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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, ee CHICAGO, WESTERN RESERVE BUILDING. ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDING. SUBSCRIPTION. One copy, one year, postage paid, $2.00. One copy, one year, to foreign countries, - $3.00. iS 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-Clasys Mail Matter. CLEVELAND, O., DECEMBER 10, 1896. THE Hydrographic Office, U. S. N., sends us this week a volume comprising the sailing directions of the Great Lakes. Hitherto they have got out each lake ina sep- arate edition and now they approach Scott’s Coast Pilot. rr It was reported some time ago that large quantities of manufactured iron were being exported from Alabama. It is now learned that 3,000 tons were sold to Calcutta this week and that 2,500 tons have been sold and shipped to Liverpool. The Carnegie Company has also just received a large order for steel rails for Japan. ee ED oO INSURANCE rates expire to-day, and underwriters thereby close downon lake navigation, unless particular and special requirements are rung in. It was thought some time ago that the vessel-owners ruled the season of navigation, or rather their judgment did in connec- tion with the weather. That aspect of affairs is all off, and boats are not now run in December without being covered by a liberal insurance policy. -— EEE ee — ee ACCORDING to THE RECORD’S view of the question the Milwaukee Wisconsin observes that: ‘‘The technical- ity which prevents lake shipbuilders from building armored war ships for the government ought to be removed. Building a war ship at a lake port is not maintaining her as an enemy; and if a new war vessel is taken to the seaboard from a lake shipyard within a reasonable length of time, there should be no reason why the government could not contract with lake builders.’’ rr ee Tuer New York Maritime Register says that the policy of discriminating duties in favor of our ships in not per- haps an impossibility. But in actual practice it would hurt our shipping interests more than anything else, while at the same time giving a bad blow to our export trade in manufactured goods. The peculiar policies that ruled international trade one hundred years ago are not possible to-day. The most cursory study of the conditions existing then and now will make this manifest en ee SUPERVISING Inspector-General Dumont, of the steam- boat inspection service, in his annual report, wants congress to authorize the secretary of the treasury to divide local inspection districts, with a board in each district. He also wants a non-partisan service and per- manent tenure of office, except for incompetency, mis- conduct or permanent disability. Last year the service issued annual certificates to 8,297 steam vessels, foreign and domestic. To foreign passenger ve-sels the num- ber was 300, and to domestic vessels 7,997. The total net tonnage was 2,238,020.56. THE MARINE RECORD. TRANSPORTATION OF WESTERN GRAIN. There is a feeling extant that there may be a more profitable or a least expensive way of transporting grain from the western country than via Buffalo and the Erie Canal, the channel which this trade has followed for many years, and to uphold which millions of dollars will be spent by New York on the improvement of the canal this winter. This question seems to be treated in a liberal and logical manner this week in the columns of the Buffalo Enquirer, nor can any exceptions be taken to the article in which the proposition of rivalry is set forth. The Enquirer says: ‘‘The problem of the cheapest way of getting our surplus grain to the seaboard is never out of sight and never can disappear as long as there are half a dozen routes all séeking to establish themselves in the lead. ‘There seems to be, for all that, no good reason why the Buffalo route should not remain the cheapest of them all, in spite of the reported “‘gains” and “showings”? made by the various Southern and St. Lawrence routes that are making their appearance periodically, as if to laugh at our pretensions and the pretensions of each other. This rivalry is right and proper, for it is through such competition, harmful as it often is to the individual, that the problem of cheap transportation has been solved ina general way. If it can be shown that there is a cheaper and better route for sending the surplus grain of the West to Europe than to send it through Buffalo there is no one able to stay its course, whatever may be undertaken. A western paper this week pub- lishes a table which attempts to show that the New Orleans route is cheaper than the New York route, basing the claim on certain existing conditions. Unless the table is analyzed somewhat carefully it appears to be quite conclusive, proving the assumption so easily that there would seem to be nothing further to say, but it goes to pieces the moment it is attacked at the very starting point, for the chief advantage is found in the fact that the price of corn at present is two cents less in St. Louis than it isin Chicago. No other grain is taken up, of course, for there is not the same advantage with wheat. Here is an assumption that St. Louis is to become a successful rival of Chicago and that it is practicable to ship corn by the Gulf route at any time of the year, neither of which is a fact, or is ever likely to be. Chicago is the grain center of the country and the weather is too warm most of the year for shipping corn by the Gulf route. No, there are dangers inside of the Buffalo route that are much more to be feared than any from without. Both Chicago and New York are too deeply absorbed in grain speculation to make them safe watchers of this valuable feeder of the