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$2 “puilt in the United. States. Slee EEHETHTOTOE OO _eNnn"”"—"@-NwrC7wA’nNrcx”QWO00TFK}ewWrrajjoe?. See Tsai a a Sa aS Senate Se SI SSA SS aE EE TE TELLER ATRTERES to see a government dredging outfit at work clearing out their river, while the natives of Cuyahoga county where the odoriferous river of that name flows through, andthe citizens of Cleveland, the ‘‘Forest City,”’ in par- ticular would nodoubt imagine the millennium had been brought about if the bare possibility of such an event Was even suggested. On the contrary, the charming “JT Will” of Chicago, the ‘‘Windy City,’’ accepts the situation gracefully, in fact, with the utinost sang froid, and simply desires that her citizens be not bothered or annoyed in any way, nor put to a cent of expense while such necessary work is being carried out. In fact, should the Federal government, while in the act of clearing out this large open sewer, injure or in any way obstruct or act detrimental to the best interests of the owners of property on the river front, ‘‘the powers that be.” will be held liable for any damages arising there- from. All must admire the unaffected, deliberate superi- ority which Chicago assumes over that of all other cities ‘inthe middle and western states. NY por-o Tate: © ok *% vg oe % ” Commodore George W. Melville, Engineer-in-Chief, YW: Ss. Navy, has doneand is doing more to elevate the social and professional standard of engineers in the navy ‘than any other individual has ever attempted in the history of the country. Just as long as Commodore Melville has the ear of the Secretary of the Navy, much needed reforms in the status, pay and treatment of the engineer officers will be brought about, but when the advice of line Officers predominates, the hands of the Engineer-in- -Chief will, in a certain measure, be tied. The engineer in the mavy, not unlike his brother of the merchant service, has too long been looked upon as be- ‘fonging to-the ‘‘black squad’’ unpresentable at most times,. and only in command of steam, the motive and ‘propelling ‘power ruling the ship, to be at the orders, beck and call of even the junior line officers and others which might comparatively be termed upstarts. Com- ‘modore Melville believes in giving credit,.emoluments and honors where justly due, and we wish him every _ Success in his long uphill struggle for the elevation of “naval engineers, mechanics and artisans. Py Seay “The assistant ‘hydographic officer at Chiicags} Mr. W. oo Wilson, has no right whatever toconducta free school of navigation in the government office at that port. He may have had permission from his superior in office - to thus employ his time during the winter months, and - perhaps for a portion of the sailing season, but this does . not alter the fact that Mr. Wilson, as well as his superiors in office, are paid by the people a good salary for specific duties, and not to cut into the work which . could we. done by private citizens. There is talent enough i in Chicago to give all the instruction necessary - in lake navigation when such “itiformation is vafied = enough to be paid for; consequently,’ paid government officials should attend strictly to their own business, _ during business hours. This gratuitous instruction fea- ture has been commented upon, and it should be gener- ally adopted, giving ports equal advantages, or ceased _altogether. bi. enh The furore or ripple created this week, in certain tircles by a Cleveland daily paper suggesting that Mr. Rockefeller, or in other words, the Standard Oil Co., in- “tended taking over the exclusive privilege of trading on “- the lakes has no foundation or but a slight one. Of - course any individual, firm, or corporate body putting > afloat large modern tonnage will look for something for ’ the vessels to do during the season of navigation, and, ~ as it happens, the Bessemer fleet’ also the whalebacks, . can carry a great deal of their owners ore, but, outside of this, the lake trade and commercial interests gener- ally, have becothe too diversified for any one or even “half a dozen firms to corralit in its entirety, or even . ~ partially so, that isto any alarming extent. Even the ~ power of the Lake Carriers’ Association and the junction ~ of all available-interests could not hold itself together for thirty daysin unanimity so as to drive transportation of cargoes into any one circle or combination. Crazy : * assertions: and moods have been indulged in before, with as little harm to vesselowners as this one will have on > the greatiand ever increasing carrying trade of the lakes. ee TL wes It is reported that two Japanese cruisers are to be If this order is actually ve THE MARINE RECORD. secured it will go a long way in proving to other nations the skill and efficiency of American shipbuilders. Our own navy shows the ability of naval experts to construct whatever is called for and the cost is the only stickler. American labor is paid fair living wages while foreig- ners simply exist on their earnings, hence, the differ- ence in the contract price for building first-class cruisers more than compensates for our superiority in turning out the metal and equipment required to com™ plete such high-classed special tonnage. Ex-President Harrison is quoted as saying: ‘‘We now stand abreast of the great naval constructors of the world. Who says we sha!l not go beyond them ?’’ * * * Civil service rules have been put into practical opera- tion in the navy yards of the country and work is greatly facilitated thereby. Formerly politicians caught up all jobs in sight for their friends and the service was hampered accordingly. The Pacific Slope— or rather the Mare Island Navy Yard and the Union Iron Works have at present the busiest times. Nearly $100,000 per month i is being expended at the Mare Island Navy Yard, and the N els being overhauled, rebuilt or repaired are the Baltimore, Charleston, Hartford, Concord, Mohican, “Pensacola, Bangor-and the Petrel. The eastern yards will shortly be busy on the general overhauling for winter cruising of the North Atlantic squadron. Parting wheel-chains when in narrow waters, going through the rivers, etc., has become quite epidemic lately, two such cases being reported within the last few days, and this, too, on large valuable steam tonnage. If the wheel-chains or flexible steel wire wheel-ropes are going to give out at all, it is in close quarters, where they are given the most work to do, that such a break is liable to occur. The foregoing is to call attention to the necessity of a strict daily or ‘regular inspection of the steering