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12) MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 409 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohlo, by John M. Mulrooney and F. M. Barton. Sunscriprion--$2.00 per year inadyance. Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders seut, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second class Mail Matter. The books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1896, contained the names of 3,333 vessels, of 1,324,067.58 gross tons register in the lake trade. The number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons, and over that amount, on the lakes on June 30, 1896, was 383 and their aggregate gross tonnage 711,034.28; the number of vessels of this class owned in all other parts of the country on the same date was 315 and their tonnage 685,204.55, so that more than half of the best steamships in all the United States are owned onthe lakes. 'The classification of the entire lake fleet on June 30, 1896, was as follows: Gross Number. Tonnage. SteOAM VESSEIS..........cecssreereesesesscernses resesssesseseseneeesees 1,792 924,630.51 Sailing vessels and barges.. a 1,125 - 354,327.60 WMATA OAL Se rrreracccee scare eeschircocterecencccconesbotscesscasse 416 45,109.47 MNO Gall eaters sae sesce Setecsctacs tomtoeavoctecesthe 8,333 1,324,067.58 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on the lakes during the past Seen, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is as follows: Year ending June 380. 1891 204 = 111,856 45. SS ee oe 1892 - 169 45,968.98 ee sf 5 1893.. 175 99,271.24 oe on S 1894.. 106 41,984.61 S Me i 1895.. 93 86,352.70 Ay ey Pe 1896 117 108,782.38 Dict elrarenee tees veesecstncceccccscrctrescctecesccescasocessenesr 864 414,216.36 Sie MARY'S FALLS AND-SUEZ C\NAL TRAFFIC. (470m Oficial Kéports of Canal Officers.) Suez Canal. 1894 St. Mary's Falls Canal. 1895* 1894 1893 17,956 14,491 11,008 16,806,781) 13,110,366] 9,849,754 231 234 219 1895 1898 No. vessel passages,........... Tonnage, net registered..... 3,434 3.352 8,341 8,448,383] 8,039,175} 7,659,068 Days of navigatiou.............. 365 365 365 % * 1895 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie, which was about Y per cent. of the whole, but largely in American vessels. While such lake ports as Cleveland, Buffalo, Ashtabula an other places have issued, or are preparing to issue, municipal bonds to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the widening and im- provement of rivers forming their inner harbors, Chicago manages, through the influence of senators and congressmen from Illinois, to have this same work done by the government. This action of the government favorable to Chicago is not in the line of fair treatment to the other lake cities, but from the standpoint that improvements in the Chicago river are of advantage to the shipping interests of the lakes as a whole, there is no cause for complaint. When river and har- bor appropriations under the continuous contract system were being apportioned in the last congress, the sum of $700,000 was provided for dredging in the Chicago river, on the claim that the river is un- der the direction of the war department. Rivers forming inner har- bors at other ports are not deepened or improved by the government. Shore lines are established and the government maintains harbor en- trances and harbors of refuge outside such shore lines, but the munic- ipalities bear all expenses of improvements within the shore lines. But such is not'the case in Chicago. The $700,000 was to apply to dredg- ing throughout the main portion of the river. Now it has been found that the amount needed for dredging will probably not exceed $180,000, and Senator Cullom, who is on the appropriations committee of the senate, has secured the passage of an amendment to the sundry civil appropri- ation bill permitting the balance of $520,000 being available for straight- ening and widening the river. Great is the ability of Chicago to get whatever she goes after. The immigration bill which President Cleveland vetoed on Tues- day contained certain clauses of special interest to the lakes. If the bill had received the approval of the president, it is more than likely that these clauses, which were intended mainly to prevent Canadians from holding employment in border cities like Detroit, Port Huron and other places on the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, would have been construed to apply toa very large number of men who live in Canada during the winter but who are employed regularly on lake vessels duri og the navigation season. It is fully understood, of course, that United States laws are against foreigners acting as officers on American ves- sels, but the effect of this bill, if it had not been vetoed by the presi- dent, would have been to exclude from the vessels everybody who was a resident of Canada. Members of the Canadian parliament threatened retaliation in various forms if the bill should be made a law, notably the abolition of reciprocity in wrecking on the lakes but it isnot probable that the president's veto was prompted by fee threats. It has been fully understood for some time past that he Was opposed to the main restrictions of the bill, which related to a standand of intelligence among immigrants. The subject is certain to come up again in the next congress, as there were no party lines in the Vote that resulted in the bill going to the president. In a communication elsewhere in this issue, Mr. Frank J, Firth of Philadelphia, who. is one of the vice-presidents of the Lake (ap. riers' Association, directs attention to the benefits derived by lake ship. ping interests from wise coasting regulations established by the goy. ernment. This point is brought out by a short preliminary referange to the subject "Restoration of the American Merchant Marine." \y Firth is chairman of a committee recently appointed to act with repre: sentatives of ship builders and ship owners from all parts of the country in suggesting to the new administration a measure of assis. tance for American shipping. His communication indicates a thor. ough interest in this great question and a practical knowledge of the subject. He promises a further explanation of his views that wil] undoubtedly prove interesting to readers of the Review. Vessel owners at Toronto are wrestling with a bridge proposition that would not be given a moment's consideration in any of the Amer. ican lake cities, especially if the commerce was anywhere nearas large as it is in Toronto harbor. Promoters of a summer resort enter. prise are trying to block the main entrance to the harbor with aswing bridge for trolley cars that will 'probably be on five-minute service, Toronto harbor is formed by a semi-circular island of sand, through which there are two entrances. The western entrance is the chief one, and is indeed the only one that can be used in stormy weather, But notwithstanding this condition as regards the shipping of the port, it is proposed to erect a swing bridge over this western entrance --breakwater and all--with a stone abutment in the center of the chan- nel from which the bridge is to swing. It is understood that Capt.. Robley D. Evans, U. 8. N., who was spoken of as the probable successor of Rear Admiral Walker of the light-house board, is in favor with the new administration as well as the retiring heads of the government, and that he may yet beat the head of the board. Admiral Walker retires about the 20th inst. An effort was made to induce him to retire before March 4, and thus per- mit the reorganization of the board, but instead of doing so he is said to have sought, through act of congress, retention for five years on the active list. There are quite a few candidates among naval officers for the position on the board that will be vacant upon the retirement of the president. An elegant photo-gravure of the United States frigate Constitu- tion (Old Ironsides) has just been issued by A. W. Elson of Boston. Nothing inanimate appeals to the hearts of the American people as does this war ship. 'tOld Ironsides"is at present at Portsmouth, N. H., housed over. The photo-gravure represents her as she was in her prime. It is from a painting by Marshall Johnson, who obtained knowledge of his subject from a careful study of the Constitution and from men who had sailed upon her. As a result of his studies the picture is historically accurate. The plate is printed on India paper, mounted on heavy plate paper, 28 by 38 inches; the size of the work is 164 by 21 It is said that with the aid of special telegraphic facilities and long-distance telephone connections the ore transportation business of the Carnegie Steel Co. on the lakes, resulting from the Rockefeller- Carnegie contract, will be managed largely from Pittsburg. An in- crease in the Carnegie company's office force in Cleveland will be necessary, of course, but it is understood that the movement of the ore from the mines to shipping ports and from Lake Erie docks to furnaces will be under the direction of Mr. Curry of Pittsburg, who has for some years past been in charge of the ore business of the Car- negie company. Solid through sleeping car trains with dining cars attached are operated by the Nickel Plate road between Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo and New York City. Through sleeping car to Boston. The Review has excellent photographs of lake ships. jain! = 3 Mar 31 } ey + i z