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OTN UY iif “My gts byiy! YY i hy ESTABLISHED 1878. VOL. XXV, No. 10. CLEVELAND -=- MAY 8, 1902 -- CHICAGO. ’ $2.00 Per Year. toc. Single Copy’ Lake CarRrRiERS’ ASSOCIATION. Yo 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. Wm. LIVINGSTONE, ‘ Detroit. : IST VICE-PRESIDENT. J. C. GILcuRIST, 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. G.8s0N L. DouGLaAs, Chairman, Buffalo,::: COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GEORGE P. McKay, Chairman, WHAT THE PANAMA ROUTE IS. The Panama route is but 49.09 miles long from ocean to ocean, which is but little more than one-fourth of the’ total length of the Nicaragua route. ‘There is, therefore, less room for variety of features than is found on the Nicaragua line. ‘he citv of Colon, formerly called As- pinwall, was chosen by the old Panama company as the Atlantic terminus. ‘he route then follows along: the marshes in a southwesterly direction to a little place called Gatun, on the Chagres river. From that point it follows the line of that river in a general way to Obispo, thirty miles from Colon. At Obispo the route leaves the Chagres river and enters the Emperador cut, which merges into the great Culebra cut, where the line crosses the continental divide. From the latter point its general course lies along a small stream called the Rio Grande until it reaches the waters of Panama Bay. : This route has attained great prominence within the last twenty years in consequence of the work done on it bv the old Panama canal company, a French corporation of which Ferdinand de Lesseps was the head. It was not until 1883 that work upon a large scale was begun. The plan adopted was that of a sea-level canal and in- cluded a. bottom width of seventv-two feet and a naviga- ble depth of 29.5 feet. The entire cost of the work was estimated by De Lesseps in 1880 at about $128,000,000, and eight years for the time required. Work tunder this sea-level plan was prosecuted actively until the near end of 1887, says a writer in Scribner’s, when it became evident that the canal on a sea-level plan Gould not be constructed for the amount of money and time then available to the company. iO Oe CHICAGO A GREAT PORT. In the thirty years since 1870, Chicago’s shipping has more than quadrupled and in the tonnage of arrivals and Clearances Chicage now ranks fourth among the ports of the world, following London, New York and Hamburg. * ‘tne latest figures relating to this matter are: London, 16,529,095 tons; New York, 16,445,320; Hamburg, 14,- 196,871; Chicago, 14,186,100; Antwerp, 13,573,472; Liver- pool, 11,818,000, and Marseilles; 9,629,114. MK. Chicago leads all United States ports except New York in tonnage and the constant extension of lake traffic has ' added not only to the commerce of Chicago, but also very largely to the commerce of Cleveland; now a very impor- tant port of entry; Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Duluth and Toledo. The chief articles of commerce on the lakes are wheat, flour, coal, iron ore and lumber. In 1871 the number of bushels of wheat passing through the “Soo” canal was 1,376,705, whilst last year the number of bushels was 60,000,000 or more than forty times as much as in 1871. Cleveland. © LIFE-SAVING CONGRESS AT NANTES. Under date of March 1, 1902, Ambassador Porter, of Paris, sends copy and translation of a letter received from the Society of Life Savers of Brittany, relative to an in- ternational congress of life-saving, preservation of health, and maritime security which will take place at Nantes, July 31 to August 4, 1902, under the honorary presidency of the Minister of the Marine. The hope is expressed that the Government of the United States will be repre- sented. ‘The congress will consider life-saving in water and from fire, ‘piloting in fog, life-saving on beard steam- ships, moral and physical development of sailors and fishermen, etc. Baty It is to be hoped that Hon. S. I. Kimball, general super- intendent U. S. Life-Saving Service, will be spared the leisure to attend this important international conference. The .coasts of the United States present characteristics of all other. countries, and life-saving rules in one dis- trict are in some instances not applicable in another. ‘This view of the subject we endeavored to impress upon the service about a year ago and we can realize that there is much of value to be obtained from an international ex- change of experiences and customs along this line. or COMMERCE OF THE WORLD. «One especially marked characteristic of the commerce « of the’ United States, in comparison with that of other countries, is its large excess of exports over imports. Of the 30 countries whose average monthly imports and ex- ports are shown by the Bureau of Statistics, only 12 show an excess of exports over imports. These 12 countries are Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Egypt, British India, Mexico, Russia, Uruguay and the United States. The average monthly excess of exports over imports in thé case of India'amounts to about nine’ million dollars and Russia also about nine millions; while that of the entire list of countries which show an excess of exports over imports (exclusive of the United States) amounts to about 38 millions per month, while from the United States alone the excess of exports over imports is $42,637,127 per month. he following table shows the average monthly imports and exports of the principal countries of the world during that part of the fiscal year for which figures have been re- ceived by the Bureau of Statistics. Average monthly: COUNTRIES. IMPORTS. EXPORTS. United States cesses 75,410,891 *$118,048,018 United? Kingdom 0.5 o. vase 212,208,056 * 113,274,048 Germany ern ee een oe “112,584,769 92,760,421 Branee sence yer ceo raat 75,002;250 66,736,023 Netherlands * 25) ec5 