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<<. ii THE MARINE RECORD. 9 technical customs and the great disfavor with which they usually look upon innovations, the change was not advo- cated, nor is it now, although a contemporary points out. that as soon as the order “right” is given, the telegraph is moved to the right, the wheel is revolved to the right, the ship turns to the right, the rudder-indi- eator points right, the rudder itself moves right, and the steering-mark on the compass as well; and so vice- versa when the order “left” is given. Nothing can be simpler. and no possibility of mistake can arise. Desirable changes and modern improvements have a way of forcing themselves to the front, and from Amer- ican and English pilots handling these German steamers it is learned that no difficulties are experienced in using the new words of command, and in fact they are better liked than the old time method of acting contrary to the given order. DD oO LEGISLATION INIMICAL TO SHIPBUILDERS. That the United States tonnage should be built at home is admittedly the wish of the country at large, what then is the meaning of the Bill introduced by Mr. Gibson of Louisiana to provide a United States register for the foreign built and equipped steamers Foxhall andS Oteri? This method of admitting foreign built tonnage to American registry has been accomnplisked successfully be- fore, even in the last Congress, and with the precedent in view it is possible that the above named steamers may also be sneaked in under the Stars and Stripes. The coast shipbuilders should array themselves in a solid phalanx against such a bill, which is to say the least destructive to their industry and derogatory to the best interests of the nations maritime commerce. In the event of foreign built steamers invading the Great Lakes we venture to say that measures for their naturalization to entitle them to compete with domestic built tonnage would be so closely scanned that unless the wreck reports showed clearly the expenditure necessary to gain ad- mittance they would never be tolerated. For the benefit of those who may not have noticed the Bill of which we speak we herewith produce it: That the Commissioner of Navigation is hereby authorized and directed to cause the foreign built steamers Foxhall and S. Oteri, of New Orleans, Louisiana, purchased and wholly owned by American citizens, and repaired by them, to be registered as vessels of the United States. Section 2, That the Secretary of Treasury be, and hereby is, authorized and directed to authorize and direct the inspec- tion of said steam vessels, steam boilers, steam pipes, and the appurtenances of said boilers, and cause to be granted the proper and usual certificates issued to steam vessels of the merchant marine, without reference to the fact that said steam boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances were not constructed pursuant to the laws of the United States and were not con- structed of iron stamped pursuant to said laws; and test to be applied to the inspection of said boilers, steam pipes, and ap- purtenances will be the same in all respects as to strength and safety 2s are required in the inspe.tion of boilers con- structed in the United States for marine purposes, save the fact that said boilers, steam pipes, aud appurtenances not be- ing constructed pursuant to the requirements of the laws of the United States, and are of unstamped iron, shall not be an obstacle to the granting of the usual certificate if said boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances are found to be of sufficient strength and safety. Legislators from the lake districts would do well to closely scrutinize measures admitting to American registry foreign built tonnage, as the same arguments might be brought to bear if it was desired to flood the lakes with foreign built tonnage to the entire exclusion of the immense shipbuilding industries already estab- lished. + + oe AIDS TO NAVIGATION. The committee of Cleveland vessel owners, sent to Washington to facilitate the legislation required on aids to navigation, have formulated their own bill in accord- dance with the wishes expressed by the several depart- ments with whom they consulted. The bill now drawn up asks for a total appropriation of about $700,000, and is distinctly for needed lights, lightships and fog signals for Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Superior and Michigan, besides a number of changes in the Detroit and St. Mary’s rivers, all of which are admit- ted as being not only essential but necessary, and from - the good will evinced by Senators and Representatives, it is thought the bill will be specially favored and the appropriation asked for granted in its entirety. rr oe A SHIPYARD INDUSTRY, The Detroit Dry Dock Co., has closed with the Berlin Bridge Co., of East Berlin, Conn., for a new fire oof modern machine shop, which will enable the building the largest engines required. The building when com- be one of the finest