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JULY 13, 1899. F; OO eee re . OF course it is not a matter to get muchly exercised about as it appears to work no direct harm to any particular citizen or class of citizens of the United States, yet, there is a cer- _ tain satisfaction to the average individual in being able to quote figures accurately, or accurate figures. In printing an _ advanced report of the shipping of the United States, as sent _ out from Washington last week, there were several state- ments to which exceptions might be taken. ‘The total ton- nage documented for the year was given us, but, when the compiler of those statistics can take, and has deducted, 19 tons from 30 , tons, leaving a remainder of 10 tons, we can but doubt the authenticity of the aggregation of figures on _tonnage. Again, during the past year we have found a _ large number of vessels of 5 tons and upwards, built a score of years ago, and only entered on the lists this year, all of which goes to swell the aggregate, without having any bear- 7 ing (except, perhaps, a misleading one) on the annual ton- _ nage built during the fiscal year, so also may the figures on average or mean tonnage be inaccurate. Furthermore, we _ were informed from Washington that in certain trades our large sailing vessels were endeavoring to compete with foreign cargo steamships. Well! we all know, and especi- ie ally in the lake trade, the extent and results of sail compet- _ ing with steam. We are as credibly informed that the largest _ fore and aft vessel ever built, the most notable vessel, is the _steel schooner John Smeaton, against which is pitted a French built sea-going vessel of smaller tonnage. To carry ue ¥ a placed in mid-Atlantic. With an equal amount of inaccuracy _ we were made to say that for the first time in our history steel was the principal material of construction in our an- nual output of rigged vessels, when in fact, iron has not _ been used in any shipyards, to any extent, for several years past, and not at lake shipyards during the past three years. In the foregoing, we have covered, perhaps, the main por- ‘tions of these peculiar statistics, and to which further allu- sion may be made in 'the immediate future. es iy SO OO EON Carr. WarKINs, late master of the American Line _ steamer Paris, has taken the onus of stranding that vessel entirely upon his own shoulders. After leaving Cherbourg a beam bearing was taken at 6:38 p. m. of Cape La Hogue | light and 57 minutes later, or at 7:35 p. m. the Casquet light was abeam. In shaping a course to sight the Lizard, distant 131 miles, Capt. Watkins took his departure from the time of taking a beam bearing of Cape La Hogue in- ‘stead of that of the Casquets, thus placing his ship about 18 miles astern of her actual position, or the distance be- tween the first and second beam bearings, viz., Cape La is Hogue and the Casquets, say 18 miles. Thus endeth the apparent mystery, and this, too, without any further in- _ quiry, as the captain, acting the man all through, gave _ great praise to his subordinate officers and crew, explained _the cause of the stranding, and took his two years’ suspen- sion from office like the sailor he is should do. A stiff upper lip to you, Captain Watkins; errors are made mo- mentarily ; you are not the only man that’s piled up a tank, and after your well-earned rest may your future success _ afloat exceed the most sanguine expectations of your life. - Our other and previously written remarks on this subject still stand to the fore, only, in omitting the name of the Paris, another wreck can be substituted, no official inquiry _ being necessary in the case of the Paris. OO De AGAIN has the United States Steamboat Inspection Ser- vice stultified itself-in its rendition of a verdict in the Paris case. Capt. Watkins acknowledged his error by mail and the local inspectors at New York say that he shan’t take - charge again for at least two years, so there now! He can’t "even ship as mate, to earn a living at his life-long calling, - for an officer takes charge of a deck, and is full of responsi- bilities. Capt. Watkins was his own judge and jury, coun- sel, witness, technical adviser and nautical assessor, he ex- - onerated his officers, from the chief down, andin the full- ‘ness of his plenary powers graciously condescended to give praise to all of his late subordinates, thus outwitting the local inspectors at New York and making their inquiry a bye play, an ordinary everyday burlesque, a hair splitting comedy for other maritime nations to giggle over. Let’s show why. At any moment from the time of leaving Cher- bourg till stranding on the Manacles, Capt. Watkins was not the only man on board who was compelled to know the Osition of the vessel. The local inspectors in opening and closing the case innocently assumed that he was, or is the to be re-opened by mail and each individual separately a . _ the comparison to its proper issue both vessels should be ° THE MARINE RECORD. 