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THE MARINE RECORD 2 among the youths of our country, orphans,.and others, who;:left to themselves, not unfrequently wind up in a reformatory or ‘some such place, thus creating evil upon evil, instead of éradicating all that is not good by a thor- ough system: of discipline and transforming a sure to become tramp into an industrious, useful citizen. Much might be, and in fact, has been, written on this important phase of the question of training ships, suffice it at the present to state that other maritime nations have tried it and*the system works to perfection as it would be sure to do-int'the case of one or more of such vessels being sta- tioned-at lake ports. I , The thanks of the Marine Record are due to the Chief Bureau of Statistics, Department of State, Washington, for a copy of Vol. rt of “Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries’ for the years 1895-6. ‘The work is admirably gotten up, all statistical matter is ably haridled by the bureau and the present vol- ume’ is well bound so that it be lasting and invaluable as a work of reference. w= en ———————— CANADIAN TRANS-ATLANTIC STEAMER LINE. The Canadian government has just laid upon the table of the House the papers relating to the fast Atlantic scheme. : tion:-of Messrs» Peterson, Tait -& Co., the reply of. the government thereto, and the agreement as finally ratified. The agreement is dated in March last and signed for the Dominion government by Sir Richard Cartwright, and by William Peterson for the company. The company undertakes to provide four steamships of not less than.10,000 tons gross and of a speed of 21 knots per hour. They are to have a capacity for 1,500 to 2,000 tons of freight: There is also to be provided cold storage capacity for 500 tons of freight on each vessel, while the passenger accommodation is to be for at least 300 first, 200. second, and 800 steerage. Steerage passengers shall be carried for $15 per head. The steamers are to be constructed under admiralty supervision, and to be up to the standard of the best ocean vessels afloat. They are to.be not less than 525 feet long, with a draught of 25 feet 6. inches, which the navigable depth of.the St. Law- rence channel, for the steamers are to run to Quebec-and on to Montreal in summer. The winter port is to be either Halifax or St. John, at the option of the contractors, the agreement being that the company shall declare which of the ports it will run to before the date for the commencement of the service, May 31,. 1899. Before that date the service will be commenced with two steamers, the remaining two not to be put on the route until May, 1900, when the service will be weekly. For the first year the steamers will give a fortnightly ser ser- vice, only, and during that time will receive only one- “half the stipulated subsidy of £154,500 annually. Besides the steamships, which are to be capable of conyersion. into cruisers in time of war, the company is to provide a fast tender, of the torpedo type, of a speed of not less than 22 knots, which shall meet the steamers on their arrival in the St. Lawrence, with a pilot on board to bring the steamer up to Quebec. It is exacted that the company shall carry the mails free, and not discriminate against Canadian railways, nor accept a subsidy from any other country, nor call at a foreign port. The contract is for ten years, and the security deposited is $100,000. oe om OBITUARY. (Herbert W. Mitchell.) “In the midst of life we are in death.” The shipowning’ community of Cleveland were pain- fully called upon to again bear witness to the truth of the words contained in the foregoing quotation. Herbert W. Mitchell, oldest son of Capt. John Mitchell, one of the best-known vessel owners and managers in Cleveland, was killed. by an electric car, while alighting from it on Euclid avenue, Friday night, June 18th. He was 21 years old, a very bright, scholarly, and, promising young man, who had just been taken into the firm, and of whom great things were expected had. he -been spared a member of the: “firm, of Mitchell & Co., The grievious accident which called hence one who was destined to make a mark in lake shipping circles, is de- plored by all with whom he had been brought into con-. tact during his. brief business career as well as by a host ‘The documents. include copies of the proposi-. of personal and social friends. In this case it is difficult to understand the workings of the “hand that rules,’ nor in any case, can the finite comprehend the wisdom of the infinite. We can but condole with the afflicted parents and relatives in their sad bereavement, nor is it necessary to state that there is no want of expressions of sympathy from shipping men and circles, if such can in any way allay the trouble of the grief-stricken parents of the late estimable young man. The funeral; which took place on Monday, June artst, was attended by the local naval reserve division of which Mr. Mitchell was a member. The services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Rider, of the Euclid Avenue Methodist Epis- copal Church, and consisted of the reading of Scriptures, prayer and a short address by the officiating clergyman. The Arion quartet sang, ‘Gathering Homeward,” ‘Lead, Kindly Light,” “God be With You Till We Meet Again,” and “Still, Still, With Thee.” The floral tributes were elaborate and very beautiful. The pall-bearers were Messrs. Richard Baker, Everett McMillin, Ben Rose, Barto Tucker, Scott Stewart, George Pope, Richard Cottrell and William McAllister. The casket was placed in the receiving vault at Lake View Cemetery. Among the friends of the family living at a distance who attended the funeral were Mr. Thomas Fitzpatrick, of Mentor; Mr: William Fetting, Mr. William F. Sauber (THE LATE) HERBERT W. MITCHELL. and wife, of Marine City; Mr. Henry C. Schnoor, of New