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18 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. COMMERCE OF DETROIT RIVER. In its issue of May 14 the Review endeavored to analyze the report of Major W. H. Bixby, government engineer at Detroit, as to the amount of freight carried on the Detroit river and through the St. Clair flats canal. Major Bixby gave the freight carried in 1902 as 44,260,506 net tons, As the freight carried to and from Lake Superior alone in that year was 36,000,000 net tons, the great bulk of which passed through the Detroit river, it was felt by the Review that Major Bixby's figures were too low, be- cause there is a very large business transacted with the other lakes that is not measured by the Sault Ste. Marie statistics at all. Major Bixby did not reply directly to what was said in these columns of his Detroit river traffic report, but an article on the subject, evidently from him but without his signature, appeared in one of the Detroit papers. It is as follows: "No exact statistics of commerce for the great lakes as a whole are at present possible at any reasonable cost because ot various reasons easily understood by those acquainted with sucn commerce, its customs regulations, tonnage register and records, and the unequal distribution of the commerce between the various lake ports. The most accurate report so far known in case of a. commerce of large capacities is that of the Sault Ste. Marie canals (also in charge of Major Bixby), whose statistics of commerce for the last year [June 4, cations to consider its just published results of a little over 37,000,000 net registered tons, and a little under 42,000,000 tons (2,000 Ibs. each) of actual freight, although approximate, to be more accurate than any other estimates of the past three or four years so far brought to his notice." The foregoing statement does not in any way controvert the argument set forth in the Review, Not a single fact is adduced to show that the Review's reasoning is incorrect. Nor is there anything to prove that Major Bixby's figures are correct. Of course "the question of actual freight carried by vessels on the great lakes is not one of easy and exact determination," and it is not the intention of the Review to enter complaint because Major Bixby or otner engineers in charge of government works do not undertake this task, but if figures are given out, especially by agents of the government, they should not be approximate fig- ures, they should be exact. In this connection it may not be amiss to note that the law requires the engineers to collect just such statistics as are here referred to and confers the necessary power to have these statistics correct. On Feb. 28, 1891, the fol- lowing circular was issued by the war department to the corps of engineers : 5 "The following act of congress, approved Feb. 21, 1891, is published for the information and guidance of officers of the corps ' of engineers and have also just been - a issued by him. At i. the oault. it has _ been possible to make every boat captain render a signed statement of the cargo carried by his boat before he is allowed to pass through the canal locks. Such reports cannot as yet be obtained in the Detroit river and St. Clair flats canal by reason (1 lack of a govern- ment force for such special work, and of the difficul- ty of securing in- dividual reports from every boat captain. "the teport above referred to for ot. Clair: flats canal and Detroit river for the calen- daft year 1002 'is based, however, on the tonnage and freight of all boats reported by the Detroit marine postoffice, whose | list is believed to: be complete, and while the report does not include the railroad and foot and carriage ferry travel between Detroit and Windsor 'as well as between different parts of Detroit, yet, on the other hand, it does include all other local commerce and travel (freight and passenger, both ordinary and excursions) be- tween different parts of the Detroit and St. Clair rivers from below Amherstburg up to Port Huron, inclusive. "Major Bixby's office has in its possession all the accurate information obtainable from the Sault canal (which is a part of his office) and from the Detroit marine postoffice and the Ameri- can and Canadian customs offices along the Detroit river; and he has every reason to believe that the net registered tonnage of the Detroit and St. Clair rivers as above reported is therefore quite accurate and trustworthy, and much more so than anything here- tefore published for five or six years, "The question of the actual freight carried by vessels on the great lakes is not one of easy and exact determination under even the most favorable circumstances. Vessels load often far in ex- cess of their net registered tonnage as well as often far below it; and freight statements are not always to. be depended on for ex- actness. Recent careful statistics at the Sault for several years past show that the freight carried by the average great lakes ves- sels, as reported by boat captains, at present averages only about one-eighth more than the net registered tonnage. "Major Bixby has seen a good many statements in various marine papers which would seem to claim a larger tonnage through the Detroit river than that at present reported by his office; but such statements are not those of officials charged by law with their collection and compilation and have not been ac- companied by any definite careful statements sufficient for use for official compilation; and until such definite information is placed at his disposal, his office feels obliged in its official publi- agents of the en- gineer's depart- ment: ; ' . "Be it enacted by the senate and house of represen- tatives of the Uni- ted States of America in con- gress assembled that owners, agents, masters and clerks of ves- sels arriving at or departing from lo- calities where works of river and harbor _improve- ments are carried on shall furnish, on application of the person in local charge of the works, a compre- hensive statement of vessels, passen- gers, freight and tonnage. mec. 2.7 EMAL every person or persons offending against the provi- sions of this act shall, for each and every offense, be liable to a fine of TYPE OF STEAMER IN THE CENTRAL AMERICAN FRUIT TRADE. The Steamer Esther of the Bluefields Navigation Co., operating between New Orleans and Bluefields, Nicaragua: $100 or imprison- ment not exceed- ing two months, to be enforced in any district court in the United States within whose territorial jurisdiction such of- fense may have been committed." This act was intended to enable the engineer to collect statis- tics. It clothes him with sufficient authority to arrest all vessel men who decline to furnish him with a statement of the ship's cargo, This act is as much in force now as it was the day the circular was issued. Every engineer on the lakes is familiar with jt. Major Bixby has sufficient authority to get a manifest of registered tonnage and cargo from every vessel passing along the Detroit river and through the St. Clair flats canal. He can put into jail every master of a vessel who declines to give him such a manifest. Under these circumstances it would certainly seem that if figures regarding Detroit river traffic are to be issued in the name of the United States they should not be estimates or approximate figures. It will be admitted, all the time, of course, that it is no easy task to secure these figures, but let it be repeated that it would be far better to have no report at all than to have one that might be criticized as being probably several million tons out of the way. Major Dan C, Kingman, now in charge of the Cleveland dis- trict, was in charge of the Oswego district when this provision was inserted in tne river and harbor bill. He prepared blanks and set about complying with the law absolutely. So well did he get along that the collectors of customs desired copies of the reports, and in order to facilitate matters agreed to board the vessels for him. Envelopes were furnished to the masters in or- der to mail the reports back in case they could not be filled out accurately as the vessel was clearing. In this manner the com- merce of the Oswego district was reliably kept for three or four years, Of course the work of collecting such statistics in the Oswego district is not to be compared with similar work on the :