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pd 1904} before the committee stating that he has no objection to the - passage of the bill to grant the Myra American register, and’ the committee has recommended that register be so granted. This seems to be no more than common justice to Mr. Gilchrist:. > ‘ AROUND THE GREAT LAKES, 3 The steamer City of Milwaukee, which is being rebuilt, will } be called Holland. Capt. C.. Thronson died. at Racine, Wis; last week. He. was « eighty-one years old. BS aloes ’ The ice crusher Promise lost. a wheel in Detroit river last week while bucking ice, and she will have to be docked. Mr: Louis Hausheer of Cleveland will have charge of the Pittsburg Steamship Co.’s stores at the Sault and Conneaut this season. we Pere Marquette No. 14, in service between: Port: Huron and Sarnia, will not be docked until spring. Notwithstanding her crippled condition she is handling her business with dispatch. Representative Jackson of Ohio has introduced a bill in the house appropriating $312,000 for the completion and construction of piers and jetties and the dredging of the harbor of Huron, Lake Erie, to the depth of 21 ft. Notwithstanding the condition of ice in Lake Michigan, which is said.to be worse than the oldest inhabitant remembers, the Goodrich Line boats are running regularly again between Chicago and Racine. A pile of coal three blocks long and about 20 ft. high is burning in the Pere Marquette yards at Ludington, Mich. There are 15,000 tons of coal in the pile and the fire is believed to have started by spontaneous combustion. Capt. Samuel Neff of Milwaukee died last Sunday from pneumonia, aged sixty-two years. Capt. Neff is the owner of a lumber carrying fleet and was well known in marine circles. He sailed on the lakes since he was twelve years of age: i With the arrival of the steamer F. & P. M. No. 1 of the Barry Line from Milwaukee this week, transportation on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago was resumed. The : & P. M. was the first boat through in eight days. | -The Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Navigation Co., better known as the Wolvin syndicate, will make Montreal its terminus during the coming season. Heretofore the company has done business exclusively between the upper lakes:and Quebec. A Chicago dispatch says that not.a sale of vessel property has. been reported since early in the winter. Vessel men say that it ig impossible to get bids at any reasonable price for. ships, owing to. the uncertain condition which surrounds business .for next: season. There are not only no sales but few inquiries. The meeting of the Lumber Carriers and the Longshoremen, which was held at Manistee, adjourned without. coming to any agreement. Another meeting will probably be held within the next three weeks. The meeting composed all of the sixty locals on Lakes Michigan.and Huron. All conditions. are said.to point to an agreement based upon. last year’s schedule. '. Pere Marquette No.:19 belonging. to the Pere Marquette Steamship Co., which had been: on the rocks: off Fox Point for two weeks, was released last week and towed to the yard of the Milwaukee- Dry ‘Dock Co. by the tugs Welcome and Meyer. The ferry was only slightly injured and it. is expected will resume service upon her route by the end of next week. Capt. Henry J. Cleary of the Marquette. life saving crew: has been appointed to the captaincy of the temporary station to be established on the grounds at the St. Louis exposition. Capt. Cleary has not yet decided whether he will accept the position or not. It is by no means a sinecure, as exposition drills have to be gcere through with every day for the instruction of visitors. The board of directors of .the Great Lakes Towing.Co. met in Cleveland on Wednesday of this week and elected Mr. Edward Smith of Buffalo as president and treasurer of the company. This, of course, was the expected thing. The following executive com- mittee was appointed: G. A. Garretson, James Davidson, A. B. Wolvin, L. M. Bowers, C. E. Grover, R. R. Rhodes, H. G. Dalton and Edward Smith. A large amount of repair work is being done at the lake yards. The two largest repair bills are those which will be in- volved in the alterations made in the passenger steamer City of Buffalo at the yard of the Detroit Ship Building Co., and the repairs to the steamer J. T.. Hutchinson at Buffalo. The car ferries which are kept in commission all year around are limping periodically to the ship yards. i Mr. Harvey L. Brown.of Buffalo has resigned as secretary of the Lake Carriers’ Association. He was again tendered the posi- tion, but as more time would be demanded from him than formerly, he felt that he could not afford to accept.: His successor will be elected at the next meeting of the executive committee of the Lake Carriers’ Association. The committee desires the secretary to have his office in Cleveland, and a Cleveland man will undoubtedly be selected for the place. Resolutions have been forwarded to Congressman Town- send by the villages and municipalities along the Detroit’ river from Delray to Trenton, urging the deepening of the American channel of the Detroit river. It was pointed out in the resolu- tions that the federal government has spent millions of dollars in deepening the Canadian channel, and as it appears to be the sentiment of vessel men that two channels should -be provided it was thought that the American channel should receive the improvement. ‘ In recognition of his services as treasurer of the National Founders’ Association a complimentary dinner was given at the MARINE REVIEW 23 Detroit club, Detroit, last. week to John R. Ruséel, secretary and treasurer of the Great Lakes Engineering Works of. Detroit. Mr. Russel. was for five years the, financial head