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THE MARINE RECORD. Erie route between Rondeau and Cleveland. She is now at Sault Ste. Marie. The Phoenix Iron Works has secured the contract for furnishing the steam-barge Toltec a steam steering engine _ and windlass engine. On December to last Engineer Fred P. Fitzgerald fell on the steamer Madagascar at Chicago, breaking two ribs. The London Guarantee and Accident Company, through its agent, H. E. Runnels, on Saturday paid him $190.71 for twelve weeks and five days’ disability. General Manager Carter, of the D. & C. line, has or- dered a cut in the freight rates between Detroit and Cleve- land, that is said to be unprecedented in the history of the lakes. From now on the rate will be 20 cents per hundred pounds for every class of goods from one to six inclusive. James E. Davidson paid $1,500 for the steamer Sanilac at a recent sale in Bay City. The Sanilac was built at Al- gonac in 1867. She is 209.75 tons net, 161 ft. 5 in. long, 27 feet 5 inches in breadth, 60 feet 1 inch in depth. She was owned last by Wells, Stone & Co., of Saginaw, al- though Capt. Hannan was her ostensible owner for the past few seasons. Boynton & Thompson have done a good business dur- ing the winter in fitting up their fleet of vessels for the coming season. They have completely rebuilt the tug Mary Virginia and on Tuesday placed a new boiler, built by Saginaw parties, in her hold. She will be assigned to work at the Sault. They have made the barge Church in- to a lightering and coal handling craft for use in this port. A powerful derrick has been placed on her. She will be able to handle 60 tons of coal per hour and to supply coal to vessels at any point in the lake or river. Their tugs are all fitted out ready for business and could start on a day’s notice. Seven of their tugs are in this port and five at the: Sault. oo ore vl : MILWAUKEE. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record. A steel plant, equipped with the latest and most im- proved machinery, is being constructed by the Milwaukee Dry Dock o. at the foot of Mineral street at a cost. of upward of $30,000. The main building will be 135 feet long and 50 feet wide and will be completed in May. The driving of the piles on which the building will rest is now in progress. The equipment of the plant will include a large crane, capable of handling the largest piece of iron used in vessel construction; a rolling ma- chine weighing 65,000 pounds, a planer twenty feet in length, a roll for rolling plates of the largest size, and a number of punching machines, the largest of which will weigh 35,000 pounds. The company is also making ex- tensive improvements at its yard on Canal street. The contemplated plans show an attractive and substantial building, of attractive appearance as well as solidity. It will be constructed of the heaviest timbers, with iron braces and supports, and will rest upon hundreds of 50- foot piles. oor BUFFALO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The situation in marine circles continues quiet, and very little is being done as yet in the way of fitting out vessels for the coming navigation season. A start in that respect is, however, to be made, and Capt. John Sterling has arrived here with a view of putting the steamer Katahdin in shape. Capt. James A. Madigan is also here to look after the steamer 5. C. Baldwin, and preparations are be- ing made to fit her out at once. boats _ Supt. Seeley, of the Erie Canal, states that navigation on the Erie Canal will open as early as usual this season. May 1 is the date, and the contractors at work on the improvements will have to be ready for the opening of the canal at that time. He laughed at the statement to the effect that it would be necessary to boat by way of the Niagara River to Tonawanda for some time after naviga- tion opened, because the dams could not be opened at Buffalo till after May 1. He explained they seemed te forget that the canal was fed at Buffalo and the dams there would have to be opened before navigation could begin. . oor or TOLEDO. Special Correspondence to the Marine Record. Herman Sterling has sold the yacht Florence to George D. Palmer, Jr., for $250. ; A man named Churchyard was the lowest bidder on the government work for which bids were opened at Buf- falo this week for work, to be done at Dunkirk. Toledo dredge men put in bids, but they were apparently too high. ae Monday, Commodore L. S. Sullivan and Capt. Wil- liam Harlow purchased the schooner Chicago Board of Trade at Detroit at marshal’s sale, the consideration being $1,555. The vessel carries 800 tons of coal or 550,000 feet of lumber. She is in good condition. Commander Charles V. Gridley, inspector of the Tenth lighthouse district, has issued a notice that on the open- ing of navigation for 1897 a gas buoy showing a fixed white light will be placed to mark the southeast side of the inner entrance to the straight channel in Maumee Bay, in the position heretofore occupied by spar buoy No. 29 of that channel. All mariners, and especially those hav- ing vessels or rafts in tow, are