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ESTABLISHED 1878. Z L VOL. XXIII, No. 31. CLEVELAND---AUGUST 2, 1900---CHICAGO. $2.00 Per Year. 5c. Single Copy LAKE CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION. Toconsider and take action upon all general questions relating to the navigation and carrying business of the Great Lakes, maintain necessary shipping offices and in general to protect the common interests of Lake Car- Tiers, and improve the character of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. W. C. FARRINGTON, Buffalo. 1ST VICE-PRESIDENT Capt. J. G. KEITH, Chicago. SECRETARY. CHARLES H. KEEP, Buffalo. TREASURER. GEORGE P. McKay, Cleveland. COUNSEL. HARVEY D. GouULDER, Cleveland. EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE. JAMES CORRIGAN, Chairman, Cleveland. COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION. G1Bson I, Doucias, Chairman, Buffalo. COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GrEorGE P. McKay, Chairman, © Cleveland. SHORTAGE OF NAVAL ENGINEERS. The naval ergineer has become one of the potentials of the service. The modern steamship, whether of the commer- cial or the fighting type, isan assemblage of machinery, The Lucania, for instance, of the Cunard line, has two sets of triple-expansion engines. Hach set comprises five cylinders. The steam is supplied by twelve main and two auxiliary boilers, having a total of one hundred and two furnaces. The auxiliary machinery comprises air, circulat- ing, feed, bilgeand fire pumps, fans, electric light, evaporat- ing and distilling plant, refrigerating engines and deck ma- chinery. The working staff, according to the Nineteenth Century, consists of twenty-two engineers, two electricians, one boiler maker, twenty-nine greasers, seventy-eight fire- men, sixty trimmers, two donkey engine men, two store- keepers, with seven engineers on a watch. This crew, in comparison with that of the warship Terrible, is twenty-two engineer officers to seven of the cruiser, and yet this fighting machine has two sets of triple-expansion engines; three times as many subsidiary engines as the Lucania. - It is evi- dent that the naval vessel is undermanned, and in case of actual warfare the staff would be practically unable to stand the stress of severe duty, without exhaustion, to say nothing of the casualties that might occur in actual battle. Under ordinary conditions it is not uncommon for engineers to break down in health and mind, and if the tension of service is too severe in the piping times of peace, what might it not be in the harassing and ceaseless watch of battle. Moreover, it is not easy to fill vacancies and it takes some years to de- velop a capable engineer. This matter is becoming one of serious moment to governments and naval authorities, who, in the forecast of possibilities, can see a fleet disabled, cap- tured or sunk for lack of efficient service in the engine room. Itis a matter of engines as of guns, and of machin- ists as of gunners, and if warships are to be part of the arma- ments of nations, and sea-fights must continue their series of Trafalgars, the men who run the machines are as indis- pensable as the old salt behind the gun. There is a wide field for engineers and machinists in the navy of the United States, and it would seem that with proper inducements and the necessary training, that a reserve of competent men could always be maintained for active duty in any kind of emergency. The mechanical instincts of the average Amer- can youth are of high grade, and with certainty of fair em- ployment and good wages, and fair prospects of promotion, he ought to be in sufficient evedence to abate any alarm that may be felt as toa possible shortage of skilled men below the decks of either a cruiser or a merchant ship. SHIPPING COAL TO LONDON. The first cargo of Pennsylvania soft coal ever sent from Philadelphia to London will leave shortly on the British steamship Queenswood, which has just been chartered for that purpose. It is said that only two other cargoes have ever been shipped to London from this country, and these were sent from Norfolk. Unusual importance, it is said in coal circles, attaches to the present shipment, because the coal is to be used as fuel by English railroads, principally the London and North- western, whose expenses have been considerably increased of late by the high prices they have had to pay for English coal. The Queenswood cargo will consist of 4,000 tons, for which she will receive 16 shillings, about $4 a ton freight. Even at these prices, which will make the coal cost in England something like $7 a ton, the Pennsylvania product is said to be somewhat cheaper than the native coal. The Queenswood is now due from England, and will load her outward cargo in time to leave Philadelphia this month. oo AN AIR SHIP TRIAL. United States Consul General Dubois at St. Gall has sent to the department an interesting account of the trial of a great air ship, witnessed by him, whith took place on the after- noon on July 2, at Manzall, on Lake Constance, Switzer- Jand. The great ship, 407 teet long 39 feet in diameter, and containing 17 separate balloon compartments filled with hy- drogen gas, was floated out upon the waters of the lake on a raft. Count Zephelin and Eugene Wolf, the famous explorer, together with Baron Bassus, who accompanied the party as meteoroligists, were in charge of the trial. When all was made ready, the balances were adjusted so as to give the ship an ascending direction, the