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we ees DEVOTED TO NAVIGATION, COMMERCE, ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE. ESTABLISHED 1878. PusiisHep Every THURSDAY BY THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO. Incorporated. C. E. RUSKIN. .... 2.2... e eee eee eee e eee e ence ee . Manager ener, JOHN SWAINSON........56 0.00000 000 ees faa. itor CLEVELAND, CHICAGO. a Western Reserve Building. Royal Insurance Building. SUBSCRIPTION. One copy, one vear, postage paid............---+--+s $2.00 One copy, one year, to foreign COUMELICS: Coins es ces $3.00 Invariably in advance. ADVERTISING. Rates given on application. Wee ee en nan ee _ All communications should o addressed to the Cleveland Ae office, THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO. Western Reserve Building, Cleveland, O. Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as second-class mail matter. No attention is paid to anonymous communications, but the wishes of contributors as to the use of their names : will be scrupulously regarded. CLEVELAND, O.,IFEBRUARY 20, 1902. METEOROLOGICAL CHART. ‘The government has just issued the “meteorological chart for the Great Lakes’ for 1901. In summarizing the con- ditions that prevailed in the lakes for the past year, the report tells of the dense smoke from Canadian forest fires near Georgian Bay that drifted over the eastern end of Lake Superior on Sept. 6, last, and under the influence of brisk northeast winds overspread Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie on the following day. A reat fire had been raging in the Canadian forests to the east of Lake Huron. The smoky condition of the upper air had been served for several days as far away as Chicago. When the wind’ shifted to the northeast on Sept. 7 the air over a arge part of the lakes became filled to an unusual degree /with dust and smoke. The air became so thick that range lights and other channel marks weresfor some time com- - pletely obscured, the brisk winds raising simultaneously a avy sea. As a result of this obstruction of the lights, e high wind and the waves, nine vessels were stranded off Fort Gratoit light at the extreme southern end of Lake Turon, between 7 p. m. and midnight. it had become so dense on the Detroit river in the mean- t me as to delay navigation for some hours on Sept. 8. Many other disasters were caused by the smoke fog in various parts of the lakes, greater loss resulting than was ever known before to be caused by smoke in these regions. $$ FRAUDULENT TRANSPORTATION. ‘he discovery has just been made by the Central Passen- Association, that some of the roads have been deprived ' laree amounts of revenue by the manipulation of so- called sailors’ tickets. Under a rule of the association, oads sell half-fare tickets to sailors after the close of igation, from lake ports where the vessels are tied up r the winter to the ports where the men were hired. To ntitle the sailor to this privilege a certificate had to be pre- nted from the-captain of the vessel on which he was em- yed, countersigned by the joint agent for the lake lines at each port. — ommissioner Donald of Chicago announced Thursday, that he had discovered over 100 ,violations of the above entioned rule -by one railroad alone. Investigation, 1t 1s med, discloses the fact that managers and agents of ce companies, doctors, lawvers, merchants and ‘oth- e been traveling i in sleeping cars as sailors returning home ports. All the association roads have. been. d to send him a complete list of all tickets sold at. es on sailors’ certificates. ‘a bonus for shipbuilding. The cloud of smoke swept away by the next morning, but THE MARINE RECORD. A CANADIAN SHIP CANAL. In a speech before the Canadian Parliament, according to the ‘Toronto Mailiand Empire, Minister Tarte strongly favored a’ canal from Georgian Bay to North Bay, and also suggested that the government would do well to offer He was careful ‘to say that on neither of these propositions was he voicing the sentiments of his colleagues in.the Cabinet. His views regarding the canal wete’ cordially endorsed by Mr. Haggart. ~ In connection with the French river project, he said, by a comparatively small expenditure of money, within two years, a navigable channel twenty feet deep could be built from the Georgian Bay to Lake Nipissing. The difference in level to be overcome was only sixty-two feet, the dis- tance being sixty-one miles. On Lake Nipissing connec- tion would be made with the C. P. R. at North Bay, and at Callender with the Grand Trunk. The distance to Montreal was 360 miles, and to Toronto 290 miles. The construction of this contract would be of inestimable benefit to the northwest farmer. He did not hesitate to say that it would be equal to a couple of millions of dollars on such a crop as this year. There would be three locks, with a capacity for vessels carrying 200,000 bushels each. ~The advantage of the Canadian route by the French river over any of the Amer- ican routes would be not less than 150 miles. Supposing the whole of this year’s crop from the north- west could be carried by a Canadian route, it would keep twenty vessels steadily employed to move the crop. He ventured the prediction that within ten years the output of wheat in the northwest would reach 200,000,000 bushels, as compared with 65,000,0co bushels this year. He had no data of the cost of the canal from the mouth of the French river to Montreal, but was told it would be in the vicinity of $100,0c0,0c0. He ventured to say that no Canadian Parliament would embark on such an expenditure at pres- ent. He felt he was voicing the feelings of every business man in Canada when he called attention to the importance of the French river route. — OO OOS PENSION FOR LIGHT KEEPERS. A dispatch from Washington savs: “A bill in the inter- ests of light-house keepers was introduced by Representa- tive Maynard, today. It makes the salaries of the keepers $50 a month, and assistants $40, but the more important feature of the provision is that after ten years’ continuous service, keepers and