95 tee 65,922,042 56;790,923 ribs dndiac Wea ieee « 22,433,972 31,790,036 Russia: GHiarope acannon tame: 22,457,583 31,310,500 Belo ay sates nae as 35,230,846 28,866,753 Austria-Hungary, ss 6.2 ees nl 28,853,158 28,517,390 italy sii ena 28,080,802 21,053,575 Gan adani reer OARS hes 15,463,905 16,900,028 Birazilecssesins, es pees 7,214,110 13,835,945 Aggentina 05... peace. asa 9,164,263 13,487,170 Switzerland a csog lan era ae ae 17,061,468 13,453,048 China ar ee Pn tt Rica 16,411,195 10,377,338 SPalthe thee cert site, Ee ES 12,913,450 10,167,924 Jiap att tee ners kee ety i eriera & 10,838,601 9,754,509 Bey pt ice SUE Wer eee aes 5,079,401 8,860,027 Swedenwienn, oa ieee eee ee 11,033,538 8,739,792 IMiexiCOesiik, SATA CNG Oe 4,615,254 5,457,024 Citba os ars Sas aie eit Oe eee 5,517,491 5,449,376 lab LMaMNese FAN IN AEA SR Mere dees tn AUC 3,909,702 5,100,104 Capevol. Good Hope. i 8iie. 9,057,554 4,466,735 RG tinaMia ere ees beee 2 eee * 3,480,850 4,503,340 *Domeéstic exports. 5 or oo THE first practical trial of a new system of the single- rail railroad is to be made at the Crystal Palace, London. The line, which is to be one and a half miles in length, will be worked by electricity. The difference between this system and the prevalent type of monorail is that the line is on the ground, and large wheels projecting from the middle of the carriage run on it, while on each side of the carriage there are safety rollers upon: guide rails. In the monorail the line is elevated; with the carriage over- hanging» on each side. The experimental railroad will cost $70,000. ANENT THE LATE SUBSIDY SHIPPING BILL. While the late subsidy shipping bill is now dead. and mummified, it is just as well to casually review some of the stabs it received from apparently its good friends and especially quotations which our commercial and maritime friends, the British, deem worthy of publicity. — The Shipping World and Herald of Commerce, London, in its latest edition, says: var OEY “We have before us anarticle written for Leslie’s Weekly, by Mr. Waldon Fawcett, in support of the Subsidy Bill. As it seems to us, it is enough’ to annihilate any case- set up by Messrs. Hanna and Frye for their measure.’ Here is the sort of material used by Mr. Fawcett. He says:- ‘Each succeeding month brings fresh evidence of‘ the rapidity of this advance (in American shipping). The recent establishment on the Delaware river, at a cost of several million dollars, of one of the most complete and thoroughly up-to-date shipyards in.the world; the project for another plant of large proportions in this same ship- building center; the consummation of plans for gigantic shipbuilding plants at- Norfolk, Va.; and -New Orleans, and the opening at New London, Conn., of an institution whose initial order is for the construction of the two largest vessels ever built in the world, are only a, few. of the more recent indications of phenomenal prosperity and activity in this field, |More interesting still is: the fact that, despite the remarkable expansion of American ship- building capacity, every: plant ‘adapted to vessel construc- tion is overcrowded with work.’ ai “And all this is said in support of the proposition that the farmers of the West shall be taxed to supply profits to shipbuilders and shipowners. Amazing!” : _ Well! it is slightly off color, considering that: Mr. Faw- cett worked for some years in the very Hanna atmosphere, being in the same building and within-a door or two of the Hanna suite, furthermore, his work on a marine. public cation gave. most people the belief that he was in favor. of subsidizing shipping as a means of rehabilitating the United States mercantile marine. However, arguments in some cases are liable to be misconstrued, or partake somewhat of the nature of a double meaning. Mr..Faw- cett now holds a government position, in the Bureau of Statistics, at Washington so can, or is supposed to write, with some degree of inside knowledge and official author- ity.’ Besides Congressmen and: even: Senators are more like ordinary people in Washington, and their personal views, net legislation, etc., doesn’t meet with the same weight as when among their constituents. lll Pea s THE PARSIMONY OF “UNCLE SAM..%),, A majority of our, readers will no, doubt be. in Acebrd with the views expressed by the. Army. and’ Navy Journal relative to our naval representation at the coronation of the British king. we eo eee Our. contemporary states the situation in the following concise terms: : “Tt is a scorching reproach to the parsimony of: the government that Capt. Charles E.. Clark. U. S. N., whom the President selected to represent the navy at the coro- nation of King Edward, has been obliged to decline the appointment for the reason that no funds are available to pay his necessary expenses. The niggardly refusal of Congress to make.some provision for the representatives | of the army and navy, at the coronation ceremonies, is a base reflection upon the dignity, patriotism and good taste of the American people. And in the case of Capt. Clark it places him in the painful position of having to remind the public that his many years of splendid devotion to his country have not been rewarded sufficiently to enable him to defray from his personal means the expense of a mission in which he would naturally be expected to main- tam himself in the matter of expenditure on an equality with the representatives of other nations. °There is no more justice in requiring Capt. Clark. to pay his expenses in. London out of his own pocket than there would be in requiring him to pay.the expenses of a warship he was ordered. to’ command. Happily; in Rear Admital John C. Watson, who has been named for the mission, the gov- ernment has a representative who is worthy of the best traditions of the navy and whose appointment will be heartily approved everywhere.” \