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MARINE REVIEW. U1 Capt. Rowland H, Long. Chicago vesselmen were shocked to hear Sunday morning of the sud- den death of Captain Rowland H. Long, master of the steamer City of Rome. Their surprise was all the greater from the fact that Capt. Long had brought his steamer into port early Saturday afternoon and taken herto her dock. After leaving her in charge of the mate when the work of unloading had begun, Capt. Long went to his home, No. 204 Seventy- fourth street, Windsor Park, Chicago, and was sitting in a chair, convers- ing with members of his family, when suddenly he dropped to the floor. He died almost instantly. Five minutes before he appeared in perfect health, although he said he had not been feeling as well as usual for the past few days. Capt. Long leaves a widow and one daughter. The funeral took place from his late home, Wednesday, the services being held by the St. Ber- nard Commandery, No. 35, Knight Templars, of which he was a member. He also belonged to Niagara Lodge, No. 375, A. F. & A. M., of Lockport, N. Y.; Corinthian Chapter, No, 69, R. A. M., Chicago, and the Mystic Shrine. With his death, the lake marine has lost one ofits best ship- masters. He was askillful navigator, and rarely met with an accident, and the City of Rome always made good time. He followed the sea all his life. He was born in Kast Blue Hill, Maine, June 20, 1840. In early youth he shipped on salt water vessels, but came to Chicagoin 1866. The schooner Mary Collins, yet in commission, was his first command. Afterwards he sailed the schooner Zack Chandler, and then went into the big schooner J. W. Doane. Vesselmen of that period when the sailing vessels did the business of the lakes will remember the Doane as one of the best of the lake fleet. She was lost on Buffalo piers, and afterward Capt. Long commanded the schooner George. He shipped as mate on the steamer Wiley M. Egan in 1887, and took command of her inthe middle of the season. The next spring he brought out the steamer John Plankinton and remained in her two years, leaving her for the City of Rome, which he sailed for seven seasons. Beamy Vessels and Narrow Bridge Draws. An increase to 50 feet beam will very probably mark the next move- ment towards greater dimensions in lake vessels. The Bessemer, Sie- mens, L. C. Waldo, Coralia, Stephenson, Maricopa, Queen City and John Ericsson, all of which are either in service now or coming from the ship yards soon, are 48 feet beam. Not long since it was thought that 45 feet was inconvenient width for a vessel. The chief difficulty will be in reaching certain docks and elevators, owing to the width of channels through draw bridges. For instance, the openings through the C. M. & St. P. bridge at Chicago are 47 and 48.5 feet, and the Division street bridge over the canalis 48.4 and 50.7. The new steamers could go through one side of either of these draws but would stick on the other. The openings in the Taylor street bridge, South Branch, are 51 and 40 feet, the wider proving a close shave for the new steamers. At Buffalo the Michigan street, city ship-canal bridge has openings 47 and 54 feet, only one side being available for 48-foot vessels. Openings in the Sixth avenue bridge, Milwaukee, are only 46 feet. This information as to width of bridge openings is from the Blue Book of American Shipping. Details of openings in bridges at Chicago, Duluth, Toledo, Buffalo, Mil- waukee and Cleveland are givenin two pages. There are many other features in this book that make it valuable for use aboard vessels. Special arrangements as to price and delivery can be made by managers © of fleets. Battleships and Torpedo Boats. As finally passed, the naval appropriation bill provides for three | battleships, one of which is to be built on the Pacific coast at a cost not exceeding 4 per cent. of the lowest accepted bid for the others. With the exception of armament and the type of turrets the new battleships will be very much like the Kearsarge and Kentucky. The vessels are to be of something more than 11,000 tons displacement each, and will havea speed of about 15 knots. 'Their cost will not exceed $3,750,000 each, ex- clusive of armor, which is not to be contracted for until the next session. From intimations dropped by ship builders and from bids received for the Kearsarge and Kentucky, the navy department officials believe they will be able to contract for the ships at about $3,250,000 each at the high- est. Under the law, not more than two of the battleships can be built in one yard and one is to be built on the Pacific coast. The department Officials believe there will be three bidders--the Cramps, the Newport News company and the Union Iron Works. Plans for the vessels are already well along towards completion. A circular advertisement to the Ship builders of the country is also being prepared, setting forth the tequirements of the torpedo boat destroyers of 30 knots speed, author- ized by the law, and asking for bids. The offer of the