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10 MARINE REVIEW. Speed Claimed for the Frank E. Kirby. Editor MARINE REVIEW:--In a recent issue of the REVIEW we notice an article under the heading, "The Whirligig of Time," in - which the writer claims that the steamer City of Toledo has beaten the Frank E. Kirby's record on the route between Detroit and Port Huron. We claim that the Toledo has not equaled the Kirby's record, when the number of passengers handled and number of landings made are taken into account. On April 16, 1893, the Kirby, without mak- ing any special effort and using only natural draft all the time, made the run from Detroit to Port Huron, via Algonac, making thirteen landings and handling 1,000 passengers at the various landings, in 4 hours and 50 minutes. The Toledo's time from Detroit to Port Huron,as given by Capt. King of the Toledo, was 5 hours and 55 minutes, making twenty-one landings. The Detroit Journal, refer- ring to the same run, makes the time 5 hours and 25 minutes with twenty landings. The manager of the Toledo claims that in a race with the Unique the Toledo came down from Port Huron to Detroit in 3 hours and 55 minutes, making eight landings. The landings were made quickly, as very few passengers were taken on board. The Kirby on her down trip made the run in 4 hours and 16 minutes, made five more landings than were made by the Toledo, took on board at the various landings over 1,000 passengers, and used natural draft all the way. In the month of July, 1890, the run from Detroit to Bois Blane light, 19 miles, was made by the Kirby in 54 minutes. In August the run from Third street, Detroit, to Put-in Bay, 58 miles, was made in 2 hours and 54 minutes. In the same month the run from San- dusky to Detroit, 80 miles, making five landings, and winding the boat at Put-in Bay, was made in 4 hours and 55 minutes, 23 miles of the distance being against the current in the Detroit river. In the month of November, 1892, she left Detroit at 9.30 a. m., went to San- dusky, took on board 160 tons of sugar, returned by way of Put-in Bay, and arrived in Detroit at 9.30 p. m., all in 12 hours, the number of miles being 160. In June, 1895, the Kirby made the run from Bois | Blanc island light to Third street, Detroit, against the current in the Detroit river, in 1 hour and 74 minutes; distance, 19 miles. ASHLEY & DUSTIN. Detroit, Mich., July 29, 1896. Railways of the United States. Some very interesting facts about railways of the United States are contained in an abstract of the annual statistical report of the In- terstate Commerce Commission for the year ending June 30, 1895. It is unfortunate that the issue of this abstract is about a year behind time. On the date of this report 169 roads, operating 37,856 miles of line, were in the hands of receivers, but this showed a net decrease of twenty-three roads during the year. The total railway mileage in the United States on June 30, 1895, was 180,657.47 miles, or an increase of 1,948.92 miles, or 1.09 per cent. The aggregate length of all tracks was 236,894.26 miles. Included in this total track mileage were 10,639.96 miles of second track, 975.25 miles of third track, 733.12 miles of fourth track, and 43,888.46 miles of yard track and sidings. The number of corporations was 1,965, of which 1,013 maintained operating accounts and 800 financial accounts. It appears that 133 roads, or 12.05 per cent. of operating companies, operate 145,155.13 miles, or 80.24 per cent. of total mileage in operation. There were on June 30, 1895, 35,699 locomotives. Of this number 9,999 were passenger locomotives, 20,012 were freight locomotives, 5,100 were switching locomotives, and 588 were unclassified. The number of ears of all classes reported, being those owned by railways, was 1,270,561, which indicates a decrease of 7,517, as compared with the previous year. Of the total cars reported, 33,112 were in passenger service, 1,196,119 were in freight service, and the remainder, 41,330, were cars used by the reporting companies in their own service. Cars in freight service decreased 9,050. The explanation of this decrease is not wholly to be found in an effort on the part of the railway com- panies to economize in equipment, but rather in the increased use made of private cars. The number of men employed by railways shows an increase of 5,426 as compared with last year, the number of employees being 785,034 on June 30, 1895. The number of passengers carried was 507,421,362, or a decrease of 33,266,837 as compared with the year ending June 30, 1894, The number of passengers reported as carried