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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg., by the Marine Review Pub. Co. Vou. XXL, CLEVELAND, O., DEC. 6, 1900. iieertiees 02 S018 ress No. 238 SHIPPING MATTERS IN WASHINGTON. THEY ARE GIVEN THE MAIN TRACK AT THE SHORT SESSION OF CONGRESS-- RIVER AND HARBOR BILL. Washington, D. C., Dec. 6--Two measures of special importance to vessel men--a river and harbor bill and shipping bill--are demanding attention immediately following the opening of the short session ot congress. In the senate Mr. Frye has just finished--giving two days to it--a lengthy and very able address, telling of the careful manner in which the shipping bill, after two years of labor, was finally put into its present form, and setting forth in detail the various provisions of the bill, There is, of course, no member of congress better fitted than Mr. Frye for such a task. His speech, which will be given in full in the next issue of the Review, was one of argument from beginning to end, and the senate chamber was crowded during both sessions. As Mr. Frye must occupy the chair in the senate, the care of the bill on the floor will pass to Mr. Hanna. The bill will very probably pass the senate early in the session, but its fate in the house is uncertain. A very strong lobby, representing foreign steamship lines, is already at work against it. | As a result of the diligence of Chairman Burton and his associates on the river and harbor committee, a bill which was worked up in part during the last session and since adjournment, will be presented within a week. No hearings are being granted, but delegations have been here from Pittsburg, Boston and other places talking with members of the committee and otherwise doing what they could to further the harbor interests which they represent. A Cleveland Chamber of Commerce delegation, of which Mr. E. P. Williams, vice-president of the chamber, was chairman, spent Wednesday with members of the committee and with other representatives presenting the claims of Cleveland harbor. Messrs. Harvey D. Goulder, H. G. Dalton, James R. Garfield and Secre- tary F. A. Scott of the chamber were other members of the delegation. In talking with members of the river and harbor committee they said that the people of Cleveland did not know that Mr. Burton's position as chairman of the committee would be to their advantage or disadvantage. Mr. Burton had a grave responsibility in the kind of bill he would present to congress. His position would not admit of special favor being shown to Cleveland. The delegation was in Washington, therefore, for the pur- pose of calling attention to the demands of commerce at Cleveland, The engineer department of the government had recommended widening of the harbor entrance and extension of the breakwater eastward on a large scale. A very liberal appropriation was required for the work. In talk- ing to members of the committee on this score, the Cleveland delegation was well provided with argument. It was shown, for instance, that the tonnage of vessel property owned or controlled in Cleveland is full 4() per cent. greater than that of any other port on the lakes, and yet the appropriations for improvements at Cleveland during twenty years past have been only $2,576,000, as against $3,380,075 for the Duluth-Superior harbor, $3,208,484 for Buffalo and $2,644,000 for 'Chicago. Although not directly associated with lake interests, Vice-President Williams of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce showed a thorough knowledge of har- bor matters in Cleveland, and his acquaintance at Washington greatly facilitated the work of the delegation, the members of which left Wash- ington fully satisfied that Cleveland would be well cared for in the river and harbor bill. It is more than probable that items of a general kind relating to lake improvements will include appropriations with which to begin the construction of a second ship canal at St. Clair Flats and a second chan- nel through the St. Mary's river, but no enlargement as yet of the Weitzel lock at the Sault. Provision will also be made for the widening _ of the Lime-Kilns crossing and for extensive dredging that is required in the Detroit river in the vicinity of the Lime-Kilns. J..M. M. As had been expected, the sale of twelve steel steamers of the Amer- ican Steamship Co.'s fleet by John W. Gates to the American. Steel & Wire Co., which brought about considerable unfavorable comment a few weeks ago, on account of the price at which the transfer was made. is causing trouble in the American Steel & Wire Co. Proceedings to prevent the purchase of the vessels have been started in the east, and opponents of Mir. Gates in the American Steel & Wire Co. are advertis- ing in New York, through Welles, Herrick & Hicks of No. 15 Wall street, for co-operation of stockholders in an effort to remove Mr. Gates and his associates from control of the company at the annual meeting, to be held Feb. 21. Major Thos. H. Handbury, member of the United States engineer corps and of the Mississippi river commission, who was unsuccessful in securing bids for the construction, within the time appointed, of a self- propelling, sea-going, hydraulic dredge for Mississippi river service, again advertises in this issue of the Review for proposals. According to the present advertisement, bidders are to state time of delivery, arid it is also asked that bids be submitted for the construction of the dredge with- out outfit. Mr. Foraker of Ohio will introduce in the senate this week a bill to appoint a second United States district judge