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THE MARINE RECORD. 9 ee ee STATUTE MILES IN NAUTICAL COMPUTATIONS. ; ent Derrorr, Micu., January 19, 1892. To the Editor of The Marine Record. From his lengthy reply to “Surveyor” in last issue of Tum Manrxe ReEcorp it appears, that Mr. Pearsons ‘fails like the rest of us by mistaken and imperfect ideas of his subject.” He tells us, that 9 meridian minute at the equator is 6,087 feet and in 80 degrees of latitude 6,072 feet, the mean of which 6,080 feet having been adopted as the length of a nau- tical mile, ‘‘making it very unfit for a unit of distances, where precision is required, as on the lakes.’? According to Prof. Young’s nautical tables, a meridian minute at the equator is not 6,087 feet but 6,045 feet, at the pole 6,106 feet, in 45 de- grees of latitude 6,076 feet. Therefore the greatest difference in length of meridian minutes is not 15 feet but 61 feet. But apart from this, if 6,080 feet have been adopted for the sea- mile, there is, as respects the lakes, only a differenee of four feet in a mile, which signifies nothing in determining the posi- tion of a vessel. On a stretch of 100 miles it would make only 400 feet or a ship’s length. Further, are we gravely told, that ‘‘as the average of a min- ute of a degree on the meridian up to 15 degrees of latitude is 6,047 feet, the United States Navy has adopted 45 feet as the distance on the log line for one knot, when used with a 28 second glass.’’ Such facts do not enlighten anybody on the subject under discussion, why nautical miles should not be used on the lakes. It is an old custom with all nations to take 22} feet English as the length of a knot toa 14 second glass, which makes the length 45 feet for a 28 second glass. In substituting a 14 second glass for a 15 second glass, one second is allowed for turning the glass at the start and one second for stopping the log line when the glass is run down rated at 7 per cent; for drawing the log towards the ship 2 per cent is deducted, and to be ahead of ship with reckoning, 2 per cent makes together 11 per cent, which deducted with 2.8 feet _ from the length of 25.3 feet for 15 seconds, leaves 22} feet as Jength for one knot and a 14 second glass, The absurdity of using statute miles in nautical computa- tions appears from the fact, that no computations can be made with reference to place, in which statute miles have not to be reduced to nautical miles at the beginning or at the end of the reckoning. he climax however is reached in the sentences: “But on the lakes we haye no nautical astronomy. The Goy- ernment has done all this work better than we could hope to doit. Every lighthouse is an illuminated monument of known place, Moreover, we have standard time established, so that we haye absolutely no use for nautical astronomy on the lakes; and as a consequence, no use for the nautical mile of variable and uncertain length.’ To which need only be added, every pebble stone on the Great Lakes tells its own story. Lighthouses are alyays monuments of known place not only on the lakes. The question with navigators is not to find the lighthouse, but to find the place the ship is in as John Mau- rice says; and the question is not what time it is according to standard, but what time it is aboard ship. A dozen chrono- meters showing standard time avail nothing in navigation if ship time is not known; which can.only be found by astrono- mical observation. He must be a peculiar kind of a naviga- tor who thinks by carrying a watch keeping standard time in his pocket, his vessel will be safe. Srecraror, oo LEGISLATION IN THE INTERESTS OF THE LAKE MARINE. The following Bill was introduced in the House on January 15th by Mr. Vincent A. Taylor providing for sundry light- houses and other aids to navigation. Laxe Onrarro—On Galloo Island, a steam fog whistle, at a cost not exceeding five thousand seven hundred dollars, On the head of Carlton Island, a lighthouse, at a cost not ex- ceeding eight thousand six hundred dollars. On Bay State Shoal, at the cross over, lightship, at a cost not exceeding eight hundred dollars. Laxe Erte—On the breakwater at Buffalo, a steam fog whistle, at 2 cost not exceediug four thousand three hundred dollars. At the entrance to Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania, a steam fog whistle, at a cost not exceeding four thousaud three hundred dollars. At Fairport Harbor, Ohio, a steam fog signal, at a cost not exceeding four thousand three hundred dollars. - At Lorain Harbor, Ohio, a steam fog signal at a cost not ex- ceeding four thousand three hundred dollars, At Huron Harbor, Ohio, a steam fog signal and range light oe jier, at a cost not exceeding four thousand seyen hundred ollars. On Starve Island Reef, south passage, Lake Erie, a light, at a cost not exceeding eight thousand six hundred dollars, For re-establishing light at Port Clinton, Ohio, at a cost not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars, For moving range lights, Maumee River, Ohio, so as to pro- perly light the new channel, at a cost not exceeding—dollars. Derrorr Rrver—For a lightship of suitable pattern, to take the place of the private lightsbip now maintained by vessel oO at Bar Point, and to be located in American waters at 1 int to be determined by the Lighthouse Board, at a cost ceeding fifteen thousand dollars. ek Crossing, Deiroit River, two lights, st the and southwestern corners of the cut, to repluce hts now maintained at these points by vessel own- exceeding—dollars, Detroit River, a lightship with fog bell, or of piles, | io neplacee private light at this xceeding thousand dollars, On Grosse Isle, Detroit, range lights to center the channel from the foot of Fighting Island to Mamajuda Light, at a cost not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars. On north end Mamajuda Island, a light to range with the present light on Mamajuda Island, to mark channel between Grassy and Mamajada Islands ata cost not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars, For range lights