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6 iS THE MARINE RECORD. ’ NEWS AROUND THE LAKES. —- —— CHICAGO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The Youghiogheny & Lehigh Coal Co,, has purchased the dock and steamboat fueling business of the O. S. Richard- son Coal Co. The latter company retires entirely from lake business. The Youghiogheny & Lehigh Co. is a part of the extensive soft coal producing, selling and shipping interests managed by G. E. Tener and John A. Donaldson, of Cleve- land, and which include the Pittsburg & Chicago Gas Coal Co. and Fairport & Northwestern Dock Co. The Sheriffs Manufacturing Co., of Milwaukee, has _ orders for Sheriffs wheels as follows: One of 11 feet diame- ter for steamer F. & P. M. No. 5; one of 7 feet 8 inches diameter for the Dunham tug J. C. Evans, under charter to the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway Co. at Ludington; one of 8 feet diameter for the tug John Gregory at Cleveland; one of 6 feet 10 inches diameter for the tug Fred A. Lee at Sault Ste. Marie. Wheels of 4 feet 8inches and 4 feet 9 inches diameter respectively, have also been shipped to New Orleans, La., and Stillwater, Minn., within the past few days. A large amount of lumber is to be brought to Chicago this season from the head of Lake Superior, and suitable carriers will find employment at improved rates. Several season charters have already been made at $2 per 1,000 feet, and one where the lumber is to be delivered upon a dock, just inside of the harbor, fora trifle less than that figure. Rates will also be higher on lumber from Lake Michigan ports. One dealer who has 10,000,000 feet of hardwood lumber to be delivered from Traverse City and other points in Grand Traverse Bay, is looking for tonnage at a $2 rate. The improvement in lumber freight rates must necessarily extend so that the smaller class of vessels will also be benefited. The Chicago pneumatic Tool Co., Chicago, has a report from John MacDonald & Son, of Glasgow, on an exhibition of the company’s pneumatic tools held in Glasgow in Muir & Findlay’s Parkhead Boiler Works. The tools seen at work by leading shipbuilders of the Clyde, railroad and locomotive builders and by a number of boiler makers and engineers were the Boyer hammer for, chipping and calking, the Boyer riveting hammer, riveter with pipe frame, deck _ - yiveter. and pneumatic holder-on, and casting cleanser. There were also shown the Whitelaw reversible drills and a chain hoist operated by air motor. The performance of all tools was highly satisfactory. Vesselmen are beginning to figure on the probable time that navigation will open in the spring, and the opinion seems to be that it will not be as early as usual. Capt. J. T. Rose, of Duluth, wrote to the Harvey Marine Bureau, which supplies marine news from the Sault, asking about the ice there and the prospects for the opening of naviga- tion. A reply was received in which it was stated that there is more ice in the river and at the foot of Lake Superior than there has been in ten years or more, and the opinion is that it will be impossible to get boats through before May 1. This date is about the proper time for vessels to begin sail- ing, but it would be safe to bet that 15 days earlier would be nearer the mark. A correction of a misstatement is made regarding that money-producing Alaskan steamer Willie Irving, which though a stern wheeler only 80 feet long and 20 feet beam, made $23,000.00 on one round trip. She made ten trips during four months of last season, and is the boat that shot . the Five Finger rapids two miles in length in 2% minutes. Joseph Supple, of Portland, built the hull, and the Marine Iron Works, Chicago, designed and built the entire combi- nation of driving machinery and accessories, including the Roberts’ water tube boiler, of which they are authorized builders. If more of the Alaska ventures had equally good stern paddle wheel steamboats, managed by men experienced in handling that usefnl kind of craft, they need not worry, even though not successful in mining for the yellow metal. Lieut. Benjamin W. Wells, U. S. N., assumed charge of the naval recruiting station and the hydrographic office at Chicago on the 16th ult., relieving Lieut. Comdr. Holman Vail. Lieut. Wells will make his home at the North Shore Hotel, Chicago. Mr. William J. Wilson, who has been in charge of the branch hydrographic office at Chicago, and who was recently mustered out of the volunteer navy, has been reappointed nautical expert and will continue as as- sistant at the branch hydrographic office. Mr. Wilson has been indefatigable in his work at Chicago, and owing to his efforts the Chicago office is one of the best known in the United States. Mr. Wilson is devoting his spare time to teaching the Chicago ship captains and yachtsmen the navigator’s art, being principal of the Chicago Nautical School.