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APRIL, 2, -f9°2, ARMOR PLATE FOR THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. The construction of the battleship Retvizan and the cruiser Variag for the Russian government by the Amer- ican shipbuilding yard, the armor for which ships was made by the Bethlehem Steel Co., has led to the placing of other Russian orders for plate in this country. A striking evidence of this was seen last week in a train of eighteen cars which left Hlomestead on express orders for New York, carrying thirty-six plates for the first class battle- ships Borodino and Ariel, which are now building at the Imperial yards at St. Petersburg. The consignment rep- resented six months’ work at the armor plate department at Homestead. In view of the fact that the armor plate required for the new warships for the United States navy is more than sufficient to keep the Bethlehem Steel Works and the Carnegie works continuously occupied, it is evi- dent that there is a call for other armor plate factories in addition to the above named, says the Scientific Ameri- can. We understand from the last report of the Naval Bureau that a third firm will shortly be in a position to turn out Krupp armor.; but if we are to furnish the armor for our own navy and also supply foreign governments on the scale of this recent shipment, it is evident that there will soon be a demand for a fourth armor plate making establishment. The industry is an extremely profitable one, even at the reduced price at which plate is now being furnished. Indeed, we do not know of any industrial enterprise in which capital could be invested on a large scale with a surer certainty of profitable returns. There is not the slightest indication of any slowing up in the rate of growth of the navies of the world, our own included; and if the United States navy is to increase in adequate proportion to the extention of our foreign trade (as it certainly should do), the demands of our navy alone will before long require double the amount of armor plate that is now being furnished annually by ex- isting works. ro or oo LOCATED THE DEAN RICHMOND. Fred Dorler, of Dunkirk, N. Y., believes that he has located the wreck of the steamer Dean Richmond, which foundered between Erie and Dunkirk, October 14, 1893. The point where the boat went down has always been sup- posed to be northwest of Van Buren, and careful search has been made for the hull at different times. Two sons of Mr. Earnest, of Toledo, were among the portion of the crew supposed to be with the hull at the bottom of the lake, and much sympathy was felt in Dun- kirk for his grief, when after the shore had been thoroughly searched and watched until it seemed certain that no more bodies would be likely to drift ashore, he ex- claimed with sobs: “Must I go home without my boys?” Mr. Earnest from that time has kept money in bank ready to be drawn to defray expenses of taking care of the remains of his two sons if at any time the vessel should be located and his boys’ bodies found. Not one of the crew survived to tell the story of the dis- aster and a large reward was offered for the recovery of the bodies supposed to he still in the wreck. Mr. Dorler claims that he knows the exact location of the sunken vessel and is only waiting till the ice is gone to make a thorough investigation of the wreckage that he discovered late last fall, two miles west by northwest off Point Gratiot. Mr. Dorler saw from a distance what appeared to be a pole sticking out of the water. Going close to it, he found it to be the mast of a vessel. The water was clear and he could see the hull of a large boat, stationary on the bottom of the lake. He then stripped off his clothing and plunged into .the water. He was not’ able to descend very far, but from what he saw he was convinced that he had found the Dean Richmond. He claims to have seen the skeleton of a man entangled in the wreckage. He attached a buoy to a spar of the vessel and intended to secure assistance and make thorough examination of his find, but winter set in soon after and ice was in the way before he was able to make the investigation. He has waited for the clearing away of the ice in the spring. F.HODGE A&C THE ——~_ Bliss THE MARINE RECORD. SKILLED FIREMEN. The importance of having skilled firemen for both station- ary and marine work is becoming more and more pro- nounced. Not very many years ago the firemen was looked upon as a little better than a common laborer, it be- ing considered that his duties consisted of being able to throw coal into the furnace; the more he could throw the nearer he came to being regarded as a good man, not afraid of hard work. Modern high pressure installations have done much toward bringing out the real qualities a fireman should possess. On these plants the skill of the fireman comes into play. Regardless of the quality of coal, in many cases indifferent, he is expected to keep the pressure up to a specified point. To do this requires considerable knowledge of the heating value of the various kinds of coal, as well as the peculiari- ties of the plant he is working on, in reference to the de- mand for steam. Aside from his skill in economical steam making, he must possess a robust physique in order to stand the strain of handling many tons of coal a day, in places that are a veritable inferno. One of the questions that has has vexed the officials of the United States Navy, has been the lack of an efficient force in the boiler rooms of the high powered cruisers and bat- tleships. _ Many schemes were proposed and some of them tried, but to ne avail. As a last resort a cruiser has been placed in commission for the specific purpose of training firemen. This is a decided recognition as to the value of a fireman, and it is to be hoped that this example will be followed in other quarters—The Engineer’s List. SE ee HIGH SEA SPEED AND ITS COST. In the course of an interesting article dealing with the question of cost, horse power, and speed of an Atlantic liner, Engineering