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20 age provision, that will not be subject to objection by the grain trade upon the ground of uncertainty in use. Sixth—No clause providing for the payment of demur- rage will be inserted in the lake grain bill of lading this season. The detention clause proposed at the Buffalo conference as a substitute for the demurrage clause, will be modified in consultation with the counsel of the Lake Carriers As- sociation, so as to express correctly the practice which it is understood will, by mutual agreement, govern the unload- ing of grain cargoes at grain delivery ports. this season. The Secretary of the Lake Carriers’ Association will then submit the detention clause, as modified, to each vessel owner for vote as to the advisability of inserting said clause in lake grain bills of lading after a named date. Seventh.—It is understood that the grain trade, rail car- riers and elevators, will co-operate in every reasonable way to correct abuses in the matter of shortage and detention and to secure dispatch to vessels at ports of loading and un- loading. : oe Subsequently a local committee, consisting of Messrs. Brown, Maytham and Keep, was appointed to represent the association at Buffalo, and to receive complaints of vessel owners where dispatch in unloading grain cargoes was not given, and to take the matter up with the Commit- tee of Control appointed by the Western Elevatine Asso- ciation. Upon this plan the grain business has been car- ried on during the past season, and during the greater part of the season very prompt dispatch has been given to ves- sels at Buffalo. Two causes, however, neither of them con- nected with any defect in the grain bill of lading, have pre- vented the new system from having an absolutely fair trial during the season. The first of these was the shoveling strike at Buffalo in the spring, which is referred to in this report hereafter, and the second the extraordinary business offered to railroads of the country and the shortage in rolling stock, in consequence of which the elevators at Buffalo became clogged early in the fall and some delays resulted owing to the inability of the roads to take away the grain as fast as it was received by lake. In the interval between the close of the strike, however, and the clogging of the Buffalo elevators from the cause above mentioned, the service at Buffalo was as good as could possibly be de- sired. The Buffalo committee of the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation found the Board of €ontrol of the Western Elevat- ing Association at all times ready to act promptly upon complaints, and where there was just cause for dissatisfac- tion, a prompt remedy was applied. The co-operation of vessel owners was also sought by instituting a system of notice from the agents loading vessels with grain at west- ern ports by which the authorities of the Western Elevating Association were advised in advance of the boats coming to Buffalo with grain, and thus enabled to place them amongst the different elevators in a manner to facilitate dispatch in unloading. No cases of exceptional shortage or demur- rage were submitted to the Secretary with request for arbi- tration. GRAIN SHOVELING AT BUFFALO AND LABOR DIFFICULTIES. The contract for shoveling grain at Buffalo during the season of 1899 was awarded at the last annual meeting to W. J. Conners, of Buffalo. It became apparent before nav- igation opened that there was to be a labor controversy at Buffalo between the contractor and the shovelers. It is not necessary to recite here the history of the differences of opinion between the contractor and shovelers. It is enough to confine ourselves to the position taken by the Lake Car- riers’ Association and to recite the part which it took in the troubles at Buffalo during the early part of the season of navigation. The greater portion of the grain fleet arrived in Buffalo on the 3d and 4th of May. The work of unloading the boats proceeded very slowly. At no time was the work of unloading entirely discontinued, but the force of men em- ployed was much smaller than under ordinary circum- stances. Whatevér form the differences between the con- tractor and his men had taken in the first instance, soon after the opening of navigation the shovelers took the posi- tion that they would not work under the contract system, . but that they would return to the system of shoveling grain under boss scoopers at the different elevators which had prevailed before the contract system was put into effect. Under these circumstances the Executive Committee of the Lake Carriers’ Association, at their meeting in Cleveland on May 3d, adopted the following resolution: “Whereas, The system of grain shoveling in vogue at Buffalo for three seasons past has operated to correct many abuses; has furnished good wages to the men actually doing the work; saved vessels from delays and extortions and been of marked advantage to the grain trade of Buffalo, and for the mutual advantage of the shoveler and the vessel this system should continue; and “Whereas, A contest has been excited in Buffalo to do away with this system and compel a return to the old sys- tem with all the abuses, “Resolved, That the members of the Lake Carriers’ As- sociation have confidence that their contractor, W. J. Con- ners, is ready and willing to give the men fair treatment and the same wages as last year, and that they stand by Mr. Conners in this contest, and insist on the performance of the work under his contract.” On the 5th of May a conference was held at the Iroquois Hotel in Buffalo between members of the Executive Com- mittee of the Lake Carriers’ Association and a delegation from Local No. 51, headed by President McMahon. This meeting was practically held under the auspices of the New York State Board of Mediation and Arbitration. Messrs. Goulder, Wilson, Coulby, Corrigan and Brown attended on THE MARINE RECORD. behalf of the