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» MR. OLDHAM’S ADDRESS: = “Oba briefly from the address. whith Mr. I R. Oldham delivered on Tuesday evening, before the Civil Engineers Society of Cleveland, it is learned that: » The first iron s'eamboat was built in the year 1821. The oldést steamer in active’ service is rlow afloat on Lake Erie; the revenue cutter Michigan, having been built in Erie, fifty two yearsago. ‘That was before the celebrated Great Britain had crossed the-ocean, and in she same year as the first Cunard steamship made her initial trip to Boston., 108,782 tons of shipping was built on the lakes during the last fiscal year, this is nearly equal to two-thirds of the tonnage constructed on the River Wear, during the last nine months, and I may remind you that Sunderland is the greatest shipbuilding port in the world. This year’s output there will be fully 230;000 tons. “Our steel tonnage hes been, fadteasee fully 40 per cenity sirtce 1892, ‘The capacity of vessels on the lakes this year is 86 percent. larger than those built three yéars ago.» On the ocean; however, vessels have re- cently been constructed to carry 13,000 gross tons dead weight. ‘“Y Aegrae niet: shipbuilding; Mr. Oldham Saude -‘In-the-commercialor-financial.-world it-appears to have become an established conviction that. monetary principles or even dividends cannot be increased by leaps and bounds, as was, the. case not many years ago. Consequently the merchants, manufacturers, and ship- owners of to-day would seem.to.concentrate..their -ener- gies more toward the perfecting of details. connected with the handling or transportation of their merchan- dise, or an improvement of their plans, or .a reduction in certain items of expenditure, of which Very. casual notice was taken a few years ago. oT may say that with ship owners the tendancy is to largely increase the capacity of vessels so as to carry greater dead weight in units of displacement, but with a smaller increase in working expenses. ~ “Tn like manner the scien ce and practice of engineer- ing has become so perfect and its secrets so widely known that no large advantage can be “secured. by one painstaking and, efficient engineer ‘over another, through any drastic departure | in design’ or in ‘the general, system of construction applicable to similar structures. - ‘Our marine engineers and shipbuilders are similarly circumstanced, and those who are actuated by that. laudable desire to be second to none, find their safest course towards pre-eminence in the careful study of. details of construction by which means as sure, -though it, may appear as small advantage, and but _slowly acquired, may always be secured over the less thoughtful and unmethodical engineers or shipbuilders.”’ STs etn oe, ae To ROOKEFELLER- -MERRITT LITIGATION. John D. Rockefeller seems to come out ahead on his st from the $940,000 verdict rendered against. him and in favor of Alfred Merritt, of Dnluth, in the United States District Court. The United States Circuit Court of appeals has ordered the case back to the lower court with instructions for a new trial. Merritt sued for damages on the charge that there had been fraudulent _misrepresentation by Mr. Rockefeller, of the financial standing of'two mining corporations, which were given “by John D. Rockefeller as his part of a big contract en- tered into between the parties interested, Aug: 28, 1893. Ini effect, the court holds that the damages granted were “excessive. | oThe suit and ‘verdict attracted wide atten- ‘tion, as also did an attempt: to attach Mr. Rockefeller’s property elsewhere in satisfaction of the judgment. wD he original. contract, out of which the suit grew, was the organization of one great mining corporation, the Merritts and Rockefeller exchanging their stock in va- -yiousother corporations for stock in the new consol- idated company, and Merritt alleged that Rockefeller’s statemént of the standing of the original Rockefeller stocks’ was fraudulent, which view’ was: sustained on trial'to the extent of $940,000; but, as we have stated, ‘this view has now’been reversed. FOUNDERING OF THE SCHOONER WAUKESHA. The schooner Waukesha foundered off Muskegon on Saturday night last, while at anchor during a north- »west gale. Out ofa crewof seven men only one was rescued, Frank Dulach, A’ B., who was picked up near- ly