one mile was 12,188,446,271, a decrease of 2,100,999,622 being shown when compared with figures for the previous year. The number of tons of freight carried as reported by railways was 696,761,171, which gives an increase of 58,574,618 for the year. The number of tons carried one mile was returned as 85,227,515,891, indicating an increase of 4,892,411,189: The amount of railway capital on June 30, 1895, is shown to be $10,985,203,125, or $63,330 per mile of line. The imerease during the year was $188,729,312. Railway capital was distributed as follows: The amount of capital stock was $4,961,258,656, of which $4,201, - 697,351 was common. stock, and $759,561,305 preferred stock; the funded debt was $5,407,114,313, classified as bonds, $4,659,873,548, miscellaneous obligations, $445,221,472, income bonds, $246,103,966, and equipment trust obligations, $55,915,327; the current liabitities amounted to $616,830,156. Stock to the amount of $3,475,640,203, or 70.05 per cent. of the total outstanding, paid no dividend, and $904, - 436,200, or 16.90 per cent. of the funded debt, exclusive of equipment trust obligations, paid no interest during the year covered by the re- port. In no other year since the organization of the division of statis- tics has so large a percentage of stock passed its dividends, or, except in 1894, has so large a percentage of funded debt defaulted its interest. The total amount of dividends was $85,287,543, which would be pro- duced by an average rate of 5.74 per cent. on the amount of stock on which some dividend was declared. The amount of bonds paying no interest was $624,702,293, or 13.41 per cent.; of miscellaneous obliga- tions, $54,498,288, or 12.24 per cent.; of income bonds, $225,235,619, or 91.52 per cent. Gross earnings of all railways for the year were $1,075,371,462, an increase of $2,009,665. Passenger revenue was $252,246,180, show- ing a decrease of $33,103,378, or 11.60 per cent for the year. Freight -yevenue increased $30,502,549, or 4.36 per cent., being $729,993, 462 for 1895. These are gross earnings, but the report concludes that the railways of the. United States closed the year with a deficit from the year's operations of $29,845,241, which was met by a decrease in accumulated surplus, or by the creation of current liabilities. The corresponding deficit for the year ending June 30, 1894, was $45,- 851,294. The action of the German government in adopting the American idea of the tripple screw for men-of-war is considered as a high com- pliment to the American navy. There was considerable opposition to the use of this system for United States vessels when originally suggested by Engineer-in-Chief G. W. Melville. The success of the triple screw attained by the Columbia and _ her sister ship the Minne- apolis, the fastest cruiser in the world, and the visit of the Columbia to Kiel, on the occasion of the opening of the North German canal, brought the matter to the serious attention of the German authorities, with the result that the government has ordered two battleships and five cruisers of its navy equipped with triple propellers. According to information just received at the navy department, the larger ships have a horse power of 13,000, the first-class cruisers 13,500, and the second-class cruisers 9,000. The battleships have a displacement of 11,000, the first-class cruisers a displacement of 10,000, and the second- class cruisers a displacement of 6,000, This government may properly claim the credit of first applying practically the triple-screw idea to warships, and its adoption by the German government is accepted as an indorsement of the skill and ingenuity of American nayal officers. --Army and Navy Journal. A steam yacht 60 feet over all, the Vailima, has just been launched at the Spalding Boat Works, Ogdensburg. Engines of fore- and-aft compound kind were furnished by T. 8. Marvel & Co. of New- burg, N. Y. The boiler is of the Almey water tube type. Capt. John P, Reddy, age sixty-four, died at his home in Chicago a few days ago. He was born in Newfoundland, but he had lived in Milwaukee for nearly half a century, and during nearly all of that time he had sailed the lakes as seaman or officer, Capt. Alex. McDougall of the American Steel Barge Co. has writ- ten a letter commending the Roberts boiler in his little steamer Islay. The boat has been in service for two years or more in the harbors of Duluth and Superior. Through tickets are sold by the Nickel Plate road at from $1.00 to $3.00 lower than other lines. Solid through service hetween Chicago, Buffalo, New York City and Boston. 202-July 31.