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ESTABLISHED 1878. SOMES VOL. XXIV, No. 36 CLEVELAND -- SEPTEMBER 5, 1901 -- 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 toimprove the character of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. A. B. WoLvIN, Duluth. 1sT VICE-PRESIDENT. Capr. 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, Chairn:an, Cleveland. COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION. Gipson L,. DovcLas, Chairman, Buffalo, COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GEORGE P, McKay, Chairman, Cleveland. SHIPS LOST, CONDEMNED, ETC., IN 1900. Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping have published the usual annual return of all ships lost, con- demned, &c., during the year. This includes ships of all nations, sail and steam, of 100 tons and upwards. The to- tal number of steamers lost or otherwise put out of com- mission during the year 1go00 was 2096, with a net register tonnage of 235,247 and a gross register of 386,304 tons. these 137 of 192,827 tons gross belonged to the United Kingdom, and 16 of 12,788 to British Colonies The next on the list is the Norwegian steam fleet, which lost 28 steamers of 28,683 tons; Germany follows with 25 steamers of 25,643 tons, and France comes next with 20 steamers of 34,530 tons gross. The United States takes the next posi- tion with 16 steamers of 10,529 tons, exclusive of vessels trading on the Great Lakes. An analysis of the losses un- der the flags of the maritime nations is always interesting, as by means of ratios and a study of the cause of the re- moval of the ships we are able to arrive at a fair estimate of the flag which represents the greatest factor of safety obtainable afloat. Although the United Kingdom’s loss looks high, it'is comparatively low, even taking the bald statement, for the loss of ships in number represents 1.95 of the total owned, whilst the tonnage lost represents 1.67 ‘ of the total. Taking the United States, the ratios are 2.32 and 1.20, respectively, whilst the Norwegian ratios are 3.47 and 3.75, respectively, German, 2.07 and 1.19, and French 3.02 and 3.28, respectively. The Italian losses are repre- sented by 3.21 per cent of the number of vessels owned and 4.05 per cent of the tonnage owned, Spanish losses being in the ratios of 3.08 and 3.34, respectively. The Dutch come out at 1.38 and 0.94, respectively, the Swedish figures. be- ing 0.74 and 0.08. To be fair it would be right to delete for comparative purposes the ships “broken up, condemned, &c.,” for their removal has not entered into the question of safety at all. Of English ships no fewer than 32 of 50,873 tons came under this category, the next in amount “being France with four vessels of 11,164 tons. Germany only had one of 201 tons, and the United States one of 113 tons. Under the heading “wrecked” the’ United Kingdom has 49 vessels of 80,059 tons, and of missing steamers 18 of 15,354 tons. Deducting the condemned ships the United Kingdom comes out with a loss ratio of 1.49 per cent of ships owned and 1.23 of tonnage owned. In sailing vessels the losses are heavier, the United Kingdom losing 76 yes- ‘sels of 52,818 tons, and British Colonies 39 vessels of 12,679 tons. Norway heads this list, however, with a loss of 124 Of: vessels of 69,684 tons, and the United States also takes pre- cedence of the United Kingdom, scoring 80 vessels of 45,625 tons. France lost 29 vessels of 16,989, Germany 23 of 24,935 tons, and Italy 37 vessels of 14,717 tons. The ratios of losses in this class of ship are, taking the number of ves- sels and tonnage owned respectively: United Kingdom 4.01 and 3.06, Norway 7.88 and 7.95, United States, 3.00 and 3.95, France 5.25 and 5.69, Germany 4.59 and 5.09, and Italy 4.28 and 3.32. There are comparatively few vessels condemned amongst sailing ships, Norway heading the list with 20, of 10,475 tons, Italy following with 17, of 5,423 tons, and the United Kingdom with 8, of 2,174 tons. ro or oe COAL SHIPMENTS. Coal exportations from the United States during the fis- eal year just ended, as shown by the treasury bureau of sta- tistics, amounted to $22,317,496, against $19,502,813 in the fiscal year 1900, $13,661,028 in 1899, $11,008,643 in 1897, $19,646,062 in 1896, and $8,391,026 in 1891. Thus the value of coal exportations from the United States has doubled since 1897 and nearly trebled in the decade. These figures relate to. values. Measured by quantity, the increase has been even greater, the exports in 1901 beine 7,675,149 tons, against 2,399,039 tons in 1891, thus making the total ex- ports of 1901 in quantity more than three times as much as in 1891. The United States now stands third in the list of coal exporting countries of the world. The exports in 1901 are thus seen to have equalled, within about 600,000 tons, the entire output of Alabama for 1900, which’ was 8,273,362 tons. oo WARSHIPS FOR THE JAPANESE NAVY. As an indication of the manner in which the Japanese government is increasing its already formidable navy, there are at the present time no less than eleven vessels of differ- ent types either being built or nearing completion for the Japanese. Of these the cruiser Niitaka and the torpedo boat destroyers Harusame, Murasame, Hayatori, and