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liners afloat in size, speed and equip- ment, according to Senor Emilio Tomassi, general agent of that line at New York. Senor Tomassi has just returned from Cadiz and says that his company, in the event stated, will establish a direct line from Ca- diz to New York weekly. He pre- dicts that should the bill pass, Spaia will in*a very few years develop a great merchant marine. The shipping companies with head- quarters at Montreal distributed $50,- 000 as a bonus tto longshoremen for regular work during the season just closed. The average bonus paid each man was $30. United States light vessel No. 89, built for the lighthouse board, has been supplied with Webb perfection galley ranges iby Elisha Webb & Son Co., 161 South Front street, Philadel- phia, Pa. 'The steamer Two Myrtles has been purchased by the lighthouse service from John Johnson, of Green Bay, and the National Co-operation Commis- sion Co. of Maine, each owning one- half interest. The Northwestern Expansion Metal Co., 930-950 Old Colony Bldg., Chi- cago, has just issued a little catalog on: floor: slabs. It: -contains a.' great deal of information on-.concrete and will be sent to any one interested. Crawford & Reid, Tacoma, Wash., and E. W. Heath, of the same city, have each been awarded a contract by the Tacoma Tug & Barge Co. for the construction of duplicate 'barges. The craft are to be 83 ft. 1ong, 30 ft. beam and 7 ft. deep. The United States Civil Service Commission will hold an. examination Feb. 3 and 4 for the position of local inspector of hulls of steam vessels at Galveston, Texas. Application for forms should be made to the commis- sioner at Washington. The applicant can be examined by mail. The report of chief of engineers Wil- liam L. Marshall, recently forwarded to the house, states in regard to the improvement of the East River, New York, at Middle Ground, between the Battery and Baretta Point, that a 26-ft. channel is needed in this sec- tion. The estimated cost is fixed at $1,773,000. The Matson Navigation Co. and the American-Hawaiian line are he- lieved to be about to enter upon 1 lively rate war for traffic between Puget Sound and the Hawaiian Isl- ands. The Matson Navigation Co. chartered the steamer Hyades, owned by the Boston Towboat Co. ana announced that, should business war- TAE Marine REVIEW rant, it would also charter the sister ship, Pleiades. The American-Ha- waiian line forestalled this possibility by at once securing a charter of the Pleiades and will operate her in con- nection with its other steamers, of which the company has a large fleet. The Hyades and Pleiades are to be equipped with oil-burning apparatus before taking up their new duties, and it is stated that the charterers of the Pleiades intend to alter her ma- chinery to give her more speed. Surgeon C. F. Stokes, who was ap- pointed by President Roosevelt to the command of the hospital ship Relief against the_vigorous protest of naval officers, has been detached from the navy and has returned to this country. He left the Relief at Manila in charge of Sailing Master Locain. 'Surgeon Stokes was detached from the Relief at his own request. : There is speculation as to who will succeed Hon. T. E. Burton as chair- man of the committee on rivers and harbors upon his election to the Uni- ted States senate. Representative Alexander, of New York, is the rank- ing member, but he is likely to be placed upon the judiciary committee, which would leave Representative George P. Lawrence as the ranking member on the present rivers and har- bors committee. The standardization tests of the scout cruiser Salem were concluded on the Maine course Dec. 15. The cruiser made her fastest mile at 25.03 knots, attaining an average speed on her three top speed runs of 24.9. The three cruisers Chester, Birmingham and Salem will undergo an ocean trial during February. They will run at top speed for 24 hours, at 20 knots for 100 hours, at 15 knots for 50 hours, and at 10 knots for 100 hours. Irving B. Dudley, United States am- bassador to Brazil, arrived at Boston last week on the steamship Cretic, on which he is to go to Europe for a va- cation. He says that he has been as- sured by Senator Perkins, of California, . that the government will shortly agree to subsidize a steamship line between this port and Brazil, for a. direct ser- vice. He also believes that there soon will be cable connection between this country and Brazil, the absence of which has been a-great drawback to the country south. Attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York have recently conducted an investigation with regard to compliance with the federal law which went into effect on July 1, 1908, requiring that every scow or towboat in New York harbor should be provided with life lines 17 and life buoys, and that a list of the men employed should be kept by the owner. The investigation has shown that there is not even a half-hearted. attempt to carry out this law. Even the boats owned by the department of street cleaning of the city of New York are not fitted with any of the appliances required and no record is kept of the men who go to sea on these insecure craft. The department states that it is unable to conform to the law as its ap- propriations are exhausted. It is alleged that some government official has told the owners that the law would not be enforced prior to March 8 and that the present session of congress would amend the statute. The British whaler Nimrod has left Christchurch, New Zealand, for the south pole, carrying the expedi- tion headed by Lieut. Shackleton, of the British navy. Lieut. Shackleton contemplates making the dash for the pole in a_ specially-constructed auto- mobile which has many unique fea- tures demanded by the ice conditions. The car is estimated to 'be capable of making 25 miles per day. Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, who recently retired from the United States navy under the age limit, has been made chairman of the board of directors of the Los Angeles harbor commission and will enter upon the duties of the position at the close of his lecture tour. Some of the ad- mirers of the naval veteran started a movement to present him with a resi- dence in Los Angeles, but Admiral Evans, upon hearing of the project, declined to allow it to proceed. The surveyors of the New York state engineer's force are now work: ing upon a survey of land in the northern part of Warren county where it is proposed to erect an immense storage reservoir from which to sup- ply water to the new barge canal during drouths. The site proposed will cover the villages of Chestertown, Horicon and South Horicon, and will necessitate the removal of hundreds of houses should the reservoir be con- structed there. Senator Hale, of the naval affairs committee, has introduced a _ resolu- tion which provides for a complete in- vestigation of the navy cepartment and its methods. The resolution was passed without debate and marks the first step in preparing an answer to the allegations contained in the story by George Kibbs Turner, in the cur- rent issue of McClure's magazine. This attack, which promises to attract as much attention as the now famous Reuterdahl criticisms, deals particu-