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MARINE REVIEW. MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO THE LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. JOHN M. MuULROONEY, eater ine ge Oat eee F. M. BARTON, HOMER J. CARR, - - - Associate Editor and Manager Chicago Office, 210 South Water Street. Published every Thursday at No. 510 Perry-Payne Building, Cleveland, O. SUBSCRIPTION— $2.00 per year in advance. Advertising rates on applica- tion. eae \ proprimtors. Lintered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. THE rail freight today on aton of ore from the mines of Michigan to Escanaba, the Lake Michigan shipping port, a dis- tance of 50 or 60 miles, is greater than the lake freight on the same quantity of ore to Lake Erie ports, a distance of about 600 miles. When the ore producer complains that this rail charge is excessive and should be reduced, on account of the depressed condition of the market for his product,the railway manager tells him to wait until he can find a market at a profit. The ore is in the mine and will be taken out some day, according to the rail- way argument. The makers of pig iron in the Mahoning and Chenango valleys complain that they cannot find a profitable marker for their iron,on account of the excesssve railway charges, and they also are told to wait. This is railway policy. What argument more than this is needed for the improvement of the inland waterways of the country? In another part of this issue will be found an article deal- ing with the matter of discrimination in the treatment of Amer- _ ican vessels and cargoes passing through the Welland canal, as compared with the treatment accorded Canadian vessels and car- goes passing through the United States canal at Sault Ste Marie, Mich. The article also treats of the discrimination against grain destined for American consumption as against grain going to Mon- treal for export and for Montreal consumption. In October nexta Canadian commission to deal with reciprocity matters will visit _ Washington. ‘This discrimination, brought about through Wel- land canal management, should be forcibly presented to our own government in advance of any dealings with the commission. It is a matter that interests grain producers and grain consum- _ ers as well as the vessel owners on the lakes. _ THE season starts out with some heavy losses for the insur- ance companies in addition to the very low margin at which busi- ness was taken in the spring. A repetition of the season of 1883, when the losses of the underwriters on the lakes were enormous would be a big draw-back to the companies that have been grasp- ing so earnestly for hull risks. The season is bound to be a late one. An English ‘Enterprise.” John D. Grant Fairfax the Englishman, who has already visited Chicago and other lake cities of late, and who has talked a great deal about his plans for acompany torun a line of steam- ships from the lakes to European ports, has been the subject of a great deal of sarcasm from the lake papers, but his chances of getting a promotor’s fee out of the underwriting of such a com- pany are far better than those of his predecessors. Fairfax, who has consulted a number of vessel owners and shippers around the lakes, has no English connections and claims to be possesed of sufficient means to spend a couple of years on this work, await- ing the improvement of the St. Lawrence river canals to Welland canal dimensions. If capitalists are to be gulled by his scheme, they will not be Americans. His aim is to make the company distinctively English, hoping to secure support on that account. The Great Western Railway and the Cardiff Dock Trust, foreign concerns of which he speaks, have furnished him plans for a type of Welland canal steamer, exhibited by him here, and pronounced - entering Saginaw river. by experts as fitted for the class of traffic in which it is proposed to have them engage. It isalso said that this class of boat will withstand ocean navigation. The question of profit ina boat that must of necessity be small is, however, another matter, but it is in the building of boats in England and in the English char- acter to be given the company that the promoter rests his hope of floating the scheme. He can probably take over without trouble a great many contracts for the transportation of dressed beef and other freight at low prices, but like a great many others of his class he need care little about the outcome of the company once formed. Clear the Breakwater Entrance, Deep laden ore carriers coming to Cleveland during the past few weeks have had: occasion to seek anchorage within the breakwater enclosure on the west side of the harbor entrance, on account of the ore strike, and several of them have grounded in attempting to make this harbor of refuge. It has been claimed that the boats rested on the wreck of the barge Wahnapitae, which went down between the west pier and the eastern extrem- ity of the western breakwater, and that the remnants of the wreck should be cleared by Wrecker Reed, who purchased the sunken barge, but the vessel captains, whose boats have been on the bottom, are positive that northeasterly and easterly winds have filled up this entrance to the breakwater enclosure and the channel should be dredged out. ‘The danger from this source to deep laden vessels attempting to make the harbor of refuge in heavy weather is very great and something should be done to- ward removing the bar that has formed at the entrance. As the soil within the eastern breakwater enclosure does not well ad- mit of anchorage, itis absolutely necessary that the western harbor should be kept clear. Washington Counsellors. In another part of this journal Conger & Conger, attorneys and counsellors at law, No. 45 Corcoran building, Washington, D. C., solicit the patronage of the marine and shipping interests of the country especially in matters coming before congress and the treasury department. The practical connection of this firm with the maritime interests of the great lakes as counsel in Washington for the Lake Carriers’ Association, and as counsel for the Chicago Vessel Owners’ Association and others interested in the very important question just decided by the attorney general touching the Chicago bridge matter, is sufficient recommenda- tion. Hon. O.D. Conger, during eighteen years of service in congress was at all times a champion of the interests of the lake region and served for sixteen years on the committee on com- merce of both houses. World’s Fair Mines and Mining Building. The King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland has been awarded the contract tor the first of the eleven large buildings for the Columbian exposition. The build- ing will be designated as the mines and mining building, and will be composed almost entirely of steel and glass. It will cover an area of 245,000 square feet and from the ground to the apex of the roof will be 100 feet. The contract calls for the completion of metal work Oct. 1, 1891. Notices to Mariners. The light-house board gives notice that on or about June 15, the fixed white light shown from the rear tower at the mouth of Saginaw river, Mich., will be changed to fixed red, forming with the front light a range, consisting of two fixed red lights, for The order of the light will not be changed. The same date the tower of the front light will be painted red, forming with the yellow tower of the rear light a day range for entering the river. ne Masters navigating Lake Erie, and especially those to Buffalo, would do well to look out for the Bea the Fie . Fayette Brown, sunk in collision last week. She lies in 9 fatho: of water about nine miles east-north-east of the D mimy Her spars.are above water. Sg