machine shops on the Great \d will compare favorably with any in the country. have modern appliances, such as electric 20 tons capacity, running the whole length , new machinery, electric lights, ete. The building will be 200 feet long, 37 feet wide, and 50 feet high in the clear. The two electric cranes running the whole length, with 38 feet of clear space above the floor. Work on the new building will be begun immediately, Two-thirds of it will be erected in eight weeks, and completed in ten. The re- mainder will be completed as soon thereafter as the old shop can be cleared away. ee ee A NAUTICAL DICTIONARY. Captain Howard Patterson, of New York, has just published a handsome volume containing five thousand nautical terms. The book is finely illustrated, and is given in five parts as follows; Parti. Dictionary of General Sea Terms, Part Il. Dictionary of Terms for Wooden and Iron Ship Building. Part Ill. Vocabulary of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy. Parriy. Steam Engineering—Various Types of Ma- tine Engines. Part V. War Ships and Nomenclature of Modern Ordnance, / $$$ $$ THE MARINE RECORD FOR ONE YEAR ——AND—. Beeson’s Inland Marine Guide....... -- $2.50 Law of Bills of Lading .. 6.50 Patterson’s Nautical Dictionary + 6,00 Drawing and Rough Sketching for Engineers by James Donaldson,.... ....--..- 4.00 Scott’s Coast Pilot (new edition) .. 3.00 Simple Elements of Navigation 3.50 “Wrinkles” in Practical Navigation 6,00 Practical Seamanship... Por -- 8.00 United States and Canadian charts and any publication on Navigation, Shipbuilding, Engineering, ete., ete., will be supplied with THE MARINE RECORD at proportion- ately low rates. Address Toe MARINE REcoRD, Smith & Swainson, Publishers, 148 Superior St., Cleveland, Ohio. ED +O Oe A POPULAR U.S. ENGINEER. Major Charles E. L. B. Davis, who has been for the past six years in charge of the various river and harbor improvements, water level observations, surveys, etc., in Wiscousin, Illinois and Michigan, with headquaters in Milwaukee, has been as- signed to a more responsible field of scientific usefulness. He is to look after the defensive works about the national capital, notably Forts Foote and Washington in Maryland, and Forts Wool and Monroe in Virginia. He will also look after the im provements of the Potomac river, and the eastern branch, the Mallaponi, York, Pamunky, Normini, Urbana, and Occuquan rivers and Aqua creek, the harbor of refuge and Lynn Haven Bay in Virginia, the sewerage system at Furt Monroe, and as a member of the board of engineer officers will report on the hrabor lines in the James river from Richmond to City Point, Va., which embraces perhaps the most important territory from a national standpoint assigned to any officer of engineers in the United States service. Major Davis has won for himself an enviable reputation in scientific circles as an engineer. It isa fact not generally known thatthe famous jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi, which made the name of Eades famous over the civilized world, were surveyed and planned and elaborately drawn by Major Davis before Capt. Eades was heard of in connection with the scheme. The plans of the two are identical, with the excep- tion that Eades cheapened the work by using less expensive material, Major Davis was the engineer in charge of the tenth and eleventh lighthouse districts from December 11th 1881, until May 17th 1886, He then came to the lake region May 24th 1886, and was placed in charge of the river and harbor im- provements, water level observations and suryeys. He made his headquarters in Buffalo the first year, then remoyed to De- troit, and was then ordered to Milwaukee, where he :emained. During his Milwaukee service he has been promoted to the rank of major of engineers, and he is one of the most popular officers in the service. Se BRITISH SHIPBUILDING IN 1891. While shipbuilding is progressing at a gratifying rate on the chain of lakes, it is well to look occasionally at what others are doing. The following synopsis of British built tonnage for the year 1891 may therefore proye interesting to our build- ers. During the year there were constructed by British ship- builders 743 steamers and 209 sailing vessels, aggregating 1,267,472 tons, as against 1,272,203 tons in 1890. Although the difference between the totals is not great, there has been a more than ordinary falling-off in all the more important centres, but the decreases which particular returns disclose are counterbalanced by a large increase in the output of the Royal dockyards. The Clyde output is less by 36,691 tons, the Tyne by 50,284, the Tees by 6,709, the Wear by over 5,000, the Thames by over 6,000, the Mersey by about 7,000, the Tay by something less than 2,000, and the Dee by nearly 3,000. The Forth has increased by nearly 7,000 tons the Humber by about 9000, the two Hartlepools by 7,000, the dockyards by 46,000, Barrow by 7,000, Belfast by 26,000 and Londonderry by nearly 1000. The distinction of having built the