British Whig (Kingston, ON), 25 Oct 1913

p.2

STEAMER RAN AGROUND

During Friday night the steamer Aberdeen, of the Hepburn company of Picton, ran aground in the St. Lawrence river at Cross-Over Light, near Alexandria Bay, N.Y. The Aberdeen was proceeding light from Montreal for Picton. The steamer Donnelly, of Kingston, left on Saturday morning to release her.

One of the officers of the steamer Alexandria, which arrived here about nine o'clock on Saturday, told of passing the stranded steamer, and of the bad night on the river. The Aberdeen was about an hour ahead of the Alexandria. On account of the fog some of the lights were not visible, and the vessel had to stop several times, and was laid up for a time at Rockport. The Alexandria will navigate until the middle of November.

There will be quite a rush of grain at the elevator of the Montreal Transportation company next week. Eight grain vessels will discharge during the week. The vessels to discharge are the steamers Glenmount, Canadian, Westmount, Rosemount, Fordonian, Kinmount, of Fort William, and Fisher from Duluth, and the schooner Oliver Mowat, from Frenchman's Bay.

Word was received this morning to the effect that the steambarge Navajo, which went aground near Deseronto, had been released.

It was expected that the Donnelly company would reach the barge Ceylon during today. A message states that the barge is now holding its own, and that the storm has abated.

The schooner Abbie L. Andrews arrived at the Grove Inn from Oswego with coal.

The schooner Bertie Calkins cleared for Oswego. The steamer Sowards and steambarge John Randall also cleared for Oswego.

The steamer Edmonton cleared for the upper lakes, after discharging at Richardson's elevaor.

M.T. Co.'s elevator: tug Glide from Montreal, two light barges; tug Emerson cleared with the barge Hamilton to load coal at Charlotte.

A dredge and a number of scows owned by Fallon Bros., who have been working on a contract at Picton, were towed to the city on Saturday morning.

The steamer Buena Vista will clear for Ottawa on Monday morning.

The steamer Belleville passed east on Friday night.

p.6 The steamer Glenfoyle, direct from Drammer, Norway, is unloading sulphite pulp at the Ontario Paper mill dock at Thorold, on the Welland canal.

p.7 Incidents of the Day - The Davis Dry dock company is still proposing to put a boat on the Napanee-Picton route and will ask a bonus of $500 from the two towns.

p.8 The dredge New Welland has arrived at St. Catharines, Ont., from Germany to work on the Welland cana.

WANTS RAILWAY CONNECTION

Alexander McDougall, a director of the Kingston Shipbuilding company, writes as follows to W.J. Fair, secretary of the company:

"In reply to your letter of the 18th, in regard to railway connections to the Kingston Shipbuilding property, had I known we should have been deprived of this privilege so long, I should not have advised our people to put one dollar into the plant, and now as we are stuck so badly, I cannot advise our people to put another dollar in this venture, till such relieve comes from the investment we have there. It is not my desire to advise the plan of getting there. I have had extensive experience in many cities and towns on the water-front, solving the different problems to compel and coax railroad and corporations and individuals to help others to get a share of what makes the best for the whole growth of a city. It is now my opinion, there is probably no other city on the chain of lakes, with the opportunity Kingston has to help a number of additional industries to get a fair chance to increase the growth and prosperity of the city, by demanding from the provincial railway board of railroad commission a full investigation and fair consideration of the necessity for such accommodation by railway connection, and that the city's governing officials should not help with enthusiasm to get railway connection for all deserving manufacturers.

"At first I could not see the difficulties to reach the Kingston shipbuilding company's plant, and that it will come and go by, and serve many other industries, that a blind man cannot fail to see, must come from the greater work of the Welland canal. But are we to be starved out before that comes?

"Modern ship construction uses much steel plate and shapes of enormous dimensions, which are not fit for carting about city streets. Boilers and engines are made specially, and are so large, it is sometimes difficult to get railroad cars to carry them, or space for their dimensions. These parts carted about the streets of Kingston costs more than any shipbuilding plant can expect in profit, on work that can be done at any other yard, that has railway tracks to their yard. At present lots of work is offered, that we cannot touch, and more shipbuilding appliances required in the yard, that I cannot recommend our company buying under existing conditions.

"I hope your people will look earnestly and immediately into this railway connection to the important industries in that part of the waterfront at Kingston, and particularly so the Kingston shipbuilding company."

p.11

Chart of Lake Ontario.

Surveys are being made of Lake Ontario at present for the first chart to be issued by the Canadian Government. Commander Bashand of the Governmen steamer Bayfield is in Toronto taking soundings of the harbor.

The charts under which Canadian navigation has been conducted have all been produced by the U.S. Government from Washington. Only two of these have been issued, the first in 1817 and the last in 1895, which is at present in use among the captains running on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It includes these two lakes only.

It is expected that many changes will appear in the new chart which is being formed. The shore lines are constantly changing, forming new shoals and many rocks have been located since the American Government formed its last chart. The issue that is being made at present will not be published before next year. The survey has been under way for three years, and all along the lake shore you will find the little white marks placed by the surveyors for purposes of taking angles and measurements.