gear, where such is not now the custom. It of course goes without saying that on all first-class iron and steel tonnage such an inspection takes place at frequent intervals, and the result duly reported to the officer of the deck, but is it ? * * * It is now positively reported that the lighthouse ten- der Dahlia did not:sremove the spars from the sunken schooner Col. E\lsworth, but only located the wreck in the Straits of Mackinac. It would be more astonishing news, however, if the naval officer.in charge of the light-house tender, had undertaken to enter thelists of wreckers on the lakes, and removed the spars for what they were worth as salvage, although by doing so he would have made a hidden obstruction.. Unlike some other departmental employes, the Dahlia’s commanding officer has a bettercconception of his line of duty, andes Ubsinat Patrick O’Brien. apparently performs it. * z * THR MARINE RECORD is not alone in getting in an occasional “straight out from the shoulder blow” at the steamboat inspection service as at present constituted as witness the following from the last issue of the New York American Shipbuilder: ‘There is another row in the local steamboat inspection office at this port. This time it is between inspector of hulls, Samuel G. Fairchild, and assistant inspector ,Wm. A. Leonard. The latter in retaliation for being brought up before Supervising Inspector General Jas. A. Dumont, for call- ing his superior officer a liar and a thief, brings some damaging evidence against Mr. Fairchild. For full par-’ ticulars read the New York erable of Wednesday: * * The Canadian engineer entrusted with the placing of two of the Pintsch system of gas-lighted buoys at Point Pelee, Lake Erie, permitted one of the buoys to get adrift, and it was cruising around the lake on its own account for a few days, until finally picked up at Ron- deau. Now there is nothing very remarkable in the foregoing, but there was something rather glaring in the telegraph report sent to all lake papers, stating that the red gas buoy had been picked up and placed. The other buoy is painted black, but we would hardly like to call it a black gas buoy—perhaps it is a gas-black buoy. A. J. Morse & Son, Congress:street;, Boston, Mass., is one of the most reliablesand. well-known firms engaged in the manufacture of diving apparatus and men are working under water, with Morse’s suits and outfits, in all important wrecking operations. S THE SUMATRA’S VICTIMS. The loss of Patrick Peterson, Peter Anderson, Ar- thur Bernsted, and Charles Henry, part crew of’ the barge Sumatra, has caused grief and excitement among their relatives and. friends in West “Bay. City; Mich. Capt. Charles Johnson had telegraphed. the relatives of the men who were lost. Patrick Peterson and Peter Anderson were brothers-in-law. Peterson was 28 years old and leaves two brothers and a sister. Peter Ander- son was 31 years of age and leaves a widow and three year old son in Sweden anda sister in West Bay City. Charles Henry was 24 years of age, and leaves a mother, father, two brothers, and two sisters all in Nor- way. He lived with his ‘uncle, Nels Henry. Arthur Burnsted was 35 years of age, and had no relatives in this country save a half sister. Af TE THE SEPTEMBER HURRICANE. The Weather Bureau, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., has sent out storm bulletin No. 5, 1896, showing the path .of the hurricane which swept over the lakes September 29 and 30th. The delineation of the 30th is especially worth the study of those en- gaged in the lake interests, as it shows clearly the ow trough of barometer readings circling the locality, with the storm track traced from the Caribbean Sea north- ward, and uniting with a secondary storm which had formed during the 29th, in the Ohio Valley. It was cen- tral with diminished energy over the northern portion of Lake Huron, with a trough extending in a southerly di- rection towards thehead of Lake Michigan. Theaction of the wind was cyclonic and of hurricane force at*sev- eral points. EEE aa RAISING THE CAYUGA. Reports from Cross Village, Mich., state that Captain James Reid, who is engaged in raising the sunken steamer Cayuga, has just resumed work at the wreck, his wrecking fleet having been sheltered at Harbor Springs for ten days. Heavy timbers have been placed across the decks of the large wrecking scow McDougall preparatory to making the first lift.on the wreck. The Cayuga’s water bottom has been filled with air and four steel pontoons have been placed ready for a lift. The McDougall will be anchored directly over the wreck and cables fastened to the the timbers of .the scow,: before which the scow will be filled with water.: When all-is ready the pontoons will be filled for a final lift. After allis fast, the McDougall will be pumped out, and itis very probable that the Cayuga will see daylight again. gered eee A FLAG INCIDENT. Judge Hopkins, in the Superior Court, Lawrence, Mass., has quashed the somewhat famous green flag O’Brien was arrested July 6 for displaying an Irish flag on a portion of the staging of the new school house, Independence day. As there is a statute forbidding the display of any for- eign flag upon a public building, O’Brien was found - guilty, and Judge Stone of the police court fined him ten dollars. Anappeal was taken to the Superior Court; and a decision was given. Judge Hopkinsrules that Ireland was not a country in the meaniug of the statute govern- ing the case, which had no flag except that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ‘The case was accordingly dismissed. ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE LAKES. The firm of J. H. Beers & Co., Lakeside Building, Chicago, are taking steps to publish an illustrated his- tory of the Lakes. The work when completed will be contained in two large volumes, each 814 by 11 inches. Compilers are now at work at each of the prominent lake ports gathering data for the publication. .« ~~. += BD Oo? Or J. R. Enghlion, a sailor on the steamer Leland, attack- ed the mate on the trip down Lake Erie, and cut -him badly with a knife. He also made an attack upon.the captain, but wasputinirons. AtSandusky it was found that he was missing. It is thought by the master of the Leland that Enghlon had gone insane and must accord- ingly be taken care of. rr 1 + re Z During the recent gale two fishermen hailing from Southampton, Ont., were blown across Take Huron: They were picked ip on Friday morning off Point Au Sable by Capt. July of the steamer Nipigon and carried to the Sault.. They had been three days without food and were nearly exhausted when picked up.