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Ss a ESTABLISHED 1878. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., [INCORPORATED.] GEORGE L. SMITH, President. ¢. E. Ruskin, - - - = Manager. Capt. John Swainson, - : . - Editor, Thomas Williams, Chicago, —— - - Associate. CLEVELAND, CHICAGO, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING. ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDING, SUBSCRIPTION. One copy, one year, postage paid, . ~ 5. , $2.00. One copy, one year, to foreign countries, . . $3.00. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. ‘ADVERTISING. Rates given on application. All communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office. THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING Co.,” Western Reserve Building, - = - CLEVELAND. Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as Second-Class Mail Matter. SS CLEVELAND, o., DECEMBER 3, 1896. eS NS WE have received from the branch Hydrographic Office, Cleveland, a copy of the annual report of the Hydrographer U.S. N. - i EE MARINE insurance on all vessels below Al rating closed Noy. 31 and there are few if any extensions applied for. Larger steamers on their first letter can go on working up till December 10, when special rates will be asked for a later extension if required to reach a port of safety. rr OO As noted several weeks ago in these columns, lake shipyards will not be idle during the winter months, several of the yards have contracts for nearly all they can take care of and the last order placed this week was for a 4,000 ton schooner or consort to be built by the Globe Iron Works Co., of Cleveland, to the order of James Corrigan. ee A LAKE shipyard has just about completed a new rev- enue cutter and several light-ships have been built on the lakes, now we find proposals asked for three com- posite light-vessels and two steam tenders to be delivered on the Atlantic coast. This: medium-sized departmental tonnage can be built at any lake shipyard and we hope that in the abstract of bids a lake shipbuilder will be found to the fore in at least a portion of the work. ‘ EEE ee . Bor little is heard, and perhaps Jess done, towards the project of damming or curtailing the outflow of water at Niagara. ‘The country tributary to the lakes as a water-shed, is being regularly denuded of its tim- ber, making a less even supply than formerly and a more positive inequality of levels each year. Such a condition is likely to continue, and to be more in evi- dence when the opening of the Chicago canal makes a second Niagarato drain the lakes. It would be well to have this question thoroughly in hand, so that when the necessity arose, if it is not already here, work on re- ducing the outflow could begin without further loss of time. : ACCORDING to the annual report of Hon. Daniel S. Lamont, Secretary of War, the tonnage passing through the Detroit River last year exceeded the combined net tonnage of London ané& Liverpool as reported for the year 1894. Figures won’t lie, but lots of people can figure; moreover, statistics are not always what they appear to be, The distinctly local passenger and cargo trade on the Thames and Mersey is not reckoned in the traffic of the ports, and coastwisé or domestic trans- portation is kept separate from that of the foreign or oversea business. However, we leave our British con- temporaries to handle this part of it, if they see fit to maintain the full credit of their two greatest seaports. THE MARINE’ RECORD. CONSERVANCY OF RIVERS AND HARBORS. Without a quéstion the way to doa thing is to doit” and Chicago is the port that knows how. ‘Let us glance for instance at thé ports of Buffalo, Cleveland and Chi- cago. Major Symons, of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., has just opened bids at the former port for a two or three million dollar-government contract for build- ing a breakwater, etc., a beneficent work of general advantage to all commerce frequenting that port and essentially a federal undertaking. The port of Cleveland has just issued a quarter of a million of dollars worth of bonds for improving, that is, dredging, widening and staightening the Cuyahoga River, which by the way is on the order of local or municipal work and completely distinct from federal projects. We now have the difference between federal and municipal work and jurisdiction outlined, as being carried on at the two last mentioned ports. As we have said, however, it takes Chicago to do it, $700,000 was the modest sum that the last Congress appropriated for improving Chicago River and now we learn that it is the unanimous opinion of the members of the Chicago River Improvement Association that congress intended the river,should be widened as well as dredged, more- over, it was.also ruled upon and unanimously decided in the affirmative that the money was meant for the improvement of the river, not only by dredging, but by widening it also,and buying property for such pur- poses. General T. J. Henderson, Congressman E. D. Cooke, and B. A. Eckhart, president of the Drainage Board, were invited to give their views of the bill, and all expressed their opinion that widening as wellas dredging was intended in the bill passed by congress. Most positively Chicago should have such a preference over Cleveland, simply because they, the residents of Cook county, know how to ask for and obtain what they desire, while the more conservative element found in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, bond themselves to the tune of a quarter of a million of dollars for exactly the same purpose. However, the Chicago River Improvement Association are not disbursing the $700,000 as the amount will be at the disposal of Major Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., and it would appear that he understands the appropriation to have been meant for dredging purposes, maintaining depths, removing temporary obstructions, etc.,and not by any means as a fund to purchase Chicago real estate with. Notwith- standing the government engineers’ views on this ques- tion, we may again affirm that the “I will,” of Chicago is sure to corral what it desires and to this end the river committee passed a resolution authorizing General Henderson to confer with the Secretary of War and find out-what is necessary to fulfill the requirements of the law so the appropriation can be expended upon the improvements necessary for navigation. If he finds it is necessary to have an