Asakiri, are being constructed at Yokosuka, and the cruiser Tsushima at Kure. Each of the above-named cruisers will be of 2,800 tons displacement, with a speed of 20 knots per hour, their principal armaments consisting of 4 7-inch guns. The bat- tleship Mikassa, which is of 15,200 tons displacement, and has a speed of 18 knots per hour, is being completed at the works of Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim, at Barrow-in- Furness, England. The torpedo boat destroyers Akatsaki, Kasumi, Asashiroo, and Shirakumo are also being built in England. These vessels are of 310 tons displacement, 6,200 horse power, and are expected to develop a speed of 32 knots per hour, and, in addition to being provided with an equipment of torpedoes and tubes, will each be armed with one 12-pounder and five 6-pounder quick-firing guns. Some of the vessels enumerated will be ready for sea during the present year, andthe’ whole of them by the end of next year. —[—$<— OE Se WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. During the passage of the British channel’ fleet from Portsmouth to Berehavyen messages were exchanged by wireless telegraph between vessels ninety miles apart. Com- munication being suspended owing to some breakage in the apparatus the instrument on one vessel was adjusted to send a message to Portland, and, to the surprise of the signalling staff, that station was heard “talking” to a second ship.” The distance at which this information was taken was 103 miles as the crow flies, a record so far as the naval service is con- cerned. _ THE GEORGIAN BAY-OTTAWA CANAL. The feasibility of the Georgian bay canal, the proposed new waterway to connect the great lakes with Montreal and Ottawa, and the superior advantages it would afford, are particularly emphasized by George Wisner, C. Bor Detroit, Mich., who was recently in Ottawa, consulting with the engineers of the canal company. Mr. Wisner is one of © the ‘greatest authorities on the continent on the subiect of waterways, and his unbiased opinion, which he freely ex- presses, goes far to strengthen the claims put forward by the promoters of this big project, and of such national im- portance to the Dominion. “In regard to this question,” said Mr. Wisner, “one thing strikes me as being certain; and that is the construction of a waterway from the great lakes to the Atlantic in the near future. This waterway will be of sufficient dimensions to allow the passage of the economical freight carriers of the lakes. These dimensions will be for vessels of from 7,000 ‘to 8,000 tons, or say, 400 to 500 feet long, and with 19 to 20 feet draft. The whole question hinges on the dimensions of economical carriers. For ocean traffic vessels will be built of as deep draft as the ports will admit of entering, but the lake routes, where the length of the haul is limited to 1,000 miles or less, it will not pay to construct vessels much larger than the present type of lake carrier. Of the canals built heretofore, none has exceeded 14 feet in depth. The economical carriers cannot pass through these, and are consequently unable to divert freight from the existing lake and railroad lines. With a waterway sufficient to admit of the passage of these lake steamers, the rate at which freight can be transported to the seaboard will control the route over which commerce will go. “The distance from Chicago to Montreal, via the Georgian ‘bay. canal, is practically the same as from. Chicago to Buf- falo, or, in other words, freight can be loaded at tidewater, in Montreal, for the same cost as to Buffalo., Under present conditions, the rate from Buffalo to New York is about $1 per ton. This means that, allowing for fifty cents per ton tolls, the freight rates over the Georgian bay «oute will still be fifty cents per ton cheaper than over the Lake Erie route. There is a very strong probabilty that if the Georgian bay canal is built, a canal connecting with it will be constructed from Montreal to New York. The distance, by that route, between Chicago and New York would be 100 miles shorter than by the Lake Erie route, and the cost of the canal about $50,000,000 less than the proposed United States canal. “There is absolutely no question as. to the feasibility of the project. If the whole territory were under the United States control, the work would be gone: on with very quickly. I consider that the estimated cost of the work for the Georgian bay canal, $68,000,000, is well within bounds, and the -canal should easily be completed in five years. There are no engineering difficulties which cannot be easily overcome. In connection with the canal, a great deal of horse power could be developed at each of the dams. From the summit to Montreal:there is over 600 feet of fall, and with the volume of water in the Ottawa, this means that very valuable water power will be devel- oped at all of these sites.” OO SS oe Contributory Fault of Schooner—A schooner cannot be held in fault for a collision with a steamer because after she ‘had been placed in a position of peril through the fault of the steamer, and after collision had become in- evitable; she changed her course for the purpose of easing the blow. Merchants and Miners’ Transp. Co. vs. Hop- kins et al., 108 Fed. Rep. (U. S.) 890.