perished with cold and exposure. The Waukesha left Ludington on Friday with acargo of 600 tons of salt in bulk, in charge of Capt. Duncan > sees deck, when the gantline broke and he fell. THE MELARIN-E “RECORD Roberts. Heavy weather was encountered and the ves- ‘sel began leaking, which necessitated con'inual work $ After standing off and on the port, trying at the pumps. to make Muskegon, the schooner was finally anchored, and the leak increased so much that after losing her spars the vessel finally sunk at her anchors, and became a total loss. The Waukesha was an o]d schooner, having been built at:Manitowoc in 1862. She registered 310 tons, was 138 feet long and 26 feet beam, and her owner, or manager, was F. H, Head, of Chicago. EE ee ANOTHER LAKE ERIE PORT Conneaut, O., has been doing a fairly good share of shipping business for some time past, but it is now to ~be-made, according to-Mr. Carnegie’s report, one.of the mostimportant harbors on Lake»Hrie. Coal and ore docks are tobe built this winter and extensive improye+ ments otherwise will be carried out. The P. & lL. BR, Railroad intend opening a through line to Pittsburg, and if the improvements spoken of are brought about Conneaut will be somewhat of a rival to the great ore- receiving port of Ashtabula. A DAVIDSON FLEET. The steamer Shenandoah, Capt. Geo. Stevenson, car- rying 100,000 bushels of corn, and her “consorts, barge ~KEELS TO BE LAID FOR THREE NEW VESSELS. At the shipyards of Capt. James Dayidson, West Bay City, Mich.,) work has. been. commenced on three new vessels. Two of these will be large schooner consorts, ands from the builders’ description to THE. RECORD, “*they will be after the model and style of the schooners Armenia, Algeria and Abyssinia, which boats left our yards last spring. These vessels will be 300 feet long, 45 fect beam, and 24 feet moulded depth. They willbe double deck schooners, and will have steel kéelsons, Steel arches, diagonal straps, and will be very strongly eh Algeria, Capt, M. Elneu, with 156,000 bushels of barley, and barge Armenia, Capt. Carl Johnson, with 110,000 bushels of wheat, cleared from Chicago, drawing re: spectively, 15 ft. 5, 15 ft. 10, and 15 ft. 4 inches. These are a part of the new fleet built and owned by Capt. James Davidson, of West Bay City, Mich., and _ are up to date in carrying capacity, and models of work: manship and strength. These cargoes aggregate close to 10,000 tons, equaling the loads of 325 large freight cars, a train approaching two miles in length, a good week’s business for one of ur trunk railway lines from here east: ———— 0 PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM. The steamer Escanaba was libeled at Milwaukee on Saturday, for a personal injury claim of $25,000 preferred by McLain, who was €mployed as a wheelsman. It ap- pears that McLain had orders ‘to-do some work about the mainmast head of the steamer and; seated in a boat- swain’s chair was being hoisted by ‘a pony engine on In his fall he struck the hatch coaming and dropped into the hold. Although he fell a distance of eighty feet he escaped with his life, a broken kneecap seeming to be the most severe injury sustained. At the Marine hospital afterward, however, it was found necessary to ampu- * “tate the injured leg. Hence the large amount claimed. a ee 9 er 2 Te NAVAL COAL CONSUMPTION. According to the annual report of Commodore Chad- “wick, chief of national equipment, the warships last year burned 116,903 tons of coal costing’ $620,131, and of this amount 61,741 tons were purchased abroad, These ‘figures exceeded those of 1895 in proportion to the in- creased number of ships afloat. It is noted that only 45 per cent of this fuel was used for steaming purposes, the remainder being consumed for auxiliaries, including electric lighting, ventilation, etc. The principal users of coal for cruising werethe Minneapolis, 5,013 tons; the New York, 3,103; the Olympia, 3,075; the Raleigh, 2,957; the Columbia, 2,904;\'the Newark, 2,579; and the’ Balti- more, 2,187. The flagship Philadelphia, which used only 764 tons cruising, consumed 2,324 tons for auxil- iaries, while the Minneapolis needed only 569 tons for the latter purpose. rrr er 0 er VERDICT OF ACORONER’S JURY. The coroner’s jury impanneled to hear evidence rela- tive to the loss of life by the recent’ foundering of the barge Sumatra, off