of the National: Founders’ Association, The dinner was presided over by Mr. W. Frank, ‘president of the association, and the party included friends and past ‘and present officers of the association, as well as’ three brothers. of the guest of honor, Walter. S., George H. and Henry Russel of Detroit. Following the dinner Mr. Russel was Breen ed with a, handsome clock, 8 ft. high and beautifully CATVEGs fj sh an Gib Bes eee AS _. During .the past. two weeks the Pere Marquette car ferry fleet, operating. on Lake .Michigan, was compelled to suspend ‘navigation owing to the severity of weather conditions. Car ferry No..15 was stuck in the ice off Manitowoc for six days, being. hopelessly banked in anchor ice about 30 ft. deep about a mile from shore. Even the use of dynamite failed to release her. Car ferry No. 18, which run to her rescue, also became fastened in the ice, being unable to move for three days. Car ferry No. 17 finally. succeeded in releasing both 15 and 18. The cold weather has literally filled Lake Michigan with heavy ice and the weather conditions are the worst known in years. As a consequence a bad freight blockade has occurred at Milwaukee, there being over 2,000 cars awaiting transportation east via the car ferry route. _ . Some interesting figures have been obtained concerning the freight handled by the vessels. of the Gilchrist fleet last year, This fleet is the second largest fleet on the great lakes, the fleet of the Pittsburg Steamship Co., the lake end of the Steel Cor- poration, of course, being first. The Gilchrist fleet last year moved 4,762,657,302 tons of freight. As it was not the policy of Mr. Gilchrist last year to enter into season contracts most of this freight was moved at the daily rate. His-vessels delivered 1,- 941,886 tons of ore, 1,991,446 tons of coal and 723,970 tons of grain. Translated into bushels this shows that the Gilchrist fleet - moved 28,958,829 bu. of grain, which was about one-seventh of the total amount, received at Buffalo.. With good dispatch it.is esti- mated that the Gilchrist fleet can move 5,000,000 tons of freight in aH*ordinary séasont rit a ct foe7} -’ There is some stir at Buffalo in the lumber fleets in the line of making up tows’ and looking for business. Last season there was considerable lumber ‘in sight as early as this by way of carrying contracts made, though the rate was not fixed. Now there is no word from the shippers:and none is looked for right away, as the season is likely to open so late, It is figured that the’ lumber fleet will not be moving earlier than the middle of May, and barge’ owners’ are glad ‘of it. They would like to see the . opening day still later.."Had it been late last season there would have been a good profit ‘made. The following tows are made. up: Barges. Peshtigo; Jenness and’ Goshawk with the steamer: Myron; barges Redington and Ogarita with the Zillah; barge Alta, lately bought: by Connelly Bros., J. J: Buland and others, « with the Congress; barges E. L. Coyne and Kate Darley with the. Westford, probably; batges Warmington and Iron City with the’ Ed Smith. There are several sales pending, which at present hold: back the making’ upof other tows. ’ ae i See a An unusual repair job has just ‘been finished on the big car ferry Santa Marie, which operates in‘the straits of Mackinaw. Weather conditions have been unusually severe in the straits this” winter and the ice is of extraordinary: thickness. In some man-: ner the action of the ice turned the upper edges of a number’ of plates below the waterline. In one place a hole was made clear’. through her side. John D. Langell, dry dock superintendent of’: the Detroit Ship Building Co.,; took a gang of men with him to the straits and repaired:the vessel there: The ferry was listed over: one foot.in five, the distance when listed from her fender - state to the ice on the starboard side being 12% ft. It was neces-. sary to wire all over the upper peninsula to get enough pig iron and ore cars to put on for the listing. No machine was con- venient with which to punch the rivet holes and it was necessary, - therefore, to send the plates:-to Marquette. Considering diffi- culties and inconveniences, the work was very quickly done. The Santa Marie returned to her route.on Sunday night last. MEMBERS OF THE PANAMA CANAL COMMISSION. | Rear-Admiral John G. Walker, chief of the Isthmian canal commission, has during the past. week held a number of con- ferences with President Roosevelt regarding the personnel of the -new. commission, which will be appointed. to supervise the construction of the Panama canal. President Roosevelt has. completed the list of men whom he would like to appoint and ‘he has comrhunicated with all of them, but acceptances have not yet.been received in all cases. It is certain that Admiral Walker will be a member. of the new commission. A Louisiana man, whose name has not yet been disclosed, has been chosen. to represent the south. Col. Frank J. Hecker, who was a volunteer officer on special duty in the quartermaster’s office during the Spanish-American. war, has been selected for a place on the commission. Col. Hecker is a resident of Detroit and a man ~~ of large experience. He served during the war at the earnest request of Russel A. Alger, who was then secretary of war. The law provides that one member of the commission shall be an army officer and the other a navy officer. The army representa- tive will be Maj. Gen. George W. Davis, retired, who was for-. merly in. chief command of the Philippines in Porto Rico. The Niles-Bement-Pond Co: has declared the regular quar-. terly dividend of 114 per cent. on its preferred stock. The com-. pany has’ also declared the usual’ semi-annual dividend of 4 per. cent. on its common stock in two’equal installments. » 2 al tAf Lil