actual markets on thisroute. They can buy and sell millions of bushels on ’Change every day, and they do it, without ever see- ing a kernel of it or of delivering it to the buyer. It is to someone else besides the grain speculator that we must turn when this route is in actual distress from outside rivalry. That the actual grain dealer, who sells to the consumer, or at least for actual delivery, is a safer guardian of these interests is p!ain from the advantages gained by the Buffalo grain dealers a few years ago, without any assistance from either New York or Chicago. This market is much less powerful than either New York or Chicago, but the moment its grain dealers became united they accomplished their ends, put the Buffalo market on a good footing and very materially strengthened the whole route. The difference between the all-rail charges quoted by the western paper, five cents from Buffalo to New York, is margin enough to save this route for a long time yet, though there is no harm in canvassing the matter to discover if possible how near the danger really is.” To this we might add that the change of route will take place just as soon asa higher stage of economy can be shown by diverting the trade to another route, and not one day earlier. EE 0 Oe UNJUST DISCRIMINATION. President Cleveland has issued a proclamation which suspends the law relieving German vessels from ton- nage dues and other charges in American ports. This is done upon evidence that American vessels are not given those privileges in German ports. The president declares that Germany is now exacting tonnage and light-house dues 'in excess of the dues ex- acted from German shipping in the ports of the United States. This revocation of the relief accorded German shipping goes into effect January 2, 1897. Evidences of an unfriendly disposition on the part of the German government toward the United States have been accu- mulating ever since the differential duty on bounty paid German beet sugar was imposed by the Wilson tariff law. American cattle have been excluded on the pretext of the danger of contagion from Texas fever, which can not exist in northern climates. American hog products have been excluded, even though enclosed in cans, on the allegation that these cooked products might contain trichnz, which cannot exist in cooked food. Discrimiminating and prohibitive duties against American oleo glucose and petroleum, and many other exports which formerly went to the German empire, Bu have followed one after the other. All these matters : have been made the subject of vigorous protest from our government, much of the correspondence having been conducted by Edwin F. Uhl, now embassador in Berlin, while he was our Assistant Secretary of State. Mr. Uhl is therefore particularly well qualified to deal with the existing situation should it grow more tense. ———— ED Oe THE two-million dollar contract on the Buffa!o.break- water contract has not yet been awarded, but- many of the bids come very close to the estimate figured on by Major Symons, of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., namely: $2,200,000. We note that the average of all bids was $2,198,966, which is but $1,034 less than the estimated cost. To THE RECORD Major Symons stated that fora work of this magnitude and character, includ- ing some work of an unprecedented character, these bids are not only remarkable but gratifying, and we have no doubt that the Major is entitled to feel pleased at the close figuring entered into by himself and staff as evidenced by the opening of proposals this week for . the work to be done. Of course the contract cannot be awarded until the Chief of Engineers at Washington = determines from the figures submitted, and other con- 4 siderations, the proper party to give the contract to, and z he print the abstract in full for the present and future guidance not only of the government contractors, but also as a fair data for the marine public to judge from on this class of work. re a ADMIRALTY lawyers think they are not getting as much business on the Lakes as formerly. I would like to say that they need not growl about this feature after the passing «f the so-called ‘‘ White Bill,” for no man can now get into trouble without his culpability being clearly apparent even to the uninitiated. There will be more rescinding, corrections and additions to square up tha hurried legislation. and more cause for the same in the near future, than there was in passing it. ———— ee DUNKIRK IMPROVEMENTS. The report of the special committee of the Board of : Trade, having the care of matters relating to the im- provement of Dunkirk harbor, which was made to the executive committee of the board last Saturday and given out for publication, was welcome news to the oe people of Dunkirk, showing, as it does, that the work oe will be started shortly and that its progress is and will : be carefully looked after by gentlemen who have the interests of the port at heart. The report says that the plans and specifications for the work are about com- | plete and will be sent to Washington soon. They are so comprehensive that if carried out they will give Dun- kirk, early in 1898, a harbor second to none on Lake Erie. rr 2 2 WEEKLY FREIGHT REPORT. ‘The season closes with Chicago wheat quoted at 24 cents, and vessels asking 214 cents. Two cargoes came from Toledo to-day at 13{, Erie or Buffalo. Coal rates are 60 cents to Lake Michigan for the final loads, but as insurance expires Dec. 10, the lake freight market may now be considered closed. WIND SIGNALS. Wind signals will be discontinued on the lakes as fol- lows: Lake Superior, with the closing of the locks. Lakes Michigan and Huron, Dec. 10. Lower lakes, Dec. 15.