Milwaukee, returned a verdict to the effect that ‘‘Athur Burnsted, Patrick Peterson, Peter Anderson and Charles Hammer, were drowned in Lake Michigan, near Milwaukee harbor, on October 1, 1896, the cause of said drowning being the foundering of the “tow-barge Sumatra,ima storm at the time,” and the jury ‘‘believe from the evidence that the barge was overloaded, in view of the season of the year and the condition of the bargé”’ ‘The testimony brought out showed that while the registered ‘capacity of the’ vessel was 804 tons, the load upon the occasion was 1421 tons. and. substantially constructed throughout. They will have steam windlasses;’ ‘stearn capstans, steam deck pumps, and in fact the latest and most modern i improve- ments in every way. They will have a capacity of from 4,000 to 4,200 tons, and we expect to have them all com- pleted and finished by the opening of navigation. We have a good deal of the preliminary sawing. done for one boat, and the keel will probably be laid Wednésday. The other keel will be laid a few days later. “In addition to the above, we are also making. prepa- rations to build a new steamer; 210 feet keel and 41 feet beam. This steamer will be modern in every way, and will be a general, all-around boat for any trade. She “will be’available for lumber, with a capacity of about .1,000,000-feet on-a-10-foot draft of water. This steamer will also be ready for the opening of eS Ge the coming season. : ‘ ‘““We are figuring on several raga ieee some’ of them quite extensive, and others of minor importance }.s0, taking it all in all, we expect to have quite a busy, win- ter and will give employment to about 800 men.”” — eee ee S UEEEEEEEENEEeeees ct WEEKLY FREIGHT REPORT. While we said last week that the freight market was one of uncertainty and that there wads a general hold- ing offunti the election: result was known, -we-can not slow very bright business or prospects since that time, in fact. chartering is slower thanany.one could. haye surmised. In a word, grain cargoes are scarce and ore men are offered more tonnage than they want; coal, however, is a trifle better, but there is no’use in taking alow freight cargo:'west if there is nothing to'return with. ; It. is likely that the bottom fraction ‘has, been reached on corn 1% cents, Chicago to Buffalo, a decline of ye cent within the week, from Duluth’a Midland charter was made at 2% cents, which is only a little better than 21 cents to Buffalo, or to hold for winter storage:a little business has been done at 34 cents, and from De- troit. to Ogdensburg to hold cargo at 4 cents, Mil- -waukee, barley to Buffalo 2 cents and to Oswego 3% cents. Ore cargoes are not to be found. Escanaba to Buf+ falo is quoted at 65.cents and down to 60 cents for Obio * ports, but the market is more than dull even at those figures, and unless a grain spurt sets ina, number of large carriers will go into winter quarters during: the week. Coal has ruled fairly steady at 30 cents from Lake Erie ports to Lake Michigan, but-without a down cargo there is nothing in that: figure; 25. cents=to-the head of the lakes from Ohio ports,.and 20 cents from Buffalo with fairly good shipments. ' Canal freights out of Buffalo faces bac steady at 4 costes on wheat, 356 cents on corn, 244 cents.on oats,. 3% cents.on rye, 34 ‘cents on barley to New York. . ...4:- Lumber freight rates $2.00 to New York and +810, to Pines Ca he > or cer ci tdi eae tied oiewremssicettieess emdovom ie great Siberian railway is now completed toKras- noyarsk. During the season of 1895 918): miles were built: ‘This gives a direct route from Petersburg to the Yenesei river, a distance of 3,0564 miles. The proposed length of the great Siberian railway from Cluliabinsketo Viadivostok on the Japan sea is 4,547 miles, of: which one-third is now completed. A large amotnt of work has also beet’ done on the branches. There:arenow-en- gaged upon the actual work of construction ‘over 70,000 workmen, besides engineers and officers... Up+to 71896 $32,488,000 had been expended. The plan of building across the mountains and canons on the south of Lake Baikal, which was the most difficult: feature ofinthe whole enterprise, has been abandoned, and trains-will be ferried’ across'the lake by transfer steamiers;,as:» we illustrated two'weeks ago, and they will travel a ‘dis. tance of about 20 miles. :