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16 MARINE REVIEW. [May 23, TO DEVELOP ST. LAWRENCE COMMERCE. A report from Ottawa regarding new interests that are said oe connected with the plans for diverting the export commerce of the la = down the St. Lawrence to Montreal is given here for what it is worth. The dispatch follows: ae : an: J. Israel Tarte, minister of public works, intimates that eae tant developments are on foot in regard to the transportation prob om The minister says that in addition to the employment of grain carriers 0 the largest size on the upper lakes, a fleet of steel barges, each conte $100,000, would soon be placed on the route between Port Colborne an Montreal. 'About these matters I am unable to speak at present, Mr. Tarte said, 'but something definite will be evolved.' Closely following the minister's statements comes the important announcement of C. F. Desola, the Canadian representative of the Cockerell works, Belgium, and of Swan & Hunter, ship builders and ship owners, of Tyneside, England, who says that his companies are planning to put a big fleet of grain car- riers on the 'Canadian canals as soon as the two primary projects become definite undertakings. These projects are the equipping of Montreal with an elevator system and the fitting of Port Colborne for the handling of grain. The Montreal project has already been made a reality, as the Dominion government has decided to loan the Montreal harbor commis- sioners $1,000,000 to carry it into effect. The government also intends to at once thoroughly equip Port Colborne, and has asked parliament to grant an appropriation of $470,000 for that purpose, so that both the re- quired projects are now assured. : "Designs for the boats and barges have already been decided upon. It is intended to build steamers and barges, in the proportion of one to two. Two barges will be towed by each steamer or propeller. "Pheir dimensions will be the same, but the space in the steamer occupied by machinery makes the carrying capacity of it less than that of the barge. The boats will be about 160 ft. long, 42 ft. beam and will have a draught of 14 ft. With a number of these fleets in the canals, grain can be trans- ported from Port Colborne 'eastward at a rapid rate, and very cheaply. There is no question as to the ability of the foreign firms to float a fleet in Canadian waters if they once undertake the enterprise. Swan & Hun- ter are far-famed British ship builders. The Cockerell works are in the Belgian syndicate. It is an organization or combine similar to the United States Steel Corporation, and employs 14,000 hands. It intro- duced a method of smelting by which the blast furnace gas, which is produced in the manufacture of steel, is burned, and the result is a great economy in fuel." CRAMP-VICKERS-BETH LEHEM COMBINATION. A Philadelphia dispatch says that the Cramp-Vickers-Bethlehem combination is assured. The latest report is that the Vickers company has obtained an option on the stock of.the Bethlehem Steel Co. at a price bordering on 23. The option is also said to include the Bethlehem Iron 'Co. stock at about the present market price of 63. In order to complete the transaction the New York syndicate, which is to underwrite the present combination, has been compelled to raise about $15,000,000 in actual cash, as it is entirely a money transaction, and fully that much will be required to purchase the stock of the two Bethlehem companies, It will take $7,000,000 to buy the Bethlehem Steel stock. Negotiations have been on for several weeks, and it has been within the last few days that satisfactory arrangements were made with the Bethlehem interests. One block, representing 80,000 shares of stock, was in charge of two prominent Philadelphia financiers, whose agreement to a price a few days ago is said to have perfected the arrangement. Stockholders of the Cramp company will have the option of taking cash,,or 'exchanging their holdings, share for share, for a 7 per cent. preferred stock in the new com- pany. There is $5,000,000 worth of Cramp stock, and $15,000,000 cash will be necessary to buy out Bethlehem. Enough stock will be sold to provide at least $5,000,000 working capital, and the new bond issue will likely not exceed $5,000,000. EAST RIVER BRIDGE, NEW YORK. The East River bridge under construction at New York will be the largest suspension bridge in the world. The old Brooklyn bridge is 'its nearest rival. The comparative dimensions of the new bridge with the Brooklyn bridge will give graphically the size of the completed East River structure: EAST RIVER. BROOKLYN, Strener mm propottion 902.2. ee, 4 1 WVGt 118 ft. 85 ft. otal leneth Of Span. ...0. 706 7,200 ft. 6,000 ft. Channel span 9 1,600 ft. 1,595% ft. bleight of towers trom water ...2... 0... 385. ft. 276 ft. Minimum: leneth at center @.. 135 ft. 135 ft. Trouble is expected in the navy department over the completion of the big stone dry dock at the Mare island navy yard. The Atlantic, Pacific & Gulf Co., which had the original contract for building a timber dock at that place, has refused to agree to the adjustment of cost determined by a board of naval officers and recommended by Rear Admiral M. T. Endicott, chief of the bureau of yards and docks. The same firm has the contract for building a similar dock at League island, and agreed to complete that work. The refusal to go on with the contract at Mare island is somewhat embarrassing to the government and will, of course, delay the work on the dock until another call for bids can be made and a new contract awarded. The retiring firm will receive about $200,000 for the work so far completed, and the navy department will have at its disposal for the new contract about $975,000. The law officers of the navy department must,now wrestle with the problem of closing out the old contract and paying off the dissatisfied contractors. Rear Admiral Geo. W. Melville has been engineer-in-chief of the navy for fourteen years--since August 9 1887. In that period there have been constructed, or there are now building. for the navy, 138 vessels of all types, with an aggregate horse power of 948,728 and a total displacement of 481,028 tons. Scarcely a vessel in this fleet carries in any form a pound of foreign metal. They are American ships from keel to fichting tops. THE INDEPENDENCE AND THE CUP RACES. Thomas W. Lawson of Boston, owner of the yacht Independence (so-called Boston cup defender), which was launched on Saturday last, has made a statement regarding correspondence with the New York Yacht Club on the subject of his boat participating in the