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JUNE 13, I901. THE MARINE RECORD. 7 , eee eee ee eTeeeeeeeeeeeeeSeeeeee—————— CLEVELAND. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Upto June rit is figured that only 48 per cent. of last season’s ore carrying has been done, the shortage amount- ing to 134 million tons. Freights are steady at last week’s quotations on ore. There is.a scarcity of bottoms for coal to Lake Michigan, vessels preferring Lake Superior charters. The English coasting steamer Monkshaven after discharg- ing her Liverpool cargo at Ashtabula loaded here this week for the ‘‘Soo;’’ four of these steamers are managed by the Clergue syndicate and they are sent east at the close of lake navigation. With the addition of the two steel steamers now under contract the firm of Mitchell & Co. will have a fleet of ten large steel steamers. The two new boats are to be 436 feet over all, 58 feet beam, and 28 feet depth molded, estimated to cost $500,000, The steamer A. A. Parker, which was in collision with the steamer S. S. Curry in the Detroit river, was placed in No. 2 drydock on Tuesday, ‘The Parker was pretty badly damaged and she will lose considerable time making re- pairs. The Parker was recently transferred from Detroit to Cleveland owners. The steamer City of Erie logged ninety-six miles during the race and she averaged 22 23-100 miles per hour, Her maximum speed was 22 2-8 miles. and the minimum 21% miles, Her average steam pressure was 118 pounds and she averaged 334 turns per minute. Her maximum horse-power was 5,658 and her displacement 2,450 tons. Mayor Johnson says the lake current runs up and down the lake off this port and notin and out, well! vertical or horizontal, surface or under-currents there is a strong east- erly set and drift at all times, and stronger. and more directly so towards midlake. The Mayor might consult one of the Weather Bureau lake current charts to ascertain the general surface trend of the lakes and in this locality in particular. The D. & C. Nav. Co. also the C. & B. Line will begin daily service on and after July 1. The latter company will make the addition of a special cargo boat this season. This is a step in the right direction for so busy a passenger traffic season as this is expected to be ard may eventually lead to exclusively passenger steamers on the route in the near fu- ture. ° passenger lines. Also in railroad traffic. Of course all beneficent influences could not be appeased and Mr. T. F. Newman very adroitly shouldered off the ‘Brie’? stake money question on to Mayor Johnson, who, in a still more diplomatic and gallant manner unloaded the $1,000 incubus on to the best half of him; whatever Mrs. Tom I. Johnson may do as our lady mayoress is correct in its in- ception and perfect in its execution but most all hands would have liked to have seen the ‘‘Floating Bethel’ re- membered. The following local meteorological observations are fur- nished by the office of the U. S. Weather Bureau for the week ending June 12th. Prevailing wind direction during week, S. E; highest velocity, 40 W.on 7th, Mean temperature for week 62; highest temperature 77, on 11th, 12th; lowest 42. ongth. Sunrise and sunset data, computed for local time at Cleveland: June 14th sun rises at 4:23, sets at 7:36. June 17th sun rises at 4:23, sets at 7:38. June 2oth sun rises at 4:23, sets at 7:38. Chatting about the late Erie-Tashmoo race one.of a group of'men connected with lake business remarked that the owners of the Kirby were out with a $1,000 bet to race the City of Erie between St. Clair cut and Grassy Island. The remark brought forth the expression that the Erie was not a river boat and that she required something more than a light dew under her bottom to get her speed on. The shoal water held the Tashmoo back but it made the Erie fairly drag nearly every foot of the course. The supernumerary crew on board of the steamer City of Erie last Tuesday, during her trial of speed with the Tash- moo seemed to everlastingly believe in the old adage that, “the further forward the better the man, the further aft the more. honor,’ nary an idler even sighted the taffrail if we except H. D. Goulder, Esq., but then he may be likened to Mahomet and the mountain, and by the way there was one other too, thus making two honorable men when the name of Frank Masten, Esq., is added; all of the others were good men and true, too. ‘Steamers are still grounding in the river. The steamer Vulcan found the bottom on Tuesday about the same spot the Algeria brought up on the