—Army and Navy Register. Capt. Williamson, in an interview concerning his dismis- sal from the command of the steamer Naomi, said: ‘‘I was iven no opportunity for defending my course and I asked mS none. I sighted the Moran in the lake in the middle of night. Her crew were standing on the ice and when [I at- tempted to rescue them made no effort to save their own vessel. They had tow lines on board, but they made no at- tempt to use them. I saved allof the crew and took some of the effects of the Moran. When it was evident that if both vessels stayed out longer both would be lost I aban- doned the Moran. When.I reached port my first salute came from Traffic Manager Field, who congratulated me upon arriving safely in port, and in also saving the crew of the Moran. The absolute turn in affairs which came a few days after, when I was asked to sever my connection with the company, was surprising. ————< aera ae CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Shipbuilding skill or labor is now at a premium and work- men are being engaged daily at the local shipyards. The situation in coal freights has been more than dull this week and I have not learned about any charters being placed. Capt. John Mitchell left for New York on Tuesday to look after the schooner J. C. Fitzpatrick, which was chartered by the Atlantic Transportation Co. The best offer from Duluth seems to be 2% cents for ar- rival on wheat to Buffalo. This figures about 85 cents on ore, while only 65 cents is offered on ore charters for the season. The work of lengthening the steamer Globe has been started at the yard of the Globe Iron Works Co. The job will be completed some time in May, and when she comes out she will be a 5,000-ton carrier. With the fine, mild weather experienced here this week there is a feeling that navigation may open quite early, and masters as well as engineers are figuring on getting soon to work again, either here or through being sent to other ports. ° The engineers of the Zenith City steamers, all but one of which are at Buffalo, will begin fitting them out about March 1. The Queen City and Superior City are receiving considerable repair work, the latter having been on fire last fall. The Superior City and Empire City will be drydocked. Shortly after the big cargo steamer Pennsylvania was launched at the yards of the Cleveland Ship Building Co. at Lorain Saturday afternoon, the passenger boat which bears the same name was launched at Detroit. A duplication of ne names is a singular, or rather a mutual duplicate coinci- ence. At the lodge rooms of the Shipmasters’ Association a very pleasant card party was given on Tuesday night by the wives of the members. A large number was in attendance, and the occasion proved a most enjoyableone.’ The ladies acted as entertainers, and served a sumptuous lunch. An excel- lent program of music was a feature of the reunion. Consolidations and combinations are all the talk now. In addition to the getting together of shipyards which first started about a year ago between Chicago, Duluth and this city itis‘now known that the lake Superior Iron Co. is likely to be taken into a combination so that their fine ves- sel property may possibly change hands before the opening of navigation. The licensing of masters and pilots of sailing craft of 700 tons and upwards is keeping a good many of the pilots guessing this week. It isa question among them whether the large tow barges are to be considered as sailing vessels or not. The officers of the whaleback fleet of barges are easy enough in their minds so also are those in charge of the smaller vessels or aetual schooners. It is more than likely that all consorts will be considered as tow barges and that licensed men will not be required for them. Work is being rushed on the slip dock the L. E. & D. R. railway is building at Rondeau to accommodate its car fer- ries. The car ferry Shenango No. 1, which is to be put on the route between Rondeau and Conneaut, is one of the largest craft of her kind and will carry a train of loaded cars at each trip. By the construction of car ferry docks at Rondeau, the Walker road will have the distinction of pos- sessing facilities at all its water terminals for transferring cars across to their railway conneetions on the American side. The passenger steamer Flora has been rebuilt and will ply regularly between Rondeau and this port during the entire season of navigation. In a paper'read at a meeting of the Civil Engineers’ Club on Tuesday night, it was stated that there were twenty large steel shipbuilding yards in the United States, and the aver- age output or construction only reached 3,000 tons each last year. The British alone have over one hundred such yards and the average annual output is 15,000 tons each. It was further pointed out that the first steamer ever seen on the Pacific ocean, the Beaver, was only as large as the Cleveland tug boat Harvey D. Goulder, and yet she made a voyage sixty years ago from London, England, to Astoria, Ore. From that time the improvement in steamships was gradual until the modern Atlantic liner was reached. Speaking of the bill now before Congress to subsidize American shipping interests, it was said: ‘‘While the bill is heartily endorsed by those who have studied and realized the degraded condi- tion of our foreign shipping trade, there are some who seem to think that the rehabilitation of our merchant marine is a matter that concerns the maritime community only, whereas, it has been clearly demonstrated time and again that the national merchant ships contribute more wealth and provide more general employment to the masses of the people pro- ducing them than any other structures of similar bulk or weight, . time will give the tourists an opportunity to view the unriy- DETROIT. