The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

After working on the steamer Pesh- tigo, ashore on Mackinaw Island, for 10 days, the tugs Reid and pontoons of the wrecking company's fleet have abandoned her and left for Sarnia. The Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co. has declared a quarterly dividend of 234, per cent, being the regular dividend of 11% per cent and an extra dividend of 1% per cent. This makes a total of 8 per cent for the yar. Bids for the improvement of the har- bor at Michigan City, Ind., will be opened in the United States Engin- eer's office on Dec. 15. The improve- ments call for a widening of the har- bor, tearing down old piers, and the construction of 900 ft. of new pile piers. The new bulk freighter ordered last week from the American Ship Build- ing Co. is for the La Belle Iron Works iof., Steubenville... The. boat- will be managed. by..M.. A; Hanna. & Co, Cleveland. A meeting of the fleet engineers of the Lake Carriers' Association will be held at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chi- cago today. F. B. Smith, fleet engineer forthe Pittsburs Steamship Co., is chairman and it is expected that all the big fleets of the Lake Carriers' As- sociation will be represented, New rul- ings made by the United States Super- vising Inspectors of Steamboats in re- gard to weights of castings will be dis- cussed. Temporary lantern lights are being maintained on the outer pier-heads, entrance to Cleveland fiarbor, pending establishment of regular lights by the lighthouse department. These lant- erns are likely to be extinguished dur- ing stormy weather, and navigators should exercise precautions accord- ingly and observe the regular harbor range lights in making the entrance. _ The steamer City of Mackinac of the Detroit & Buffalo line will make the last trip of the season on Nov. 23, leaving Detroit for Buffalo. Capt. Harry Ditzel will sail the new fire tug William A. McGonagle, re- cently launched at the Lorain yard of the American Ship Building Co. for the Duluth, Mesabi & Noxthern Rail- way Co. of Duluth. James Ditzel, a brother, will have charge of the en- gine room. The steamer D. R. Hanna. left the head of the lakes this week with a cargo of flax valued at $580,000. This, while not the largest cargo of flax car- tied on the lakes, is said to be the most valuable owing to the price now ruling for flax. The cargo consists of 400,000 bushels. - The sand sucker Paul Kruger, tow of the tug Henry, was driven on in "TAE MARINE. REVIEW the beach by the parting of the tow line while returning from the stranded steamer John C. Pringle last week. A big sea was running and. the tug could not pick her up. The life Saving crew went to the assistance of the crew of the Kruger. The steamer the Weston Transit Co.'s fleet, which stranded at Bar Point, Detroit river, on Nov. 12, owing to low water, is still aground. It is reported that the lighter Rescue has taken more than 1,100 'tons of ore out of the stranded boat and is continuing with the work despite the heavy seas. The schooner Mary Woolson, in tow of the steamer Charles H. Brad- ley, while coming down Lake Su- perior on Tuesday of this week broke away from the steamer and drifted out of sight. The Bradley put into Bayfield and notified the life saving station at Portage which set out in search of the schooner. The: steamer: Portage,» which has been under libel in the United States court for some time, was sold at pub- lic auction at Toledo on Tuesday of this week to George [2 Uraig for $7,560. More than $14,000 claims were filed against the Portage in the ad- miralty court, which the owners de- cided not to attempt to meet. The Canadian steamer Neebing, loaded with grain, struck an obstruc- tion and ran on the rocks just outside of Goderich Harbor, Lake Huron, on Tuesday of this week. The tug Otta- wa of the Reid Wrecking Co. went to her assistance. : TO REGULATE LENGTH OF TOWS. At the meeting of the board ap- under an act of Con- make regulations gov- erning the question of limiting the length of hawsers between towing vessels and seagoing bar- ges, held in New York City on Nov. 9 and 10, maritime interests were given an opportunity of presenting their re- spective views on the subject. The board, which is composed of Rear Ad- miral Marix, chairman of the light- house board, George Uhler, supervis- ing inspector general of the steamboat inspection service, and Eugene ae Chamberlain, U. S. commissioner of navigation,, held session in the office of the Steamboat Inspection Service, New York| Custom House, and was attended by representatives of towing lines, sailing pointed gress 2.40 well steamship lines, and ferry; interests. The trans-Atlantic steamship com- panies, represented by Allan Luck- William M. Mills of - 29 hurst, Emil Boas and Gustav Schwab, of the American and German lines, de- sire to have the length of tows lim- ited and a')set course assigned to bar- ges and mud_ scows proceeding through the bay. It was pointed out that the navigation of the larger and faster liners was a matter of extreme difficulty under present conditions, ac- _ cording to reports of masters of this class of vessel. The towing interests contend that, at the present rate of freight in the coast service, reducing the number of barges in tows (necessarily increasing the number of towing vessels), was financially impossible. Facts and fig- ures were brought forth to show that prices had been cut down to from one- sixth to one-half previous rates, ac- cording to locality. During the dis- cussion of the towing interests the matter of using the Coney Island chan- nel was considered, it, being pointed out, however, that the channel was not capable of accommodating the larger type of barge as it is at present, and that the work of improving the chan- nel had been temporarily suspended. The towing interests also contended that the present speed of the fast steamers was not conducive to the welfare of extended tows, and especi- ally fast steamers in harbor and river service, suggesting as a remedy the limiting of the spéed of such craft within certain parts of the harbor. The towing interests were represent- ed by Eugene F. Moran, Thomas J. Scully, Edgar &, "Luckenbach and others. The ferry boat interests, which were also well represented, are desirous of having a regulation framed whereby tows will be forced, where possible, to proceed up or down the river at a dis- tance of 500 ft. from the ferry docks. It was argued that train ferries run- ning to schedule were often delayed a matter of four or five minutes in leav- ing and arriving by tows passing close to the docks, disarranging the system and causing passengers to miss their train. Reducing the length of tows was also advocated. f While the board was in session the merits of the different customs fol- lowed by the towing companies were discussed at length, representatives of the marine department of the various railroad companies speaking on this point. In addition to owners and man- agers the board heard several masters of schooners, tow boats and steam- ships on the matter of the merits of their various craft. The discussion throughout was of considerable inter- est.