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THE MARINE REVIEW N ITS annual ship building and fit- [ ise out number, February, 1916, The Marine Review published com- parative tables of merchant marine con- struction showing graphically the tre- mendous gain the industry had made in less than a year. It was asserted by doubters that this impetus would not endure for long. Subsequent statistics compiled by The Marine Review, cover- ng ship yards on the Great Lakes, prove absolutely that there is no reason to fear a cessation of activity for a long time to come. Famed as they are for their high~ standards’ of construc- tion and first class facilities, Lakes ship -yards may be taken as a barometer of conditions prevailing from coast to coast, in this instance. A striking feature of their activity since the first of the pres- ent year is the large number of con- tracts taken from foreign governments and individuals. Nearly a score of freighters, including package carriers, tankers and colliers, are now being built on the Great Lakes for Argentine or Scandinavian interests. During the year 1915, only six steam vessels were built in Great Lakes yards, a total of 14,933 gross tons. But one of these, W. F. Wuitr, was destined for use on fresh water. By New Year’s day, 1916, however, the worldwide shortage of merchant _ tonnage had become so acute as to make itself felt in every quarter where a pos- sibility of relief existed. In spite of the fact that the dimensions Welland canal limited the length of lake-built vessels passing to the ocean, to 261 feet, with a similar curtailment of breadth and depth, no less than 36 ships were in course of construction on the lakes, nine of which were designed for bulk freighting on their native waters, the other 27 ships being de- signed for commerce of every sort in the four corners of the earth. They represented a total of 100,231 gross tons. Recent Activity Since the first of the, present year, the rush of prosperity to the ship build- ers of the lakes has not abated; in fact, it appears to be on the increase. The demands of such neutral European and South American nations as are deter- mined to profit by the existing condi-- tion of the great maritime countries of the world, are rivaled by the awakening interest of our own people, who are not. aiming so much for: an: immediate profit as a future place in the maritime sun. During the first two months .of - 1916: Great Lakes ship builders obtained 12 additional large contracts. Three of these are 600-footers for the Pittsburgh of the: to be used in the carry- Steamship Co., ing of ore and other bulk freight, two of them being built by the American Ship Building Co., Cleveland. This yard has also accepted two ocean-size freight- ers for Canadian register, as well as an ocean-size barge for the Standard Oil Co. The Toledo Ship Building Co., To- ledo, O., has taken four freighters for Norwegian interests, to be of the largest dimensions capable of passing to salt water, while the Manitowoc Ship Build- ing & Dry Dock Co., Manitowoc, Wis., has two motor ships of similar size under way for Berg, Hanson & Co. Officials of lake ship yards declare that inquiries are received daily as to facili- ties and delivery dates. Most yards are increasing their capacity as rapidly as possible to cope with the business at hand. Relocate Alaska River On the eastern shore of Bering sea, from Nunivak island to Nushagak, stretches what is perhaps Alaska’s most unfrequented coast line, touched by waters leading into an even less frequented river. For the past five seasons a steamer of the United States coast and geodetic survey, of the department of commerce, has been en- gaged on the field work connected with the chartering of the approach and entrance to the Kuskokwim river, a work just completed during the past season by the steamer YuxKon. As a supplement to the coast work a reconnoissance survey was made inland from Bethel, the head of deep- sea navigation. This was carried for 550 miles to McGrath, the main set- tlement on the upper river from where on a clear day, Mount McKinley can be seen 150 miles to the eastward. A river steamer can ascend beyond here for 200 miles, while the river with its tributaries offers 1,200 miles of navigable waters. The Quickstep is the only steamer on the river; she draws 414 feet and can push a 300-ton barge upstream. She averages two trips from Bethel to McGrath during the open season, which extends from about the middle of May to the middle of October. This steamer afforded the first means of taking good astronomical instruments up the river and the usual fair weather afforded opportunity for the first good determination of positions along the river’s course. As some previous posi- tions were found as much as 50 miles in error, a new map of the river will fill an urgent need in future develop ments in this region. For the first 100 miles the 4; winds through the low lake countr, peculiar to the territory east of Berjn, sea; for the next 200 miles it cy through mountains where the rapid have a 6 to 8-mile current and th banks, in places, rise over 1,000 fee directly from the water. The upp river flows through an immense basj over which are scattered solitary peak and the horizon of which is a ring of distant mountains, Second only to the Yukon in size the Kuskokwim is visited yearly by but two or three small steamers, which ascend as far as Bethel; but, the recent publication of charts has made it possible safely and confident ly to navigate the channel through the vast area of mud flats which lie off the river’s mouth, a feat formerly extremely hazardous and requiring sometimes weeks to accomplish. The comparison of present with previous freight rates tells the story of putting the Kuskokwim on the commercial map. The Eastland Aftermath — In view of the hue and cry raised from innumerable sources at the time of the EastLanp disaster, and © of the evident desire then exist- — ing for a ‘victim. or “goat’, teas recent. findings of Judge C. W. Sésam sions, of the federal district court of — Michigan, in the case of six men © implicated in the disaster, are of un- ~ usual interest. The six defendants — were George T. Arnold and William T. ~ Hull, president and vice president- — general manager of the Michigan cor- poration which owned EastLanp; Rob- ert Reid and Charles C. Eckliff, local federal inspectors of steamboats for the district of Michigan; and -Harry Pederson and Joseph M. Erickson, ~ captain and engineer of the vessel. Excerpts from the court’s findings after disposing of several charges on — technical grounds, are as follows: “For 12 years this vessel had been navigating the Great Lakes in the excursion trade and had carried hun- dreds of thousands of people. Dur- ing all that time, so far as appears, she had never met with an accident or a mishap which resulted in injury to or loss of the.life of any person. During the first three seasons of her career she was licensed and permitted — to carry from 2,800 to 3,300 passet- gers and upon several occasions was — loaded to her limit. In later seasons — she was authorized to carry from 1,200 to 2,200 people, the number de- — pending upon the condition and quan- 4