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ois ZI completed in 53 working days. The keel was laid Feb. 19 and the vessel launched March 27. The same company broke its own record later when. it completed the Caronxa in 50 working days. The keel for this vessel was laid Feb. 26. Had certain materials been MPORTANCE of the Great Lakes I as a shipbuilding center, was re- vealed a few days ago when a fleet of 34 new ships sailed for the Atlantic. They had all been com- pleted during the. winter and went into commission as soon as the winter ice blockade was broken. The ninth district of the United States shipping board comprises the entire Great Lakes and what has been achieved in this section during the last nine months is a remarkable record of efficiency. At a _ recent meeting at Chicago of the chamber of commerce of the United States the importance of the ninth district was further emphasized. _ The ninth district' was created Aug. 24, 1917. At that time there were under contract in Great Lakes yards 102 ves- sels. Of this number, 98 were for ocean service and all but two of these 98 were of canal size, that is to say, about 3400 tons deadweight capacity. The two exceptions were of 5500 tons and had to be taken through the canals in two sections each and assembled at Montreal. One of these ships, the Frorence H, was blown up by an ex- plosion in a French port a few weeks ago. Under the name of the SouxHaras, she was described in THe Martner ReE- view, November, 1917. All of these vessels were requisitioned. by the Emer- gency Fleet corporation, but three were later released to their lake owners. Of these 98 ships, 27, including the two of 5500 tons, were taken to sea before the formation of ice finally stopped operations at Montreal on Dec. 3. This was accomplished after a bitter tussle with the ice in the lower St. Lawrence canals and river, All of these vessels reached salt water without a mishap and all car- ried cargoes from the Great Lakes. . During last winter, the Great Lakes yards worked steadily toward deliv- ery of a big fleet on the opening of navigation. The success of their work is shown by the fleet of 34 ships just taken to sea--20 of these vessels being defensively armed. It must be borne in mind by those not conversant with the existing con- ditions on the Great Lakes that this stupendous task was accomplished THE MARINE miles - present available, the company officials said, the CaponkKa would have been completed in 48 days from the time the laying of her keel was started. Delay was ¢x- perienced in waiting for a shaft. At the Foundation Co.'s plant, Kearny, N. J., as shown in the accompanying while the usual overhauling and re- pairing of the large iron ore and bulk freight fleet was being given attention. This latter task must be accomplished during... the winter months and the past severe winter was an unusually severe season in which to carry on marine repair work. 'To take care of the ore fleet of the Great Lakes is just as vital as building "up an adequate merchant marine for 85 per cent of all the iron ore used in the United States is moved by water on the Great Lakes. Early in April there were under construction in the ninth district for the Emergency Fleet corporation, 297 cargo ships, of which approximately 130 must be completed and delivered between May 1 and. Dec. 1 of the present year. 'This means two ships every three days. One company re- cently took a contract for 66 addi- tional ships. All must be completed before Dec. 1, 1919. The average tonnage has increased also. It now stands at about 3700 deadweight. The value of this fleet is approximately $200,000,000. If this fleet were ar- ranged in-a line, it would extend 14% and the total .deadweight or cargo capacity would be over 1,100,000 gross tons. In the ninth district there are seven companies actively engaged in shipbuilding. These companies operate thirteen yards, all building steel ships. One yard has built one wooden ship, and two new yards which have just begun operations, have contracts for a number of seagoing tugs. Canal- size cargo ships to the number of 64 can now be laid down in these yards at one time. If material sup- plies were normal, these yards could deliver more than 200 ships a year. The Emergency Fleet corporation's building program on _ the Great Lakes calls for approximately 400,000 tons of ship steel, 30,000 tons of boiler steel, and approximately 80,000 tons of castings, forgings, pipe and fittings, plates; shapes, sheets, tC; Delivery dates have been consist- ently broken--but on the right side. The fact that the ninth district has steadily been . ahead in deliveries REVIEW illustration, workmen were busy laying the keel of a vessel 10 minutes afte; the Accoma had been launched, and as another vessel was started at the same time, this made two vessels in actual] process of construction 10 minutes after one was launched. Lake .speaks volumes for the high degree of efficiency of these lake shipyards, In the month of February, as an illustration, 27..per cent of all the ships actually delivered in the United : States were the products of this dis- trict. Furthermore, every ship was | up to or ahead of schedule; in some cases several months. To Furnish Fan Outfits The American Blower Co., Detroit, describes the Hog Island shipyard: in a recent issue of its house paper. The company will furnish 140 outfits of 150-inch steel plate fans, direct connected to vertical engines, for in- duced draft work on 35 of the Hog Island vessels. Each outfit will fur-° nish a maximum of 40,000 cubic feet of air per minute at a 34-inch static suction pressure at the inlet of the fan. The passenger season on Lake Erie between Buffalo and Cleveland opened early in May with the sailing of the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co.'s steamer City or Burrato. It is expect- ed that the company's big steamer, the SEEANDBEE, largest sidewheel steamer in the world, will be placed on the Cleveland-Buffalo run June 15. The service between Cleveland and Cedar Point and between Cleveland and Put- in-Bay is scheduled to begin 'not later than June 16. An interesting booklet giving "The Tale of a Pound of Steam" is being distributed by the Ashton Valve Co., Cambridge, Mass. The pamphlet gives a brisk and informative narrative of the wanderings of a pound of steam. The Newburgh Shipyards, Inc., New- burgh, N. Y., recently published the first issue of a works paper called Fore aw Aft. The paper is devoted to happenings in the Newburgh yard and to subjects of interest to shipyard employes. The first issue presents much interesting in- formation that is written in an at- tractive manner. The Carlson-Wenstrom Co., Phila- delphia, manufacturer of winches, will build an addition with 20,000 square feet of floor space, to cost about $60,000