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Manager Francomb, a Detroit vessel owner, visited here this week to look after repairs on the schooner John A, ~ Francomb. . 4 Capt. McAlpine and Capt. McIntosh, of the steamers a Livingstone and Majestic, have left here for Buffalo to get their boats in order for the season’s work. Capt. Alexander McDougall, general manager of the ~ American Steel Barge Co., says he has nothing to disclose relative to the proposed combine of the steel shipbuilding plants of’ the Great Lakes, and characterizes the rumors as “newspaper rubbish.” Two weeks ago the best rate on season ore charters offered here was 60 cents. Nowa 65 cent rate until November is 4 not being eagerly snatched at. If the majority of tonnage is — placed for ore there will surely be a chance for moderate _ sized tonnage on outside chartering. : Opening freight rates on lumber from Menominee to Chi- cago will be $1.25, and to Buffalo and Tonawanda $1.75. ‘The lumber purchased by the Paepeke-Leight Lumber Co., of Chicago from the Kirby-Carpenter Co., 13,000,000 feet, will be carried by the steamer John Otis. The steamer C. Hickox will carry lumber cut by the Burns mill for the Forester Lumber Co. of Milwaukee. Field parties of the Deep Waterway Commission are rapid- ly assembling in Detroit, and completing their work. In all there were 12 parties out, but eight of them have finished. This week’s arrivals are A. J. Himes, who has been on the Oswego route, and J. W. Beardsley, who has been on the . St. Lawrence. There are eight assistants with them. Gen. Kidd says the commission will submit its report in — December, having completed the surveys and estimates of cost in two years’ time. Preparatious for the opening of the Wheeler shipbuilding plant, at West Bay City, are going forward steadily and everything will be in readiness to start up when enough steel has arrived. Orders for stock have all been placed and it isexpected to have the yard in full operation by April1. A large number of the former heads of depart- ments will again be employed, some returning from West Superior, Wis., Newport News, Va., and other shipbuilding centers. Mr. Wheeler states that there has been no nego- tiations looking toward placing his yard in the alleged ship- yard trust, and he knows of no proposition looking to that end. : The Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co. are contemplat- ing a change in the running of their Mackinaw steamers that will add greatly to the attractiveness of that popular route to the Island of Mackinac. Last season these steam- ers departed from Detroit on Monday and Saturday nights at 10:30. It is now proposed to start these steamers on the © same days, but at 5 p.m. standard time. This change in fie Naees a ROTEL OW ee Ty ee alled beauties of the Detorit river, the picturesque resorts of the Flats and the town along the St. Clair river. Under the new schedule the steamers will arrive at 7:30 p. m. Sundays and Tuesdays, which will be decidedly more convenient for passengers. Senator McMillan -appeared before the Senate committee on appropriations on Friday last, in support of his two amendments making appropriations for two revenue cut- ters, and a wind signal station on South Manitou Island. The Senator urged the importance of promptly authorizing the construction of vessels to take the place of those sent from the lakes to the coast during the Spanish war. He read letters from the Treasury Department strongly recom- mending the appropriation, and suggested early action in © view of the fact that at least two years must elapse after the money is set aside before the cutters can be launched. It is possible there may be a hitch in the appropriation for the wind signal station, for the reason that it is properly an ad- junct of the Department of Agriculture, and as such ought properly be provided for on the agricultural appropriation bill. As that measure is now out of reach, Senator McMillan hopes the point will not be raised in committee. a i ‘ BUFFALO. a Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. j The shipyard combine will likely go through but the : Union Dry Dock Co. here, as a railroad corporation, is out out of the deal entirely. Capt. Killeran, who held a survey of the steamer Arthur Orr, reports that it will cost about $56,000 to repair the dam- age she sustained by stranding on Lake Superior. Nothing can be learned yet about the insurance rates on hulls and cargoes for the coming season, most of the large lines are placed for a year or two ahead ona policy issued three years ago. Capt. Limay is here looking after work being done on the steamer John Oades. There is enough dry dock, new and repair work now in sight to keep the river busy until the opening of navigation. aq The Union Steamboat Co. has made the following ap- — pointments: Steamers—Starrucca, Walter Robinson, mas- ~ ter; A. A. Brown, engineer; Ramapo, John H. McDonald, master, Henry C. Jordan, engineer; Chemung, F. B. Huyck, master, George Fritsche, engineer; Owego, John Byrne, master, Reynolds Hill, engineer; Tioga, John Wulke,