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R4 THE MARINE RECORD. Bhe Marine Record. Entered according to the laws of the United States at the Post Office at Cleveland as second-class matter. Published weekly at No. 2 South Water street, Cleveland, Ohio. A. A. POMEROY, Editor and Proprietor, ee TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: One year, postage paid... Six months, postage paid. Invariably in advance. The MARINE RECORD can be found for sale at the following places: No. 2 South Water street, Cleveland. Joseph Gray, No, 284 South Water street, Chicago. C. Rohmer, Michigan'street, Buffalo, New York. D. MeMasters & Co., Sarnia, Ontario. Ww. Godley, Escanaba, Michigan. J. E. Somerville, Manistee, Michigan. Articles, letters and queries on all subjects are solici- ted. e@-The Editor astumes no responsibility for the opinions of correspondents. To insure notice, contributors must give name and address, and write on one side of the paper only. BRANCH OFFICE, 242 SOUTH WATER STREET, CHICAGO. ADVERTISING RATES. Ten cents per line, nonpareil measurement, or $1.20 per inch, each insertion; tour weeks $4.00; with a liberal discount on orders amounting to $40.06 or over. _——— Av is said that it costs $200 to load and un- Joad one of the Detroit and Milwaukee boats at Grand Haven. Tr United States fish commissioners de- posited 42,000,000 young whitefish in Lake Michigan, near the mouth of the river at Manistee, last week. Messrs, WHEELER & CRANF’S yardat Bay City has the uninviting appearance which indicates active shipbuilding business. ‘They are pushing along two new boats with ad- mirable rapidity. An administrator has been appointed for the estate of Captain John McKay, and his wife has bought his interest in the boats Sam Fifield, Agate and Bob Inglis. The Agate will be re-named after Captain Me- Kay’s son, John McKay, Jr., as soon as the necessary consent of the secretary of the treasury can be obtained. A snit has been brought in Detroit by Captain McKay, of West Bay City, against Captain Meisel, of Detroit, to recover the value of the barge William Treat, which parted her tow lines ina gale on Lake Hu- ron last season, Jt is claimed that Captain Meisel, who was master of the tug J. P. Clark at the time, and who had charge of the tow, did not take any steps to recover the barge after she broke adrift. REPRESENTATIVE Foran, probably think- ing there are not suflicient burdens on Ameriean shipping and shipbuilding, does not hesitate to introduce a bill in Congress, the text of which we gave lust week, impos- ing an additional number cf petty means of retarding the growth and progperity of the interest. The bill has not even the merit of being original and will not gain much glory tor the author, Vessel owners should take SHIPS FOR THE SEA—SCARCITY OF LAKE CARRIERS. From various reports it is quite evident that some of the shipbuilders are not going to wait very long for the bounty measure now pending in Congress, ‘he indus- try has taken a sudden impetus for some reason quite unexplained. ‘The Philadelphia papers say that at the four upper yards in that city nearly twenty-seven hundred men are employed and all is bustle and activity. Among the vessels being built are four fron steamships an iron sailing ship, a three- masted iron schooner, an fron steam collier, and an iron steam float 160 feet long, 60 feet wide and 6 feet deep, to be covered in and adapted as a refrigerator and designed to carry dressed beef to shlps in New York harbor. In all this there is an encouraging consumption of.iren. With the use of this material shipbuilding becomes a wheel with- in a wheel to set the water carriers into doubly increased activity, enlivening the ore .trade and the furnaces at the same time. And in this connection comes the news of the inauguration of a new era in shipbuild- ing onthe banks of the Kennebec. ‘I'wo prominent firms of Bath, Me., have united with some capitalists of that city in forming a joint stock company, with a capital of $50,- 000, with the intention of carrying.on the business of shipbuilding there ona larger scale than ever before. They already have contracts to build to the amount of more than $300,000 and they expect to be able to secure anfficient capital for the equipment of an iron shipyard. ‘hese evidences of re- vival are exceedingly gratifying. On the other hand a review of the facts in the case do not warrant any rose-colored statements concerning the prosperity of this industry the present winter in Cleveland. Itis probable that shipbuilders do not wish to cherish any such delusion. ‘lhe ship- building trade is like all others, as it is reg- ulated by the law of supply and demand, and the smaller amount of tonnage there is afloat the more profit there will be for that remaining. On the other.hand there isa large class of people concerned. in this iudus- try, including the shipbuilders, shippers, vessel and tug owners, brokers, eailors, tur- nishers and others, making up a small army, who-are dependent upon a goodly nuinber of vessels for a livelihood, that will be disposed to take a more gloomy view of the apparent quiescent state of shipbuilding. The busi- ness-like way to look at the matter is to. in- quire who are to be the losers, ‘The labor that is likely to be affected by a multitude