amendmeet of the bill passed, he is authorized to confer with Congressman lj, D. Cooke and B. A. Eckhart, president of the Drainage Board. The question is not broached about issuing bonds to cover municipal and other local improvements, simply an amendment to the bill is found necessary so that the federal government may enter into condemna- tory proceedings and purchase whatever property is necessary to improve the port. Ohioans should not be wanting to take advantage of the example set them and instead of issuing bonds set their congressmen to work on a bill to facilitate the general commerce of the port. According to “Major Marshall’s: report to the Chief of Engineers there had been expended up to October 31 $1,178,959 for the improvement of the Chi- cago harbor and, for dredging the river, beginning the forks and continuing: on the two branches. ‘The approved project of August 17 contemplates the expend- iture of $360,000. This project has in view dredging Chicago River from the mouth to the stockyards on the south branch, to Belmont avenue on the north branch, as far as may be permitted by existing docks and wharves, toa depth admitting navigation by vessels of 16 feet draft. Expenditures since 1870 have resulted in the completion of the outer harbor except that dredg- ing will have to be done to give 16 feet depth at low water throughout the required basin; in the completion of the exterior breakwater,434!feet in- length, keeping dredged the entrance to Chicago River, and maintain- ing the various piers and breakwaters. : ——— rr ' THR season is now practically closed. - and discriminates against its own tonnage untilit has ~~ A NORTHERN :OHIO DAILY MISLED. ~~ Under the caption of “How to Save Million Cleveland Leader leads off and rants in the foll strain, Quoting literally from the editorial to th line. — oe “The people of the United States pay about $20,000,000 in gold annually to the owners of foreign ships. Bee per cent of the grain and merchandise sent out of and ~ brought into this country are carried in ships which fly ~ foreign flags.” E ; : Se To obtain foreign gold our produce must be exported,’ = we can’t do it ourselves... Hence the benefit of having: others do it for us, The same applies to our imports. - “From the year 1789 until the year 1828 an American law laid an extra tax on all merchandise brought American: ports in foreign bottoms. The result was ~~ that American shipping was greatly promoted andthe. stars and stripes were to be seen in almost every harbor of the world. And American gold was kept at home.” When we carried our own produce, also imports, the’ era of wooden shipbuilding existed. It does not to-@ay. The United States adopted duties at the beginning of the government as a matter of reprisal for discrimina-— tion against American vessels in foreign ports. Whe it became effective the discrimination tax or bounty wa abolished, and in'1789 how much American gold was mined anyway. : ne ‘ gs “The policy of Great Britain is to give bounties to its — merchant marine and tothus make the British shipping industry prosperous and permanent. On account of th difference in wages of workingmen ships can be buil more cheaply in Great Britain than in the United States. — yp Thus British ship owners have a double advantage over American ship owners. First, they receive subsidies from their government, and, second, their investmentin — a ship of a certain size and capacity is smaller than the invesiment necessary to be made in this country ina ship of the same description.”’ This paragraph is an ignorant fabrication all through. Cramps, of Philadelphia, have bid for English naval — tonnage and can construct on an almost equal basis. It ~~ is pure rot to say that Great Britain gives a bounty or ee subsidy to the cargo carriers of their merchant marine ~— service, on the other hand, that government hampers ~ ES 4. ile 2 been and still is being driven under foreign flags. . For these reasons American shipping has almost di - . appeared from the high seas. It is stated that only 11_ per cent. of the foreign trade of this country is carried — in American bottoms. The remaining 89 per cent. is ~ carried in foreign ships, and the owners of these ships take out of this country every year about $20,000,000 — in gold, all of which is paid to foreign sailors, foreign : builders of ships; and other workingmen, andtoforeign capitalists. It is not for these reasons at all. Iron'and steel be- came kings, timber’ was deposed, hence, the cHi@f de- ~~ cadence of onr tonnage. aN The Republicans in their national platform of 1896 declare that ‘‘we favor restoring the American policy of discriminating duties for the upbuilding of our mer- chant marine and the protection of our shippivg in the foreign carrying trade, so that, American ships—the — product of American labor, employed in American ship- yards, sailing under the stars and stripes, and manned, | officered, and owned by Americans—may regain the carrying of our foreign commerce.” , : In this connection we are giad to know that Senator Elkins. of West Virginia, will, at the coming session of congress, press his bill which lays an additional duty of 10 per cent ad valorem on every dollar’s worth of goods brought- into American ports in foreign ships. The bill wtil hardly become a law this winter because President Cleveland is believed to be against any legis- lation of this. kind. However, Senator Elkins should — bring his bill before the senate so-.that it may bedis- « cussed in congress and in the newspapers, for public ~~ opinion will thus be aroused and created and the Re- publican congress, which meets a year from December, ~ will carry out the pledge made at St; Louis. ° ; Wasting as little space and printers’ ink as possible — we reply to these two paragraphs by stating that nearly : every line is buncombe, and means nothing even to the — uninitiated, Discriminating charges on the oversea _ tonnage of the world. Ay! Such a. course is simply — z impracticable, for a variety of reasons. It is an invita- - tion to retaliate, which every other nation would accept; : itis an act of embargo, a violation of our treaties and & obligations with thirty-three maritime powers, and is so distinctly ‘‘off the trolley’ as not’ to be worth another ~ word of reply. ‘Finally, when the Cleveland Leader ~ attempts anything in'this way again, it ought to look somewhat deeper into the question before aceepting an _ unmeaning plank in its Republican platform. _ eo