day before. She had a cargo At least such has been the history of many successful . of iron ore on board from Two Harbors to the upper furnaces. She was drawing 17 feet 9 inches and it took a number of tugs several hours to float her. This is an extra expense and a detention that vesselowners should not be subject to. Every time a vessel grounds or is otherwise unduly detained hurts the reputation.of the port and its commerce, Every: facility should .be offered to vessels bringing their cargoes or they will soon ask to be consigned elsewhere or so stipulate in their charters. The other alternative is to charge a higher rate of freight so as to offset the loss by detention through grounding and to meet the extra towing charges. 8 CHICAGO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record. Johnson, Knudson & Co. put .a new center board box in the schooner Westside. Capt. William Nicholson, who was formerly with the Goodrich Line, has been appointed master of the steamer State of Michigan, of the Barry Line, succeeding Capt. L. Davidson. Louis Sands, of Manistee, has purchased the steamer Wotan from C. A. Hurd, of Buffalo. The steamer was built in 1883, her gross tonnage is 886, net 712 tons, length 191 feet, beam 36 feet, she will be used in the salt and lumber carrying trade. J. B. Bates & Co., have put new engine and boiler house and cabin on the tug Robbie Dunham, which was recently damaged by fire. They supplied the steamer J. L. Hurd with two new spars and booms, and the schooner J. H. Mead with a new main boom. The Ship Owners’ Dry Dock Co, had the steamer City of Cleveland in dock for re-calking and general repairs, the steamer City of Traverse for repairsto bottom and a new wheel, the steamer Oscar T. Flint for a survey. They are rebuilding the tug Edward Watkins. The John Schroeder Lumber Co., of Milwaukee, will with- draw from the Lake Michigan lumber trade, and confine its operations to Lake Superior. ‘The steamer Schroeder will be sold and the company will builda steamer with a million feet capacity for the Lake Superior trade. The Northwestern of the Northwestern Steamship Co., Chicago, arrived all well at Liverpool on Saturday last and docked the following day. She is due to sail again on Friday, June 14 with a general cargo. The Northman also clears from Antwerp on the same day, both for this port. The Youghiogheny & Lehigh Coal Co., Chicago, has been rebuilding its anthracite coal dock front on the north branch of the Chicago river—new piling, new engines and otherwise increasing the shipping facilities, and will be in shape to receive coal by boats not later than June 15th. The new steel steamer Venus, Capt. W. C. Butts, with a coal cargo of 5,000 tons, got stuck in the draw at Indiana street, and on being released was ordered to Milwaukee to discharge. The, Venus isowned by J. C. Gilchrist, Cleve- land, and her keel length is 346 feet with a beam of 48 feet. The fine steel steamer Manitou left here Saturday after- noon with about 300 members of the Retail Coal Dealers As- sociation of Illinois and Wisconsin, for Buffalo and the Pan- American Exposition. The trip will cover 1c days, four days will be spent in Buffalo, Detroit and Cleveland will also be visited. One of the best, if not the best work on record, is the dis- charging of 3,700 tons of coal in 14 hours by Messrs. E. L. Hedstrom & Co. with the machinery placed by the John A. Mead Mfg. Co., New York. The Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. are having similar plants constructed for West Superior and also at this port. The Great Lakes Towing and Wrecking Co. are giving their tug Mollie Spencer a thorough rebuild. The sloop yachts Siren and Vanetta were on the floating dry dock for bottom cleaning. They are also giving new spars to the schooners Guido and Jessie Phillips, and the latter consider- able new planking on the starboard side amidships. The steamer John Schroeder has been purchased by John Ketzinger, of Manistee, from the John Schroeder Lumber Co., of Milwaukee.. The) steamer was built in 1890 and re- built in 1899, by Reiboldt & Wolters, her gross tonnage is 372, net 267 tons, length 154 feet, beam 29 feet. She will be used by her new owner in the salt and lumber carrying trade, A race is proposed between the Chicago whaleback pas- senger steamer Christopher Columbus and the side-wheeler City of Erie. The Columbus isa propeller and one of the fastest of her kind on the lakes. It is not likely, however, that a race could be pulled off in any ten or fifteen fathoms of water, as the screw