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MARINE REVIEW. 7 M. A. BRADLEY. President. James W. Millen, Detroit, Mich. John G. Keith, Chicago, 1 Frank J. Firth, Erie, Pa. W.S. Brainard, Toledo, Or : Thomas Wilson, Cleveland, O. R.P.Fitzgerald,Milwaukee, Wis. Peter F. Miller, Buffalo, N.Y. Alex. McDougall, Duluth,Minn. Charles H. Keep, Secretary, Buffalo, N.Y. Geo. P. McKay, Treasurer, Cleveland Harvey D. Goulder, Counsel, Cleveland SO} : ee VICE-PRESIDENTS: On Saturday of this week the finance committee of the association will meet in Cleveland, to fix wages for the coming season. In order to avoid cause for complaint, the committee ata meeting held in Cleveland on Saturday last decided to invite all members of the association to be present at the com- ing meeting and express their views on the subject of wages. There is a disposition among some members to reduce the open- ing schedule of a year ago, which was a little higher in a few cases than in previous years, but it is very probable that the sentiment in. favor of last year's opening scale will prevail, as would have been the case if wages had been fixed on Saturday last. 'This is almost certain with the engineers, in whose pay there is a wide range to draw upon, and of whom many have already been put to work. The question will not be fully set-. tled, however, until the general meeting of owners is held, as even with the engineers the owners claim that they have gone to work on the understanding that they are to be paid associa- tion wages. At Detroit today a committee of the association, consisting ot H. D. Goulder, Treasurer McKay, Secretary Keep and Cap- tains W. S. Mack, John Hall, James Stone and C. EK. Benham, will present to a board of army engineers, of which Gen. Poe is the senior member, the vessel owner's side of the rafting ques- tion. In addition to oral arguments, a brief will be submitted, - and the committee will ask permission to file later statements from a large number of masters relative to their experience with rafts. [hese statements will be prepared as soon as possible after the Detroit meeting. The rafting interests will enter pro- test against any regulations as to the size of rafts in open waters, and as the passage of a billin the next Congress regulating raft towing will depend largely upon the report of this board of engineers, the vessel owners realize that they have an impor- tant work on hand in their present action. At Saturday's meeting of the finance committee, Secretary Keep was instructed to have printed a large number of copies of the rules adopted at the last meeting of the board of super- vising inspectors of steam vessels for the government of steam craft while navigating narrow channels. These rules will be distributed by owners to their captains and are to be posted in the pilot houses of all association vessels. Andrew Biemel, formerly shipping master of Chicago, was appointed to take the place of Mr. Parnell of Ashtabula, who resigned. A similar vacancy at Escanaba was filled by the appointment of George McCarty, an ex-deputy sheriff. If Milwaukee owners can prom- ise any increase in membership, a shipping office will probably be established at that port also. By a settlement of the canal tolls question on terms of jus. tice to American vessels on the lakes, the Ogdensburg Trans- portation Company, operating a line of big wooden steamers between Chicago and Ogdensburg in connection with the Ver- mont Central Railway, is certainly benefited to the extent of $15,000 or $20,000 a year. 'This is a simple illustration of the value of an'organization like the Lake Carriers' Association. This special advantage derived by the Ogdensburg company was, of course, unthought of in the fight against the discriminat- ing canal tolls. A building has been secured in Chicago for the exhibit of the White Star company. Models of trans-atlantic steamers from the Oceanic, the first boat of the line, to the Teutonic and Majestic will be on exhibition. The exhibit of the engineer corps of the army, which will have the place of honor in the government building on the fair grounds, will also be of special interest to marine men. Models representing the work at Hell 'Gate, Sandy Hook, mouth of the Mississippi river, Key West, Delaware breakwater and other places where river and harbor improvements have been going on for years past will be shown to advantage in the spacious apartments given up to engineer- ing by the government, Some Facts Regarding the Monterey's Boilers. The March number of the Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers contained an article on the "Contract Trial of the U. S. S. Monterey," in which little was said about the adaptability of the Ward boilers to large vessels. The REVIEW called attention to the absence in the article of data on this point, and the comment prompted Passed Assitant Engineer W. M. McFarland, secretary-treasurer of the society, to secure for us some extracts from the report of the trial board, which will prove doubly interesting, on account of the sensational articles regarding the Monterey printed recently in the New York Times. It may be said in explanation to the first quotation from the report of the board that, owing to the comparatively small steam room of the Ward boilers, it was considered advisable to have reducing valves between them and the main steam pipe, and to carry the pressure of these boilers about 10 pounds higher than in the cylindrical, or Scotch boilers, so as to insure freedom from any tendency to draw on these boilers unduly. As will be seen from the quotation, these valves chattered so badly that they were held up out of place, so that during the trial all the boilers were in free communication. The report says. z "During the preliminary trial the reducing valves of the Ward boilers were used a short time, but were 'gagged up' after- wards, on account of the noise made by the valves chattering on their seats. They were not used during the official trial. 'The water in the coil boilers was carried at the heigth of 3 inches from the bottom of the glass guage. There were no mishaps in the fire room, and the steam was well maintained for about an hour and three-quarters, when it began to fall off." (As will be seen later on, this falling offin the steam pressure was due to inefficient firing) 'There was no trouble with the boilers priming. From the performance of the Ward boilers we are of the opinion that they are well adapted to form the major part of the boilers of vessels _ of war." . "Tn conclusion, we consider the whole performance such as to demonstrate the satisfactory construction, reliability and per- fect efficiency and durability of the entire machinery, including the auxiliaries." The following quotations are from letters of officers who were present at the trial, and who were not members of the offi- cial trial board. 'The first is from an officer who was stationed in the fire rooms. "The Ward boilers worked well, showing no signs of dis- tress under the heavy forcing. 'There was no trouble about keeping a steady weter level,--about three inches showing in the guage glass--and the steam pressure was fairly uniform. The reducing valves were kept off their seats during the official trial, previous experience having shown that, when allowed to operate, they kept up a continuous hammering." "Tt was my opinion that the firing was not such as to ac- complish the best results; there appeared to be little personal interest among the firemen as to success or failure. The fires were carried for the most part too heavy in the Ward and too light in the Scotch boilers." "TI can appreciate the fact" says Mr. McFarland "that it would be more interesting to readers in general if the trial board of the Monterey had gone into the question of the working of the Ward boilers with greater particularity, but their working was so entirely satisfactory that theyseem to have thought it unnecessary to do more than mention that fact. It is to be remembered also that, while this was the first time these boilers had been used in battery at sea, one of the boilers of this make had been subjected to about the most severe test ever given a boiler in the competition which led to its adoption for the Mont- erey. 'These trials lasted for about four or five days, and in- cluded two runs of twelve hours each under an air pressure equal to 2 inches of water, burning 55 pounds of coal per square. foot of grate surface,"