for the district of Cleve- land. This action is due to the poor health of Judge Ricks of Cleveland and also to the large increase in business of the district. A bill similar to Senator Foraker's bill will 'be introduced in the house shortly, prob- ably by Mr. Southard of Toledo. It is again rumored that Vickers' Sons & Maxim of England are try- ing to purchase the works of the Cramps at Philadelphia and in connec- tion therewith the armor works of the Midvale Steel Co. As yet there is nothing definite in the rumors. DEATH OF DAVID WHITNEY, JR. David Whitney, Jr., of Detroit, millionaire lumberman, vessel owner and banker, died at his home in Detroit last week after a lingering illness. Several years ago he went to Carlsbad for treatment, but did not receive the benefit which was anticipated. His life was worn away through a complication of diseases, though the immediate cause of his death was enlargement of the heart. He was born at Westford, Mass.. Aug. 26, 1830. After graduating from the academy there he re- moved to Lowell, engaging in the lumber business in a small way, which, through systematic effort was largely extended until he counted the whole of New Eng- land as his territory. He formed a partnership with his brother Charles and others and _ estab- lished large distributing yards at Tonawanda and Ogdens- burs, No Y.. and Birline- ton, Vt., with the main office in Boston. In 1857 the lumber in- dustry of Michigan 'began to as- sume large proportions and Mr. 4 Whitney during that year re- moved to Detroit, where he had since resided. In addition to his large interests in lumber Mr. Whitney was one of the largest vessel owners on the lakes. Among the vessels which he operated were the propellers E. W. Oglebay, Necosta, Lansing, D. C. Whitney, Nipigon and Merida and the schooner Melbourne. He was interested in numerous enterprises and contributed largely to the material upbuilding of Detroit. He was the most unassuming of men and never aspired for social or political honors. ERIE CANAL IMPROVEMENTS. Major Thos. W. Symons, United States engineer at Buffalo, has had occasion, as a member of one of the New York state canal commissions, to give a great deal of attention to the subject of Erie canal improvements. He is very positively in favor of a barge canal along the Erie route as against any attempt to build a ship-canal within United States territory from the great lakes to the Atlantic seaboard. Major Symons has just prepared for the American Society of Civil Engineers a paper on the sub- ject, "Canals from the Lakes to New York," in which he says: "The decline of traffic on the Erie canal is due to very many causes, the principal ones being that it is not in any manner up-to-date, that the towing is still being done on it largely by horses and mules, and that the business has never been organized and conducted.on modern lines. It has. been seriously handicapped by the fact that improvements have been undertaken and discussed which would render the old type and size of boats obsolete; rendering it inadvisable as a 'business proposition for people to build new boats for canal 'business or to replace those outworn, with the possibility before them of a larger canal in the near future, That the traffic on the Erie canal has declined is true, but it would spring up and grow to enormous dimensions if a proper barge canal were built in its place, if legislative restrictions on the capital of operating transpor- tation companies were removed, and if the business were organized in 2 thoroughly up-to-date manner. It must not be forgotten that if the Erie canal has stood still, or worse than still; for the last thirty years, the com- peting railroads have improved their transportation facilities enormously in ways which it is unnecessary to recount. here." LAKE SHIP YARD NOTES. The Jenks Ship Building Co. of Port Huron has sold the steel steamer of Canadian canal dimensions which they have on the stocks and which is to be finished early next spring, but for the present the name of the purchaser is withheld. The steel steamer which they are to build for Capt. Samuel Neff of Milwaukee will be designed especially for the salt trade. Capt. Neff has a contract with the Michigan Salt Co. covering the transportation of their product from the east shore of Lake Michigan to different points in the lake region and is already operating several vessels in that trade. The new steamer will be 212 ft. long and will be modern in all respects. F. W. Wheeler, well known as a ship builder at West Bay City up to the time of consolidation of the lake yards, is interested in the two steel steamers of Canadian canal dimensions and 13 knots speed that are to be built by the Craig Ship. Building Co. of Toledo for the United Fruit Co. Mr. Wheeler's interest is in a transportation contract with the fruit com- pany. The vessels are to carry both passengers and freight from the West Indies to North American ports. Stock in the American Ship Building Co. was used to pay for the Wheeler works at West Bay -City and for the Buffalo Dry Dock Co.'s plant, purchased several months ago, but in buying the works of the Union Dry Dock Co..at Buffalo recently the officials of the consolidation decided to pay cash, which would indicate that their earnings of late have undoubtedly been very satisfactory. At Port Jefferson, L. I., Martin I. Woods is building a wooden four- masted schooner of 185 ft. length and is engaged in making extensive re- pairs to the schooner Lawrence. J. M. Bayles & Son of the same place are about to put down the keel for a wooden yacht that is to cost $15,000.