the government is looking further before taking final action. Mr. Cartwright is charged with favoring closer trade relations with the United States. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the premier, is strongly in favor of improving the waterways to the coast via the St. Lawrence River, and he must favor the steam- ship idea as well. * x * ae Some of the newspapers which were lately trying to create a sentiment against the new Sault rules have experienced a wonderful change of heart and now say we cannot have too much of them. They propose that Detroit and St. Clair Rivers be placed in charge of gov- ernment officials, so that navigation may be more se- cure. This seems hardly necessary, except possibly for a short distance through St. Clair flats, above the canal, the latter being already protected by law. ‘The Sault rules are steadily receiving more friends, and the changes to be made at Washington during the coming winter will probably be only in the line of making re- striction and privilege clauses more specified, - there may be less chance for an argument. i ie * * * + There will be little preparatory work done on con- — tracts for breakwater work this season. ‘The year has so far advanced that everybody concerned would be at a disadvantage, and for all new work provided for un- der the last river and harbor act the contracts will be deferred until winter, so as to allow of contractors’ pre- liminary. work during cold weather, and of begining active operations at the earlist time made possible by the opening of navigation. President W.'T. Baker, of the Chicago Board of Trade, who returned from Europe recently, is quoted © regarding the foreign situation as follows: ‘There will be a good market for our wheat in England. The Eng- lish crop is fine but there is little of it. The continen- - tal crop, except in Russia, is about the same as last year. ‘The Russian crop is small, and she has little or none to export. English stocks are so low that that country must import at once, and she will need more than we can spare.”’ _ ED er The New York State Canal Board, which is composed of the elective state officers, has adopted plans and spec- ifications prepared by State Engineer Adams for work in the canal under the $9,000,000 canal improvement ap- propriation, to the amount of $3,126,301. The work is divided as follows: Eastern division Krie canal, $626,- 499; middle division Erie canal, $909,017; western di- vision Erie canal, $1,033,557; Champlain canal, $409,502; Oswego canal, $147,726. The board also approved esti- mates for canal improvement appropriations aggregat- ing $207,000. This work will be etre at an early date. eo 20 — i The Myke Maru, the first steamer of the new Seattle Oriental Line, arrived at Seattle, August 31. This line operates in connection with the great Northern Rail. way and Northern Steamship Line.