largest number of vessels leaves the Clyde for Belfast. Messrs. Harland and Wolff’s total of 64,962 tons is the highest in the kingdom. Sir William Gray and Co., Limited, Hartlepool, who were second last year with 64,000 tons, are again second, their total being 59,033. Messrs. Russell and Co., Greenock and Port Glasgow, who were first last year with 70,370 tons, are third with 56,667. Shipbuilding on the Clyde for 1892, is now estimated at 274,000 againet 297,000 at the same date of 1891, and 322,000 on January Ist, 1890. ead cir FLOTSAM JETSAM AND LAGAN An extraordinary general meeting of the German Nautical Association, called to consider the advisability of the universal adoption in the mercantile marine of the new words used on board of vessels of two large German companies in giving steering orders (‘‘right’’ and “‘left’’ instead of “port?? and “starboard’’) has been held at Berlin, and a resolution was passed tnat the words ought to come into general use. While entering Muskegon harbor, the steam tug Scotia own- ed by the Warner & McCracken Co., ran into the pier and damaged her starboard bow to the extent of $900. The casu- alty appearsto have been unavoidable as it was owing to her steering gear carrying away, and before Capt. Lewis ‘could | take other measures she crashel into the piers. She is now at the docks of the company undergoing a complete overhauling and repair, and she will receive a new 20 by 22 engine ready for next season’s work. On Thanksgiving day when the steamer Oswegatchie found- ered on Lake Huron and her barges drifted ashore, Capt, Ed- ward Ballentine, of the steamer Elfin Mere, was among the lake faring men who displayed great bravery in reseuing the crews of the distressed vessels. He ssyed a crew of thirteen from the Oswegatchie. At Bay City a few days ago the own- ers of the Elfin Mere in the presence ofa large gathering of vessel owners and masters at a banquet, presented Capt. Bal- lentine with a gold medal as a token of regard for his bravery. Capt. McDougall, inventor of the whaleback, is figuring on using the whaleback for war service. He has made a number of photographs showing the proposed war vessels and the plan of operating them. His idea isto use the barges for coast- defense service. They are to be so constructed that by means of water ballast they can be submerged, leaving only a small turret for a lookout forward and the snout, as it is termed, above water. In the bow, which is of great strength, two heavy guns will be stationed on an incline’ and they will be so oper- ated that while one is being fired the other may be charged be- low iu the vessel. a ee eee RECORD OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN SHIPPING. The volume of 1892, which is the 24th annual issue of this register of shipping, published by the American Shipmasters’ Association, is being delivered to its subscribers in its usual handsome form of printing and binding. The Record con- tains reports and particulars of upwards of 18,000 vessels of all classes and nationalities, together with rules for the con- struction and classification of iron, steel and wooden vessels, rules for the construction and survey of steam machinery and boilers for vessels, provisions for the installation of electric lighting and power apparatus on shipboard, and other valu- able information of special importance to underwriters and all firms or individuals interested in shipping. Its rules for the construction of iron and steel vessels are indorsed by the United States Navy Department, and the work is approved and indorsed by the important boards of Marine underwrilers in the United States, and is accepted throughout the world as a standard register and classification of shipping. The pub- lication office is at 37 William street, New York. a OBITUARY NOTICES. Louis P. Trempt, of Sault Ste Marie, a pioneer of the upper peninsula, died suddenly last week, from troubles following an attack of the grip. He had been a resident of Sault Ste Marie since 1846; was treasurer of Chippewa county for 18 years; had been engaged in the mercantile and marine business, held the office of register of deeds at the time of his death, and was well-known throughout the Lake Superior region. Capt. Cal Jones of Port Huron, died at the Winnebago Wis., insane asylum, on January Ist. For years the captain was connected with the Port Huron & Sarnia Ferry Co. Three years ago he took command of the wrecking steamer Mary Groh. It was when he was on a trip up the lake that he showed signs of insanity, Since that time he has been in sey- eral retreats. He leaves a wife and four children. Captain Richard B. Chapman died at his residence in Og- densburg last week. He was born at Trenton, Oneida county, in 1817, and for a number of years he was ceptain of different = steamers running between Lewiston and Ogdensburg, ai them the Cataract and New York, He took the steamer York through the rapids to the Gulf ot St. Lawrence, aud the time she was the largest vessel that had ever made— trip. =