refers to the recent announcement that the Cunard Co. are building a new steamer of great speed. The company’s steamers, Campania and Lucania, of 12,500 tons register, continues our contemporary, main- tain 22 knots on the Atlantic, with the engines developing 28,000 indicated horse power. To increase this speed to 23 knots will necessitate not only a larger and costlier ship, but an addition of 8000 horse power to the machinery; while to get 24 knots it is computed that the power will have to be 48,000 indicated horse power. ‘Thus an addition to speed of two nautical miles per hour adds to the fuel consumption 290 tons of coal per day, assuming a very high efficiency to be got from the machinery, bring- ing the total per day to 750 tons, or 1.3 ton per mile steamed. An 18 knot boat, on the other hand, would con- sume considerably less than half this total amount of coal, and her expenses for oil and other stores, and for wages in the engineering department, would be correspondingly lessened. Moreover, the 18 knot boat may profitably carry a large quantity of cargo, and her machinery will require but one half the space and weight of that of the 24 knot liner. It does not pay to take cargo at a high speed. Against this, however, there must be placed the higher rates which may be charged for passengers. ‘The minimum first class rate on the fast German ship is about - $100; in 22 and 21 knot ships it is $60; while there is, again, a great difference in the maximum, many $1,000 fares being taken, and others range up to $2,000. A large percentage of American tourists insist on traveling in the fast ships, and the German lines are satisfied that the high speed liner pays. They add to the resources of a nation in war times, and for this reason larger admiralty sub- vention rates are jusifiable. National prestige and the company enterprise which they indicate are also worthy of some consideration. -_ > ore MARINE PATENTS. 695,917.—Boat. Ambiehl Dominick and Louis Krebs, New York, N. Y. 695,904.—Windlass and capstan and means for driving same, Jacob R. Andrews, Bath, Me. assignor to Hyde Windlass Co., same place. 696,098.—Automatically propelled multiple hull vessel. James Graham, New York, N. Y. 696,103.—Ship. John K. Leedy, Roanoke, Va. LIQUID (iit COMPASS EASTERN FREIGHT REPORT. Messrs. Funch, Edye & Co., New York, report the con- dition of the Eastern freight market as follows: The few fixtures reported for full cargoes of grain show an improvement in this special branch of chartering, and whilst the enquiries for further tonnage are more prevalent than has been the case for some months past, the price of cereals has not yet declined sufficently to enable any volume of business to be transacted. At the same time we are in hopes that more activity will shortly be shown. In other directions there is little of interest to advise. Timber char- terers from the Gulf are making very few commitments, having supplied themselves pretty liberally with tonnage up to the present time. The improved enquiry for grain ton- nage has had the effect of stiffening the rates on cereals from the Gulf ports, which has enabled charterers to do some little business, though the rates paid for steamers do not show any marked improvement. ‘There is some little enquiry for coal tonnage from this coast to Mediterranean ports, but owners’ ideas are a little above what shippers are prepared to pay, and chartering in this line is, therefore restricted. The market for sail tonnage in general shows little ani- mation, and although few vessels are offering, either spot or prospective, the situation remains unchanged. or oro There is about 40,000,000 feet of lumber on the Ashland docks, from which vessel shipments will be commenced as soon as navigation opens. Lumber owners are anxious to get their lumber out as early as possible in the spring, to avoid paying taxes on it. The local assessor makes his start in May, and from present indications most of the - lumber stock will be out of the state before the assessor reaches the docks. -There are no fears of labor troubles in this region on account of any differences between vessel owners and the longshoremen. ‘The rate of fifty cents per hour which prevailed last year is satisfactory to the long- shoremen, and vesselmen are showing no disposition to cut it What is done in regard to wages will be accepted throughout this region by both sides for the season, oS The Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill reported to the House the latter part of last week contains the following items: For completing the light and fog signal station on St. Martin Island, St. Martin passage, entrance to Green Bay, Lake Michigan, $10,000; for completing a steam tender for buoy supply and inspection of the Ninth light-house district, $30,000; limit of cost, $115,000; for completing new steam tender for construction and repair service in Ninth district, $65,000; for completing a light and fog signal station to mark the outer end of main channel entrance to Toledo harbor, $10,000; limit of cost, $100,000; for completing improvement of water communi- cation across Keweenaw Point, $10,000; for completing improvements of Detroit river, $136,500; limit of cost, $561,500; for completing improvements in Hay Lake channel, St. Mary’s river, $144,115; limit of cost, $394,115; continuing improvements Toledo harbor, $223,000. Bs th MARVELOUSIA THE NEW . BAUSCH & LOMB-ZEISS STERE Binocular Glasses. Used by the Armies and Navies of the World. Invaluable for Tourists, Sportsmen and Every-day Use. _ Booklet Free. Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N. Y. New York. Chicago. For sale by all dealers. ' MARINE ENGINES, PROPELLER WHEELS, ‘ DECK HOISTERS, NIN ad oe oo 4 @ 312 ATWATER STREET, DETROIT, MICH. Made in seven sizes by JOHN BLISS & CO., 128 Front Street, New York, is finely finished sensitive, accurate and durable. and is extremely steady. pass ever made in this or any country. For sale by ship chandlers generally. Moves quickly Is the best Liquid Com-