cautioned to avoid fouling this buoy. The tug Marinette has steam up ready to take George H. Breyman & Bros.’ dredge No. 3 to Lake St. Clair. As soon as the tug returns from Detroit dredge No. 1 will be taken to Lake St. Clair. As soon as possible dredges Nos. 1, 2 and 3 will resume work on the 20-foot channel in Lake St. Clair. -_ OO SOOO FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND LAGAN. The Welland Canal will probably open April 10. Navigation opened on Lake Ontario on Tuesday, when the steamer Lakeside began making her regular season trips between Toronto and St. Catherines. L. C. Waldo, of Detroit, has still about 28,000 tons of ore to bring down on last year’s contracts, at $1 and $1.05. This amount will keep one of Mr. Waldo’s boats busy dur- ing part of this season. The steamers Fairbairn and P. P. Pratt are fitting out at Ashtabula, Three others will start fitting out there this week. All will carry coal, of which a large quantity is tsored in -the yards there. Work at Davidson’s shipyard is being rushed, about 500 men being steadily employed. The three large vessels, two schooners and a big steamer, are nearly planked and it is expected to have all three ready for launching by the opening of navigation. It is now reported that Mr. W. Peterson of New Castle- on-Tyne, England, who is connected with a large shipping interests, has signed a provisional contract with the Cana- dian government for a’Trans-Atlantic steamship service of four boats of 1,000 tons each, to be ready in two years and to steam over 20 knots per hour across the Atlantic. The Dominion Government has definitely decided to push the work of deepening the St. Lawrence Canals to a uniform depth of fourteen feet, the work to be completed in two years. The recent visit of Capt. McDougall, presi- dent of the American Steel Barge Co., to Ottawa, is re- ported to have been in connection with this question. Capt. B. B. Inman, manager of one of Duluth’s tug companies, thinks he has solved the problem of winter navigation on the lakes, by the invention of an ice-crush- ing boat. The promoters of an enterprise to build ice crushers on the designs of Capt. Inman, think they wil have a boat in operation before another year. : A change in the routes of the Hart Steamboat Line of Escanaba, is to be made this season, by the establishment of a weekly line between Escanaba and Manistee, Mich., via Sturgeon Bay and the ship canal. The routes to be covered by the boats during the season have been se- lected. Boats will run three times a week from De Pere and Green Bay as far north as Cheboygan. Green Bay ports from De Pere north as far as Gladstone will be served by a daily line. There will be a daily boat between Sturgeon Bay and Menominee. The old revenue cutter Andy Johnson, which is to be condemned to make room for the Gresham, has had an interesting career on the great lakes, her history of use- fulness in the enforcement of the revenue laws and in pro- tecting merchant marine extending through a period of over thirty years. The boat has been a familiar figure in Milwaukee since she went into commission in 1865, as she has made her headquarters there since that time. Few notable events have taken place in which the Johnson has not added dignity by her presence. In 1880, during the reunion of the G. A. R., held at Milwaukee at that time, she added greatly to the effect of the sham battle in the bay, which was witnessed by thousands of veterans and visitors from all portions of the country. During the World’s Fair she performed many important: func- tions in connection with the reception and entertain- ment of guests of honor. It was on the Johnson that President Cleveland and his cabinet were conveyed to the World’s Fair grounds on the day of the opening exer- cises of that great event. Twenty-one guns were fired on-that occasion in honor of the President. She also ac- comapnied Capt. Concas, in charge of the Spanish cara- vels, from Milwaukee to Chicago during the fair, and performed a similar service on the arrival of the Norse-. man with the viking ship, which made a cruise across the Atlantic to commemorate the discovery of America. O_o APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS. The masters and engineers of the Beatty Line are: United Empire—Jno. McNab, master; S. Brisbin, en- gineer. Monarch—E. Robertson, master; E. W. McKean, engineer. The following officers have been appointed by the De- troit & Cleveland Steam Navigation Co.: City of De- troit—Capt. Alex. J. McKay; engineer, Wm. S. Huff. City of Cleveland—Capt. Alchy McLachlan, engineer; John M. Sargent. City of Alpena—Capt. Matthew Light- body; engineer, A. Phillips. City of Mackinac—Capt. H. J. Slyfield; engineer, Wm. McDonald. City of the Straits—Capt. Duncan McLachlan; engineer, James Mid- dleton. Detroit Transportation Company, Hamtramck Trans- portation Company, Duluth & Atlantic Transportation company: Str. Iron King—William Miller, captain; John Hegemer, engineer. Str. Iron Chief—W. A. Irvine, cap- tain; August Cobo, engineer. Str. Iron Duke—N. L. Miner, captain; Christ Howard, engineer. Str. Iron Age —A. J. Mahon, captain; John Phelan, engineer. _ Schrs. Iron Queen—Wells Bamford, captain; Iron Cliff—Thomas Fitzsimmons, captain; Iron State—W. W. Carter, captain; Iron City—John Hurley, captain. The following appointments have been made by Gil- christ & Fletcher, Alpena: Steamers F. W. Fletcher— Capt. John A. Stewart; engineer, S. A. Merrill. John Owens—Capt Thomas Lillis; engineer, David Thompson. Frank W.