Lake Carriers’ Association. The various labor interests in Buffalo were represented by officers and a number of the elevator men were in attendance. The posi- tion of the Lake Carriers’ Association was stated by Mr. Goulder to the effect that the association had entered into a contract with Mr. Conners; that he had given them a bond for the faithful performance of the contract, and that the association had determined to stand by its contractor and by the contract system. On Saturday. May 6th. another conference was held at the Iroquois Hotel, at which representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, representatives of the Elevator Association, and all the various labor organizations of Buffalo were present. At this conference a paper was drawn up and signed by the various interests, proposing a basis of settle- ment. This basis included the preservation of the contract with Mr. Conners, abolishing the saloon evil, the appoint- ment of an inspector to see that the saloon evil was abol- ished in fact. supervision in this regard by the inspector. This proposition, though signed by prominent labor leaders in Buffalo as a basis of settlement, was rejected at a meet- ing of the shovelers, after which the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation, through Mr. Goulder. made a statement showing that they had made earnest efforts to settle the trouble in a manner satisfactory to the scoopers and contractor, and had submitted what they considered a fair proposition to the scoopers, which they had refused to hear. In this state- ment Mr. Goulder suggested for the first time the name of Bishop Quigley. of Buffalo, to act as arbitrator. On the 7th of May Bishop Quigley agreed to endeavor to reconcile the contending parties. and on Monday, May 8th. a prolonged conference was. held at the house of Bishop Quigley. at which were present. in addition to the bishop, representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association, State Board of Mediation, International ’Longshoremen’s Union, Buffalo Local No. 51. Little progress towards an agree- ment was made at this conference. During several days thereafter conferences were held at the house Bishop Quigley, and on Saturday, Mav 13th, a basis of agreement was arrived at and put in writing, and signed by Mr. Goulder for the Lake Carriers’ Association, and the attorney for the shovelers. The basis of settlement agreed upon was as follows: “ First—That the price of $1.85 per thousand bushels should be paid to the men actually doing the work of shoveling, with not exceeding one foreman at each elevator leg. no other person to participate therein. Second.—Each gang to select a time-keeper from its own number. Third.—The time-keeper and inspector provided for at the conference to have free access to bills of lading and other documents showing the quantity of grain elevated. Fourth. Wages to be paid at elevator offices. Fifth.—No bar bill or other accounts to be deducted from wages. ‘Sixth.—No boss or paymaster to be directly or indirectly connected with any saloon. Seventh.—An inspector to be appointed by the bishop to see that the provisions of the agreement were carried out, and to report any violation to the bishop and to the Lake Carriers’ Association; the inspector to be removable by the bishop with power to appoint another, if necessary, to be paid by the Lake Carriers’ Association. Eighth.—Bishop Quigley to have power to appoint a dis- peed arbitrator to hear and finally determine com- plaints. : Although this agreement was entered into by all parties to the controversy, unon the following Monday morning the scoopers did not return to work as expected, alleging acts on: the part of the contractor inconsistent with the agreement. Representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation therefore gave out a statement that they had en- tered into an agreement which provided a remedy for every abuse and evil that had been complained of by the men; that they had done all they possibly could to put an end to the labor trouble at Buffalo. and not having been successful in inducing the men to go to work, they could only withdraw from further negotiations, leaving Bishop Quigley to deal with the matter as he saw fit. Meantime the steam shovels and a force of two to three hundred men were steadily at work in unloading grain at Buffalo, and giving, under peculiarily difficult circumstances, as good dispatch to vessels us was possible. Meantime, also, with- out participation by representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association, various questions between the contractor and men, such as the selection of bosses, the temporary suspen- sion of objectionable bosses and the employment of men not members of Local 51, had been the subject of negotia- tions between the contractor and shovelers, and on the 23d of May the settlement of these questions was so far ad- vanced that the men returned to work at all the elevators. Bishop Quigley appointed Timothy P. Donovan inspector to see that the various terms of agreement which had been arrived at by all parties, were faithfully carried out, and to report any complaints of violation of the agreement to Bishop Quigley or his representative. We have gone into a somewhat detailed recital of the dock difficulties at Buffalo in order to show clearly that the attitude of the Lake Carriers’ Association from °the start was one of fairness and willingness to redress all eriev- ances which the shovelers properly complained of, and that the representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association worked faithfully at all times for the preservation of the contract system of handling grain and against the return to ae boss scooper system which had preceded it. ee els the large extra expense to which the Lake Car- ciation was subjected on account of the shovel- JANUARY 18, Ig00, ing troubles, it was decided by the Executive Committee of the association