19) sentenced in the same way. Afterall, p’raps sucha method would be an admirable way of continuing the burlesque so as to further excite the risible faculties of foreigners who have been intently watching for the finale. ee IN our issue of June 22nd, the appraisal of several auxiliary naval vessels was noted, and the date for receiving bids for their sale placed on July 19th. A possible purchaser asked the RECoRD if these vessels would be entitled to all privileges under the United States flag, and on the 27th ult. we addressed a similar inquiry to Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy. His reply under date of the toth inst., is as follows: ‘‘As regards the question of American registry for the Scipio, if purchased by an American citizen, you areinformed that the Treasury Department, which has had this matter under consideration, has decided that the issue of a register to the Scipio, as a vessel of the United States, would be in violation of the law, as the explicit pro- hibition in section 4132, of the Revised Statutes, forbids the registry of this vessel unless Congress shall specifically authorize such action.” oi Se RELATIVE to the large number of vessels recently added to the grain carrying fleet at Chicago, we are pleased to have the assurance of the managers of the classification societies that these vessels retain their former rating. Their class has in no way been altered, nor is it within their province to discriminate, for or against, vessels after a careful and faithful inspection has been held. It appears that shippers wanted more grain tonnage at the going rates, and they per- suaded underwriters, their representatives, or general agents, to insure a class of tonnage which had, earlier in the season, been ruled out of the grain carrying trade. The situation, ‘therefore, was brought about by the shippers, with: the acquiescence of the underwriters, and without any change in the vessel’s class or rating. i oO 2 oe THERE seems to be an excellent opening for one or two more compass adjusters for work on the lower lakes. It has been found quite difficult at times to secure the services of a compass regulator, as, when wanted, say at Buffalo, the ‘‘sea-clock adjuster’’ might be at the other end of the lakes. On the other hand, and in some cases, the less the compass is attempted to be adjusted, or juggled with, the better the courses that are made from point to point, but this does not refer to careful and accurate adjusting, and where deviation cards are made out for the masters, showing the residual errors existing after the magnets are placed. ‘ ee LAKE FREIGHTS. Lake freights have an upward tendency, Chicago paying 2% cents on corn, an increase of & cent for the week. The Duluth figure remains at 23{ cents and the market light, with vessels looking for 3 cents. Toledo has chartered ton- nage at 134 cents on wheat to Buffalo. The all-rail compe- tition is at an end, line boats, used in the general cargo trade, are now carrying grain at the increased rate and ship- pers are furious at the lack of tonnage. The iron ore rates are firm at 90 cents Duluth-Ashland, 80 cents Marquette and 75 cents Escanaba, but, as the Chicago grain rate now equals go cents on Escanaba ore, chartering at the latter port is light. Charters have been made at 85 cents Marquette, also up to $1 Duluth, but these figures are not slated as the going rate. As with the unsteady quotations on iron ore, so with the coal rates, nominally 50 cents is paid Lake Erie ports to Lake Michigan, and 40 cents to Lake Superior with the usual advance to minor ports. It was reported that the Buffalo rate to Lake Michigan had gone up to 60 cents and a raise from Ohio ports was looked for but has not eyentu- ated, however, the market holds very firm and may go to 60 cents, all Lake Erie ports to Chicago for Milwaukee, although shippers strongly protest against the advanced figures, as it is clearly their business soto do. At the same time, tonnage that is free to charter realize their value and look to be paid a fair living rate of freight. Lumber rates are firmer at $2.25 per M. feet, head of Lake Superior to Lake Erie, than at any time during the season, though a large consignment was fixed ahead at $1.8734. Iron ore is king, and, until the rush of shipments is over, there can be no slump in other bulk cargorates. There seems to be a feverish desire to get every pound of ore pos- sible sent forward and boats under season charters are kept on the move, with dispatch as the keynote and watchword, even Northern Line general cargo boats have begun toting ore and lake car-ferry boats pressed into service. RE-RATING LAKE TONNAGE. CHICAGO, July 3rd, 1899. _ To the Editor of the Marine Record: In looking over the columns of your valuable paper, dated June 29th, page 11, I find