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THE MARINE RECORD. MARCH I, 1900. 1878. ESTABLISHED Published Boe Thursday by THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., Incorporated. C. E. RUSKIN, - - SU tte Manager. CAPT. JOHN SWAINSON, - - - Editor. CLEVELAND, CHICAGO, Western Reserve Building. Royal Insurance Building. SUBSCRIPTION. One Copy, one year, postage paid, . - One Copy, one year, to foreign countries, - Invariably in advance. $2.00 : $3.00 ADVERTISING. ‘ Rates given on application. All communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office, THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., Western Reserve Building, Cleveland, O. Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as second-class mail matter. CLEVELAND, O., MARCH I, 1900. SR EDR = _ THE Secretary of War is called upon ‘to maintain the navi- gability of the river at Chicago. ——$——— uae a eae, he THE thanks of the RECORD:are due Major Clinton B. Sears, Corps of Engineers, U.S. A., Duluth, Minn., for an advance copy of the annual statistics of lake commerce at Duluth and Superior, for the navigation season of 1899. ee sare * Att, talk of carrying cargoes, via lake, canal and ocean, is now simply chestnutty, however bright and advanced the suggestion might have appeared a decade orso ago. The province of artificial inland waterways is to reach the coast, having done so, their utility and functions end. Let it be clearly understood that a profitable and adequate mode of transportation over a special route, is completely outclassed when placed on a different basis and under particularly con- * trary conditions. Brae or oo io ae _ SEVERAL prominent vessel owners and others connected with the lake marine industry have ‘‘crossed the pond”? for _ the first time this winter. Of course all will be glad to get home again, they will also aver that they have seen no coun- try as smart ds the United States, at the same time, if we omit the narrow-minded bigots, (and there are quite a few of them still floating around) each will be greatly benefitted by his experiences. There is nothing like travel for broadening the mentality of the human race. . ——— or _ Ina case which went to the United States Supreme Court some time ago, and which concerned the right of parties to build a bridge without a draw, which was alleged _ to be an obstruction of navigation, the principle was enunci- - ated by the Supreme Court that authority for any project in- volving navigation interests must be secured from Congress _Yather than from the Secretary of War. It seems wholly ‘rational that Congress, which has jurisdiction over our nav- _ igable streams, should be responsible for any obstruction or eae interference with their navigability. Z Se Two weeks ago we called attention to the formerly pro- _ jected Poe memorial to be placed at, on or near the Poe lock, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. It has now been in a measure determined, that if the sum expended by the Lake Carriers’ _ Association for the maintenance of necessary aids to naviga- tion, is assumed by the Government, and the amount _ covered into the treasury of the Association, that a portion of the proceeds will be used for the erection of a suitable _ memorial to the late General O. M. Poe. Senator McMillan, _ Michigan, has introduced a bill appropriating $20,000 to -re-imburse the Association for maintaining lights in, the Detroit river for the past nine years. i cs; oi Tux Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats seems to make the Secretary of the Treasury say or endorse any- thing they wish to, but, this year they have fooled the tech- nical journals also, but not the RECORD, the language being too dense for usto handle intelligently. The revised rule for steamers approaching each other in an oblique direction, so as to involve a risk of collision, applicable for the Atlan- tic and Pacific coast inland waters, became inadvertently mixed in transcribing and the word port was used instead of starboard, of course this oversight makes no difference, only that it had the authority of an act of Congress when the Acting Secretary of the Treasury put his ‘‘John Hancock”’ to it. However, he just as easily signed the opposite after the former ‘‘bull’’ had been pointed out to him, and now the ma- rine journals can give the same publicity to the correction that they so cheerfully gave to the original erroneous rule, and this, too, so as not to mislead their readers. In another column of this issue we print the amendment under the cap- tion of ‘‘Treasury Decisions.’ It behooves us to say at this time, that where a vessel must keep clear of another, she ought not to be told to port or starboard, as is done in these rules. In some instances it might be found necessary to slow down, stop, and perhaps reverse, there is no occasion for a fusilade of whistling, the vessel having the right of way, maintains her course and speed, the giving way vessel keeps clear. Why, therefore, should the Board of Super- vising Inspectors of Steamboats destroy the free agency of the person in charge of the giving way vessel by making him either port or starboard? Blasts of whistles do not vary the duties and obligations of the respective vessels any more than nonsensical diagrams can point out the best action to take in all cases. ——$—$—$—$———— or a A PROMINENT Chicago lumber dealer writes the RECORD this week as follows: “JT desire to state that the condition of our river at the present time is in such a dangerous condition that it is hard to navigate and very derogatory tothe commerce of Chicago. I want to know if the MARINE RECORD cannot arrange so as to help us in obtaining some immediate and permanent relief. Not one of the drainage commissioners that have taken charge of the river has ever had any marine ex- perience, and do not seem to comprehend, realize or appre- ciate the marine interests of this section of the country. I think if the RECORD would more closely investigate the situation, the conditions would be found warranted in striving with might and main to have something done towards re- lieving us of the present pall on river traffic.”’ Our correspondent is perfectly right in his views regarding Chicago waterborne traffic, and it is absolutely necessary that some radical steps should be taken before the early opening of navigation. The Secretary of War, through his district officer stationed at Chicago, has jurisdiction over the navigable portions of Chicago creek, and not the Drainage Commissioners as our correspondent assumes. Prior to the opening of the canal, the RECORD pointed out the probable consequences to general navigation on lake and river and insisted upon proper remedial measures being taken to off- set the palpable results. Mainly through the representations of Mr, Frank J. Firth, late president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, and the publicity given to the subject in these columns, the House Committee on Rivers and Harbors has just concluded a hearing on this matter, and we look for immediate and adequate measures to be taken by that body before the eet session of Congress adjourns. ee PERHAPS, if the bottom, at the entrance of the ‘‘Soo”’ power canal, was a few feet higher than the mean level of the bottom surface at the Sault Ste. Marie Falls, there would be a better chance to rob the Falls without draining any extra supply from Lake Superior. Letit be remembered that the deeper the boring, the greater the head of water there will be to-force a waste. The lake should be left to regulate the canal flow, instead of the canal, or any other artificial water- course, ruling the level of the lake. There is an axiom about the tail wagging the dog, but the natural way is the other way, so with artificial channels as compared with nat- ural waterways. OO Ol OD Taat bulk cargoes, such as iron ore, grain, coal and timber or lumber will reach a coast port in the near future directly from a lake loading port, is a foregone conclusion. The Montreal Harbor Commissioners now offer that port as the most favorable point of transfer for lake cargoes, instead of Quebec. The question lies entirely within the locality that offers an economical junction for lake and canal reshipment into ocean bottoms, and from acommercial standpoint, such a line of demarcation can be very strictly drawn. APPROPRIATIONS for river and harbor work, that is, for the improvement and conservancy of navigable localities, has never been more closely scanned and considered than’ they have been during the last and this session of Congress. Hon. T. EB. Burton, chairman of the River and Harbor Com- » mittee, has so devoted himself to the duties of his office, that, it is questionable, if there is another man in Congress> better fitted to pass upon the merits or demerits of a sought for appropriation than the present chairman of this import- ant committee. In this connection, however, there is an erroneous, but growing feeling extant, elsewhere, as well as at the lake lapped shores of certain localities, that it is only necessary to call the attention of the district engineer offi- cer of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., to the fact, that, as some local improvements are in souree of contemplation, it is essential for the welfare of the community, as well as the bounden duty of that officer, to recommend in his annual report that a sum of money be apportioned by the Federal Government to enhance the surroundings and business policy of the ‘‘Podunk Park Protection Society.’’ Fortu- nately, for the country’s exchequer, the United States offi- cers of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, are not usually of the calibre to be even slightly influenced by personal, syndicate, municipal or State representations, where the} in any manner conflict with the strict line of duties laid down for the guidance of those officials. Furthermore, the assent or endorsement of the River and Harbor Committee and the final consideration of Congress relative to these appropriations, throws a safeguard around what would other- wise be an unnecessary frittering away and consequent ex- penditure of the péople’s money. In a word, a national expenditure should benefit the nation at large and not alone the owners of riparian rights on ‘‘Way Back Creek.’’ Uncle Sam is mighty paternal in his condescensions, but, it is hardly equitable to tax one section of the country for the sole benefit of a minor and remote locality, or, perhaps, an individual, or even a clique of citizens. —_—_—————— Oe Oo Oe REPRESENTATIVE SHELDEN has introduced a bill author- izing the Lake Superior Power Canal Co. to construct a canal at Sault Ste. Marie. It is drawn up so as to give the company authority to finish the canal, but provides that such remedial works shall be provided at the Lake Superior entrance as shall not reduce the water level below the mean datum, as fixed by the engineer department. It also provides that the level of water in St. Mary’s river shall not be low- ered and thatif the engineer officers discover that this is being done, they are empowered to take possession of the headgates and other works and cut off the water from the canal.. The engineer officers are to have access to the canal at all times, and all plans are to be submitted to the Secre- tary of War for approval. This isin accordance with the views expressed by Harvey D. Goulder, Esq., counsel for the Lake Carriers’ Association at the recent hearing before the River and Harbor Committee in Washington. eee te THE steamer Amazonas got athwart the current and blocked Chicago river from Friday to Saturday last. The small steamer Jesse Spalding underwent a similar adventure just a week earlier. These experiences in the winter months, when little or no commerce is moving in the river, offers a horrible outlook for traffic during the summer months. The municipality, drainage trustees and tug boat companies will no doubt repudiate any responsibilty for the detention of vessels, straining of hulls, parting hawsers and the host of inconveniences which is sure to result from turning the Chi- cago river into a comparative mill race. Shou'd the port be pronounced an unsafe one through competent authority de- claring it unnavigable in its present condition, the owners of floating property and other affected interests must have recourse somewhere. ——_ or AN ex-minister of public works of the Dominion of Can- ada, now advocates ‘‘the regulation of lake levels by the erection of obstructions at the mouth of each lake to secure the economic operation of the canal system.’? Mr. Haggerty the ex-minister referred to, is evidently away off the ques- tion, why not regulate the outflow of canals by the erection of obstructions and leave the lakes clear for general naviga- tion? Just as sure as the Chicago drainage canal is opened, so sure will the continued tapping of the lakes reduce the surface levels. It is high time that the Secretary of War took this matter up in all earnestness, and, if necessary, ap- point eighteen committees, each of which may tell us over again what the veriest dullard already comprehends—viz., that the lake supply is limited. z