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_---- MARINE VoL. XVI. REVIE CLEVELAND;-O, SEPTEMBER: 16, 1897. To Prevent Accident at the Encampment. The announcement in a dispatch from Washington that the chief of the revenue cutter service had issued new rules for the navigation of the Sault river not wholly correct. The revenue cutter officials have simply ar-, ranged for a display of signals at Johnson's point, with a view to preventing System of Fog Signals. Numerous systems of signals to lessen the dangers of navigation in fog have been suggested. All of them are meritorious from a naval point of view, but they fail-in practice. The latest is from Prof, E. C. Pickering, director of Harvard college observatory, who presents a method of de- accidents that might occur on a bend in the river at that point. It is under- stood that the expense of erecting a station for men who will display these signals will be borne by the so-called McCurdy-Prime insurance syndicate. A circular letter pertaining to these signals has just been received from termining the position of a vessel in a fog based upon the velocity of sound. If two fog horns of different pitch be placed at equal distancés © from the middle of a channel or entrance to a harbor, and be sounded "~ * simultaneously at regular intervals of about a minute, Prof. Pickering "*" * the chief of the revenue cutter service. It is dated Sept. 13, signed by W. B. Howell, acting secretary of the treasury, and is-as follows: The following additional regulations in relation to tle movements of vessels in the St. Mary's river are hereby promulgated for the informa- tion of all concerned: "Hereafter whenever a steamer bound down the St. Mary's river in the day time enters the "Dark Hole" a white flag will be displayed on a pole at Johnson's point, Sailors' Encampment, in said river, until the steamer is abreast of Johnson's point; and whenever a steamer having a yessel or vessels in tow, bound down in the day time, enters the "Dark Hole," a white flag over a red flag will be displayed on the pole until such towing steamer is abreast of said point. "Whenever a steamer bound down said river at night enters the "Dark Hole," a white light over a red light will be displayed on said pole; and whenever a steamer bound down at night, having a vessel or vessels in tow, enters the "Dark Hole," a white light with two red lights under it will be displayed on the pole. _ "No flags or lanterns, however, willbe displayed for tug boats without tows or for small vessels. ae "The rule requiring steam vessels. to sound one long blast of the whistle at Rain's buoy and Everen's point, will remain in force." Bids on Breakwater. Piers. Proposals for the building of two breakwater piers at the Lake Supe- ror entrance to Portage Lake ship-canals were opened on the '10th inst. in the office of Major Clinton B. Sears, United States Engineer, at Du- luth. Following are the totals of bids (exclusive of stamp sand to go into the work), submitted by ten firms: HDRES ee TOTAL HOR ached ney a permanent advantage et 5 cents a ton over £oine aes ee a : a eines d throughout the season: n engineer who is given to careful calculations ~~ - Porter Bros., Duluth, AVI LTR rest tee ater eee a 280,953.20 $288,639.60 ene the cost of carrying freight on the lakes figures that a reduction Lydon SaWrewss€o. Chicago, Tilt. 072 024 309,680.00 315,650.00 in fuel bills of the steamer Kaliyuga, due to the application of the How-. The L. P. & J. A. Smith Co., Cleveland, O.... 328,751.60 329,231.60 den hot draft, changes in engines, etc., is equal to an addition on the McArthur Bros. Co., Chicago, Tc ae eg eaees 356,080.00 365,040.80 business of the ship for the season of 4 to 5 cents a ton in ore freights. ee Heldmaier & Neu, Chicago, Ill ... De eee ee ee rae 364,340.00 Some owners who have had vessels equipped with this apparatus refuse Chicago Star Contracting and Dredging Co., Chi- to tell just how much it is saving for them, on the claim that they are at ae lpeeer UMM erie ey 298 311,120.00 318,080.00 an advantage in carrying freight so much cheaper. They do not believe Joseph i Churchyard, Buffalo, NYE PRA EE Sy 355,524.00 363,518.00 in paying for experience 'for the benefit of the other fellow. In the » Robert Gregg, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich .......... 307,340.00 313,938.00 case of the Kaliyuga, however, figures have been given out, and from I Hoag, jr., Mittsbuneh a ee 389,080.00 . 389,080.00 them the calculation referred to has been made. Sythe da ta pares eee Powell & Mitchell, Marquette, Mich 328,706.00 335,286.00 ; In secton 1 of the work there is about 3,800 lineal feet.and in section 2 about 1,680 lineal feet, and the totals of bids above noted are for either Norway or white pine in-the superstructure and top two courses of piers. Porter Bros., who are the lowest bidders, offer Norway pine in section I at $63.55 per lineal foot and white pine at $65.25. Their. bids on section ae based on $23.49 per lineal foot for Norway pine and $24.22 for € pine, ~ be ' ear unl shoe Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. . aus following table, prepared from reports. of the Chicago board of : k Shows the stocks of wheat and corn in-store in regular elevators at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes, Sept. 11, 1897: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. pucage Meme teai cp et ee ties Hiatt oe 2,034,000 16,150,000 _ missioner of navigation again show that the greatest gains in vessel ton- Mae: ete y-1 Peis sls 27 a's «ak Pay a Sh 980,000 181,000 nage are on the Great Lakes. The increase in tonnage on, the lakes _ paukcee eile tial... ei--ledel. 