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il, Gi! Mp, i Wy ib ay ESTABLISHED 1878. VOL. XXV, No. 14. CLEVELAND -- APRIL 3, 1902 -- CHICAGO. $2.00 Per Year. 0c. Single Cop PonkKeE -CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION. "9 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 to improve the character of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. Wo. LIVINGSTONE, Detroit. IST VICE-PRESIDENT. J. C. GILCHRIST, Cleveland. SECRETARY. : HARVEY L. Brown, Buffalo. TREASURER. GEORGE P. McKay, Cleveland. COUNSEL. Harvey D. GouLDER, Cleveland. EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE. JAMES CORRIGAN, Chairman, Cleveland. COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION. Gipson L. DouGLas, Chairman, Buffalo. COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GEORGE P. McKay, Chairman, Cleveland. SHIPBUILDING. Returns to the Bureau of Navigation show that during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, ended March 31, 1902, there were built in the United States and officially numbered 949 vessels of 245,068 gross tons. For the corresponding peiod of the previous fiscal year the figures were 753 vessels of 246,973 gross tons. These figures do not include canal boats and unrigged barges. A gain of about 8,000 tons on the Atlantic seaboard is offset by losses of about 5,000 tons on the lakes, 3,000 tons on the Pacific and 2,000 tons on wesern rivers. Of the nine months’ construction only 57 vessels are over 1,000 gross tons each, aggregating, however, 169,566 tons, or 70 per cent of the total tonnage. Of these large vessels the Great Lakes have built 22 steel steamers of 84,323 tons. “wo of these, Watson and Buckman, of 1,820 tons each, are banana steamers for West India trade, one, Hugoma, of 2,182 tons, is for the Porto Rican trade, and one, Minnetonka, of 5,270 tons, is to be cut in two to pass the Canadian canals, and then rejoined for ocean trade. The seaboard has built 10 steel steamers of 41,204 tons, of which the largest is Korea, 11,276 tons, a Pacific mail steamer for trade from San Francisco, via Honolulu, to Hongkong, with possible extension to the Philippines. One Nevadan, 4,408 tons, is for the New York-Hawaiian trade. One, Pathfinder, 2,792 tons, is for the Porto Rican trade. One, J. M. Guffey, 2,520 tons, is for the Texas petroleum trade. ‘The others are for the usual coasting trades. Large schooners number 10, of 32,757 tons, all wooden except Providence, 1,651 tons, built of steel at Camden, N. J. Six square-rigged vessels include the two Bath built steel ships William P. Frye and Atlas, and four wooden barkentines built on the Pacific, in all, 11,282 tons. The advanced construction of vessels launched or soon to be launched indicates that the total construction for the year will somewhat exceed that of the fiscal year 1901. Contracts for new work are, however, less than a year ago. OOO A GREAT ARMOR PLATE WORKS. Work has been started by the Carnegie Steel Co., at the Homestead works, enlarging the armor plate department. The undertaking not only involves the building of an ad- dition, but the practical reconstruction of the whole of the present plant. The remodeled armor plate works will occupy the present site and adjacent territory. It will cover nearly three times as much ground as now, and will cost nearly $8,000,000. ‘The new plant, it is said, will rival the great works of Krupp, at Essen Germany, in size. A new pattern making and carpentry department is being erected with a fireproof building for the storage of the costly patterns. A great armor plate machine shop will be erected. The present armor plate machine shop will be transformed into a. protective deck department, which does not now exist at Homestead. ‘The small press which is now in the forging department will be moved to the pro- tective deck department. The removal of this press will make room for a new one, which will have a maximum capacity of 12,000,000 pounds and will be the greatest squeezing machine in America. Work has been started on the Harveyizing department. It will be made double its present size, and a number of new furnaces will be installed. _—-_-s OUR NEW NAVY. The American navy has undergone a remarkable transfor- mation in the last generation. ‘The “new navy” had its be- ginning in 1882, when, on February 1 of that year, Sec- retary Hunt submitted to Congress the minority report of the advisory board, appointed on June 29, 1881, upon the condition of the navy and the plans for building steel and iron vessels of modern type. Since the war with Spain the navy has risen by leaps and bounds, and has actually been almost quadrupled in the last four years. No such progress has been achieved by any other navy; in fact, the advance made by other big naval powers sinks into insignificance beside the stupendous development in the United States. In 1880 the appropriation amounted to about $12,000,000, in 1887 they were about $15,000,000, and it had not passed much beyond $20,000,000 when, in 1898, came the war with Spain. The present Congress is asked for about $100,000,- oco for the navy, but a large proportion of this amount is asked for the construction of new vessels and the con- tinuance of work on those under construction. —————— RUSSIA WILL BUILD ALL OF HER SHIPS. It is stated that the Russian Government has decided that, regardless of cost, all government orders shall hence- forth be placed at home. Battleships and cruisers must be built in Russian shipyards, by Russian workmen, and with Russian materials. It is estimated that this system will in- crease the naval budget 50 per cent., and probably cause a deterioration in the workmanship of the vessels. The Russian council of Russian navigation has formu- lated a scheme for promoting shipbuilding loans free of in- terest, for twenty years to the amount of one-half the value of the ships on the condition that the vessels be owned by Russians, built by Russia and constructed entirely of Rus- sian materials. Unless it can actually be demonstrated that an article cannot be produced in Russia