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MAy 30, Ig0I. MUP MTT Mitt TT Ta... THE MARINE RECORD. REVENUE CUTTER SERVICE. There are some people, no doubt, who may think that the officers on Lake Revenue Cutters hold a departmental snap or sinecure; such, however, is not the view taken by Lieut. Reed of the Fessenden. Among the duties of a revenue cutter on the Great Lakes is the protection of the customs revenue, which in itself is no small matter when it is con- sidered that two boats have the entire frontier to look after. The Fessenden looks after Lakes Krie and Huron and connecting waters, and the Morrill has charge of Lakes Michigan and Superior and the St. Mary’s river. Not only must smuggling be looked after, but vessels must be boarded and their papers examined to see that no dutiable goods are carried without being on their manifest. To the credit of the lake marine it must be said that very few cases of eva- sion of the.revenue laws are found. Whenever possible revenue cutters are to go to the relief of vessels in distress or need of assistance. This is more of value to mariners on the ocean than on the lakes. Revenue cutters are charged with looking after the enforce- ment of the neutrality and navigation laws. Lake marine interests are more interested in the navigation laws than in any other part of the revenue cutter’s duties, as one of the law’s provision is broken many times daily dur- ing the season of navigation, that is the one regarding speed in certain of the narrow channels, the 800-foot channel in Lake St. Clair in. particular being a place where vessels are wont to far exceed the speed limit. Owing to the large amount of territory the cutters are supposed to cover this evil cannot be looked after as closely as it should be, and last winter steps were taken by Com- mander Davis, of the Morrill, together with Commander Moore, of the Fessenden, looking to the establishment of a patrol system for the St. Clair river, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit river, but as yet the Department has taken no steps in the matter. The idea was to station men at different points along these waterways to watch the passing boats, and not only to look out for violations of speed limit, but be able to inform vessels of the conditions along the river. Such a system is now in operation in the St. Marys’s river, and it is of much benefit in preventing accidents in that. district. ———— a AN INQUIRY DEMANDED ON THE SINKING OF A CANADIAN STEAMER. The sinking of the Canadian owned passenger steamer Empire State in shallow water near Brockville with 600 excursionists on board has raised a public clamor along the St. Lawrence. Feeling has risen to such a point that Mayor Buell of Brockville, Ont., has wired the Canadian Minister of Marine demanding a government investigation, and the Canadian officials have ordered Capt. M. F. McChlinney to make afulland complete official inquiry into the causes leading up to the sinking of the boat. ‘The Thousand Island Steamboat Co., owners of the Empire State, have invited both Canadian and United States inspectors to examine the hull and make a public statement of the cause of the sinking of the boat which came so near being a horrible disaster. The managers insist that the water came in through open port-holes or dead-lights, and that the - hull is perfectly sound. In permitting the boat to fill with 600 passengers on board, the owners, master and crew must stand in the light of ex_ hibiting gross negligence. However, the findings of the court need not be prejudged at this time. —_—$— — er NO SHIPPING COMMISSIONER FOR. CHICAGO. In reply to a communication from the MARINE RECORD Wm. Penn Nixon, Esq., Collector of Customs, Chicago, states that the Treasury Department has declined to appoint a shipping commissioner at Chicago at present. Mr. Nixon says : ‘“The case, as we understand it here, did not deny bu what a commissioner might not some time be appointed provided it was found that it became a regular thing for foreign vessels to leave this port. Our understanding is that the Department considered the present effort of the ' Northwestern Steamship Co. was simply experimental. If, however, this experiment should lead to a very considerable amount of direct foreign shipping, I believe a shipping com- missioner would be appointed here.”’ ————— a Se Vessel, whether American or foreign, coming from Eng- land, even in ballast, are subject to tonnage tax on entry in the United States, if they have been entered or cleared in England, notwithstanding that the voyage to the United States may have commenced at a foreign port not in Eng- land. ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MEN ON THE LAKES. The election of Capt. A. B. Wolvin, Duluth, Minn., to a vice-presidency in the United States Steel Corporation, and his appointment as general manager of its large high-classed fleet, which.is second to none in, the world, marks the pin- nacle.to which a lake seaman may aspire, or rather has at- tained. It would have been ‘difficult for the United States Steel Corporation to have madea wiser or better ‘selection than Capt. Wolvin to handle their immense fleet. His experi- ence as sailor, master, manager, owner and operator of vessels, added to. his executive ability, has eminently fitted ' him for the great responsibility of handling such a fleet. Capt. Wolvin was elected president of the Lake Carriers’ Association at the last meeting of the association, held in Detroit in January. It was thought at the time that the captain had risen from a sailor boy on the lakes to the zenith of his career, but the appointment to the management of the .most important fleet on the lakes, extends to him even greater power in the circles of lake marine, also does it closely follow out the recent utterances of Mr. Schwab re- garding his views on a collegiate or academic training and education to make possible the acme of