Herreschoffs for the construction of these vessels is on file at the department and the gen- €ral impression is that this firm will obtain the contract. The law also authorizes the construction of not more than ten torpedo boats to cost in the aggregate $500,000. It has been decided to build six of these little craft, three of 105 feet each in length and the others of 138 feet each in length. Their armament will cost in the neighborhood of $10,000 each. In displacement they will be about the size of the Cushing, and their speed will be 20 knots each. Secretary Herbert is confident that he can contract for six of these little vessels within the amount of the appropri- ation and if possible he will try to get a seventh for the money. Under the law, three of these ships are to be built on the Pacific coast, one on the Mississippi river and one on the gulf coast. The remainder will be built in the east. Pleased with the Blue Book. Mr. H. F. J. Porter of Chicago, western sales agent of the Bethlehem Iron Co., writes the REVIEW as follows: "Iam in receipt of your Blue Book of American Shipping and I write to thank you for your courtesy in sending itto me. Let mecongratulate you also on having completed a book which can not but help being of great value to all who are interested in ship building on the lakes. It isa great credit to yourselves, andI trust that it will fully repay you for your trouble and the hard work which it must have cost to issue it. Iam very glad that our people put their advertisement in the book as I know that it will prove of value to them." Around the Lakes. The Plum island life saving station will be fully equipped and in running order about July 1. Letters for Geo. Hilborn and Edward McNabb are held at the Marine post office, Detroit. R. F. Bogle has been appointed assistant superintendent of the Anchor line, with headquarters at Chicago. Lorey A. Rand, who for five years past has been first mate of the steamer City of Rome, succeeds the late Capt. R. H. Long. J. L. Higgie, Jr., of Chicago, receiver for the Vessel Owners' Towing Co., has sold the tug A. G. Van Schaick to Lydon & Drew, contractors, for $4,500. ; The wreck of the steamer Jim Sheriffs will be sold by the under- writers as it lies at Milwaukee to the highest bidder July 1. Sealed bids will be received by C. A Macdonald & Co. of Chicago up to that date. About June 20, a fixed red light will be shown from a lantern sus- pended from red spar buoy No. 30, marking the extreme inner end of the channel in Maumee Bay, Toledo. Manhattan range light (front) is south- west % west from this light. During the month of May the marine post office at Detroit handled to © and from passing vessels 18,702 pieces of mail, of which 16,323 were letters. During this one month the service was nearly equal to one half of the entire business of five months last season. Complaint is again being made of poor bells on tow barges. Some of them are said to have cheap steel bells that can be heard only a short distance. The United States steamboat inspectors are in nearly all cases insisting upon bells made of bell metal and of good sounding quality. Ly. P. & J. A. Smith, Cleveland dredging contractors, have just fin- ished quite a large job on the N, Y. P.& O. R'y docks in the old river bed, Cleveland. They put in 850 feet of new dock from Willow street bridge up the channel, widening the river about 60 feet at one point and increasing the draft of water to 20 feet. The job invoived an expenditure of about $30,000. It was not to have been finished until July. Mr. W. A. Livingstone of Detroit is at all times well'posted on mat- ters pertaining to the operation of lake vessels. Hesays: 'Few vessel- men know that the rules governing navigation in the St. Clair Flats canal, apply as well to the approaches on either end, and on this side that means a distance of some three miles. Vessels are limited in the approaches as well as in the canal itself, to eight miles an hour, as a max- imum speed, and are liable for disobedience. This is important, as most vessels only slow down just on approaching the canal, where the rules provide otherwise." Monthly blast furnace statistics, published by the Iron Age, show that the pig iron situation is improving somewhat, the weekly rate of pro- duction having declined in May from 189,398 to 182,220 tons, while the stocks have increased only 16,411 tons in the month. A seagoing steam barge 150 feet long willbe built by the Jackson & Sharp Co., Wilmington, Del., for the Commonwealth Transportation Co. of Philadelphia, The machinery, a compound engine, will be built by the Neafie & Levy Co. of Philadelphia. Democratic Convention Notes--Tickets are on sale July 3d, 4th, 5th and Gth via. the Nickel Plate road at rates lower than on other lines. Returning until July 12th. 130 July 3 Uniformed colored porters attend to the wants and comfort of first and second-class day coach passengers on the through trains of the Nickel Plate road. Rates lower than via. other lines. 135 July 3 a ee ee ee ee