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16 : TAe MarRINE REVIEW ; é ber of ammunition ships, supply ships, transports, fast col- liers and the like of from 12 to 15 knots., The war depart- ment states that it requires transports of a speed of 12 knots. Manifestly, therefore, though the mail liners that may be constructed under the provisions of this bill will not be "sreyhounds," they will be fast enough to meet the condi- tions prescribed for auxiliary vessels by both arms of the national defense. The maximum cost of the proposed new mail lines, if they are all established, will be about $3,000,000 a year--this, for a dozen different lines to the ports of four continents. It is worth noting in this connection that Great Britain gives $1,600,000 a year to a single British company, the Peninsular and Oriental, that Germany gives $1,330,000 to the North German Lloyd, and France upwards of $1,500,000 each to the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique and Messageries _Maritimes. Our proposed American subventions, ranging from $50,000 for the Gulf line to Mexico, to $600,000 for the 'long service via Hawaii to the Orient, are modest, indeed, as compared with the great expenditures of our maritime competitors. But the most experienced of American ship merchants declare their belief that on a majority of the pro- posed lines, these subventions will be adequate if joined with American thrift, alertness, enterprise and perseverance. But these ocean mail services are not all. Bearing well in 'mind President Roosevelt's admonition, in his message to congress urging the creation of the Merchant Marine Commission, that "lines of cargo ships are of even more importance than fast mail lines," and that such vessels run- ning "to South America, to Asia and elsewhere would be much in the interest of commercial expansion,' we have made an especial provision for the encouragement of cargo-ves- sels in the offer of subventions to such vessels at the rate of $5 per gross ton'a year, or of $6.50 if engaged in Philip- pine commerce. This is not a bounty' outright; its terms are most carefully guarded. In order to receive this sub- . vention cargo vessels must be of a size suitable for ocean trade (at least 1,000 tons if steam and 200 tons if sail); they must be held at the disposal of the government in war; they must carry the mails free of charge; they must have a competent crew, a certain increasing proportion of whom shall be Americans; they must be seaworthy and efficient' they must make all ordinary repairs in the United States, and they must carry an increasing proportion of American naval reserve men--these men to be enrolled by the navy department out of the best officers and men of the merchant marine and fisheries, to be instructed in gunnery, etc. so that they would be of immediate use in war, and in recog- nition of their peculiar value to receive annual retainers ranging from $110 for a lieutenant of the reserve to $24 for a young seaman--this after the successful practice of Great Britain, the only other nation having a volunteer auxiliary service. These subventions to cargo vessels are payable only to such as are "exclusively common carriers for the service of the public," and are not payable to, vessels that leave the _ United States export or import trade to engage in the com- merce of other nations. Deepsea fishing vessels receive the benefit of the subventions, in recognition of the peculiar val- ue to the national defense of our hardy and courageous fishermen. Germany, France, Canada and Japan, with this same purpose in view, all foster their ocean fisheries by bounties, and the British admiralty has recently included the Newfoundland fishermen in its naval reserve. This bill of the Merchant Marine Commission has the earnest support of the national administration, of the army and navy, and of the great and powerful mercantile asso- ciations of America. Arrayed against it is still some partisan opposition, some sectional distrust. But the oppo- sition has steadily lessened as the bill has been debated, and its breadth of scope, its sincerity of purpose, have come to be more thoroughly understood. I do not pretend that it is a perfect measure, but it is certainly an honest one, absolutely free from anything like favoritism, and seeking in every paragraph and line to promote the interests of the entire nation. As President Roosevelt said in his message to con- gress on Dec, 5; 1905: "To the spread of our trade in peace and the defense of our flag in war a great and prosperous merchant marine is indispensable. We should have ships of our own and seamen of our own to convey our goods to neutral markets,. and in case of need to re-enforce our battle line. It cannot but be a source of regret and uneasiness to us that the lines of com- munication with our sister republics of South America should be chiefly under foreign control. It is not a good thing that American merchants and manufacturers should have to send their goods and letters to South America via Europe if they wish security and dispatch. Even on the Pacific, where our ships have held their own better than on the Atlantic, our mer- chant flag is now threatened through the liberal aid bestowed by other governments in their own steam lines. I ask your earnest consideration of the report with which the Merchant Marine Commission has followed its long and careful in- quiry." The senate has considered the report, and, after thorough debate, has passed the bill. It has done its duty. The com- plete fulfillment of the desire of the administration, and of the pledge of the platform on which Theodore Roosevelt was -- elected president, rests now with the speaker and the house of representatives. IMMENSE WHITE OAK TREE. The D. L. Helman Lumber Co., Warren, O., recently felled one of the largest white oak trees in Ohio on the farm of C. K. Shipman in Gustavus township. When cut the log measured 69 ft. in length, the diameter of the stump being 7 ft. As 7 ft., however, is not up to standard grade, the log was cut down to 62 ft. At that length it contained 7,365 ft. of lumber, board measure. Its weight was thirty- eight tons. No wagon bridge was capable of sustaining this weight and the log was hauled by ten teams with tackle blocks to the Lake Shore railway adjoining the Shipman farm from whence it was taken to the Helman yard. This immense stick of timber will be dressed down to a 30 by 30-in. timber 62 ft. long, and will be utilized as a dredge spud. It will be shipped to James D. Leary, of New York, who furnishes dredging firms and ship builders with heavy timber. Whe "DL. Helman Lumber Co; of "Warren, makes @ specialty of dealing with long planks for ship timber. This particular log, however, is the largest they have ever re- ceived. Its. grade is perhaps appreciated in the fact that while it contains 7,365 ft. of lumber, the average run of white oak trees is less than 800 feet. As the tree had far more than 1,000 rings upon it it was centuries old before Columbus ever discovered this country. WILL HAVE TURBINE MACHINERY. The two new liners now being built for the Toyo Kisen ' Kaisha, operating between San Francisco and Oriental ports, are to be fitted up with turbine machinery according to the latest advices from England, where contracts for the ma- chinery have been placed. The steamers themselves are being constructed at the Mitsui Bishi Kaisha yards, at Nagasaki, and will be ready for business in about two years. The new side-wheel steamer South Shore built by the Fore River Ship Building Co., Quincy, Mass., for the Nan- tasket Steamboat Co., Boston, was launched recently. This vessel is 207 ft. long and 32 ft. beam. i i NA RENEEES BONN IER OS f |