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1901.) | MARINE REVIEW. ee 17 Tae NEW SHIP YARD ENTERPRISES. It has been rumored for some time past that Capt. James Davidson, vessel owner and builder of wooden ships at West Bay City, Mich., would undertake the building and repair of steel vessels at Erie. Capt. Davidson was in Cleveland during the past week. He would not make public any of his plans regarding the proposed new works, but is said to have stated to two or three Cleveland vessel men with whom he has close business relations that the project at Erie contemplates a large dry dock as well as a ship yard that will be suited in every way to the construction of steel freighters of all kinds. Mr. C. A. Macdonald of Chicago, who has been at work for some time past on the formation of a company to take over the Miller dry dock plant on the north branch of the Chicago river, has been successful, and it is understood that the new organization begins with a capital in hand amounting to about $600,000. M. A. Bradley and James Corrigan of Cleveland are among lake vessel owners interested with Messrs. C. A. Macdonald and J. J. Rardon in this enterprise. From names appearing in the board of directors it would seem that considerable of the capital comes from New York. The Chicago works will hereafter be operated under the name Ship Owners Dry Dock Co. Some adjoining property has been purchased and one of the dry docks will be enlarged to 500 ft. length while a complete equipment of tools, etc., for repairs to steel ves- sels is being installed. Mr. William W. Watterson, who is well and favor- ably known to lake ship owners, has been appointed superintendent of the yard and will take charge at once. Mr, Watterson has been for years directing ship building and repair work in Cleveland and has lately been in charge of the American Ship Building Co.'s docks in Buffalo, which position he leaves to take the new place in Chicago. Among directors of the new company are E. Mora Davison of August Belmont & Co., and G. L. Boissevain of Kean, Van Cortlandt & Co., New York; M. A. Brad- ley and James Corrigan of Cleveland, and C. A. Macdonald and J. J. Rardon of Chicago. ; Equipments of Blake pumps ordered recently for the four new Pevey freighters, which are being built by the American Ship Building Co., wiil be practically duplicates of pumps furnished by the Blake company for the 500-ft. American Steel & Wire steamers Hill, Gates, Edenborn and Elwood. The cash value of the order for the four American Steel & Wire boats was the largest ever involved in a single order for pumps from the lakes, and this last order is very probably quite equal to it. The equip- ment includes cross-compound simplex air pumps and condensers, hori- zontal cross-compound simplex ballast pumps, two on each ship, hori- zontal compound outside packed plunger feed pumps, etc. These pumps are all gilt-edged in every respect. The stuffing boxes will be packed with Katzenstein's packing, steam cylinders lagged with Russia iron and brass bands, and the installation as a whole will include all that is novel and up-to-date marine practice. The new steel steamer Kenebec, built by the Jenks Ship Building Co. of Port Huron for Chesbrough Bros., Bay City, was successfully launched last Saturday. The vessel is 255 ft. long, 48 ft. beam and 26 ft. deep, with a capacity of 3,000 tons, and is equipped with triple expansion engines. _ Iwo barges for pulp wood trade, building at the works of Capt. James Davidson, West Bay City, for Frank Perry of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will cost about $15,000 each. They are each 160x30x10 ft. and are to carry 800,000 ft. of lumber each on 9 ft. draught. MASTERS AND ENGINEERS OF LAKE VESSELS. Tonawanda Barge Line, Capt. Wm. Dulac, Megr., Mt. Clemens, Mich.: Steamers--Norwalk, Capt. Frank Goodrow, Engineer Joe Bed- ore; F. R. Buell, Capt. Syd Scott, Engineer John Deihl; Canisteo, Capt. C. W. Woodgrift, Engineer Chas. Sylvester; A. Weston, Capt. B. F. Ogden, Engineer Ed. Cottrell; C. A. Street, Capt. Wm. J. Lynn, En- gineer Geo. Lynn. Schooners--J. B. Lozen, Capt. Arthur Elsey; J. Godfrey, Capt. John