of ships, particularly of sailors, has of late years become s0 much demoralized that it would be better for those tollowing it if they should engage in something else. Steam is fast numbering the days of the fresh water sailors. ‘They do not enter into the present calculation. In looking over the ground in this city we find one new steambarge in course of construction at Quayle’s shipyard for Captain ‘'homas Wilson and a consort which will probably be ready to go with her; also an iron steamship, being built by the Globe Shipbuilding Company for Cleveland parties, and a large barge at Mr. Radcliffe’s yard for Wallace Brothers, Gawn and others, besides several smaller vessels. The first named will be ready for work by the opening of navigation, the others to be finished later in the season. ‘There is much old work being done in the way of repairs, and several sailing craft are being trans- vigorous and immediate eteps to defeat it. Canapa’s railroad projects, when they are directed againat the ftleux of trade and traffic toward the middle belt of the United States are quite impractical. The Hudson Bay railroad isa pet scheme of the Man- itobangs, and its frequent introduction into the Dominion Parliament shows that there is a hopeful spirit nearer the seat of govern- ment. ‘l'o build the road from Winnipeg to Fort Churchill, a distance of 700 miles, would cost a matter of $22,000,000, which would necessitate a government subsidy. That would lead to a bay navigable only be- tween June 15 and September 15, and which is invaded by icebergs at all seasons of the year, and the gain would only be to give an advantage of cighty miles over the New York route to Liverpool. It is made a strong point that the difference between Chicago and New York might be saved to the trans- porter, but this would apply to producers who would find a market in Chicago. formed into steamers, which evidences an inclination agalnst investing largely in new ships. The present activity at the ship- yards on old work is due to the unusual vio- lence of the storms on the lakes during the last days of navigation of the season just closed, a great number of vessels sustaining more or less damage, which rendered imme- diate repairs necessary. Considering the large quantity of grain, ore, coal and mer- chandise to be moved the coming season, and theapparent scarcity of ships, rates will probably rule firmer and higher than for some years, THE IRON AND STEEL MEN, The iron and steel interests are found by | the ways and means committee to be the hardest things to reconcile with) Morrison’s tariff bill. Tast week we called attention to the fact that the iron and steel lords of the jcountry were before the committee pro- j testing against the tarifl’ and posting its members on various points pertaining to the matter. One of the members of the com- mittee, Mr. Hewett, of New York, is said to have been actively engaged for many years in mining, manufacturing, importing and in other branches of the industry, and might be credited with a pretty thorough knowl- edge of the subject. He asked some very pertinent questions one day last week of John Wharton, of the Bessemer Steel Asso- ciation, of Philadelphia, one of them being whether he could not make cheaper. steel if he had free iron ore. Wharton replied in the affirmative, and admitted finally, that after a thorough examination of the ores of this country, he was now importing ores from Cuba for making steel. Mr. Ely, of Cleveland, took issue with Mr. Wharton, and himself came under cross-examination by Mr. Hewett. In him Mr. Hewett found a different, customer. He evidently endeav- ored to make Mr. Ely admit that the Lake Superlor mines have seen their great- est prosperity under the low duty on iron prior to the passage of the last tariffact, and that their development took place side by side with free ore. Mr. Ely said that the Lake Superior mines developed under the first impetus of manufacture incident to the time which was quite disconnected with the competition of free ore, and if a depression existed now its cause must be sought for in an opposite state of iron manufacture and laws of demand equally foreign to the opera- tion of the tariff law. Mr. Van Dyke, of Milwaukee, vice-president of the Menomi- nee Mining Company, also took side against Mr. Wharton’s views regarding the intro- duction of foreign ore. Messrs. John Roach and Wayne McVeagh, of Philadelphia, bota made speeches before the ways and means committee. Mr. Roach believed firmly in the expediency of keeping a heavy duty on imported ore.. Ashe speaks. from experi- ence and a general knowledge of the naviga- tion interest his views are certtinly entitled to considerable weight. Mr. MacVeagh is of like opinion with Mr. Boach. He, however carried his remarks to still greater lengths, and protested strongly against all tariff leg- islation. BRILLIANCY OF THE LIGHT-HOUSE BOARD AT ERIE, Congressmon Brainerd, who arrived in Erie from Washington on the 23d in, com. menting on the probable action of Congress said he confidently believed it would re- establish the Erie land lighthouse. It is also probable that Mr. Brainerd has thwarted another outrage on Erie, mucn more fatal to her interests than the destruction of the land lighthouse, which had guided mariners into