in the future, it will be bought at home at whatever price is necessary. The government argues that such a policy, though costly, will be justified on the score of national protection, just as the maintenance of the army and navy is justified. I AAA Csr THE DRAINAGE CANAL LIABLE. The liability of the sanitary district of Chicago for loss to vessels on account of its control of the Chicago ‘river, has been judicially determined by Judge Kohlsaat in two decisions just made in the United States district court. The first was known as the steamer Curry case. That ship stuck fast in the Wisconsin Central railway bridge, near Taylor street, owing to a cofferdam which the sani- tary district had placed in the channel. The loss to the Curry was about $1,400, and the sanitary district will have to pay it on the grounds that it was not maintaining a channel full forty-eight feet wide in accordance with the, orders of the Secretary of War. In the other case, the I. Watson Stephenson was the steamer. One dark night some two years ago, the Stephenson steamed up the river and started to go through the north draw of the Ashland avenue bridge, as the captain had done many times before. No one warned him that the sanitary district had been dredging out the south draw of the bridge and had dumped the refuse into the north draw. ‘The result was that the Stephenson went aground, and was then carried around by the current until she reached clear across the river. By the time the ship was ireed and repair bills were made, an expense of some $5,000 was incurred, and this amount Judge Kohl- saat says the sanitary district must pay. The two decisions, as fixing the rights of vessel owners in Chicago river while the channel is being deepened and widened, are decidedly important, particularly as this work will take several years more before it is completed. CONCERNING PILOT PAPERS. The Littlefield bill, providing for a revision of the statutes relating to pilots of sailing and steam vessels, has attracted considerable attention in the marine com- munity. It is as follows: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America, in Congress assem- bled, that section forty-four hundred and forty-two of the revised statutes, be and is hereby amended by adding thereto the following: “Whenever the master or mate of a sailing vessel of the United States claiming to be a skillful pilot, offers himself for a license, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character and merits, and if satisfied from per- sonal examination of the applicant, with the proof that he offers, that he possesses the requisite knowledge and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of five years to pilot any such vessel within the limits prescribed in the license; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory evidence of negligence, unskillfulness, inattention to the duties of his station, intemperance, or the willful violation of any of the provisions of this title.” Sec. 2—That section forty-four hundred and forty-four of the revised statutes be and is hereby amended to read as follows: “Sec. 4444—No State or municipal government shall impose upon pilots of steam vessels any obligations to procure a State or other license in addition to that issued by the United States, or any other regulation which will impede such pilots in the performance of the duties re- quired by this title; nor shall any pilot charges be levied by any such authority upon any steamer piloted as pro- vided by this title, nor upon any vessel of the United States employed in the coastwise trade being towed into or out of any port of the United States by a steam vessel under command of a pilot licensed for such port under the laws of the United States, and in no case shall the fees chareed for the pilotage of any steam vessel exceed the customary or legally established rates in the State where the same is performed. Nothing in this title shall be construed to annul or affect any regulations established by the law of any state requiring vessels entering or leaving a port in any such State other than otherwise steam ves- sels to take a pilot duly licensed or authorized by the laws of such State or of a State situate upon the waters of such a State.” Sec. 3—That section forty-two hundred and_ thirty- seven be and is hereby amended to read as follows: “Sec. 4237—No regulations or provisions shall be adopted by any State which shall make any discrimination in the rate of pilotage or half pilotage between vessels sailing between the ports of one State and vessels sailing between the ports of different States, or any discrimination against vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, or against national vessels of the United States; and all existing regulations or provisions making any such dis- crimination are annulled and abrogated.” Sec. 4—That this act shall take effect six months after its passage. oo or NEW LINE OF STEAMERS. J. J. Lynn, of Port Huron, has just returned from New York, where he took part in the organization of a new steamship company, to operate on the Pacific ocean. The nafhe of the new line has not yet been selected, but has a capitalization of $1,000,000 and has already closed a con- tract at Newport News for a vessel 240 feet keel, 40 feet beam, and 19 feet depth of hold, and a carrying capacity of 1,500,000 feet of redwood.» ‘This is the first of three boats which the company will build. It will have 1,500 indicated horse-power. Lake ship- builders were given an opportunity to bid on its construc- tion, but on account of the crowded condition of the yards and their inability to turn out a boat before late next fall, the ocean concern was given the contract. The boats, which will carry California redwood from San Francisco to Kureka, where it will be carved and manufactured into Japanese art work, will be controlled by the company, which is incorporated by John B. Claffin, of New York; Gen. Thomas H. Hubbard, representing the Hopkins estate, of New York, A. B. Hammond, of San Francisco; and Francis J. Leggett, of New York. er eke