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ete eee em at ne tee nee Te eee ee ee eg ee ey ee We ie eRe ey ~ 16 MARINE REVIEW. CONSOLIDATION OF LARGE TRANSPORTATION INTERESTS. Bernard N. Baker, president of the Atlantic Transport Co., announces that the Atlantic Transport Co. and the Leyland line have combined their interests. By this consolidation of interests a company will be formed with a capital of $25.000,000, controlling a fleet of forty-eight passenger and freight steamships. It is the intention to have three services a week at New York, two at London and one at Liverpool. In addition freight lines will be maintained between Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Port- land and Montreal, and points in England, Scotland, Ireland and the Mediterranean. While the corporation to be formed will be English, American capital upon which the Atlantic Transport line was founded will be largely interested. The Atlantic Transport line is a West Virginia corporation. The steamships of both lines are of British registry. The Leyland line is controlled by Frederick Leyland & Co. of Liverpool, one of the largest shipping concerns in the world. The Leylands have four passenger boats in course of construction for the New York ser- vice. In discussing the combination Mr. Baker said: “T have purchased a large block of stock in the Leyland line, and the Leyland line has purchased the same stock in the Atlantic Transport line. The two companies will be reorganized into one corporation having a capital stock of $25,000,000. Tihe name of the new line has not been de- cided upon as yet. The amalgamation includes all the branches of both organizations—the Atlantic Transport’s New York, Philadelphia and Bal- timore to London service, and the Leyland’s Boston, New York, Port- land (Me.) and Montreal to Liverpool service. The Mediterranean and [March 8, thought the time was ripe to form a big organization, and this has been accomplished. We will give the public a first-class service, and have no doubt that it will appreciate our efforts.” INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON WATER LEVELS, An international commission to deal with the question of lake levels now seems assured. Senator Platt’s resolution with this end in view passed the senate on Tuesday of this week. It is well known to readers of the Review that the Niagara river dam project, as well as several ship canal and power canal schemes that have attracted public attention in the lake region of late, are of an international char- acter and call for the appointment of such a commission as is proposed in the measure just passed. The Platt joint resolution authorizes the president of the United States to invite the government of Great Britain to join in the formation of an international commission to examine and report upon the diversion of the waters that are the boundaries of the two countries. It provides for a commission composed of four members from each country, whose duty it shall be from time to time to report upon the conditions and uses of the waters adjacent to the boundary line between the United States and Canada, including all the waters of the lakes and rivers whose waters flow by the river St. Lawrence to the Atlantic ocean, and also upon the effect upon the shores of these waters and the structures thereon and upon the interests of navigation by reason of their diversion from their flow, and further to report upon the necessary measures to regulate WHALEBAOCK BARGE UNLOADING ORE UNDER BROWN CONVEYORS AT CARNEGIE DOCKS, CONNEAUT, O. Spanish services of the latter line are also included. This will make the new line the second largest company in the world. The Hamburg-Amer- ican line, the largest company, will be only slightly in the lead. Alto- gether we will have in the North Atlantic trade about forty-eight vessels, including the eighteen ships now in course of construction—five by the Leyland line and thirteen hy the Atlantic Transport line. Six of these will be ready for service shortly. “All the new vessels will be passenger and freight carriers of over 10,000 tons each, and will be fast goers. After reorganization the vessels will leave the different cities just the same as at present. The Atlantic Transport line’s vessels will continue to run to London, and the Leyland line’s ships to Liverpool. Thus we will have a direct service to those two important ports of England. The meeting at which the officials and di- rectors of the new line will be chosen will be held in London about April 14. We expect to have everything working smoothly under one management May 1. While the new company will be incorporated under English laws, it will be an Anglo-American company in every sense of the word. The board of directors will be composed of Americans and Englishmen. It is not the intention of the new company to stop with what we have got. Wherever the present service can be improved an improvement will be made at once, and where the service can be ex- tended it will be done. It is our intention greatly to improve the New York and Boston services. It is too early, however, to state just what will be done. Ten of our vessels are in the service of the British ad- miralty, engaged in transporting troops and supplies to the army in South Africa, and when they are returned to us we will be better able to tell what we will do. “T will be the largest stockholder in the new organization and will have complete charge of its business in the United States. I will also be a director in the company. My headquarters, of course, will be located in New York. The principal reason for the amalgamation is that the business of the Atlantic Transport line has become so great that I could not give it the attention it required. I was continually crossing the Atlantic, looking after the European end of the line. Another reason is that shippers want their goods carried by big steamship companies. We '’ ae such diversions. The president is authorized to appoint the United States’ members of the commission, and the commission is authorized to employ such surveyors, experts and other persons as it may deem need- ful. The resolution provides for an appropriation of $20,000 for the work. REVENUE CUTTER FOR THE GREAT LAKES. No award of contract has as yet been made by the secretary of the treasury for the construction of the revenue cutter for the great lakes for which bids were opened, a few days ago, by ‘Capt. C. F. Shoemaker of the revenue cutter service. Townsend & Downey of New York were the lowest bidders, as shown by the following list of proposals: Cham- blin & Scott, Richmond, Va., $163,500, vessel to be finished twelve months from date of contract; Wm. R. Trigg Co., Richmond, Va., $157,000, on or before May 28, 1901; American Ship Building Co., Cleveland, O., $250,- 000, on or before May 1, 1901; Townsend & Downey Ship Building & Repair Co., New York, N. Y., $151,000, twelve months from date of contract. A REVERSIBLE AIR DRILL. J _ A form of reversible air drill lately invented will prove especially interesting to ship builders, railroad and bridge builders and to those engaged in repairs along these lines. It will soon be placed on the mar- ket and will be known as the Chicago drill, manufactured by the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co. This invention is a machine operated by com- pressed air, and so constructed that it is reversible, making it adaptable to drilling, reaming, tappingy flue rolling, stay bolt work, etc. ‘The oper- ating part runs entirely-in oil, thus obviating all wearing and cutting and greatly reducing cost of operation. ; Capt. James Kerr, one of the oldest river steamboat men, died at his home in New Orleans recently. He had been identified with steamboat navigation since 1839 and was a perfect mine of stories of early days on the Mississippi. During late years he had lived a retired life in New Orleans. | 4 7