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last boat is in, and provision could then be made for the removal of the caretakers. There are many things of great mo- ment to be discussed at the annual meeting of the Lake Carriers' Associa- tion next week, and it is important that every member should attend. TWO LAUNCHINGS. The steamer Wm. B. Kerr which was launched at the South Chicago yard of the American Ship Building Co., on Saturday last for the Weston Transit Co., Notth Tonawande, N- VY, is the largest vessel on the lakes and indications are that she will continue to be so for some time to come. She was christened by Mrs. Wm. C. Cole, of Tonawanda and was named in honor of the superintendent of the Tonawanda Iron & Steel Co. The Kerr is 605 ft. over all, 585 ft. keel, 60 ft. beam and 32 ft. deep. Her enormous length and beam will give her easily a catrying capacity of 12,000 gross tons. Should stages of water favor she will probably be able to carry more than this even on the Lake Erie run, Her engines are triple-expansion, with cylinders 2214, 37% and 65 in. di- ameter by 42-in. stroke, supplied with steam from, two Scotch boilers, 15 ft. 4% in. diameter and 11 ft. 6 in. long, equipped with Ellis & Eaves draft and allowed 200 lbs. pressure. The Kerr's complement of auxiliary machinery is unusually complete and includes the Akers emergency steam steering gear. As is known, this emergency gear is normally dormant with steam of the engine and can be connected instantly to handle the ship provided anything happened to the regular gear. This emergency gear is becoming popular on the lakes and is being installed on a number of new steamers. Mr. Rob- ert Logan, general manager, repre- _sented the ship building company at the launching, which was attended by a large party from Buffalo and Tona- wanda. The two sister steamess, the Leland S. -DeGraef and the W. M. Mills, are building at the Lorain yard. The American Ship Building Co., launched at its Bay City yard on Sat- urday last, the freighter General Gar- retson, building for the Gilchrist Transportation Co., of Cleveland. The new steamer was christened by Miss Margaret Garretson, of Cleveland, in honor of her father. The Garretson is 540 ft. over all, 520 ft. keel, 54 ft. beam and 31 ft. deep. She has sixteen hatches spaced 24 ft. centers. Her en- gines are triple-expansion with cylin- ders 2214, 56 and 60 in. diameters by TAE Marine REVIEW A2-in. stroke, supplied with steam from two Scotch boilers, 13 ft. 9 in. in di- ameter and 11% ft. long. The -Gar- retson will carry approximately 10,000 eross tons of ore.' Mr, Russel Cc Wer more, ~ice president of the ship builJ- ing company, did the honors at the launching with Mr. Frank Jeffrey, of Detroit. Among the guests who at- tended from Cleveland were General and Mrs: Garretson,: Mr, J. ©. Gil christ, Commodore J. L. Weeks, and Chief Engineer Mitchell, of the Gil- christ fleet. SUBMARINE SOUND SIGNALS. Editor Marine Review:--I noticed in your issue of Nov. 15 an article on what is known as submarine signaling stating the results recently obtained through tests. by British naval officers. at Portsmouth navy yard on which occasion sounds of the bell were heard at a distance of 16 knots and the direc- tion determined within half a point. Such facts are indeed of great inter- est and importance to our lake com- merce and I have been informed that the Lake Carriers are about to take up and discuss the subject at their Janu- ary meeting at Detroit, which may re- sult in installing such fog signals at convenient places on the lakes for ex- perimental tests. Should such a meas- ure be adapted and be proved a marked success, as I believe. it certainly will, the government would very soon fol- low its usual custom of establishing these aids to navigation at many of the principal turning points throughout our lake system. One decidedly favor- able feature . of this method ot Signaling is the fact that = ne condition, of the atmosphere, di- rection or velocity of the wind, tend in any degree to hinder its operation or from locating the direction from which the sound proceeds. The de- vice consists of a bell suspended under water at the desired point and to be sounded by an electric or any appli- ance that is reliable and effective. The receiver on board ship consists of a water-tight metal box about one foot square securely fastened to the inner side of the nlanking or plating of the ship below the water line (preferably) in the after part of the vessel. This box is filled with water in which is suspended a small metallic bulb to which a wire is attached and extended to the pilot house and con- nected to a receiver very similar to a telephone receiver. This crude description is as I re- member its arrangement from witness- ing an exhibition of the device on the Potomac river two years ago--which exhibition the board of supervising in- 57 spectors of steamboats was invited to witness. . Further developments may result in establishing this system on board of steamers to give warning of an ap- proaching steamer in thick weather, greatly reducing danger of collision. Should, however, this method of sig- naling, together with the various aids to navigation, such as additional light- house, gas buoys, stakes and all other forms of reducing hazard on the lakes result in putting marine insurance com- panies out of business they would be- gin to realize that they had been spend- ing time and money advocating safer methods and conditions not with sui- cidal intent, but with suicidal results; but as there is no immediate danger along that line their co-operation will still be appreciated by all others con- cerned, Jan. 2, 1007. FINE SHIP FLOORING. | The C. Clemente Co., Park building, Cleveland, manufacturers of Sawdolet, a new flooring for ships made of wood fibre and mineral substances is meet- ing with success in introducing this material on lake vessels. Sawdolet solves the problem of covering the decks of lake vessels with a material more lasting than wood and which at the same time can be applied to the steel deck without any expensive prep- aration. It is a plastic substance about the consistency of mortar, made up of pulverized and granular wood fibre and mineral substances, and colored by the admixture of various oxides to any desired tint. fireproof but impervious to liquids, ~JaMES STONE. The floor is not'only | dust and vermin of all kinds and is a poor conductor of heat. A number of vessels now being repaired at lake ship yards are having Sawdolet. floors in- stalled in them and several that are now building will be supplied with these floors. The Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co. has authorized its general manager, Mr. T. F. Newman, to obtain complete plans-and specifications for a new steam- er to have a stateroom capacity equal to the City of Erie and City of Buf- falo combined. Such a boat would be the largest passenger steamer on the lakes. Mr. Newman will take the mat- ter up with Mr. Frank E. Kirby who has designed nearly all of the side- wheel steamers on the lakes and it is expected that the general plans will be feady to submit to ship builders early during the present year, the steamer to come out during 1908. When the new steamer is put on Erie will be made a port of call. ' \