to request owners carrying grain cargoes to Buffalo and Erie to pay an extra three cents per thousand bushels on shoveling, this extra three cents to go, not to the contractor or to the shoyvelers, but to the treasury of the Lake Carriers’ Association. It was thought that this was the most equitable method of dealing with, the large ex- pense in which the association had been involved, as it ‘would distribute the expense amongst all the vessels en- gaged in carrying grain in exact proportion to the amount of grain carried. THE SHIPPING BILL BEFORE CONGRESS. The bill for the encouragement of building up an Ameri- can merchant marine which is now pending’ before both houses of Congress, has been before the Legislative Com- mittee of the association during the year. In January last a joint meeting of the Legislative Committee of the Lake Carriers’ Association, which has its headauarters in Buf- falo. and the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Merchants’ Exchange. was held. at which Mr. Firth. President of the association, made a careful statement of the provisions of the shinning bill and the reasons why its passage would be heneficial. A resolution was adopted by the Legislative Committee and sent to Washington favoring the passage of the hill. Representatives of the association apneared before the House and Senate committees at public hearings on the hill, and the President of the association took quite an active part in framing the modifications and changes which were made in the bill before its reintroduction at the present session of Congress. WATER LEVELS OF THE GREAT LAKES AND PROPOSED INTERNA- TIONAL COMMISSION TO CONSIDER AND DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM OF THEIR MAINTENANCE. One of the most interesting and important questions re- lating to the matter of the lake traffic which has come to the front during the past twelve months, is the question of a proper method of maintaining the water levels on var- tous lakes. The question is not a new one, but various re- cent events have served to bring it into great prominence, | and it is now for the first time receiving the public atten- tion which its importance deserves. On the 15th of July last President Firth, of the association. addressed a letter . to Tur Martine Recor, published at Cleveland, in which he called attention to the various engineering projects either actually undertaken or contemplated along the chain of Great Lakes. affecting the water levels, and pointed out that a very serious mistake was being made in assuming that comparatively small reductions in the lake levels were of no practical importance. President Firth strongly advo- cated that the vessel interests which were particularly in- terested in maintaining and if possible increasing the lake levels, should advocate and obtain the appointment of an international commission, of United States and Canadian engineers, whose duty it should be to investigate carefully . the entire question, recommending to their respective gov- ernments a permanent policy to protect the interest of lake navigators, without needlessly restricting important private enterprises desiring to utilize for power or other purposes the waters of the Great Lakes. The attention of President Firth was especially called to this question during the early part of his term of service as President of the association by the power canal project at the Sault. Correspondence between the President of the Lake Carriers’ Association and the officers of the Sault Power Canal Company re- moved to a latge extent the apprehensions that the Presi- dent had that the project of the Canal Company mizht ma- terially affect the water levels in Lake Superior and the upper St. Mary’s river. Assurances were given by the Power Company that they were as much interested in main- taining the present levels in Lake Superior as the vessels, and that their plans called for structures in the unnavigable - part of the St. Mary’s river, which would compensate fully for the draft of water from Lake Superior through the power canal. A few weeks later it was reported in the public press that a company had been formed with suitable backing to construct a canal from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. and this again raised the question of a nossible low- ering of the levels of Lake St. Clair and the Detroit river. At the present time the power projects of Niagara seem to have little to do with the maintenance of lake levels as the water is taken away from and returned to the river in un- navigable parts of the stream. The whole question of lake levels has, however, been again brought into promi- nence by the proposal of the Deep Waterways Commission to maintain the level of Lake Erie by the construction of a partial dam at or near the head of the Niagara river. The purpose of this dam being to secure the deepening of the various harbors on Lake Erie and also the deepening of the shallow channels near the mouth of the Detroit river. President Firth’s letter to Taz Martne Recorp has called forth a large number of replies and has shown a general disposition on the part of students of this question to ap- prove his recommendation that the subject is of such im- portance that it should be taken up by an international commission. Able engineers, thoroughly acquainted with the whole problem of navigation on the lakes, have ap- proved Mr. Firth’s suggestion. The President recommends _ : that the various articles approving this plan shoul - lected and published in pamphice for be the olen for use in Congress and in spreading general information from expert sources on this subject. The Lake Carriers’ Association could, in our judgment, do no more useful work than to bring about a scientific consideration of this aveticn ie seusiagiory polation. It is quite clear that ous departments iv> He Coe ot the government are fully aliv> At the request of the Lake Carriers’ = Association th> ’