you quote from an article sent out by a Chicago news association, explaining why a revision of the grain carrying vessels was recently made. You then in very caustic terms criticise the action of all parties con- cerned in said revision, going so far, as you say for illustra- tion, as to compare a fifteen year old broken-down plug of a horse to a ship. You, however, neglected to inform your readers if a horse could be repaired to the same extent asaship. I take it for granted that the majority of your readers, myself among the number, know very little about a fifteen year old plug, and what repairs would be necessary to restore one to a five-year old class, and for our information I would ask you to kindly tell us if such a plug as you describe for illustration, was fitted with new forefoot, hawse pipes, stem and stern post, keel and garboards, frames ‘‘forward’’ and ‘“‘aft,”” new decks and deck frames, new rails, stringers and stanchions, new top side planking, thoroughly re-fastened, calked inside and out, and given two coats of Sherwin & Williams paint, whether you would still ask us to recognize him as the same old plug. You are probably familiar enough with lake classification to know that all wooden vessels—if Ar when built, at the age of seven years pass into the A1% class by rule, and if Ai* when built, at the age of ten years pass into the same class, and right here I want to state that in my opinion we to-day, have the most intelligent and careful inspection and classification of vessels we have ever had on the Great Lakes. — / The gentlemen at the head of the two classification socie- ties recognized by lake cargo underwriters, attended the revision meeting for the purpose of assisting the committee, by giving them classes and condition of vessels, and permit me to inform you that they performed their duties in a most painstaking and thorough manner. The class of no vessel was raised except where it was proven by personal inspec- tion, sufficent repairs had been made to warrant it, and was only done in half adozen cases then pending, and which would have been raised even if no revision of tariff had been - made. The classification societies had nothing to do with the tariff put in force at the opening of navigation; they simply furnished the underwriters with a list of the vessels and their ratings, and a committee of those gentlemen, who I believe niet in New Vork, divided those vessels into three classes, as follows: First—All regular line steamers not classing below A2, all At steamers any value, and all Ar% steamers valued at $40,000 and over. Second—All A1¥ steamers valued at $25,000 and under $40,000, all Ai tow barges valued at $35,000 and upward. Third—All Ai steamers under $25,000, all A2 steamers any value, all Az tow barges valued under $35,000 and all A1¥% and A2 tow barges any value. . ‘This tariff was manifestly unfair to the vessel owner, for the reason that it degraded a great many worthy vessels, and this being properly laid before the gentlemen who originally arranged the tariff this spring, they were wise enough to see the injustice of said tariff, and fair enough to appoint a committee to revise it. Personally, I’ do not believe the value of a ship should prejudice her rating, The latter as I understand is based exclusively on condition and construction all over the world. The injustice of the tariff recently revised was caused by the degradation of vessels on account of value, irregardless of condition. The owner of the wooden ship has been the ‘‘under dog’”’ so many years that he is getting pretty well used to being jumped upon. I was very much surprised to see the RECORD take a kick at him. If you have any grievance against the classifieation societies or the underwriters, have it out with them by all means, but please don’t draw your sword on the owner, when nothing but simple justice to the owners of worthy wooden ships has been done. Very truly yours, D. SULLIVAN. Our criticism was directly from a vessel owner’s standpoint? and against the action of those who telescope the value of people’s property up or down, at their own arbitrary will, pleasure, or whim. Ship classification means something, or. nothing, is held both ways, the world over to-day, and graded according to the certificate of classification a vessel holds, For the purpose of securing and insuring cargoes there are some certificates that would hardly be recognized by keen shippers and underwriters, others are above par. If our correspondent can show but one vessel out of the re- classed fleet, which received the rebuild that he speaks of, it will be fully granted that she deserves to retain her former class, and even to be classed up to her original rating, as neither the old ceiling nor outside planking would be fas- tened on the newframes. Therefore, she ought to have been given an enhanced class on the completion of her practical rebuild. Ep.