America's cup races. Mr. Lawson says: "For a number of weeks there has been correspondence between the New York Yacht Club and myself on the subject of the Independence being allowed to take part in the cup defence. This correspondence started with a courteous letter from the club informing me that the cup racing committee believed they were expressing the unanimous sentiment of the New York Yacht Club in saying that the appearance of the Inde- pendence as a competitor for the honor of defending the cup would be very heartily welcomed. From start to finish the New York Yacht Club © has expressed a desire to be fair and just, but has been unchangeably firm in its position that by either the deed of gift, the constitution and by-laws or the rules, regulations and customs of the club the Independence could take no part in the trial or cup races unless I gave up my ownership of her to a member of the club. I conceded that the New York Yacht Club should have absolute management and control of my boat; that she should sail under the club's rules and regulations; that while in such absolute management and control the club might fly its own flag or any flag it might choose over the Independence, and I agreed to bind myself to do all of these things they requested that were possible for an owner to do, but of course I was as unchangeably firm in my position that 1 would under no circumstances give to any individual that which in every way belongs solely to me. "It is not for me to criticize the position taken by the New York Yacht Club, nor have I any desire to do so. I can only regret that the deed of gift of the America's cup, or the constitution, or the by-laws, or the rules, or the regulations for the customs of the New York Yacht Club make it impossible for the Independence, which I believe is as good a boat as either the Columbia or the Constitution, to race; but it is for me to comment on the fact that if the position taken by the New York Yacht Club is tenable, and an honorable and fair way cannot be found of avoiding this difficulty in the present and like cases which may arise, the existence of the America's cup is a menace to manly sport, as it tends to belittle and narrow the international yachting contests by com- pelling those who wish to take part, if they be Americans and not mem- bers of the New York Yacht Club, to do those things which fair sports- men should not be called upon to do. I trust that sportsmen in passing judgment upon this unfortunate affair will give due consideration to the views which have influenced the New York Yacht Club in making its decision, for it may be that the members of the New York Yacht Club, like Bae are circumscribed by conditions over which they have no control. "As the matter now stands, the New York Yacht Club cannot see its way clear to allow the Independence to start in the trial races, and conse- quently the races for the cup defence, unless I transfer my ownership of the Independence to some other individual, which I will under no circum- stances do, although I will freely and absolutely intrust the boat to the New York Yacht 'Club, or to any committee or official the New York Yacht Club may decide upon, in any way that the club may desire. I would say to the many friends of the Independence that if within the next week or so I definitely determine that the Independence cannot have any opportunity in the cup races, I will ask the owner of Shamrock I. and Shamrock II. and the owners of the Columbia and Constitution to give the. Independence a race after the America's cup match has been decided, and will agree to any terms or conditions, time or place, which any recog- nized American yacht club will decide to be fair, ana as such a race will not be confined to existing conditions, I trust no insurmountable obstacle will prevent its consummation. If the Shamrock's owner and the owners of the Constitution or Columbia will, on or before July 2, agree to such a race, I will at every opportunity between the time of such agree- ment and the time of that race allow the Independence to meet any or all of the four boats in formal or informal races, that she may receive the necessary practice and tuning up; but if it is impossible to arrange these races I may be obliged, much as I will regret it. to cancel the existing engagement of the Independence to race the Columbia and Constitution at Newport on July 2, 4 and 6, because it would be manifestly unfair to hang the fate of the Independence on this one race, which occurs at such an early date as to give her no reasonable opportunity to get in trim. When I accepted this race it was understood that it was more a tuning-up opportunity than a decisive test of the relative merits of the boats. "Tf it cannot be definitely decided within a few days that the Inde- pendence has something to live for I will allow her merits to remain untested and do all in my power to obliterate any evil effects that may have come to the grand sport of yachting through anything connected with this unfortunate episode." By the purchase of the Ashland mine lease, the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. has certainly, strengthened its position as the one large producer of Lake Superior ores apart from the United States Steel Corporation. The transfer is from the Hayes Mining 'Co. By' the terms of the lease the Cleveland-Cliffs company agrees to operate the Ashland mine during the life of the lease of the Hayes company, which expires in 1919. The new operators agree to mine a minimum output of 200,000 tons yearly. The sttb-lease_ provides for the payment of 50 cents a ton royalty to the Hayes Mining Co. There has been sold for delivery in the coming year 250,000 tons of Ashland ore and the mine will be worked for an output of about 400,000 tons in the year. It is good for 400,000 to 500,000 tons of first-class Bessemer ore a year, for many years. In the past two years the property has been put in excellent shape and a large ore body pre- pared for extensive and economical operation. Chairman Theodore E. Burton of the rivers and harbors committee, as well as nearly all the members of the committee. will visit (California early in the coming month for the purpose of investigating the govern- ment works under way in that state. It is the intention of the commit- tee to spend twenty days inspecting the rivers and harbors of California. They will go to Southern California first and then spend about a week in and around San Francisco. Stockton, Sacramento and Marysville will be visited and trips made on the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivets.