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To consider and take action upon all general questions relating to the navigation and carrying business of the Great Lakes, maintain necessary shipping offices and in general to protect the common interest of Lake Carriers, and improve the char- acter of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. J.J. H. Brown, Buffalo, N. Y. VICE PRESIDENTS. H. d. Brown, Cleveland. C, A. Eddy, Bay City. J. W. Millen, Detroit G. G. Hadley, Toledo, W. P. Herry, Bufialo. James McBrier, Erie. Ue Gs Ke oa, Chicago, Conrad Starke, Mitwaukee. G. A. Tomlinson, Duluth. F. J. Firth, Philadelphia. Frank Owen. Ogdensburg. SECRETARY. Cuarues H. Keer, Buffalo, N. Y. TREASURER. Grorar P. McKay, Cleveland, 0. COUNSEL. Harvey D. Goutper. Cleveland. 0. _ STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE. ‘The Supervising Inspector-General reports, for the fiscal year, that the personnel of the service at its close consisted of 169 officers, clerks and messengers. The expenses were, for salaries, $283,710.97; conting- ent expenses, $67,468.20. Total number of annual certificates of inspection is- sued to steam vessels, foreign and domestic, 8,297. Number of certificates issued to foreign passenger 5 team vessels, 300; to domestic steam vessels, 7,997. Total net tonnage, 2,238,020.56. The officers licensed numbered 39,917. CLASSIFICATION OF INSPECTIONS, TONNAGE, AND OF- FICERS LICENSED, ACCORDING ‘tO THE SEVERAL, DIvI- SIONS OF NAVIGATION : Inspections of Net Tonnage. daponsed: DIVISIONS. Steamers. Sa 3 oy Baia or 640 174.409 83 3,501 Neier 3,781 1,073 534 52 17,080 sy eee Src ie 1,042 142,242.29 7.244 2,227 739,120.85 9,046 SISA ri era eRe & 607 108,713.07 3,046 OSS Se GS peas C8520: 5 2,238,020.56 39,917 ncrease in number of annual certificates of inspec- tion issued to domestic steamers, over previous ME ATi gens lan ca oe Sagas oh tase’ TY as 9 Ss eS 66 Increase in number of annual certificates of inspec- tion issued to foreign steam vessels, over previous PRRSCHUVGATicncs Si thicoa OIE. . Sis DE ed 19 It is estimated that 600,000,000 passengers were car- _ ried on steam vessels,during the year. _ Total numberof accidents resulting in loss of life Rae CE WOAT aig Oo05 pices oayciecd cin.o esifias © wehaie sa 42 Total number of lives lost by accidents from various DReRGMRUNIIUC Ne VERT. (crc. ss ce cess Gece cc 231 Decrease in number of lives lost from previous year 173 _ Of the number of lives lost as above reported, 68 were passengers and 153 belonged to the crews of the vessels. Foreign steam yessels inspected, by nationality: British, 179; German, 47; Dutch, 14; Belgium, 13; French, 12; Norwegian, 10; Spanish, 5; Danish, 4; Portuguese, 2; Italian, 1; Hawaiian, 1; Russian, 1; Nicaraguan, 1; total, 293, with a total net tonnage of 558,345.90. Total number of new life-preserers examined.... 39,840 - Found deficient and rejected.............. ere 5 PRR E STARS 5a o so shoes sh cso e's's Gale Segoe eikG « 39,835 Total number of color-blind examinations of ap- _ plicants for master’s or pilot’s license.......... 1,520 eerrer rejected <=... se ON SP BEES, 41 a NINN ASB CG 55 ak eo een hE igs oid oe 1,479 Under the Act of Congress approved January 22, 1894, 561 marine boiler plates were tested at the mills, of which 524 plates were rejected for various defects. » — Se Se ESTABLISHED 1878. et Hernia afl(f))) MUN. mi The Supervising Inspector-General renews his recom- mendations of last year for legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to divide local inspection districts into two or more such districts, with a board of local inspectors in each, when the work in any district may be more economically conducted in such manner than it could by appointing assistant inspectors to the original board of inspectors, when the increased num- ber of inspections requires additional help. The recommendations are also renewed in behalf of legislation to secure a non-partisan service, and perma- nent tenure of office, except for incompetency, miscon- duct, or permanent physical or mental disability; and for legislation creating an Assistant Supervising In- spector-General, to be appointed by the president by and with the consent of the Senate, on account of the large increase of work in his office, such work having increased over 160 per cent. since 1876, making such ap- pointment in the office of the Supervising Iuspector- General an absolute necessity for the proper personal supervision necessary to carry out the objects for which the office of Supervising Inspector-General was created. ED oe a PORTAGE LAKE CANAL. Supt. G. W. Marr, of the Portage Lake ship canals, is having plans prepared in the office here for much need- ed improvements for both entrances to Portage Lake, with a view to securing the necessary appropriations at the present session of Congress. ‘The plans call for a 1,700-foot breakwater at the east side and 900 feet long on the west side of the Lake Superior entrance, built at an angle of 45 degrees with the shore, and with a 400- foot entrance, with low piers connecting the breakwater with the shore to prevent sand working into the chan- nel. It is also proposed to extend the present pier at the Keweenaw Bay into 20 feet of water, a distance of 2,800 feet from the entry.. De re SEAMEN SCARCE. There are not enough men available in the navy to man the ships in commission and, in consequence, some of the vessels are short-handed. Men cannot be got to make up the deficit caused by the large number of de- sertions that have occurred since the ships of the squad- ron have been undergoing repairs at the New York navy yard. The departure of a draft of 200 men from the receiving ship Vermont, to make up the crew of the cruiser Brooklyn, which will go into commission at the League Island yard Tuesday next, leaves the navy yard without enough men todo the work necessary to keep the Vermont in condition. All the ships in the squadron have suffered from lack of men. The flagship New York and the battleship Indiana are without their full complement. When the Maine left the yard at New York this week her crew was fifty short of the full complement. (er 0 REGARDING NAVIGATION LAWS. In his latest annual report, which is not as yet in print, T. C. Chamberlain, Commissioner of Navigation, recommends to Congress the repeal of eighteen sections or statutes relating to minor matters in navigation laws, on the ground of their uselessness. The report is devoted chiefly to recommendations tor the repeal of many of our navigation laws for the last century, which were copied verbatim by the earliest Congresses from laws of George III. of England. Commissioner Cham- berlain points out that every other nation long ago re- pealed these laws, but we alone retain them as a handi- cap on our merchant marine. He shows that our mer- chant marine is in the keenest competition, first with CHICAGO. $2 PER YEAR. 10c. SINGLE COPY merchantmen of foreign nations, whose governments have freed them from the shackles of old laws which we still retain, and again with American railroads, which are strongly organized and have protected them- selves generally from burdensome laws under which navigation interests are compelled to operate. _— 20 — gine CHICAGO DOCK OWNERS IN A FIX. Since the control of Chicago river as a waterway has again been assumed by Uncle Sam, business firms who have made a practice of taxing vessel property heavily each season for the privilege of occupying their dock fronts for winter quarters, find themselves in a fix. A Chicago morning paper says: ‘‘Business firms owning docks along the river front have made complaint that vessel owners tie up before their docks and refuse to move their craft when ordered to do so. Commissioner of Public Works Downey has asked the corporation counsel for an opinion regarding the authority of the city over the dock property. ‘The vesselmen set up the claim that the river is United States government water, and that they have a right to tie up at any place they desire, providing they do not use the dock inside the water line. Capt. Marshall, the United States engineer, says he has no authority to compel boats to move.”’ srs A GREAT FRENCH LIGHT-HOUSE. The penetrating powers and ranges of powerful lights such as are employed in light-house service, rapidly de- creases as the ratio of their luminous power increases. For instance, a light of 5,000,000 candle-power in the British Channel has in average weather a luminous range of about 44 nautical miles, while if the light be increased to the power of 10,000,000 candles, the lumi- nous range is only five miles more, or 49 miles. Accord- ing to current practice, lights up to 200,000 candle-power are obtained by means of mineral oil lamps, while elec- tric lights are used for higher powers, and almost any power may thus be obtained. ‘The highest power yet attempted is about 36,000,000 at Peninark Point, in the department of Finisterre, France, which, when com- pleted, will be the most powerful light-house illumina- tion in the world. ‘he height of the tower in which it is to be located is about 63 meters, enabling it to be seen during the day from a distance of 18 milesin fine weather. During the night this light will be visible for 60 miles, ‘The rotundity of the earth will prevent the trays from striking the eye directly at adistance of more than 30 miles, but the sky overhead will appear illum- inated for 30 miles more. The estimated cost of this light-house is about $120,000. ee NOTICE TO MARINERS. The Hydrographic Office announces the publication of a new edition of sailing directions for the Great Lakes and connecting waters, revised and corrected to date. In this edition it has been thought best to present in one volume complete sailing directions for the lakes, leaving out the several articles of information useful to mariners, which appeared in the earlier editions. Copies of this book of sailing directions can be procured from agents of the Hydrographic Office for the sale of its publications. LIGHT-HOUSE ESTABLISHMENT, OFFICE OF THE LIGHT HOUSE INSPECTOR, - NINTH DistTRICT, CHICAGO, ILL., Dec. 8, 1896, \ Notice is hereby given that Eleven Foot Shoal light- vessel, No. 60, has left her station, northern end of Green Bay, and gone into winter quarters. J. H. Dayton, Commander U. S. Navy, Inspector 9th l,. H. District.