Lozen; A. Stewart, Capt. Noah Forton; Eleanor, Capt. Frank Duboy; Jenette, Capt. R. Moore; S. B. Pomeroy, Capt. Frank Desot; Elvina, Capt. Frank Laforge; Fulton, Capt. Eli Forton; Wm. B. Ogden, Capt. Eli Peltier. Northern Steamship Co., W. C. Farrington, Gen. Mnegr., Buffalo: Steamers--North West, Capt. G. A. Miner, Engineer ----; North Land, Capt. W. C. Brown, Engineer ; Northern King, Capt. J. M. Saunders, Engineer --------; Northern Queen, Capt. J. F. Vaughn, Engineer --------; North Wind, Capt. J. J. Hartman, Engineer : Northern Wave, Capt. M. S. Peterson, Engineer --_------: Northern Light, Capt. M. J. Haberer, Engineer ----_---; North Star, Capt. F. G. Stewart, Engineer Olga Trans, Co., E. G, Reisterer, Mgr., Tonawanda, N, Y.: Steamer --John C, Pringle, Capt. A. P. Gallino, Engineer J. N. Burns. Schooners --Sweetheart, Capt. C. F. Kellar; Unadilla, Capt. Thos, McDermott, Jr.; Benj. Harrison, Capt. Phil. Hepner. Smith Transportation Co., Detroit: Steamers--A. L. Hopkins, Capt. Jas. McLarty, Engineer Wm. Naugh; Porter Chamberlin, Capt. Albert J. Schutte, Engineer Jas. Potter. Schooners--H. J. Webb, Capt. A. Mills; Uranus, Capt. J. M. Balfour. Watson, Henry W., Buffalo: Steamer--Inter Ocean, Capt. Peter Wex, Engineer Thos. Ingram. Capt. L. F. Hunt of Saginaw, who was a member of the firm of Pres- cott & Hunt, lake vessel owners, and who commanded the steamer Rhoda Emily, which runs between Cleveland and Duluth, dropped dead on a Michigan Central passenger train a few miles north of Oxford, Mich., Tuesday. Capt. Hunt was on his way to Cleveland to take charge of his vessel at the time. He had sailed the lakes for thirty years and was well known. He was sixty-three years of age. The Pan-American exposition at Buffalo opens May 1, 1901, and don't forget that the Nickel Plate road is the shortest and most expedient route to Buffalo and will land you directly at the exposition gates. Rates are in effect April 30, 1901, and good going or returning on-any of our trio of daily express trains. Write, wire, phone, or call on nearest agent, C. A. Asterlin, T. P. A., Ft. Wayne, Ind., or: E> A. Akers; €. P. & T. A., Cleveland, O. No. 87 June 1. NEW YORK STATE CANALS. Since the politicians of New York state wasted $9,000,000 on an attempt to improve the Erie and other canals, a few years ago, there has been little interest outside of the state in the important question of canal enlargement, which after all should be of as much interest throughout the entire lake region as it is to the people of New York. The New York legislature is again considering the subject but the outlook for actual improvement isno more promising than it has been for several years past. Two projects for enlarging and improving the canals, one based upon canal boats of 450 tons capacity and the other upon lake and canal barges of 1,000 tons, were reported upon to the governor. The 450-ton boat project was approved by the governor and a bill for carrying it into effect has been recommended by the canal committee and is now before the state senate. This measure provides for the issue of $26,000,000 in seventeen-year 344 per cent. bonds. The Erie and Oswego canals are to be widened and deepened so that the depth of water on the lock sills will be 9 ft. and the present maximum load of 250 tons be increased to 450 tons. The Champlain canal is to be deepened to 7 ft. The locks are to be widened and deepened and additional side locks provided in some places, so as to shorten the passage time between the lakes and tide- water by diminishing the chances of delays at the locks. The bill meets with two classes of opponents. Those of one class are against spending any more money on the canals, regarding it as useless to compete with the railways which have already taken away the greater part of the former business of the canals. They claim the proposed expenditure of $26,000,- 000, in addition to the $9,000,000 expended a few years ago, will be sending good money after bad. The other class agree that the expenditure will be wasteful in that the improvement would not go far enough, but they give another reason for objection to it. They favor the adoption of the other plan reported, which