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(ESTABLISHED 1878.) PuBLISHED Every THURSDAY BY THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., [INCORPORATED. ] pt GEORGE L. SMITH, President, C. E. RUSKIN, , . . : MANAGER. W. L.. McCormick; . : i 5 EWIror. Tuomas. WILLIAMS, Chicago, . i ASSOCIATE. ~ CLEVELAND,’ CHICAGO, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING, ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDING, ROOM 308. FOURTH FLOOR. eee _ SUBSCRIPTION. One copy, ne year, postage paid, One copy, »ne year, to foreign countries, Invariably in advance. $2.00. $3.00. ADVERTISING. Rates given on application. An communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office. THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING Co., “FOURTH FLOOR, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING, ren ewe tee CLEVELAND. ri at Cleveland Postoffice as Second-Class Mail Matter. a 14.9 CLEVELAND, O., OCTOBER 22, 1896. ; A SHINING LIGHT CALLED HENCE. “With this issue we have to announce the death of Mr. Win Le McCormick, late editor of THE MARINE RECORD, a” man whom to know, was to honor, and we knew him, in part with our large clientele. Mr. Mc- Cormick was not a sailor, but he was a gentleman and his long connection with the Cleveland Leader, Press, and later’ as editor of THE R#CORD, vouches for his W. L,. McCormick has gone to his long, home, his literary associates standing : as aman in ‘literary circles. will. mourn, his loss, nor can his position be so capably: filled in the columns of the local press. was ‘a faithful, earnest worker, ever alive to the inter- His life was a. pure synopsis of what a man’s should be, earnest, ests of the marine fraternity and his friends. upright and honest in every course steered, and at each stage of the game of life: Regrets are heard from vari- oiis'sources, but’ Mr. McCormick would not care to be eulogized. Let us extend our sympathy to his wife, children and sorrowing family. He has gone as we all must. The grand secret is now’explored. Warm, lov- ing hearts and hands bore him to his temporary abode, to rest after life’s fitful fever. Henceforth, Mr. Mc- Cormick is, we think, numbered with the blest in the glory land where all. who desire perfection aspire to. Mr. McCormick made among his friends some of the His loss in marine circles is irreparable, nor can his place best.known people in Cleveland, also on the lakes. be filled at this time by any writer on maritime subjects. ARR ESSAI SET THERE is a good-sized kick being made at Port Huron about the location of the new life-saving station at'that port. It appears that the general impression of marine men: is in favor of the station being built on the light- house reserve, at Fort Gratiot light, instead of which it is’ now Jearned that-a place has been picked out tio less than | three miles from the light-honSe reserve, and at a spot. ‘said to favor the city railroad company and ‘not the vessel interests. The superintendent of the life-saving district. should give this matter some more consideration before finally locating the station. ' He THE MARINE RECORD. OUR UNION’S FLAG. ; Apropos -to the recent desecration of the American flag, treated of four weeks ago in these columns, we now find that the sentiment therein expressed has pervaded the entire country and that no less a personage than the national chairman of the Republican committee has issued a manifesto calling upon all adherents of his party to fling out to the breeze the national emblem as universally recognized, and, without adding to or tak- ing from one tittle of its, let us say actuality. Still more of it, Mr. Bryan, the presidential candidate of the Democratic party, it seems has endorsed the ultimatum arrived at by Chairman Hanna, Now let us reinember that on all occasions in the future our national flag or insignia must be floated as it is, and without adding the pictures of political aspirants, their names or any other twaddle to tarnish its glory. The Cleveland Plain Dealer on Sunday last referred to the flag being raised over the public schools and the vaison d’eire, therefor just as advocated ia THE RECORD several weeks ago. Chicago, Milwaukee and other large cities started the campaign earlier, and, though our exchange table fairly groans with its present weight we have yet to see or hear of a scribbler wko would dare to advocate a continuance of the desecration of the stars and stripes. It of course took the leading marine journal of the western country, or indeed of the United States, to point out the absurdity which was being perpetrated upon law-abiding citizens and patriotic Americans, and now having done so, we let the matter drop, as neither politics, religion or scandal can find any place in these columns. We may further add that the flag we sail under is to be upheld under all circumstances and to the‘last gasp when, or if necessary, but no polit- ical rag or an abortion of ‘‘Old Glory”? need call forth anything but ridicule and disgust from American citi- zens. As we have said, let us have all the bunting in banners, flags or pennants that any party.is. willing to pay for, we can’t have too much of it, let it float, but the thoughtless individual or idiot that dares to dese- crate the stars and stripes by adding to or taking from its honored folds one stitch of its entirety ought simply to be massacred, and that, too, without judge or jury. That the foregoing view is gaining ground is now be- yond question, for we find the Cleveland Leader, a big _ Northern Ohio daily of the Republican stripe, waken- ing up on Monday last in the following strain: ‘The flag stands for everything that is good in the republic —everything that is werth fighting for and preserving”’ * * * and we would simply say in addition to the foregoing editorial quotation, so mote it be. rrr 0 DESTROYING OCEAN DERELICTS. The United States has now committed itself to the duty of destroying Atlantic derelicts over a portion of the ground sought to be covered by an international agreement, futhermore, other nations seem to be in con- sonance with Uncle Sam. Yet, the