success in affairs in- dustrial or commercial. The fleet now under control of Capt. Wolvin includes CAPT. A. B. WOLVIN, DULUTH. what was formerly the Bessemer Steamship Co., the Minne- soita Steamship Co., the American Steamship Co., the Na- tional Steamship Co., the Pittsburg Steamship Co. and the Mutual Steamship Co., comprising 112 vessels, the carrying capacity of which per single trip is upwards of half a million tons. _—$—$—— 8 TACOMA GIRDLES THE GLOBE. A new steamship line recently established is to ply be- tween Tacoma and Liverpool via the Suez canal, touching at Manila and Philippine Ports, all the Strait ports and In- dian, Arabian, Egyptian, Mediterranean and Continental ports, are named as follows: Glenlochy, 8,500 tons; Glen- roy, 10,000 tons; Glenlogan, 11,000; Glenturrest, 8,500 tons; Glenartney, 4,200 tons; Glengarry, 9,000 tons; Glengyle, 4,000 tons; Glenshiel, 5,000 tons; Glenesk, 5,800 tons. This will constitute the longest steamship line in the world, and by saving the transfer and other charges, it will enable man- ufacturers, especially of flour, to be placed in all ports at lower rates than heretofore. This new line, in addition to the long established line plying between Tacoma and Yo- kohama and Hong Kong, and the line between Tacoma and Port Arthur, Vladivostock, and Northern China now gives Tacoma more ships crossing the Pacific than all other Paci- fic Coast ports combined. SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS AND MARINE ENGINEERS. The Executive Committee of the Council invites corres- pondence concerning papers to be read at the Ninth Annual Meeting in November next. It is quite important that papers should be in print 30 days before the meeting so that they can be distributed in advance. Members who des re to submit papers or who have suggestions to make are re- quested to communicate with the Secretary at their earliest convenience. A member of the Council has offered a prize of one hundred dollars ($100.00), for the best paper upon the subject of “The Theoretical and Practical Methods for Balancing Marine Engines.’’ Papers submitted in competition for this prize must be sent to the Secretary before October ist, and should be plainly addressed and marked in one corner ‘‘For Prize Competition,’’ and underneath the motto or other distinguishing title of the sender. In a sealed envelope similarly addressed, should be enclosed the name foes the sender and his motto or distinguishing title. Further information on the subject of papers to be read at the Ninth Annual Meeting will be furnished on application to the Secretary, W. L. Capps. At a special meeting of the Council of the Society held in New York on March 29, Igo1, the following resolution was adopted : “The secretary and treasury of this society having tender- ed his resignation because of duties at Washington incident to his advancement to the rank of Chief Constructor of the Navy, and said resignation having been accepted, Resolved, That the Council hereby places on record this acknowledgement of its many obligations to Rear Admiral Bowles for his able and efficient. services to this Society as chairman of the executive committee of the Council from the date of the Society’s organization and as its secretary and treasurer during the pst five years; and the council desires especially to note its satisfaction that this merited promotion assures the continuance of the highest standard in the design, building and equipment of our ships of war.’’ ' To fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Rear Ad- miral Bowles, the president begs to announce the election of Naval Constructor W. L. Capps, U. S. N. CLEMENT B. GrRIscom, President. EEE CASUALTIES. It now seems beyond a doubt that the derelict which has been floating around all week on Lake Michigan, is the schooner H. Rand, of Racine, and if so she has taken all hands with her. The crew consisted of Capt. Ralph Jefferson, owner and master, Racine, aged fifty-one years; Daisy Jefferson, his daughter, stewardess, aged twenty-eight years; Frank Sea- bert, of Sheboygan, seaman, aged twenty-seven years; Har- ry Lucas, of Milwaukee, seaman, aged twenty-one years. Both of the sailors were unmarried. Capt. Jefferson has owned and sailed the Rand for several years. The schooner loaded hardwood slabs at Coyne, Mich., and cleared just before the galecommenced. She was consigned to Milwaukee. Capt. Jefferson leaves a widow, two sons, and a daughter, besides the one drowned. Mrs.. Jefferson has given up all hope of the rescue of the crew. Up until Tuesday it was thought that the drifting derelict was the schooner C. H. Hackley, but she has been heard from, all well. The loss of the steamer Baltimore, on Lake Huron, with 12 lives, has been the most serious of the season in life and property. Other losses to date are the Canadian tug Tecum- seh, 3 lives, also on Lake Huron; the steamer Bon Voyage on Lake Superior, 4 lives, and the schooner Fostoria at the mouth of St. Clair river, 2 lives, all of the vessels are a total loss also. Oe It is now proposed to prevent collisions by indicating the nearness of a ship in a fog at sea, or of an iceberg, by means of a heat indicator of great delicacy. It will be remembered that Ganot recorded in his physics his invention of a ther- mopile (an arrangement of two metals for generating elec- tricity by heat) that was sensitive to the heat of a candle held a quarter of a mile away. Healso used another instru- ment which was sensitive to the warmth of a heated penny at a distance of 200 feet. It isonly necessary to have a ther- mopile on each side of the vessel with wires running to bells on the bridge, of which bells, one will ring for a ship, the other for an iceberg. A sensitive galvanometer will also in- dicate to the eye the nearness of ships oricebergs. Whether these are approaching or receding will, of course, be shown by the increase or decrease of the current as the case may be.