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DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY INTEREST CONNECTED OR _ ASSO- CIATED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Published every Thursday by The Penton Publishing Co. CLEVELAND. BOSTON hier cae. esac? 73-74 Journal Bldg. BUPEALO ts isc sec eebies ct reas 932 Ellicott Sq. CHICAGO 3isee sein cen ees 1328 Monadnock Blk. CINGENNATI. coe s First National Bank Bldg. NEW YORKG: sees ene. 1005. West Street Bldg. PITESBURG . 3.655 0.000s 03s. 510. Park. Bldg. SHADE, cor ctee eck es. 302 Pioneer Bldg. Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. Subscription, U. S. and Mexico, $3.00 per annum. Canada, $4.00. Foreign, $4.50. Subscribers can have addresses changed at will. Change of advertising copy must reach this office on Thursday preceding date of publication. The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the Marine Review through the regular channels of the American News Co. European Agents, The International News Company, Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C., England. Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio,. as Second Class Matter. January 21, 1909. INSURANCE PLAN OF VESSEL OWNERS. The present week was undoubtedly the most important in the history of great lakes navigation. The vessel owners of the great lakes have prac- tically agreed to carry a portion of their own hull insurance and have ap- pointed an advisory committee to handle the details of it. there is a determination to minimize Moreover, accidents, to observe hard and fast rides for the safety of the ship and above all to relieve insurance com- panies from a number of vexatious claims by avoiding them altogether --in other words, to improve the ' moral tone of the business. Vessel owners were impelled to this end by an insurance situation that' had. become critical: Three in- surance companies had already with- drawn from the lake field and it was common knowledge that notwithstand- ing the high rates charged the in- surance companies were making little money. During the past three years the insurance rate on the great lakes TAE Marine REVIEW has increased 57 per cent and is now actually 10 per cent of the capital stock of a number of the operating companies. So drastic is the rate that some fleets operated throughout last season without insurance, but obviously no prudent manager wants to do this if he can do otherwise. With a stiff insuring rate, with op- erator's charges high, and with a freight if anything, declining, the hope of making any money at all for the smaller vessel lies in the re- the 7 Owners fae, duction of insurance premium. Vessel turn their attention to the insurance feature and to seek a remedy from therefore began to the excessive premium. In: this J.0-8..: Ashley, of the Hanna fleet, was the leading movement spirit. He talked in season and out of season about it. He quickened their understanding and convinced them that it was not the underwriter that was. paying damage claims. "Whatever money the underwriter paid back to the lake trade, he first of all collected from the vessel owner. Ves- sel owners as a body were chipping in to pay for the other fellow's accidents, the underwmter merely act- So clearly did Ashley prove to vessel' owners ing as the collector. Mr. that they were responsible for ex- that remedy them. isting conditions they became eager to Many acci- dents are avoidable, as for instance, those caused by overloading and the desire of obtaining the benefit of the last inch of draught: The insurance meeting was held in Detroit on Tuesday and was spirit- ed throughout, Harry Coulby, Capt. John Mitchell: and Capt. W. C. Rich- Mr. Coulby stated that the premiums on the Pittsburg Steamship Co.'s fleet, had insurance been carried last year, to $800,000. company had ardson leading the discussion. would have amounted Tie. added . that the charged every damage of $100 and The repair bills season over to insurance. the $240,000, or about 1 per cent, as com- for whole amounted to pared to an insurance rate of 5 per cent paid by the other vessel owners. Mies. Coulby thought. that if it. paid the Pittsburg Steamship Co, with $25,000,000 worth of floating prop. erty to carry its own insurance, it certainly ought to pay the other yes sel owners with $100,000,000 worth of floating property. An advisory committee was there. upon appointed to take charge of the" matter. This committee consists of SS. Ashley, chairman; Tf Coulby, J. H. Sheadle, W. CC. Richargaae G. "A... Tomlinson and. DD. Salligag Power to add two members was giy- en the committee in case the package freight desire to join. lines and Canadian interests As a matter of fact Canadian interests represented at the annual meeting of the Lake Carriers' Association announced their desire to participate in the new movement and Midland, Ont. was accordingly named as the Canad- representative on the It was decided that vessel James Playfair, of ian advisory committee. owners carry say 5 per cent of their own insurance and Harvey =U Goulder was directed to draw up ar- Obviously the trust companies which hold bonds on ticles of agreement. a number of leading steamships are Mr. Goulder believes that their interests are safe- vitally interested, but guarded in every way. The plan as drawn by Mr. Goulder is printed be- low. As soon as it was typewritten cp. Ashley signatures to the agreement. the written he had signed up over 1,000,- 000 value collect Within agreement was began to an hour. alter tons, representing an insurable of $60,000,000, which is half the insurable value of the whole overt lake fleet. This memorandum or made at Detroit, Mich., the 20th day of. January, 1909, witnesseth: The agreement follows: agreement, To advance safety of navigation, the undersigned, owners or managers of lake vessels and hereinafter referred to as subscribers, propose: That owners and severally in respect of ships owned of managed according to the list given with the respective signatures, shall aid such managers to eliminate, as far as 'possible, dam- ages attributable to inefficient distri- bution of information as to depths of water; danger of finding ships ovet- loaded with reference to shoal places,