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« THE MARINE RECORD. Correspondence. ii for the views or 8 We do not hold ourselves responsible in any way f s opinions expressed by our correspondents. It is our desire that all sides of any question affecting the interests or welfare of the lake marine should be fairly represented in THE MARINE RECORD. CAUSE OF THE DECLINE OF OUR MERCHANT MARINE. Curcaqo, Inus., January 19. To the Editor of The Marine Record. Saye If nothing else can be claimed for the Bureau of Naviga— tion, it has at least furnished statistical data from which to draw conclusions. Twenty years official investigation have not sufficed to reveal the real cause of the decline of the United States merchant marine in the foreign carrying trade, it seems therefore expedient to look this matter over again, 7 The incident of the civil war from 1861 to 1865 haying clouded or distorted the statistical data pertaining to the mer- chant marine so much, that many people have been lead astray by it in forming conclusions. Official inquiries instituted in 1869 lead to the conclusion that the civil war was the only cause of the decline of the United States tonnage in the fureign trade, and this opinion has prevailed up to the time when subsidies and bounties become the rage and new investigations took place without, however, finding the root of the evil. : Looking at the statistical data and diagrams representing the growth, thrift and deciine of United States shipping in the foreign trade, we find ata glance in 1855 sudden check of the previous unprecedented growth of tonnage since 1846; the tonnage remaining nearly on the level of 1855 during the fol- lowing years up to the commencement of the war in 1861. Tonnage in the foreign trade bein 1846—943,307 tons; 1849—1,258,756 tons. 1855—2,348,358 tons; 1861-—2,496,894. Showing for the 6 years previous to 1855 an increase of 1,089,602 tons against an increase of only 148,536 tons in the | succeeding six years from 1855 to 1861. The cause of this sud- den falling off in the increase of tonnage has never been made the subject of official inguiry. It has been attributed to bank contraction in 1856, and bank panic in 1857, which certainly influenced the growth in some measure for the time heing; but | the years 1859, 1860 and 1861 showed no resumption of the former activity in shipbuilding, although the panic was over; inevitably leading to the conclusion that the original cause whatever it was, was still in operation. The destruction during the civil war put American tonnage in the foreign carrving trade down to 1,518,350 tons in 1865, on which level it remained, small fluctuations excepted, up to 1878, when the irretrievable decline set in. The fact, that during the twelve years after the war, the ton- nage remained on the level of 1865, as the six years befure the war it remained on the level of 18 levels are different on account of the destruction of tonnage dur- ing the war, that in 1855 the struggle began for keeping up the amount of tonnage in existence, without any prospect of in- crease; the irretrievable decline since 1878 verifying this con- clusion, Therefore, the cause which checked the increase of tonnage before the war, was still in operation after the war, being not of a temporary but of a permanent nature. proves although these That tariff reduction and bonded warehouse acts could not produce a sudden check in 1855 appears from the fact, that the foreign carrying trade flourished under these measures from from 1846 to 1855. The sudden arrest in 1 cedented growth of the American merchant marine, is evidence that the operating cause sprung into existence at nearly the sume time, of the unpre- And in this direction the cause must be sought in external occurrences, Such an occurrence being the revolution which took place in 1854 in maritime affairs, establishing compulsory examina- tion of masters and mates in all maritime countries, excepting the United States, and requiring vessels to be commanded by at least two examined officers. being the rule and vessels with unexamined officers being re- jected. The United States not participating in this progress and not coming up to the established standard, it is evident that this neglect is the cause of the decline of the United States mer- chant marine in the foreign carrying trade. Nine-tenths of the worlds tonnage being commanded by ex- amined officers and less than one-tenth, constituting the United States tonnage in the foreign trade, being commanded by unexamined officers; nine examined and one unexamined master always compete in the freight market; like nine trained and one untrained person looking for employment. As an every day experience no notice is taken of untrained people as long as trained hands are to be had, This well known law in the labor market applies to individuals as well as vessels, on account of which United States vessels are unable to find em- ployment in the foreign trade. Joun Maurice. Soe eeeedicheetie oon 7 “G, L, C.” who is writing up the ship and engine building plants of the Great Lakes, quotes this compliment from the manager of the Lake Erie Engineering Works to Commodore Melville: “Richard Hammond declared in effect to-day that if Commodore Melville told him that a certuin engine, when finished, would develop a stipulated horse power he would be willing to build that engine religiously on the lines laid down, and stake his reputation on tae result coming out as stated by the Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering.—American Shipbuilder, Henceforth examined officers | STEAM STEERING ENGINES. OPWITHSTANDING THE MANY STANDARD steam. steering appliances now on the markets of the world, the inventive genius of Americans keep in the yan of modern improvements, and bring forth new plans and mechanism, which, to say the least, makes it a positive need for the estublished manufacturers of the engines to keep ex- pert and skilled workmen on their staff, to plan, alter, and re- construct the machinery which has stood the test and require- ments for many years. The history of steering appliances, if only viewed fromthe hand purchase tiller system period, shows perhaps as great an advancement as in any branch of mechanism, and the 10,000 ton Atlantic Liner may now be controlled by exercising an ounce or two of pressure as com- pared to the four men struggles of only a few years ago. The Pawling & Harnischfeger Machine Co., of Milwankee, Wis., are the latest inventors of an American steam steerer which is said to fill the highest requirements of the service that a steam steerer may be called upon to undergo and the merits of which they are in the market to demonstrate to the vessel- owning and sailing fraternity As a wide interest exists in the | adaptability of so important a piece of mechanism as the steam steerer, Engine.” We herewith illustrate the “Beck Steam Steering Its salient points are simplicity of construction, strength and compactness, without which no appliance could ever hope to make any headway against the excellent machines already in use. It would appear, huwever, that the ‘Beck Steam Steer- ’ is not an untried engine, the Milwaukee Tug Boat Line having fitted their entire fleet with the steerers, and a machine giving eminent satisfaction to the much handled tugs in use on the narrow waterways of our lake ports has all the endorsement which the general trade can demand. er’ From the information which we have been enabled to gather it is learned that for all tugs and other vessels which require to be handled quickly, the wheel is arranged to put the rudder hard over by giving it a single, or even a half turn when so ordered, but in other cases where it is desirable to keep the steering wheel movement uniform for both hand and steam, the machines are so arranged that no mistake can be made in steering when changing from one to the other, The design is perfect and nothing but the very best of material and workmanship enter into their construction, All gears are ma- chine cut from solid metal, and run abselutely smooth and noiseless. ‘The two idlers on the machine are fitted with graph ite bushes, and require no oil or attention. All stuffing boxes are made of solid bronze and will not rust or injure the rods when the boat is laid up for the winter, as is customary on the - lakes. The exact position of the rudder is shown by an indicator at all times, whether steering by hand or steam, aud when the run of the tiller chain is given the machines are fitted with an automatic stop for hard-over positions of the rudder. This engine may be placed in the pilot house, below deck, in the engine room or aft; or it may be placed flat on deck, and connected directly to the tiller, which srrangement will avoid the time of the usual long tiller ropes aud sheaves, which requires constsnt attention. The No. 4 and # machines have been designed with special reference to being placed in the pilot house, and are always arranged for both steam and hand steering. The change from steam to hand is made instantly, without loss of time or annoyance, which is very important when such a change becomes necessary. The engine will move as quickly mn or gradually as the hand wheel is moved, and will stop auto- matically at the very instant that the hand wheel stops. Any overstrain of the rudder will cause the engine to open steam against the pistons to cushion the blow and fall back sufficiently to avoid accident or breakage, and the instant that the strain is off, the engine will return the rudder to its former position without any attention on the part of the wheelsman,. 1t would thus seem that the merits of the standard steam steer- ers had been applied and improved upon in the several essentials required fora reliable steam steering engine, with the result, that the Beck Steam Steerer will soon be found to occupy & foremost place in the new tonnage of the Jakes, and having stood the test given to such an appliance by a large and busy — line of harbor tugs, there is little doubt of its future adoption by a majority of that class of tonnage, while the larger sizes are specially adapted for heavier vessels, Itis a rule of the — manufacturers, Messrs. Pawling & Harnischfeger, Milwaukee, — Wis., to run their engines under steam before they are shipped from the works, so that perfect mechanical action is assured in each engine, ey, ee ‘ Tim bill introdnced in the Senate by Senator Brice covers the ninth, tenth, and eleventh lighthouse districts. It carries” a total of $900,000 for aids to lake navigation, {