3 57,000 212,000 makes up for losses in other parts of the country. Thus it is shown that aoe SPabtebirtes siete score cin eM aS 246,000 29,000 during the year,ending on June 30 last the increase of vessel- tonnage Butt io on OAS TS Eel oe rai eee a 587,000 593,000 throughout the country was only 65,400 gross tons while on the lakes Bre oe. jee ee clae 464,000 1,954,000 it was 86,000 tons. The difference of about a) tons represents a de- lantic and gulf coasts. Pacific coast tonnage was virtu- 5 4,368,000 19,119,000 i peter ne ae ae Sc Ompared with a week ago, the above figures show, at the several of coe named, an increase of 246,000 bushels of wheat and 2,911,000 bushels of wheat - the same date there was afloat on the lakes 1,867,000 bushels : 850,000 bushels of corn and 1,139,000 bushels of oats. . Grain afloat on the canals a ggregated 208,000 bushels of wheat, 1,514,000 bushels of corn, and 70,000 bishels of oats. Rar Se No Shortage of. Hard Coal. So : ; a chor! vessel owners may be misled by newspaper dispatches reporting course ot of hard coal at the head of Lake Sunerior. It is probable, of until th a some hard coal will be shipped out of Buffalo and Erie as usual taxation its tonnage in foreign trade. Michigan ranks second with 1,132 this ie Ose of the season but there is no shortage in the shipments up vessels of 477,602 tons. Ohio vessels are the largest and most modern, ept. 1 ime. The movement through the canals at Sault Ste. Marie to numbering 558, of 390,052 tons. Maine's fleet numbers 1,871 vessels of on the Was, in fact, 296,188 tons. which is 72,000 tons in excess of the total 299,592 tons. Steel and iron vessels number 1,023, of 1,207,222 tons, an Not a pet a year ago. The Lake Superior hard coal movement is increase of 117,000 tons. During the year sixty-eight iron or steel vessels ; a nyhow, as it has averaged little more than 400,000 tons fi or the past three seasons. 'coal per mile and 1,871 pounds per hour, running 8 miles an hour. season she runs 8.39 miles an hour with 171 pounds per mile and 1,484...» pounds per hour. With the new draft run of mirye coal is used instead .._- . 977,235 tons. says, it will be evident, that a captain of a vessel will be able to locate his position with fair accuracy by noting when the sounds of the horns are heard. If the two sounds are heard at the same instant, the vessel will be in the middle of the channel, and if they are heard after one another, it would be possible to judge from the interval between the two how much the vessel: is out of the middle of the channel. For vessels passing one. another, Prof. Pickering suggests that each should whistle or blow the horn or siren as soon as the sound is received from the: other: vessel. Then, if they are five miles apart, each will whistle every fifty seconds, and the distance in. miles. between the two vessels can always. be determined by dividing the intervals in seconds by ten. two different fog: whistles on a. long steamer, one at the bow and the other at the stern, and arranging that the sounds emitted by both should <> be heard together by an. observer standing at the bow, many collisions might be prevented. Instructions could be given to sailing vessels-to - + keep quiet so long as both signals were heard separately, for they would ae then be in no danger, but to fire a gun or make other loud noise when both whistles were heard together, for they would then be in front ot the steamer. These various methods may be combined indefinitely, ac- cording to a circular. pertaining to the system, but it is probable that the : < : signals will never be given a trial as they are too complicated, which: a is the objection to all such systems. Equal to an Advance of Five Cents a Ton. : A rise or fall of 5 cents a ton in ore freights is a matter of great = importance to vessel owners. The first of the recent 5-cent advances: was like a drink in a thirsty land. How much more interest should be at- The steamer Continental was equipped with Howden draft in time to go into commission early this season. Officers of the Republic Iron Co, state that before being fitted with the draft she burned 234 pounds of This of lump and a saving in fuel bills secured on this account also. These. ek two facts reduced to figures will, in the case of the Continental also, show a saving equal to.5.cents a ton in ore freights. are certainly worthy of careful consideration from vessel owners. Merchant Marine of the United States. . Advance proofs from the statistical report of the United States com © The documented merchant marine of the whole country on June 30, 1897, numbered 22,633 vessels of 4,769,020 gross tons. The tonnage of the ~ Atlantic and gulf coasts is 2,647,296, while that of the lakes is 1,410,103. The steam tonnage on June 30 amounted to 6,599 vessels of 2,358,558 gross tons, an increase of 51,000 tons over the previous year. Neariy all of this - increase is on the great lakes, where steam vessels number 1,775 of The average tonnage of steam vessels: on the lakes is, therefore, 551, which is quite large when it is considered that the com-: pilation includes harbor tugs and other small vessels. New York state has the largest merchant marine, 4,857 vessels of -. It is claimed that by placing... a Claims of this kind: a un a 1,331,743 gross tons, an increase of 27,000 tons.. The state exempts from |. of 124,395 tons were built and documented. Vessels registered for foreign cae trade number 1,230, of 805,584 tons, : ig ig oe 7