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Moo a tion.. They operated before any of the dams were built. These mines were three miles below Monongahela City. Of course there were plenty of mines near Pittsburg which were operated in early days. The slack-water on the Monongahela built the coal trade. The information given above was chiefly received from my father, and he obtained it from his father, who settled near Monongahela City, or near where Monongahela now is, in 1786. My father often told me of emigrants going by boats to the new country of Ohio and Kentucky, the boats being built by themselves. In that day the gunnels of boats were hewed. In 1812 my uncle, John Van Voorhis, moved his household goods by his own boat to Ohio, by way of the Ohio and Musk- ingum rivers to Zanesville. I call to mind myself that in 1834 the Frye family from Washington county moved by their own keelboat to the west, some stopping at Cincinnati and others going on to Peoria, Illinois. The old boats were small and roughly built, but generally did the work expected of them. Castner's Ferry was located in the toe of the Horseshoe Bend, where now-is the flourishing town of Donora, about five years old and containing over 6,000 inhabitants, with very extensive steel and other works. Castner came to this country in 1775 and his descendants owned the farm where the ferry was located until tne town of Donora absorbed it. This town is about four miles. above Monongahela. Just above on the opposite side of the river is the new town of Monessen, about six years old. It contains one of the largest tinplate factories in the United States. Just above lock No. 4 is located the "Magic City' of Charleroi, laid out in lots in March, 1900, and now containing 7,000 inhabitants and a very extensive plate glass factory, other glass factories, shovel works, etc. Char- leroi is named from a town of that name in Belgium. Mones- sen is a derivative of: Monongahela and Essen, the latter a manufacturing town in Germany. Donora is named after its founder, W. H. Donner. YACHT SALES. The hunting launch Shack, owned by Mr. Jacob I. Bergen of New York has been sold through the agency of Stanley M. Seaman, New York, to Mr. Gain Robinson, Springfield, Mass. She is to be used for hunting and fishing trips on the Con- necticut river. The same office has also sold the racing cat boat Trilobite for Mr. James D. Sparkman, New York Yacht Club, to Mr. Z. Mayhew, Jr., of Brooklyn, N.Y. The 4o-ft. cruising yawl Genevieve has been sold by Mr. Conrad Stein to Dr. Alfred R. Starr, Riverside, Conn. Mr. Phillip L. Howard, New Rochelle, Y. C., has sold his knockabout Caper of the New Rochelle one design class, to Mr. Daniel K. Hanna, Cleveland, O. The boat has been shipped to Tupper Lake. OPPOSED TO DIRECT SUBSIDIES. Editor Marine Review: The Latins had a saying, that he who proves too much proves nothing. Of this I am re- minded whenever I see undue stress laid on subsidy as the foreign source of all our shipping ills. I have lately read in a. political work that "The great causes of growth of foreign shipping and de- cline of American shipping for the foreign trade are well known." By itself this sentence looks well. The reader comes to attention at once. But he reads on to learn that "Great Britain began the payment of large sums to her ship owners in the forties, some in the guise of payments for carrying mails and some as direct subsidies." This is far enough to read--for misinformation. The only truth in this sentence is this: The Cunard company was awarded a mail subsidy contract in 1839, and got a line on from Liverpool to Boston in the early forties. "Payment of 8 -- ven we or -- bow 32 large sums" to British owners, "as direct subsidies" have never been made. To state that such has been the case, and that it is "'well known" as a "great cause of growth" of British shipping, is to walk off with a pie-shop for ignorance and presumption. In the same political work we find some figures quoted from proper authorities. With these let us make a few calculations. British tonnage, 1903, steam in tons..... . .13,410,804 british tonidge," 1003) sail "im tons. .7 4. Wy. LageOr7 otal oo bue cera 4 es Pee Wes Ohi ee ee 14,889,571 in domestic trade; deduct, 7.0... 5 ce eee 889,571 British total (in toeeign trades ie 14,000,000 British, total sof subsidies; .100e).. A ae $5,530,612 Spreading this sum over the fleet, we have to each TON ee ee ee eee 0.39.5 American tonnage, 1903, in foreign trade, total of ce Steain and "Sal oor ee ae ha OG TO American total of subsidy, 1903...... coe eee '$1,611,704 Spreading this sum over the fleet, we have to each LON re aca cee en eet cee en 1.81 So that, last year, our fleet in foreign trade, each ton of it, was subsidized 41% to 1, compared with the British against which we compete. This comparison is fairly made, accord- ing to. the premises of the subsidy advocates, and should show them the folly of their theory, especially, when we consider the fact, that subsidy protects only the line that receives it, whereas their contention is that a mail subsidy will protect the entire marine to some extent. Why people who take interest enough in the subject of shipping, to specu- late as to the action and utility of a subsidy policy for the recovery of our lost carrying trade, do not perceive at least some of its incongruities surprises me. Only a mistaken no- tion that the present maritime--reciprocity, free-trade policy is a good one to continue leads some intelligent citizens to tolerate the idea of subsidizing the entire marine. But this policy has been our ruination. It is inconsistent with our tariff relations with the world, and holds advantage for our rivals, but many disadvantages for ourselves, if we intend to -be a shipping nation. To retain this policy and try to modify or nullify its inexpedience by superadding subsidy is to "commit error in defiance of experience. We must rise to the occasion now before us, and abolish our slavery to a foreign doctrine, or there is no prospect of ever attaining our ship- ping rights. The Marine Review rightly says of the: Marine Commis- sion: "It embodies the last hope of the shipping interests of the United States." If it reports a subsidy policy to be grafted on to the present foreign one, instead of abolishing it and resorting to the father's policy of constitutional pro- tection, Good bye, American marine and American nation-- you are both done for. WitiiAm W. BATES The Ollinger & Bruce Dry Dock Co.,. Mobile, Ala., an- nounces that their new floating dock is ready for business and is capable of docking vessels up to 3,000 tons displacement. The company has also added to its equipment a 25-ton derrick crane for rapid handling of machinery, boilers. and other heavy material. The New York Ship Building Co., Camden, N. J., launched the fourth of the five lightships which it is building for gov- ernment service last week. These lightships are 113 a long, 28 ft. 6 in: beam and 22 ft. I in: deep. -- : J