propellers were set in mo- tion, and with the wind blowing strongly at 26 feet per se- cond, the cigar shaped vessel made a slow, graceful ascent and started on her cruise through the air. Fora total dis- tance of 10 miles the ship soared high above the lake, reach- ing at one time an elevation of 1,300 feet above its waters, when it suddenly stopped short, settled gradually and floated safely on the water. The cause of the sudden stoppage in its flight was a slight mishap to the steering apparatus, but this happening created no danger as the vessel sank upon the surface of the lake without taking any water. The trip consumed about 50 minutes. The fastest time made was five miles in 171-2 minutes. The ship weighs 22,000 pounds and cost considerably over $200,000. =r SANITARY CANAL AT CHICAGO. Major J. H. Willard, United States Engineer at Chicago, was on Monday given a trip on the south branch of the river by members of the River Improvement Association and the Lake Carriers, in order that he might be shown two sites for winding basins in the south branch. The first one was at Twenty-fourth street, near South Halsted street bridge, where it is proposed to dredge out a vacant lot 500 feet wide to make a turning place for 500-foot ships. Another is plan- ned for the forks of the south branch near Bridgeport. Major Willard expressed himself as being in complete sym- pathy with the idea, and will undoubtedly give it his sup- port. The River Improvement Association has selected J. S. Dunham, Murray Nelson, T. T. Morford, and J. G. Keith, vice president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, asa com- mittee to arrange for the entertainment of the Congressional committees on rivers and harbors when it visits Chicago on August 21, at the end of itstour of the lakes. The com- mittee will act with the Board of Trade and drainage board in taking care of the visitors during their stay. RAILWAY STATISTICS. During the year ending June 30, 1900, sixteen railway lines went into the hands of receivers, while thirty-nine were removed from such management. There was an in- crease in that time of nearly 2,900 single-track miles, which is the greatest increase since 1893. The total length of rail- way tracks in the United States at the time of the last report aggregates more than a quarter of a million of single- track miles. : The number of persons employed on the railways of the United States during the year ending June 30, 1899, was 928,924, an increase of 54,366 over the year before. From the classification it appears that of this number 39,970 were enginemen, 41,152 firemen, 28,232 conductors, and 69,497 other train men. There were 48,686 switchmen, flagmen and watchmen. Wages and salaries paid out to employes this year aggre- gated $522,967,896, an amount of $77,459,635 in excess of that paid in 1895, and representing 60 per cent. of the operating expenses and 40 per cent. of the gross earnings. The number of passengers carried during the year was 523,176,508, an increase over 1898 of 22,109,927. The num- ber of passengers carried one mile—that is, passev ger-mile— was 14,591,327,613, an increase in this item of 1,211,397,609. The tons of freight carried were 959,763,583, an increase of 80,757,276 being shown. The ton-miles were 123,667,257,153, an increase of 9,589,680, 848. That railroading is an extremely hazardous calling is proved by the figures, which show that one out of every 420 employes was killed, and one out of every 27 was injured. With reference to trainmen—including enginemen, firemen, conductors and other trainmen—one man was killed for every 155 employed, and one injured out of every 11. Traveling by rail is remarkably safe; for the summary shows that only one passenger was killed out of every 2,189,023 carried, and one injured for every 151,998 passen- gers carried. This record gives 61,051,580 passenger-miles for one passenger killed, and 4,239,200 passenger-miles accomplished for each passenger injured. or or ADJUSTMENT OF SHIPS’ BAROMETERS. For the convenience of vessel masters passing the St. Mary’s Falls ship canal, and for the better conduct of its own work, the Weather Bureau has constructed an office building on the canal grounds near the locks, ~Masters are invited to call at the office at any time, day or night. The office is supplied with a long distance telephone. The storm warning flags are displayed on a staff which is located at the northwest corner of the office building. The night warnings (electric light) are displayed from the mast on the top of the building; they are visible for about five miles up the river and about six miles down the river in the new channel. Special attention will be given to setting barometers, and all masters are requested to avail themselves of the service of Mr. A..G. Burns, who will be found on the locks or at the office. There is a slight rise in pressure (about two-hundredths of an inch) in passing through the locks bound down and a fallof the same amount bound up. In making a trip from Duluth to Buffalo the changes in the barometer, supposing, of course, that normal weather conditions prevail through- out the entire passage, should be as follows: Starting at Du- luth in August the barometer should read about 29 32 inches; at Marquette it should read about 29.35; below the locks at the ‘‘Soo’’, about 29.34; at Alpena, 29.37; Port Huron, 29.39; Detroit, 29.41; Cleveland, 29.42; and Buffalo, 29.39. On Lake Michigan, the barometer should read about 29.40 under normal conditions.