assistants who become disabled shall be pensioned on half pay. Discretionary power is given to the Secretary of the Treasury to determine who shall be entitled to pensions.” ANE ; COMMANDER LIGHT-HOUSE DISTRICT ORDERED FOR SEA DUTY. “Commander Jolin C. Wilson, U. S. N., Eleventh light- house district, stationed at Detroit, has received orders from the Navy Department to be ready for sea duty, and he will probably leave in a few days. He will be succeeded as light-house inspector of the district by Edward H.: Green, commander last in charge of the U. S. cruiser Marietta, doing duty in Asiatic waters. Commander Wilson has been in charee of the distsict for the past two years, having come here after being detached . from the cruiser Indiana. He began his naval studies in 1865, graduating in 18609, and has been on naval sea duty almost continuously since. He was two years on the Pacific and two years on the North Atlantic stations, and has been on every United States naval station in the world, with the exception of the South Atlantic. It is probable that Commander Wilson will be given: com- mand of a United States cruiser and sent to Asiatic waters. Comander Green, his successor, has been in the naval service since 1861 and hails from Pennsylvania. ‘The dis- trict extends from the River Rouge in the Detroit river, to the head of Lake Superior. or From one who has an intimate knowledge of the cost of wrecking jobs, we learn that the probable expense of wrecking steamer Pere Marquette 3, is estimated -to cost about $15,000, says the Iudington Record- Appeal. The bills are divided about as follows: Capt. Reid,: labor and use of pumps, $8,0co; tug Meyer, ten days at $250 per day,. $2,500; other tugs, labor, and incidentals, $4,500. FEBRUARY 20, 1902. DETROIT RIVER WRECKING EQUIPMENT The wrecking equipment of the tug trust at Detroit dur- ing the coming year will be second to none on the lakes, and nothing will be left undone which would add to its thoroughness and efficiency. Several changes fromm the past are goin~ to be inaugu- rated, and it is said that one of the most important changes will be no less than a new management of the tug trust property. For several years Capt. J. W. Westcott has been the Detroit river representative of the tug trust, but from an authoritative source it has been learned that A. W. & B. W. Parker, from whom the Great Lakes Towing Co. bought the wreckers Saginaw and Favorite will now han- dle the wrecking business from Detroit. While neither of these gentlemen will say anything definite about the mat- ter at this time, claiming that negotiations have not been concluded and that it would be unwise to make any pre- mature announcement of the plans of the trust until every- thing has been closed, it is almost a certainty that they will be the tug trust representative in Detroit. Capt. Isaac Watt of Windsor, it is understood, will rep- resent the company at Windsor, under the directions of the Parkers, he having charge of the actual operation of the Saginaw and Wales, while the business end will be taken care of from Parkers’ office at the foot of Griswold street. Capt. Watt will also be master of the Saginaw as heretofore. One of the most powerful tugs of the trust will be stationed in Detroit to take care of the new 1,500-ton light- er now being built at Bay City. This will be equipped with all the latest wrecking appliances, and the whole outfit, wreckers, lighter and tugs will operate in the territory be- tween Port Huron and Toledo. The station is central, about half way between both points, and can give quick assistance to boats in trouble at any place from Lake Erie to Lake Huron, although most of the wrecking work as has been the case in the past, will probably be in the lower'river, on the Limekiln Crossings and that vicinity. The trust tug Boynton, which has been stationed at Port Huron will be shifted to hte “Soo” and the A. W. Cotton will be transferred from Toledo to Port Huron. een ’ CHANGING PORT OF HAIL. The recent change in the laws of Indiana governing the taxation of vessel property is causing an exodus of ships from Chicago to Michigan City. The ownership of four vessels has just been transferred to the Indiana port. They were the steamers J. D. Marshall, Francis Hinton, P. J Ralph, and the schooner Harold. ‘Several more will be transferred to Indiana before the time comes for the tax assessor to make his rounds. The Indiana law places tax- dtion on vessel’ property: on the basis of three cents per ton per year. The Illinois law subjects vessels to the tax- ation on values, on the same basis and at the, same-rate as other personal property. Minnesota, which .adopted the tonnage tax two years ago and secured for Duluth a large amount of vessel property, is likely to repeal the law this winter. Such a repeal will cause a general transfer of fleets from Duluth to Michigan City. The Chicago boats which now have Duluth for a:port of hail will undoubtedly be changed to Indiana’s sole port. As Michigan City is located in the Chicaso customs. district, this port would again obtain the credit of ownership, while the city would not get the taxes. —<—$ $< — a eer TRANSFER OF LUMBER CARRIERS. The report from all over the chain of lakes has been of an unusual demand for Iumber tonnage during the year. The sales of boats so far have been confined almost entirely to the little hookers, ore and grain vessels having changed hands in but few cases. The inquiries in this section have been heavy and a number of deals are now said to be on that may have some results.soon. J. C. Gil- christ & Co., Cleveland, sent out a printed slip announcing the boats they have for sale this year. Among others here are three lumber tows, one of which will go for $100,- ooo another for $40,000, and the third for $58,000. Aside from ‘this there are thirty-one freight carriers, two of which are lumber hookers and three that can be altered for lumber carriers. The fleet for sale also includes nineteen barges, the highest .priced being for $25,000 and the lowest for $1,500, The list is completed fy fourteen schooners.