above Grassy Island, Detroit River, ata cost not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars. Laker Huron—On Scurecrow Island, alight and fog bell, al a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, On Middle Island, a light and fog signal, at a cost not ex- ceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, On Poes Reef, Straits of Mackinaw, a lightship of suitable pattern, at a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. On Graham Shoal, Straits of Mackinaw, a lightship of suit- able pattern, at acost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. On St. Martins Reef, head of Lake Huron, a lightship of suitable patiern, aia cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars. At Forty mile Point, a light and fog signal, at a cost not ex- ceeding twenty-five thousand dollars. Sa. Marys River—For moving upper St. Marys ranges, at a cost not exceeding five thousand dollars. For lightship aboye Round Island, at intersection of ranges, at a cost not exceeding ten thousand dollars. Lake Surerror— At Crisps Point, a light and fog signal, at a cost not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars. At Grand Marais, a light and bell, at a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. At Big Suble Point, a fog signal, at acost not exceeding five thousand five hundred dollars. At Big Bay Point, between Granite and Huron Islands, a light and fog signal, at a cost not exceeding twenty-five thous— and dollars. At Point Abbaye, entrance to Huron Bay, a ligutship and bell, at a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, At Traverse Island, a light and fog signal, at a cost not ex- ceeding twenty thousand dollars, At Mendota, Bete Grise Bay, re-establish light and bell, at a cost not exceeding seven thousand five hundred dollars. At Eagle Harbor, a fog signal, at a cost not exceeding five thousand five hundred dollars, At Sand Hills, twelve miles west of Eagle River, a light, at a cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, Eagle River light to be discontinued. At Portage Lake ship canal, a fog signal ata cost not ex— ceeding five thousand five hundred dollars. At Fourteen Mile Point, alight and fog whistle, at a cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars. For moving main Chequamegon light and establishing fog signal, at a cost not exceeding seven thousand five hundred dojlars, and for harbor light and bell, Chequamegon, at a cost not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars. On Gull Island, Apostle Group, a light aud bell, at a cost not exceeding ten thousand dollars, At Devil Island, to complete light station, at a cost not ex- ceeding twenty-two thousand dollars. At Bark Point, a light and fog whistle, at a cost not exceed- ing fifteen thousand dollars, At Bayfield, a pier light and bell, at a cost not exceeding five thousand dollars, Superior Bay lights, at a cost not exceeding one thousand two hundred dollars. At Pats Point (near Grand Portage,) a light and fog whistle, at a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. At Rock of Ages, a light and fog signal, at a cost not ex- ceeding one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. At Rock Harbor, re-establish light and establish fog signal, at a cost not exceeding ten thousand five hundred dollars, Lake Micuigan—At Round Island, Straits of Mackinaw, a light and bell, atacost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, At Seul Choix Point, a fog signal, at a cost not exceeding five thousand five hundred dollars, On South Fox Island, a fog signal, at a cost not exceeding five thousand five hundred dollars, On north end North Manitou Island, a light and fog signal, at a cost exceeding twenty thousand dollars, On southeast point North Manitou Island, alight and fog signal, at a cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars. At Frankfort Harbor, a bell, at a cost not exceeding one thousand dollars, At Ludington, a fog signal, ut a cost not exceeding thousand five hundred dollars, At St. Joseph, a fog signal, at a cost uot exceeding thousand dollars. At Manitowoc, a fog signal, atacost not exceeding thousand five hundred dollars. At Sturgeon Bay Canal, a lightat a cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars. At Port Des Mortes, range lights and fog signals, at a cost not exceeding twenty one thousand dollars. At Rock Island, a light-ship of suitable pattern, at a cost not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, At Saint Martins Island, a light, at a cost not exceeding fif- teen thousand dollars, ‘ At Little Gull Island, a light and fog signal; at a cost exceeding twenty thousand dollars. At Point aux Barques, a light and fog signal, at a cost not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, At Squaw Point, Little Bay de Noque, a light, at a cost not exceeding five thousand dollars, At Peshtigo Shoal, Green Bay, a light-ship with fog whistle, at a cost not exceeding ten thousand dollars. That the sum of sixty thousand dollars heretofore appropri- ated by act of Congress, August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, for the building of a lighthouse on Eleven Foot Shoal, Green Bay, be applied under the direction of the Light- house Board, for the purchase of four light-ships of suitable pattern; one of said light-ships to be stationed at or near El- even Foot Shoal, one at or near Drisco Shoal, one at or near Poverty Island Shoal, and one at or near Whale Back Shoal, five five five not Mr, Crain introduced the following bill to compel owners of st-amers to supply fresh air to the engine room: Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States ot America in Congress assembled, that every owner of uny steamer navigating the ocean, or any lake, bay, sound or riyer of the United States, shall provide proper ventilation for the engine rooms of said steamer so that they may be always supplied with fresh air; and every owner of any such steamer who neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of this act, shall