older maritime powers were not a position to enter upon this work so cavalierly, if such the course may be styled, as the Navy Department has been fit to authorize, as witness the wording of English statutes, now in force, quoted in connection with destroying derelicts, by the Liverpool JournalofCommerce: ‘The question of removing derelict vessels from ocean routes was one of the matters submitted to the maritime con- ference, whose recommendations were being considered, but international and other questions of the greatest difficulty and complexity were involved. Local laws, too, stand in the way of an international resolve. By the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, all wrecks recovered must be placed in the possession of the receiver of the district, and if he is not the owner and fails to deliver the same, he forfeits all claim to salvage, and if the rightful owners claim the property, the finder must pay double the value and a penalty of $100. The receiver of wreck is to hold the property for the lien of salvors. A somewhat similar law prevails in the colonies, and in every maritime state of the world. The punishment for unlawfully or maliciously destroying a wreck is two years’ imprisonment asa felon. (24 and 25 Vic., cap. 96 sec. 64:) Selling any derelict ship or boat, or any of its cargo or apparel, subjects the offender to penal ser- vitude for five years. and 27 and 28 Vic., cap. 47, sec. 2). The statutes must be amended before permission can be given to sal- vors to destroy ships or to appropriate cargoes. Any person is at liberty to recover derelict vessels, flotsam, (17 ati@18 Vic., cap. 104, sec. 479, or jetsam; but the law casa ine complied with. Abuses would creep in under certain circumstances. The idea of employivg ships of war for this duty removes lhe chances of wilful destruction. That the recommendation of the Washington waritien conference will ultimately be carried out we feel quite certain, though safeguards may have to be provided So as to avoid international complications. Weeks after a vessel has been abandoned, search and ‘salvage expedi- tions have been fitted out to tow her into port and it will not be well receivedif any of these expeditions arrive on the ground only to find that the property has been wantonly destroyed, so we would say to the Hydrogra- phic Office and the Navy Department, go easy on this matter. ; _ DEEPER CHANNELS. This week the steamer Queen City, of Duluth, broke all grain-carrying records on Lake Superior by taking from that port 176,000 bushels of grain. This increase in load is made possible by the new cut at the Sailors’ Encampment, in St. Mary’s River, just completed. Vessels can now load to a depth of 16% feet instead of 14% feet, the maximum draught heretofore possible with the water at a normal stage. During a period of low. water at the beginning of the present season vessels in the Lake Superior trade could load to a depth of only 14 feet. é The effect of this deepening of the cut will be very beneficial to the Lake Superior grain and ore trades. The large steamer Appomattox was the first vessel to take advantage of the deepened cut, and she- was enabled to increase her cargo to the extent of 15,000 bushels of grain. ‘The increase in the size of the aver- — age cargo will not, of course, be entirely to the benefit — of the vessel owner. Competitors for cargoes will soon — figure the advantages of the new channel to their fullest extent, and shippers and grain raisers will then partici- pate in the benefits accruing from the deepening of the. important waterway. : This new cut is but one step of the great work in : eee gress—the deepening of the connecting channels of the Great Lakes to 20 feet, which will be completed in a few years. ‘Then every large steamer will have her cargo- carrying capacity largely increased. Steamers are now afloat, and others are on the stocks, which when the 20-foot channels are ready will be able to carry from 4,000 to 6,000 tons of iron ore. The freighting of these — immense loads will cost no more than the carrying of © the comparatively small loads that are now the maxi- mum possibility, and this will enable the vessel owners to carry the freight for less money. ED Ore —er ES REHABILITATE ‘THE MERCHANT MARINE, Let us ask the supervising inspector general of the United States steamboat inspection service, his board of supervising inspectors or even the commissioner of nay- igation, and especially the latter, what penalty, ifany,- is attached to the illegal use of an annual license to act as engineer, master or pilot of an American steam vessel? Local inspectors state that there is no penalty enacted for one man using another’s license. How is this, heads — of departments? Surely laws have not been enacted for — nearly half acentury without a safety or binding clause! There is no such a thing asa danger or distress signal known to the encrmous floating traffic on the Great Lakes; this is simply a matter of course, or ignorance as must be expected from the way that the department is handled on the lakes outside of Cleveland and perhaps Chicago. The meeting, passing and overtaking clauses are best observed in the non-compliance with the asinine Si rules now in existence on paper, the White law to the contrary notwithstanding, but we were not quite pre- pared to learn that shoeblacks, soldiers or mountebanks 4 might'be in a position to take charge of steamers on other men’s papers, yet, we are assured that such cases are not only probable, but are frequently met with. It is certainly high time that the steamboat inspection — Es service braced up and gave the mercantile marine 47? chance to rehabilitate under a proper and craft- -loving : guidance, or at least sympathetic desires for its” ig advancement. Much of our lackness in the over-sea carrying trade may be due tothe general administration — and ignorant rulings of the present constituted authori- ties, who are supposed to facilitate, but instead, simply retard its technical, thorough and commercial develop- ment. Ask your candidates to know pei and examine your examiners, Mr. Dumont.