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AucGusT 10, 1899. THE MARINE RECORD. 7 SSS eee CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Capt. John Baird is now master of the George T. Hope. Capt. Al Mitchell has returned to business after making a round trip on the W. H. Gratwick. Capt. W. A. Irvine has been appointed master of the Iron Chief, and Capt. Martin Kurth to the suhooner Iron Cliff. These appointments are for the new addition to the Corrigan fleet. Edward Porritt, special correspondent for the Herald, Glasgow, Scotland, attended the launch of the Malietoa at the Lorain yards of the American Ship Building Co. on Saturday last. Mr. C. B. Calder and Capt. Westcott, of Detroit, were in Cleveland, on Tuesday. Evidently the surroundings in the “City of the Straits’? agree with Mr. Calder, for he looks younger and better than ever. Owing toa scarcity of material a large number of men are laid off work at the several shipyards. Some Cleveland shipyard men visited other ports and found the conditions nearly the same elsewhere—all waiting for steel. An official number has been assigned by the Bureau of Navigation, Treasury Department, Washington, D. C., to the steamer Douglass Houghton, 5,332 gross and 4,034 net tons, built in Cleveland and hailing from Duluth, Minn. Entertaining reading is not always instructive; but the “Sketches and Stories of Lake Erie Islands,’’ by Theresa Thorndale, should be read by almost everyone around these latitudes. The Register, Sandusky, sends it postpaid for $1.10. The Great Lakes Towing Co. is now nearly in working order, and it is likely that the officers will be named this week. There is a feeling of deffidence regarding giving out the names of the active officers, and, while I have heard that the slate is fixed there is nothing given out for publication this week. It was thought that the Lorain yards of thé American Ship Building Co. were nearly pefect in their plans and equipment. While attending the launch of the Malietoa on Saturday, I noticed alarge addition being made tothe machine shops and preparations being made to place more stationary machinery. Charles P. Gilchrist has bought the schooner R. Hallaran from Capt. Thomas Murphy. The price was not given out. The Hallaran was one of the vessels that was chartered by the Atlantic Transportation Co. last fall. She started for the coast but did not get through. She wintered at Valley Field and was brought back last spring. She will tow asa consort with one of the steamers of the Gilchrist fleet. The Northern Transit Co’s. route to the St. Lawrence has become very popular, and passages for the next few weeks should be booked well ahead. Messrs. Farasey and Marron, general agents, are experienced managers in the steamboat passenger traffic, and nothing is left undone to make the patrons of the Northern Transit Co. enjoy the trip. The Empire State and the Badger State are both favorite boats with the traveling public. The bar formed on the west side of the harbor entrance has given more trouble this week, several vessels having grounded there. Large boats are now engaging a tug, a good thing for the towing companies, but an unjust levy on the owners of vessels consigned to this port, and one which is bound to work harm to the portin the future. It is the duty of a port to facilitate its shipping instead of try- ing to drive it away to other places. The Lorain Times states that the schooner Chas. Kimball, Capt. Dawner, mistook the open furnace doors of the water- works pumping station for the harbor beacon, and conse- quently the schooner was piled up on the beach. The schooner was loaded with sand. The captain refused the assistance of steam, saying that he guessed he could sail her off, which he did, after jettisoning about half his cargo. And of such are some of the smart schooner sailors. It is a pleasure to record such an act as that of Mr. Mc- Millen, second mate of the side-wheel steamer City of the Straits. On Sunday night a man somewhat under the in- fluence of intoxicants reeled off the dock at the foot of St. Clair street and near to where the steamer was laying. Hav- ing seen the condition of the man previous to his falling in- to theriver, Mr. McMillen lost no time in taking a header after the helpless creature, caught him when he came to the surface, and by a dexterous movement twisted the man around so that he could not interfere with his rescuer, and then struck out for the dock where he landed his catch. It was very dark and there were few people around the wharf, so it is almost certain that a life would have been snuffed out lacking the assistance and intrepidity of Mr. McMillen. Here is a chance for the U.S. Life Saving Service or a humane society to encourage Mr. McMillen to similarly dampen his socks on a subsequent occasion. It is meet to give praise where it is due. The following dispatch printed in Sunday lake papers, is another of the fake stories, regarding which I had some- thing to say in this letter last week: ‘‘Minneapolis, August 5. Aspecial from Duluth says: Ata meeting of the Lake Carriers’ Association, controlling the wages of 90 per cent. of the large shipping interests on the Great Lakes, it was agreed to advance wages on lake vessels 4o per cent., the advance taking effect August 15. This is the greatest ad- vance in pay ever made by lake carriers, and does not come in response to threats of any strike, but simply because men are scarce.’’ Hereis a Cleveland item sent from Duluth away west to an inland town and then telegraphed back to Cleve- land. The chairman of the committee on wages, appointed last week, says that the story is ‘‘made out of whole cloth,” not a syllable of truth in it. The committee will make their report on Tuesday next, and not before. The query arises, who is sending out these fake dispatches? Last week a similar story reached St. Paul, via Duluth, this week Minneapolis was chosen. Why the inland twin cities? There is no question but that a shoal ridge has formed off Ashtabula harbor since the dredging was completed in the early part of the season. The Daily Beacon, under the head line ‘Broke the Draft Record,’’ describes it this way. ‘“The big schooner Fontana came in Wednesday evening with a cargo of ore for the Minnesota dock, and was drawing 18 feet 7 inches forward, 18.8 aft, and 19 feet midships. The bar outside the harbor was the only place that she grounded, and after being dragged over it she moved to her dock with- out trouble.’’ It is possible, I suppose, for the Fontana’s ends to be cambered 5 inches forward and 4 inches aft, but if so, she must be a daisy to dry dock. It’s perhaps a good way to have her though, kinder protects stem and sternpost, can ground in the center and swing either end around, would be something after the fashion of having a foot of the center- board down. ‘This several inches of sagging is no doubt bet- ter than the same amount of hogging, but land sakes, she must be powerful supple in her fastenings to give and take so easily. On second thought, that Daily Beacon man must surely be off a little some way, if only an inch or two. _ ESCANABA. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. The steamer Lotus, of the Escanaba-Gladstone line, was inspected this week and found to be in excellent condition. Hill Bros., of Fish Creek, seem to keep on making prep- arations towards the establishment of an opposition line to the Hart Steamboat Co., of Green Bay. A little hasty work on the part of a Green Bay bridge- tender resulted in closing the structure upon an outbound schooner, damaging the bridge to the extent of about $200. The shipments of lumber from Duluth and Superior up to the present time are far in excess of any former year, being 157,468,530 feet for the corresponding period last season. The aggregate shipments from there last year amounted to 333,000,000 feet. In a recent conversation with a gentleman high in the ore business he said: ‘‘If it had not been for the late opening of navigation, the recent strikes at Lake Erie ports and the shortening of the end or the season, it would have been nearly impossible to furnish enough ore to keep up the present rate of shipments as the stock piles are getting very low as it is, besides some of the mines have not been able to secure miners enough to work the mines to their full capacity. The Copper Range Railway, at Houghton, is sinking cribs up to the new harbor line for 1,000 feet west of the railroad bridge crossing, Portage Lake, and will make very extensive improvements along the water front, consisting of terminal stations, general offices, wharves, cove sheds, etc. The plan includes locating several large warehouses and manufactories, to be built this fall and next spring. which will necessarily result in greatly adding to the marine busi- ness of the port. The freight market remains in a very healthy condition and prices continue to make small advances daily. Several charters have been made on wheat from Duluth at 3 cents, being equal to $1.12 per gross ton on ore, which is 2 cents above some contracts made to run through the present month from Lake Superior. Coal rates will undoubtedly open strong this week with few takers, a fact which is causing no end of worry to a great number of dealers having old-style machinery, as it is certain to cause the biggest kind of a blockade this fall when the coal does move. It is thought here that the chances for a raise of wages for second mates and all labor below them, are rather slim. They do the bulk of the heavy work and flop around the decks in the fall of the year like sea gulls and are not paid any too much at the best of times. Owners that placed their craft for the season at half of the going rates will not want to pay a nickel more than they are doing. The com- mon herd will thus suffer from the business inaptitude of their employers; however, those who don’t want to sail can stay ashore and starve ; just as well, perhaps, as perishing their bones in the cold on the lakes. After a few seasons at miserable wages p’raps it will thin out a few of the fresh water laborers. It’s a hard way of earning a dollar or two anyway in the fall. The considerate, liberal owner will al- ways have the best class of labor and, as one hardy old fel- low said to me this week, ‘‘I hope the committee on wages at Cleveland will think of us fellows and not begrudge a raise of a few dollars a month to pay for extra duds to meet the cold weather, and I can tell you it’s getting a sort of snifftish on the lake at nights already.” ooo DURING the fiscal year which ended June 30 there were en- rolled at Duluth 204 vessel of all descriptions with a gross, measurement of 175,377 tons. Number of vessels enrolled in 1898, 153, tonnage, 120,653. In 1897, 111; tonnage, 86,243. 