boat wants about fifty fathoms to do her best work in. There is practically no change in lumber freights, and the demand for tonnage grows no better with the advance of the season. The going rates on green pine from Menomi- nee, which is the basing point, are $1.37 % aud $1.50 on dry pine. From Manistique the former rate is paid on dry pine. Hardwood cargoes are being taken at $1.75 and 6% to7 cents on ties, and 3% cents on posts is considered going tariff. On Lake Superior lumber the condition is quite the contrary. Rates are stiff at $2 50 and tonnage is in urgent demand. Suit was begun in the United States district court on Mon- day by the owners of the schooner Amazon for $3,677 dam- ages on account of getting stuck in the draw of the Taylor street bridge Oct. 13, 1900. The Amazon, 267 feet in length, stayed in the draw for some time, and part of a cofferdam had to be cut away before the vessel could be freed. It is claimed in the bill that there was but 12 feet of water over the piles and that it was this obstruction which held the vessel. The suit is important, as upon its result will depend a good deal of litigation for delays in the Chicago river. The Graham & Morton Transit Co. expect their new steamer Puritan to arrive at St. Joseph next Saturday, and to make her maiden run between Chicago and St. Joseph on Sunday. The new steamer has been built by the Craig Ship Building Co., of Toledo, at a cost of $200,000, she is of steel and her dimensions are, length 240 feet, beam 40 feet, mold- ed depth 16 feet. She hasa triple-expansion engine and water tube boilers allowed 250 lbs. steam pressure; she has stateroom capacity for 500 persons, and carrying capacity for 2,500 passengers. She is magnificently finished and furnished, and will bea grand addition to the company’s fine fleet of palatial” steamers. The new steamer has been built for speed as well as comfort, and is to be put on the Chicago and Holland route, which has been recently acquir- ed by the Graham & Morton Trans. Co, ee FLOTSAM, JETSAM AND LAGAN. The Hamburg-American liner Deutschland arrived at Plymouth on her last passage with 1,020 passengers, having accomplished the passage from New York in 5 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes. This creates a new record for the south-. ern or longer route. Her average speed throughout the voyage was 23.31 knots. The deaths have occurred recently at Halifax, N. S., of Captain W. H. Smith and Captain Gilbert Shaw. Captain Smith was nautical adviser to the Canadian government, and formerly commodore of the Allan Line in command of the steamer Parisian. The latter was for many years in the Cunard Company’s West India service in command of the steamer Beta and other ships. It is reported from Ashland that rail rates on lumber from interior points in Wisconsin and Minnesota to Chicago will be advanced on July 1 to the figures in force two or three yearsago. Points which now command a rate of g cents to Chicago will be advanced to 12 cents, and points now hav- ing a Io cent rate, will pay 14 cents. The change if made willlead to an increased demand for lumber from lake ship- ping points and benefit lumber carriers correspondingly. The disaster to Shamrock II will result in a claim on un- derwriters at Lloyd’s and on some of the marine companies. The vessel was valued at 425,000, and the insurances were placed at gos. per cent. for twelve months, subject, I under- stand, to a further small percentage, should the two Sham- rocks go to the United States together, one in tow of the Erin and the other sailing, it being feared that under such circumstances, should exceptionally bad weather come on, the Erin could not deal with both the yachts. It is esti- mated that the coming claim on Shamrock IT will amount to about 20 per cent.—Fairplay, London. ‘ Capt. McElhinney, the Dominion government nautical advisor, who inspected the steamer Empire State, reports an unfavorable finding to the steamer. The Empire State re- cently sunk in the St. Lawrence river with 600 excursionists on board, who were only saved by the timely beaching of the boat. Capt. McElhinney recommends that extensive repairs shall be required on the steamer before she can con- tinue in the passenger business. The Kingston News says: The dispatch to the Toronto Star to the effect that Capt. McElhinney’s report of thesteamer Empire State will be condemnatory is untrue. Mr. Howard Folger characterizes it as ‘‘rot,’’? and says that though he has received no re- port yet, he has no reason to believe it will be unfavorable.