Baltimore; Mrs. Fred Gratwick, of Buffalo; Mrs. Anna Koser, of Chicago; Capt. and Mrs. N. S. Whipple and Capt. Whitaker, of Detroit; Capt. J. S. Dunham, of Chi- cago; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wheeler and daughter, of West Bay City; Mr. James McBrier, of Erie, Pa., and others. ——— i oi MUST HAVE A STEAMSHIP LINE OF OUR OWN. Our total trade with the three South American coun- tries named was, in 1894, over $112,000,000. Take the freight on this amount of goods and add thereto the re- ceipts for passengers and mail transportation and it will be seen that there is no small income from. our own busi- ness. South America does none of this business, and we do but a trifle. It is practically all done for us in foreign vessels. It may be argued that if business is done by the carriers at a loss, let the foreigners have it. But Europe does not subsidize lines between North and South America that would not promote her trade. Hence our business has to pay its own way, and for that reason freights are much higher between North and South America than between Europe and South America, though the distance is about the same. What we want is an American steamship line to pro- mote.American interests. Grant that it will run at a loss for a time. It will reduce the freights and therefore cheapen our coffee, sugar, hides and rubber. It will pay the money to our own people and keep it in circulation at home, It will pay wages to workmen to build ships and ‘must run at a loss for a time. to man them. It will induce some of our people to visit South America instead of Europe for health, pleasure and business, thus again patronizing our own’ institutions. It will increase the sale of our products, thus increasing our national income and contribute to the payment of our for-. eign indebtedness and to Making us independent of for- eign capial. Moreoyer, such steamers may be so built that they will answer admirably as tenders and commerce destroyers in case of war, and they will be ready for immediate ser- vice with trained crews. It is much wiser and more eco- nomical to expend a reasonable sum on a‘commercial fleet that may be ready in case of war than' to expend all that might be available on the war fleet. England owes very much of her naval strength to her great merchant navy and trained seamen. The merchantman, besides being at all times ready as transports, are also quickly convertible into direct fighting auxiliaries. By all means build up our merchant navy, even if the main purpose be to strengthen our war navy. Such steamers need not be very large nor very fast. They should be about like those in service between Eu- rope and South America, say about 5,000 tons and- “speed about 15 knots. Bi-weekly service would be sufficient at least to begin with. The subsidy should not be extravagant, but must not be niggardly. It should be remembered: that the ships There should! be a proviso similar to that of the English, which is that all earnings in excess of eight per cent interest must go to the goy- ernment. A better plan is that all earnings over six per cent be equally divided between the company and the government. The government aid should not be confined to a line between North and South America. There should be lines to the Mediterranean and South Africa at least. American wares ought to find their way to both these markets. It is probable that an annual expenditure of aout $10,000,000 would be sufficient, certainly to begin wit Under our earlier navigation laws foreign goods im- ported in American built vessels sailing under the Amer- ican flag paid 10 per cent less duty than goods imported under foreign flags. Under that law, very few dutiable goods were imported under any but the American flag. It operated as a great incentive to the. upbuilding of our merchant marine. This, in connection with the excellence and abundance of timber for ship-building, soon made us in proportion to population the foremost naval nation in the world, and in the war of 1812-14 we were able to cope with England herself on the high seas. For some unaccountable reason, the law giving the 10 per cent rebate duties was repealed. It was argued that if our shipbuilding and ship owning interests could not live without having such advantage, let them die. Then came the foreign steamships with their subsidies, while ours had none. Then came the iron ship, which gave the advantage in materials as well as that of the cost of labor to the foreigner, and the result was death to our shipping. It is idle to talk about our manufacturers seeking a for- eign market without a revival of American shipping. Commerce does follow the flag. When there is no Amer- ican flag to follow, it will follow some other flag. The consumer does not now have to hunt the producer. The producer must seek the consumer. It will not do to argue that the American manufacturer can get plenty of foreign ships to carry his goods to foreign market. He can. But the foreign ship owner invariably carries the foreign goods first, and he carries the seeker for pur- chasers for foreign goods first. *From a pamphlet on “South America; Its Resources and Possibilities,’ by John A. Johnson, president of the Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., and of the Gisholt Machine Co., of Madison, Wis. Mr. Johnson visited South Amer- ica in 1896 as a member of the party sent by the National Association of Manufacturers of the United States. Copies of his pamphlet may be obtained by addressing him. oo or irr HOOKS FOR DAVIT TACKLE FALLS. The Standard Automatic Releasing Hook Co., State street, New York, informs the Record that they have provided the Princess Anne of the Old Dominion Line and the mew light ships building for the Light-House De- partment at Bath, Maine, and launched on Thursday last with their automatic releasing hooks to be applied to all boats dayit tackle falls.