—Capt. John Lawson; engineer, Byron Persons. Schooner India—Capt. H. Hansen. _ Williams Trans. Co., South Haven, Mich. Str. City of Kalamazoo—David Morris, master; A. Krogman, engi- neer. Str. H. W. Williams—John Boyne, master; Perry Knaggs, engineer. Str. Glenn—Frank Swails, master; R. Riterson, engineer. Str. Lorain L—A. C. Ingraham, mas- ter; P. Rubey, engineer. ; Parker & Millen, Detroit, Mich.: Passenger str. City of Toledo—George King, master; Daniel Harkins, engineer. Passenger str. Greyhound—Bert Baker, master; Robert Meddler, engineer. Str. B. W. Blanchard—Thomas Mei- kleham, master; John Bloome, engineér. Wrecker Fay- orite—P. L. Millen, master; George L. Simmons, engi- neer. Tugs Saginaw, Balize, Onaping, Wales. A. A. Parker,. Detroit, Mich.: Str A. A. Parker—J. T. Hutton, master; James Falconer, engineer. Str. John Oades—Timese Lemay, master; Charles Scott, engineer. Str. John Pridgeon, Jr—D. N. Sherwood, master; John Mogan, engineer. Schrs. B. W.. Parker—Edward Lohr, master; Red Wing—John Anderson, master; San Diego—John Mason, master; Loveland, Henry Morey, master. : H. J. Johnson, Cleveland, O.: Steamer H. J. Johnson— Chas. Primer, master; John Seymour, engineer. Schoon- er Helvetia—Capt. Neil Murphy. j American Transportation Co., Fairport, O.: Steamers — Alex Nimick—D. P. Wright, master; E. J. Burns, en- gineer. John Harper—Fred Graves, master; Edward Reilley, engineer. Schooner Tyrone—F. E. Johnson, master. ‘ Vulcan Transportation Co., Detroit: Steamer Forest City—Joseph Sanders, master; Charles Harland, engineer. Steamer R. J. Hackett—Thomas Sanders, master; Wil- liam Bridges, engineer. Schooner H. H. Brown—Alex. Glenn, master. Schooner Wm. McGregor—John Hoch- rath, master. : Captain James Corrigan, Cleveland: Steamer Bulgaria, A. H. Gain, master; G. M. Newton, engineer. Steamer Caledonia—J. W. Brion, master? Steamer Italia—C. H. Cummings, master; W. P. Trelaven, engineer. Schooner Tasmania—John Sweeney, master. Schooner Northwest, Frank D. Perew, master. New barge (not named), Sam- uel E. Lewis, miaster. oor THE REHABILITATION OF OUR MERCHANT MARINE. Detroit, March 23. To the Editor of the Marine Record. Having perused with close attention the able com- munication from Mr. Frank J. Firth, I beg leave in your valuable paper to state a few facts. First, as regards the decadence of American merchant ships on the ocean, I would say that it has rather been a total abandonment, for since the war, there has been no push made, to maintain an honorable share of ocean traffic by the American Merchant Marine. As far as the unprofitable character of the investment is concerned, it is merely that the shipowners in the United States, have to emancipate themselves from the enormous profits, which formerly accrued from all kinds of commerce and be satisfied with smaller margins, as shipowners in other countries have done’ The difference in price of building, equipping and running steamboats, between this and foreign countries, is, when we look at actual figures, trifling indeed. Victuals are cheaper in this country than in any other, and though Americans are more liberal in feeding their men, the difference in prices equalizes this. The wages of skilled officers is about even on all boats, but the Americans pay.a trifle more to seamen and firemen, than they do across the water. : The price of fuel which is somewhat less in some for- eign countries, can be equalized by buying part of it there. The. British-American boats, who absorb a good per- centage of the traffic from this country across the Atlantic, seem to make a fair margin, as the increase of their ton- nage upon the market testifies. Those boats, most of whom run out of American ports, feed their men accord- ing to American custom, and pay the same wages Amer- ican boats do. The truth of the matter is, that while foreign ship- owners are satisfied, when they make a margin of seven to ten per cent on their investment, American ship- owners do not consider less than fifteen to twenty per cent sufficient to make a venture, consequently, the enor- mous export from this country, amounting to hundreds of millions of tons annually, is thrown into the hands of foreign tonnage, without an effort or even a trial on the part of the United States for competition. As regards subsidies a fleet will have to be con- structed first to give them to. But, the undersigned’s opinion is, that it would be a better plan, when the time comes, to strike at the root of the evil, and tax foreign tonnage, carrying American produce and merchandize. a few. cents per ton. In this connection I would like to hear further from Mr. Firth or others interested in this most momentous question. FRANK HENRICH.