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: ; DETROIT. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record: The Port Huron Air Tool Co., Ltd., James L Pilling, general agent, is now in shape for business and there are several important orders already booked ahead. Cranes, drills, hammers, riviters, hoists and punches are all made to work by compressed air. The Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co., has offered a prize of a $10 gold piece and a season pass to Bois Blanc park, at the mouth of the Detroit river, to the person first sending in the name selected for the handsome new steamer which will be ready to go into service early in June. An order for another big freighter has practically been placed with the West Bay City Ship building Co.’s branch yard-of the American Ship Building Co., the keel for which will be laid some time next month, or as soon as one of the three vessels on the stocks at the yard can be put into the water. ‘This fifth steamer is to be smaller than the Etruria, which was launched last Saturday. he following meteorological observations are furnished by the office of the U. S. Weather Bureau, Detroit, for the week ending February 18. Prevailing wind directions for the week, west; highest velocity, 27 miles from the north- west on the 18th; mean temperature for the week, 20 de- grees; highest temperature 28 degrees on the 17th; lowest, to degrees on the 14th. ‘Capt. Duncan McLachlan, formerly of the City of the Straits, will be captain of the Eastern States, the first boat of the new line to be placed on the route between this port and Buffalo and Capt. John McCallum, pilot on the City of Cleveland last season, will be in command of the Western States. J.-O. Snider is to be chief engineer of the Eastern States, D. C. Cummings, purser; Edward Pennell, steward. In October, 1900, a collision occurred near Marine City between the steamer Sir William Siemens and the steam barge Swallow, in which the latter was severely damaged and sunk. Suit has been begun before Judge Swan, in the United States District Court, by the owners of the Swallow, who ask for $13,500 damages. Gray & Gray and Moore & Goff are proctors for the libelants; Shaw, Warren, Cadv & Oakes, and H.:A. Kelley, of Cleveland, for the respondent. ‘The case will probably occupy the at- tention of the court during the remainder of this week. It is learned that the insurance companies, at their coming meeting, are going to rule out all class Br boats, and will not issue‘ policies upon them. From the same source it was learned that the inspection for insurance purposes on all boats classed A2 and A2™% will be so severe that but few of them will be able to stand it, and will be placed in the Br class, and no policies granted. This action, if it goes through, will have the effect of forcing about one-third of the present lumber carriers out of the business, as they will not, be able to get cargoes so readily when no insurance can be secured upon the vessels. pee ‘The first practical test of wireless telegraphy on the Great Lakes are connecting rivers, was made from the steamer Promise, of the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co., on her trip to Wyandotte, to bring up the new White Star steamer Greyhound. The receiving instru- ments were in the payilion of the ferry company at the foot of Woodward avenue. From the time the boat left the dock at 7 o’clock until she arrived at Wyandotte; a distance on an air line of about sixteen miles, communication was _kept up at intervals of a few seconds. The condition of the ice, the boat’s progress, etc., being regularly reported over the entire distance. For some weeks past W. J. Brown, owner of the passen- ger steamer Pittsburg, has. been negotiating with the man- agement of the D. & C. line for the purchase of the steamer City of the Straits. Mr. Brown intended to run her on the up-shore and Georgian Bay route, in connection with the steamer Pittsburg, if he could secure her. The C. & B. line and D. & C. line are joint owners of the City of the Straits. The management of the former line, after consid- ing the matter, decided it would be better not to sell the steamer but retain her, to be made use of by either of the lines now owning her, in case any emergency might arise in which one of the other steamers should be disabled. . “Captain,” remarked the nuisance on shipboard who always asks foolish questions, “what is the object of throw- ing the anchor overboard?” “Young man,” replied the old ‘salt, “do you understand the theory of seismic disturb- ances?’ well, we throw the arichor overboard to keep the ocean from slipping awav in.a fog. See?”——-Baltimore News. THE MARINE RECORD. CHICAGO. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record: It is’said that the Hines Lumber Co. is in the field for several more boats to add to its already large fleet. Only a small difference now stands in the way of two such trans- fers. Water will be let into the big new dock of the Shipown- ets’ Drydock Co., this week. The largest boats able to navigate the Chicago river can then be docked in the north branch. There is still a lot of negotiations under way for lumber carriers and several options are out which expire next week. It is believed there will be at least a half dozen ships added to the Chicago fleet by these deals. Capt. W. H. Egan has purchased the holdings of the estate of the late R. F. Fitzgerald, of Milwaukee, in the steamers P. D. Armour, R. P. Fitzgerald, John Plankinton and W. M. Egan. Capt. Egan and the estate of the late P. D. Armour are now owners of this fleet. J. Stanley Morton, of the Graham & Morton Transporta- tion Co., of St. Joseph officially announced that navigation between St. Joseph and Chicago would begin March 1, pro- viding repairs could be completed on the steamer Soo City, which will open’ the season. Otherwise the steamer Puri- tan will be put on the run. Capt. Patrick Sullivan, for thirty years a resident of Chicago, died last Sunday of Bright’s disease. He was fifty-nine years old, and for the last ten years has been connected with the city water cribs, being in charge of the Carter Harrison crib at the time of his death. Previous to that time he sailed on the lakes. The Goodrich Transportation Co. has accepted the 1902 schedule and engineers in the employ of the company have been notified that they are at liberty to sign contracts which have been sanctioned by officers of the association. ‘The carferry lines have exhibited no opposition to the. asso- ciation and it is probable that marine interests at this port will not be seriously inconvenienced. It is now certain that both the Rutland Transit Co. and the Canada Atlantic Co, will continue their service to Chicago the same as in past years. The report that the Rutland line was to abandon the route between Chicago and Ogdensburg is now pronounced wholly in error, and the line will continue in operation with the same officials and with the same route as for many years past. Both lines, however, will abandon by agreement their offices near the Board of Trade, and will have their main offices here at the docks. This agreement was made before the Van- derbilts obtained a controlling interest in the respective companies. “Tf the mines can produce it, and the facilities for for- warding iron ore in the lake region the present year will exceed 25,000,000 tons,” W. L. Brown,. president of the American Ship Building Co., said to-day. “The weak point-is in the transportation facilities from the docks. to the furnaces. The railroads have not enough cars and locomotives. Never in my long experience in the iron trade have I seen such a condition of affairs as exists today. The demand for material is such that the trade is actually congested. Corporations, which would seem to have the call for a supply of coke are running with half their fur- naces idle, because the coke cannot be produced as it is required by the furnaces of the country. Lake steamship companies and the railroads ‘are en- gaged in a struggle over the payment of commissions, which is likely to sever the freindly relations that, have hitherto existed between them, A meeting was held here last week at which were representatives of the passenge1 departments of nearly all the western and eastern lines and of all steamship lines. = the payment of commissions by steamship lines should cease and the threat was made that if it did not, the roads would withdraw their connection with the lake transpor- tation companies. ‘This would mean that the ticket officers throughout the country would throw out the tickets of lake lines and refuse to sell them. That this would be a severe blow to the lake lines is admitted. The general passenger agents, it is said, are standing firm on the proposition and assert that the payment of coimmissions must.. cease Neither side thus far has given ground and the. matter rests where it was previous to the meeting. The: repre- sentatives of the lake lines insist as their season is short and competition is sharp, they must pay commissions or fail to get living business, The leading lumber shippers who have been buying ves- sels since the close of navigation last fall are still in the market, and they are picking up some boats that have always carried ore. The Hines’ Lumber Co., of Chicago, which is one of the largest shippers on the lakes, yester- day closed a deal for the steamer Folsom, which was owned by the Mitchell Transportation Co., of Bay City. The Folsom was built’ in 1885- She is 180 feet keel and 33 feet beam and-her gross tonnage is 940 tons. A deal for her consort, the Mary B. Mitchell, is on, and it will probably be closed this week. Nearly all the big shippers have added to their carrying capacity this winter and the outside owners: of vessels of that class expect that the dealers will fix the opening rate at a fair figure. Some figuring for tonnage has been done during the past week. but no season contracts have been reported. ‘steamer Northland, has announced his resignation.’ “Tt jg not. known what boat Capt. Brown The railroad men insisted. that. FEBRUARY 20, Ig PORT HURON. Special Correspondence to The Marine Record: The Jenks Ship Building Co. of this city is one of th busiest industries in the state. Actor Stephens was released from quarantine to-day, so far as Port Huron is concerned, the small pox scare js disposed of, excepting, of course, the quarantine on the’ border. i Ge Capt. W. C. Brown, of St. Clair, who has sailed ° will sail during, the coming season. : nt pcre E. C. Carleton is very much pleased over the signing the contract for the construction of a canal from Lak Huron to Black river. Mr. Carleton claims to be the first — man to suggest the enterprise. i. ae ie Capt. Plow, of the Life Saving Station, is spending the day in Port Huron. _ Capt. Plow says the ice at the lower end of Lake Huron is solid and very thick, but occasionally he can see clear water from the station. The ferry boats will quit-running this evening, owing to the light passenger service. The announcement was made this afternoon that the boats would be taken off. ‘The ex. pense of running the boats. is more than the receipts. The notice states that the boats will be taken off for a week. : Suit was commenced in the circuit court to-day, by Me- Lane, Swift & Co. against the Botsford Elevator Co., for $10,000. ‘The plaintiff alleges that the elevator company — had many thousand bushels of grain in the elevator at the time of the fire, which belonged to it, and $10,000 is asked for. The plaintiff has its headquarters at Battle Creek, The Jenks Ship Building Co., will place the Holly Hatch — Clamp, on the steamer building for F. B. Cheesbrough, of Bay City. This vessel is intended for the Atlantic coast trade. An order has also been placed by the Colum- bia Iron Works for the Holly Hatch Clamps to go on the eight new steamers which they have contracted to build. A great many questions have been asked in regard to the expense of the quarantine which is being maintained along the border to prevent the spread of small pox from Sarnia to this city. Dr. H. R. Mills stated this afternoon that the quarantine was under the direction of the United States marine hospital service, and the expense would be borne by the Government. Capt. George Tebo, of Chicago, who is spending the week in Port Huron, says that his interview in the Detroit news- papers claiming that vessel captains should receive as large a salary as bank presidents, has attracted considerable at- tention. . He is willing to bet a year’s salary that if the average boat captain had been president of the City Savings bank of Detroit, Police Commissioner Andrews could never, have drawn. out a million dollars without his knowing it. — The Daily Herald learns from a Detroit source that H: B. Buckeridge has been appointed the local agent of the White Star line. Mr. Buckeridge, when seen, refused to talk, but the Herald has the very best reasons for be- lieving that its information is correct. Mr. Buckeridge was agent of the White Star line for several years and was a live hustling representative, always keeping the line and its advantages stronglv before the public, and the, general feeling will be that the company could not have made a better choice. eee Qne of the largest local verdicts ever rendered by a jury in a damage suit was brought in by the jury last night in the suit of Mrs. Nellie Young vs. the White Star line and Jane Smith, for $15,000. The jury was out but a short time. In September of 1897 Mrs. Young fell through a defective hole in the dock at Algonac, and sustained serious injuries to her leg and spine. Physicians state that she will be permanently lame, and in her suit she asked for $30,000. The case has been on-trial all week. The com- pany claimed that it was but the lessee of the dock and was not responsible for any damages for injuries. It is prob- able that an appeal will be taken to the supreme court. ; ——]—_$_ $$$ LETTERS AT DETROIT MARINE POST OFFICE. ' FEBRUARY IQ, 1902. RAC To get any of these letters, addresses or their authorized agents will apply at the general delivery window or write to the postmaster at Detroit, calling for “advertised matter giving the date of his list and paying one cent. — Advertised matter is previously held one week awaiting delivery. It is held two weeks before it goes to the Dead Letter Office at Washington, D. C. Ce Gunn C B. Reid Dan, Argonaut Miller Wm R, M. Duncan Spencer Harry. McKenzie Hugh, Hebard Timothy James Petee A S, Athens White L E. ro or oe It is now learned that the deal by which W. C. Becker, of Cleveland, was to come into possession of the steamer W. H. Wolf, has been declared off. Mr. Becker purchased her subject to approval, and she did not exactly suit the purpose for which he wanted a vessel. He is therefore looking for another boat, and is now considering a propo- sition. Oe Tecadag