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ESTABLISHED 1878. VOL. XXIiil, No. 39. CLEVELAND---SEPTEMBER 27, 1900---CHICAGO. $2.00 Per Year. 5c. Single Copy LAKE CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION. To consider 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- riers, and improve the character of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. W. C. FARRINGTON, Buffalo. 1ST VICE-PRESIDENT Carr. J. G. KEITH, Chicago, SECRETARY. CHARLES H. KEEP, Buffalo. TREASURER. GEORGE P. McKay, Cleveland. COUNSEL. HARVEY D. GoULDER, Cleveland. EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE. JAMEs CorrIGAN, Chairman, Cleveland. COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION. Gipson L,. Doucias, Chairman, Buffalo. COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GEORGE P. McKay, Chairman, Cleveland. ATLANTIC LINERS. The Vulcan Works, at Stettin, Germany, has orders for two steamships for the North German Lloyd §. S. Co. These boats are intended for the passenger service be- tween Bremen and New York, and will probably cut down still lower the ocean records made this season by the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the Deutschland. They are to be called the Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Kron Prinz Wilhelm. Speed is being specially considered in the building of the Kron Prinz Wilhelm. It is understood that the Vulcan works have guaranteed that she will eclipse everything yet accomplished by the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. It is probable that she will be able to sustain a speed of nearly twenty-four knots across the Atlantic, and that she will either establish new records or force the Deutschland or some other fast flyer to clip more hours from the fastest registered crossings. Gustav. H. Schwab, manager of the North German Lloyd Steamship Co., in New York, says that the Kron Prinz Wil- helm, which is to be named in honor of the young heir to the throne of the Fatherland, will be ready in five or six months, but she will not make her maiden voyage until early next autumn. She will be of 15,000 tons burden and 33,000 horse-power. Mr. Schwab said: ‘The Vulcan com- pany has always succeeded in getting out of its ships not only the speed it guarantees, but a little more. I expect, therefore, to see the Kron Prinz Wilhelm eclipse the feats accomplished by the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. We are having another big ship built that will best the Kaiser Wil- helm der Grosse both in size and speed. This is to be called the Kaiser der Zweiter, or the Kaiser Wilhelm II, in honor of the present Emperor of Germany. The old vessel of that name is now running to Mediterranean ports and will have her name changed. The new Kaiser Wilhelm II will be the longest ship afloat. She will be about 706 feet long, ora little longer than the Oceanic, about 20 feet longer than the Deutschland and nearly 60 feet longer than the Kaiser Wil- helm der Grosse. She will be 70 feet beam.’’ i oe er INSPECTION OF VESSELS. _ The annual report of James A. Dumont, the supervising inspector-general of the steamboat inspection service, shows that during the year ending June 30, 1900, the total number of vessels inspected and certified was 9,253, with a total ton- nage of 4,507,648, as against 8,707 vessels in 1899 with a to- tal tonnage of 3,968,371, showing an increase in tonnage of 802,041 tons. ‘ The number of certificates issued to foreign passenger steamers included in the above was 345, with a gross ton- nage of 1,233,846. Motor vessels inspected, 80; gross ton- nage, 4,516. Sail vessels inspected, 520; tonnage, 534,761. Domestic steam vessels inspected, 8,308, with a total ton- nage of 2,734,525. The total number of officers in the ser- vice holding five-year licenses is estimated to be about 43,- ooo, of which number 6,445 received their licenses during the present fiscal year. 5 The total number of applicants for masters’, mates’ and pilots’ licenses was 2,886, of which number 69 were rejected for color blindness. The total number of boiler plates ex- amined by assistant inspectors at the mills under the act of Congress approved January 22, 1894, was 5,424, of which number 483 were rejected for various defects. The total number of accidents during the fiscal year was 33, being 15 less than in the previous fiscal year. The total number of lives lost was 206, being 198 less than in the pre- vious fiscal year. oo oe SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. Tables of the shipping which passed through the Suez canal last year, published in the report of Mr. Consul Came- ron, give some idea of the magnitude of commercial inter- ests in the far east. Out of 9,895,630 net tons of shipping that used the canal, no less than 6,586,300 were under the British flag, the increase over 1898 being 288,000. Germany comes next, with 1,070,800 tons, an increase of 101,000. The percentage of British vessels in 1899 was 64, as against 65 in 1898, and that of their tonnage, 66.6 as against 68.2 in 1898. These figures are, however, somewhat deceptive, because it is important to distinguish between merchant vessels on the one hand, and men-of-war, transports, and even subsidized mail steamers on the other. For example, out of a total naval tonnage in the cana! of 112,000 in 1898, Great Britain contributed 35,000 tons, while in 1899 she contributed only 23,000 tons out of 146,000. The difference is due to the Spanish-American war and to the movement of the Russian volunteer fleet. But if we count only merchant vessels, with cargo or in ballast, our percentage of trade tonnage is 77.2 per cent. as against 79.4 per cent. in 1898. Compared with these German trade tonnage is only 9 3 per cent., as against 9.9 per cent. in 1898, while France, Holland, Austria, Norway and Denmark combined only add some Io per cent. Thus it may be said that some 57 out of every 73 tons of mer- chant shipping using the canal are British. a ES CANADIAN TRADE. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the Canadian pre- ferential tariff in favor of the United Kingdom, has not had the expected effect of reducing the proportion which the United States supplies of manufactures imported into Cana- dian territory. The imports of dutiable articles into Canada from the United States in the fiscal year 1899 aggregated over $44,000,000, and from Great Britain less than $28,000,- ooo. A Canadian journal states that the United States is furnishing a much larger amount of manufactures of iron and steel to Canada than does the United Kingdom, that the preponderance of trade is overwhelmingly in favor of American manufactures, tariff preference in favor of British goods to the contrary notwithstanding, and that it seems that British manufacturers are entirely unable to compete with Americans in the Canadian market. oo oo ADMIRAL, CROWNINSHIELD, chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, will recommend to Congress that the enlisted force of the navy be increased to 30,000 men and boys. This-is an increase of 12,000. NATIONAL BOARD OF STEAM NAVIGATION. In his recent address at the 29th annual meeting of the National Board of Steam Navigation held at Pittsburg the presiding officer, M. E. Staples, of New York, stated as fol- fows: I would call especial attention to the work performed by this board. Summarized, it is as follows: 1884—Repeal of Marine Hospital tax. This alone effected a saving for the year 1883 of $438,028.68. 1884—Passage of the personal liability bill. It is not necessary to expatiate on the great benefit to steam vessel owners secured by this board, through the passage of this bill. 1885—Defeated bill introduced in the interest of patent right venders. 1886— Passage of bill abolishing fees for official services to Ameri- can vessels, etc. By the passage of this bill steam vessel owners were relieved of an enormous expense. 1886—Pas- sage of bill enabling owners of tow-boats to carry passen- gers. The passage of this bill enabled tow-boat owners to increase the earnings of their boats. 1886—Increasing the number of light-house districts. No comment is necessary to show the importance of this act. 1886—Defeat of bill de- signed to impair proper administration of the steam vessel inspection service. 1886—Defeat of bill requiring an unnec- essary freeboard on loaded vessels. 1886—Defeat of bill re- quiring a newly patented signal light on ocean-going steam- ers. 1886—Defeat of bill requiring ocean-going and lake steamers to provide and carry jackets to cover holes in sides of such vessels when such holes were caused by collisions. 1886—Defeat of bill requiring use of patent steam gauge. 1887—Defeat of bill requiring all steam vessels and their tows to carry additional side lights. 1889—Passage of bill to establish a light-house on outer Diamond Shoal, Hatteras. 1892—Defeat of bill amending steamboat inspection laws. This act, had it become a law, would have caused the great- est injury to steam vessels owners. Its defeat was the result of hard and continuous efforts by members of this board. 1894—Defeat of bill requiring all steam vessels, even the smallest vessel, to have two engineers on duty at all hours. 1888—Passage of bill defining anchorage grounds in New York bay and harbor. No member of this board, except the New York members, can appreciate the importance of that act. Prior to its passage, life and property were unsafe during fogs and storms, 1889—Passage of bill amending the libel laws. The efforts made by this board in this mat- ter are fully understood, and, I think, appreciated by every steam vessel owner. 1894—Defeat of rule of supervising in- spectors regarding lights to be carried on tows. The im- portance of this action by your officers and committee can- not be overestimated. Vessel owners avoided a large ex- penditure and a danger to safe navigation was avoided. In addition to the above specified cases, your legislative committee has appeared, from time to time, before the Board of Supervising Inspectors and secured adverse action on bad, and favorable action on good measures. The members of the different legislative committees alone know the hard work done and the difficulties overcome. ———————e ae ee SAILING VESSELS NOT LIABLE. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Spaulding has decided that sailing vessels are not liable for any penalty for trans- porting passengers from port to port in the United States other than allowed by the certificate of inspection. The case in which the decision was made was that of the bark Northern Light, which brought passengers from Nome, Alaska, to Seattle to the number of forty-eight in excess of the number allowed by the certificate. The Collector of Customs mulcted the owners with a fine of $2,400, and an appeal was taken to the Department. This fine was remitted.