1896 86: tonnage, 26,478. FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND LAGAN. The J. H. Rutter and the Metacomet are now colliers in the down east coal trade. It is computed that there are 1,000 vessels which cross the North Atlantic Ocean regularly every month, some of them twice a month. The schooner Mineral State, Buffalo to Lorain, with steel billets, sprung a leak on Monday and was with difficulty towed into Conneaut. The leak was due to defective calking. Taking her too. literally.—‘‘You can’t sit here, ma’am,”’ “But Iam one of the directors’ wives.’’ ‘‘Well, ma’am, if you were his only wife you couldn’t sit here, for this seat is reserved.’’-—Fairplay, Another 8,000-ton steel cargo steamer built at South Chi- cago to the order of the Minnesota Steamship Co., Cleve- lana, will be launched on Saturday, August 12. She will be named the Maunaloa, The steamer India, built by the Calvin Co., Kingston, Ont., and regarded as one of the best built freighters of her size on the lakes, is on her maiden trip to Lake Superior. Her en- gine was built in London, England. Hill Bros. are arranging to build a new passenger and feight steamer at Fish Creek the coming winter. Her length is to be 150 feet. The Cecelia Hill was built at Fish Creek and is considered one of the handiest boats on Green Bay. Assistant Secretary of Treasury Spalding has reduced the fine in the case of the steamer Brazil, owned by J. H. Smith, from $5,000 tofio. The fine was incurred on account of failure to present proper health certificates from the consul at the port he last sailed from. Canals, and particularly ship canals, are costly undertak- ings. The Suez canal cost $100,000,000, the Manchester ship canal $80,000,000, the North Sea canal $37,500,000, the North Holland and the Corinth canals $15,000,000, each, while the partly completed Panama canal has swallowed up Over $250,000,000. Pilson—Are you going to take part in that guessing contest ? Dilson—Oh, no ; they’d rule me out as a professional. Pilson—Professional ? Dilson—Yes ; you know I am connected with the Weather Bureau.—Ohio State Journal. The British steamship Holbein, which recéntly arrived at Liverpool, picked up Capt. Willlam. A. Andrews, known as the ‘‘lone navigator’’, who left Atlantic City on June 18in alittle vessel barely twelve feet in length, to attempt to cross the Atlantic. He was found in an exhausted condition on July 12, about 700 miles from the Irish coast. It is strange but nevertheless a well-known fact, that the majority of seafaring men do not know how to swim, and when a sailor falls overboard he very often is drowned because he cannot keep afloat long enough to be saved. Ability to swim should be a qualification necessary in securing a sea- man’s job. The foregoing is a nice little story, but it’s a lie, the non-swimmer is the exception. The White Star Line Steamer Oceanic, which was launch- ed in January last, being the largest ship in the world, length 704 feet and gross tonnage 17,040 tons, will sail from Liver- pool on her initial trip Sept. 6, and thereafter continue making regular trips on the Atlantic service. The steamer is scheduled to leave New York, Sept. 20 next, under the command of Capt. Cameron formerly of the Teutonic. Captain H. H. Williamson, the well-known coast pilot and captain of one of l. Luckenbach’s ocean tugs is very much dissatisfied with the code of signals by whistle now employed by steam vessels of the United States, and says that they are contradictory and confusing. He has formu- lated a new code of signals, which are simple and direct in giving the course of the vessel.—The New York Maritime Register. The government officials should see to it that the wrecks of the Fountain City and Pride are removed from this bay at an early date. They are amenace to navigation, as has been pointed out in these columns time and again in the past few months. These obstructions are especially dangerous to sail craft coming up the bay under canvas when an easterly wind prevails, as they must hug the shore pretty well to make the draw of the bridge in safety.—The Advocate, Stur- geon Bay, Wis. Here are some of the terrible things which, according to a country exchange, are likely to befalla delinquent: Last week a delinquent subscriber said that he would pay up on Saturday if he lived. He’s dead. Another, ‘‘I’ll see you to- morrow.’’ He’s blind. Still another one said: ‘‘I hope to pay you this week or go to the devil.’ He’s gone. There are hundreds who ought to take warning by these procrasti- nators and pay up their subscriptions now.—From Jerry Simpson’s Bayonet. A lumber hooker, iron ore droger, or passenger steamer, may be fitted out, equipped ready for service, etc., but they can’t, or rather shouldn’t, be put in commission. It is only national ships of war that go into commission. Another in- applicable phrase in lake use is ‘‘in ordinary.’’ A vessel is said to be in ordinary when her crew is discharged and she is temporarily laid up, or waiting for a charter ; this, also, is a transplanted naval term. A good many others have been appropriated from railroad parlance, such, for instance, as ‘“‘package freight,’’