be fined one thousand dollars. EE es a TRANSPORTING VESSELS. There is a class of men who don’t seem to recognize the fact that vessels are built to float in water. The very name puts them on their mettle to discover a process whereby a vessel may be carted overland, run into a cradle, placed on a sled and steadied thereon by sky tackles, shoed and trotted around like a broncho or mustang, transported over bridges and under arches by the aid of winged purchases, or lifted bodily from their natural element and sent sliding over the country until they perchance smell the water again and seek to cushion in the fluid which of right belongs to them, all of which may be accomplished some day, but not under the structural rules in force for vessel building at this date. It is now learned that H. G. Ketchum, engineer of the Chig- necto ship railway, has submitted to the Canadian government a scheme by which he says vessels drawing upward of 20 feet of water, can be pushed through the present St. Lawrence canals from Port Arthur to Quebec, and through the Soo canal now being excavated, without deepening the canals or enlar— ging the locks, thus obyiating the expenditure of millions of dollars upon canal deepening. Mr. Ketchum proposes that large vessels be placed upon steel rafts or pontoons, and thus floated through the canals and over river shallows, the vessels to be placed upon the pontoons by means of hydraulic lifts established at the entrance of each canal. He says $500,000 would provide pontoons and lifts for all the existing canals; but these lifts could be used as graving docks; but little time would be lost in placing the vessels upon the floats, and that the plan has been successful elsewhere. $$ ce DEEPENING THE LAKE WATERWAYS. Among the many plans for securing a better mean draft of water than now obtains on the lakes, dredging has been held by excellent authority us being the most reliable. The fact that this process is not unanimously endorsed has been shown from time to time in these columns, and it has even been stated that dredging would tend to lower the level by creating » greater waste than exists at present. This latter view is shared in by Samuel R. Backus, of the well-known grain and elevator firm of Toledo O., who, in a recent communication to the Tol- edo Blade, advances the following statement: “That all agitation of any improvement of our lake interests should be foremost to everyone interested therein, is true, but that all ways are the correct ones, I cannot agree. While fully concurring in the efforts to enlarge the carrying capacity of our great chain of lakes, [ have seriously considered a state of affairs that perhaps has been overlooked; and if my ideas are correct, I think they are founded upon facts, are not the peo- ple making an error in their efforts to obtain a deeper water- way for the waters connecting our great lakes? My position is this: that while the river obstructions now act as a natural dam, and by a wise provision of nature, are of such durability, that the wear and iear of centuries have sear— cely made any impression on them, will not the people, by ar- bitrarily deepening these channels, simply open wider the sluice gates of these great natural reservoirs of our land, there- by drawing the water off from them, only to bring it into Lake Erie, and there gu to swell the already tremendous rush of water at Niagara Falls, which as a spectacle is grand, but as the waster of the elements that go to make up the lake com- merce of all our lake cities, by lowering the level of the water in lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, is a success, and at the same time lowering the water in all the harbors of the lakes. Look at Chicago! Reduce the sluice gates, (for the rivers and channels are only the sluice gates of our lakes) three feet, and you reduce the level of the water in the Chicago harbor three feet, and have practically caused the ruin of the very advantage of whut these efforts now being made, are to accom- plish. i These are my objections to the plan. I, like all, have a rem- edy; for greater capacity, and attaining greater economy in carrying, are the objects to be attained. For that we are in the infancy of our lake marine interests, every thoughtful man will admit, and my remedy is simple; build the boats wider and longer, and then direct all efforts towards the United States government to cease the ruinous custom of saying that naviga- tion on our great lakes shall arbitrarily close upon November 30, and that all stake and light boats shall be pulled off, and all range lights and lighthouses shall be closed, and the em- ployes thereof be given a vacation until the balmy breezes of spring thaw them out. 3 Where would the commerce of the world be, if the same rule prevailed upon the ocean, and wherein is the difference? Since the 30th. of November our lakes have been arbitrarily closed, and the dangers of navigation have been no more serious than those of April or May, and during this entire term of 30 days, the whole lake industries have been closed. 3 The harvest of the year commences to move during July, and for five months continues without interruption, and witb- | out this arbitrary rule would have continued 30 days longer, or one-fifth of the entire time for moving the harvest, The lakes are still open, and this is not an exceptional year, as the wea- ther of the past years will demonstrate, oo THE RIVER AND HARBOR BILL. The River and Harbor Committee is holding daily sessions to comple’e ‘he first draft of the Bid which is to be used a basis upon which to work. The estimates of the Chief of Engineers aggregate over $60,000,000, and the commit is sealing these estimates down two-thirds in order, if possible, to keep the Bill within the limit of $20,000,000, Col. Hay says the committee shows a disposition to treat the lakes fnirness, notwithstanding the pressure from other the country. Although the hearings will be closed ¢ February lie doves not think the Bill will be complet March Ist. Ese ‘ :