the bay more than seventy years. The stupid officials of the lighthouse board actually issued an order to cut down the trees on the peninsula of Presque Isle opposite that city, their reason for such a re- markable proceeding being that their foliage prevented lake eaptains on the north shore of the peninsula from seeing the harbor lights. Having committed one picce of folly, they would remedy it by the perpetration of a blunder still more inexcusable. The land beacon, standing about one hundred and sixty feet above the water level, could be seen from any part of Lake Erie, but of course the low lights in the channel piers cannot be sighted north of the peninsula on account of the heavy growth of timber, With the land light burning it is not necessary, a8 they are intended only to guide vessels through the channel. Instead of acceding to the forcibly expressed wishes of every Erie citizen and lake navigator, and restoring the dismantled beacon, the light- house board ordered the removal of the trees, in order that the insignificant lights now re- maining might be discernable across the Peninsula, These trees were planted for the protection of the Peninsula against the in- roads of the waves, and thelr growth has always been a matter of local pride. The government has expended hundreds of thousands of dollars in preserving the Peninsula, without which Erie would cease to be a harbor, and yet these gentlemen of the Jighthouse board, who certainly did not know the value of these trees as a landmark to navigators on a dark night would, with a stroke of the pen, undo all that has been done at the cost of so much money and so many years of labor. It is evident to every- hody but imbeciles and members of the lighthouse board that their removal would be followed by the complete washing away to the peninsula, as they alone bind the narrow strip of land. Congressman Brainerd presented the consequence of the proposed outrage tothe board, and convinced even that body of stiffnecked noodles: ot the irreparable damage they were about to inflict on Erie, the indignant remonstrance of his constituents materially assisting. ‘The order has been rescinded. PATENT ENGINE, Editor of the Marine Record. Since the days of Watt the improvements of the steam engine have been the constant study of engineers, and scientists as well, and strange to say, most of the signal im. provements have not been the result of the study of engineers. The early history of the steam engine informs us that the principal improvements were made by an architect, a physician, a chemist, etc., and the improvements to which I shall call the attention of your readers, (and which, by the way, I will venture to say, are equal to the improvements made by applying the com- pound cylinder,) are not the result of the study of an engineer but the result of the active brain of a Cleveland inventor. The impossibility of attaining a pressure on the piston of a steam engine when in operation equal to that in the boiler has long been known. It is well known that for a number ot years efforts have been made to attain a pressure upon the piston equal to that.on the boiler without success but I can say there is an engine so constructed with two steam- chests placed on opposite sides of the cyl- inder, and: furnished with a double valve motion, the valves being of the slide valve variety, and set so that. both open for the admission of steam at the same time. The result of an experiment made February 23 shows the pressure on the ‘piston to be four pounds per square inch above the boiler pressure. ‘The steam pipes were 80 arrainged that either side could be shut off and the engine be allowed to run with only one valve in operation. The annexed diagram No. 1. was taken when but one side was in operation with a boiler pressure of 65 pounds, and shows an initial pressure of 64 pounds and an average of 5814 pounds, which is very good. . NO. ONE. The next trial produced card No. 2, which was taken with a boiler pressure of 65 pounds to the square inch and both valves in operation and shows an initial pressure of 7536 pounds to the square inch on the piston and an average pressure through the stroke ot 4 pounds above the boiler pressure ora gain of 5.74 pounds over diagram No. 1. with NO. TWO. no difference in back pressure. ‘he speed of the engine was taken at the time the diagrams were by ‘T'aylor’s patent speed indicator, and was found to increase forty revolutions per minute when both valves were in opera- tion compared with the speed indicated when only one valve was in operation, making a difference of two horse power. Where steam is worked expansively,as in marine engines, the economy to be derived by this improve- ment can readily be seen. By attaining a pressure on the piston above that In the boiler the steam can be cut off earlier in the stroke or worked expansively a greater portion of the stroke of the piston thereby gaining a large percentage of power over the marine engine now commonly in use. The design of this engine recommends it for marine service. The writer would call the attention of steamboat owners snd marine engineers to the fact that the advantages to be gained by this engine, are first, the same power can be obtained with an engine of less size ; the same power can be obtained with