provides for a canal capable of accommodating barges of 1,000 tons that can be loaded at lake ports and proceed without transshipment of cargo direct to tidewater. If the $26,000,000 project is put to sleep they think there will be a chance next year of passing the 1,000-ton barge canal bill, which would involve a much greater expendi- ture, but which it is claimed would result in improvement amounting to something. If the present bill should get through the legislature, about which there is much uncertainty notwithstanding the victory won for it in the first skirmish, nothing can be done unless the issue of the bonds is approved by the people at the general election in the coming fall. The fight in the legislature will be removed to the polls and the chances of the scheme are questionable, to say the least. TEN YEARS IN COURT. The United States circuit court of appeals, sixth circuit, has just entered a decree in a collision case of the great lakes that has certainly gone the rounds of the federal courts. The case is that of the Erie & Western Transit Co. against the propeller New York, owned by the Union Steamboat Co., and grew out of a collision in the Detroit river between the propellers Conemaugh and New York, Oct. 21, 1891. The Conemaugh was sunk and sustained considerable damage, but the damage to the cargo, about $40,000, was even greater than the hull damage. In the first hearing before United States District Judge Swan at Detroit both vessels were held at fault and the damage divided. On rehearing in the same court the New York was held solely at fault. On appeal to the United States circuit court of appeals, sixth circuit, the decree below was reversed and the Conemaugh held solely at fault. Then the case was taken to the United States supreme court on a writ of certiorari and the decree of the court of appeals reversed, both vessels being again held at fault, but with full decree against the New York for all the Conemaugh's cargo damage. After issuance of mandate decree was entered in the district court against the New York for all the cargo damage, and the damage to the Conemaugh and to the New York was divided to these two vessels. Proceedings in mandamus were then brought in the supreme court to modify the decree so as to divide the cargo damage to both vessels, The petition was dismissed. The cause was appealed again to the circuit court of appeals on the same question and on Tuesday last that court delivered an opinion affirming the decree of the district court, which di- vided the damage to the two vessels but requires the New York to pay all the cargo damage. The case may not be at an end even yet. Interest is certainly piling up on the damages involved, as the rate is 7 per cent. Harvey D. Goulder of Cleveland for the Conemaugh and C. E. Kermer of Chicago for the New York are leading counsel in the case. DULUTH GRAIN SITUATION. Mr, G, A. Tomlinson, vessel agent at Duluth, reports the following quantities of grain in store in Duluth and Superior elevators on the 8th inst., compared with stocks on the same date a year ago: 1901. 1900. Wied a 9,612,958 17,697,913 Dey ee =. * 80,108 203,551 eGR ee 338,189 826,264 Oe ee cena ». 1,258,894 368,219 BVO nea aes ce 390,509 431,719 COR 5,182,738 1,427,464 Tos 2 16,860,026 20,455,130 There is some inquiry for tonnage, Mr. Tomlinson says, but no ships are offering, owing to the engineers' strike. The weather is extremely mild. Portions of the lower harbor are clear of ice, but the area in the lake has not diminished. Hard coal is practically exhausted.. Of bitumin- ous coal there is about 250,000 tons still on the docks. An effort is being made to consolidate the dredging concerns of the lakes, but promoters of the scheme say it has not developed far enough as yet to admit of the publication of anything that would be of general interest. An attempt on the part of dredgers three or four years ago to pool their interests was unsuccessful. Transfers of vessel property: Tug Richard Endress, Capt. Clow of Menominee to Louis Ganley of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; schooner Reuben Doud, T. Hurley of Detroit to Capt. Alex. Ure of Charlotte, N. Y,