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MARINE REVIEW. Entered at Cleveland Pdst Office as Second-class Mail Matter. Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- Payne Bldg., by the Marine Review Pub. Co. Vou: XXITI, TEN YEARS/ PROGRESS IN LAKE SHIPS, : THE JOHN W. GATES OF 1900—ONE CARRIED 2,500 AND THE MATOA OY 1890 AND : THE OTHER 7,000 GROSS TONS. The steel steamer Matoa of the (Minnesota Steamship Co.’s fleet, operated by Pickands, 'Mather & Co. of Cleveland, represented in 1890 the largest type of carrier on the great lakes. She was built in that year by the Globe Iron Works Co. of Cleveland. Her registered tonnage, gross, is 2,311 and she is 290 ft. long, 40 ft. beam, and 21 ft. depth of hold, The draught of water through connecting channels of the lakes in 1890 aver- aged 15 ft. 6 in. and on that draught the Matoa’s average cargo of ore was about 2,500 gross tons. The average loading time at upper lake ports for such a vessel as the (Matoa in 1890 was about fifteen hours, and the aver- age time at Lake Erie ports, unloading, about thirty-six hours. The John W. Gates, built at the Lorain works of the American Ship Building Co. last winter, is the largest type of lake freighter today. The J. J. Hill, William Edenborn and Isaac L. Elwood are vessels that are in all respects similar to the Gates. They have all been in service during the past season. The Gates is just a trifle (less than 2 ft.) short of 500 ft. length. Her beam is 52 ft.,.depth of hold 30 ft., and gross tonnage 5,085. Her average cargo for the past season was practically 7,000 gross tons on -a draught of 17 ft. 10 in., which is about the average draught of the rivers for the season; loading time 15 to 26 hours, average unloading time about 43, hours. THE LAKE FREIGHTER OF 1890 AND OF 1900. Steamer Steamer Matoa John W. Gates j of 1890. of 1900. Premepa-OVel dll, Tidy cee se pce es eee ee be abe 290 500 a as eee hae 40) 52 Pe eee ee eee te 21 3U Reeistered tOnmage, QTOSS .... oe. eee ee eee 2,311 5,085 ‘Draught of water in channels, ft-............... 15% 1734 Uy erage Cateo, eross tOHS. 656... p i ees c eae ee ees 2,500 7,000 *Averawe loading time, HOuTS..... 6 esi eee ease es 15 20 Average time unloading, hours......:.......... 36 43 Some vessel owners are of the opinion as regards time required for loading and unloading that the progress is not as marked as in the capacity of vessels. The docks have probably not kept pace with the deeper channels and the achievements of the ship builders. It is also true that the labor organizations are in some respects responsible for a change of conditions since 1890 that interfere with dispatch to vessels. A comparison similar to that just made regarding the loading and unloading of ore cannot be made in the soft coal trade. The car dump machines have come into use since 1890. Under the old method of shov- eling from cars to buckets three or four days would be spent in taking on a cargo of 2,000 to 2,500 tons. With the machine that dumps the entire ear a cargo of 4,000 to 5,000 tons is often loaded in a single working day. BUYING UP THE WOODEN VESSELS. Mr. J. C. Gilchrist of Cleveland, who has eight steel steamers of about 5,000 tons capacity each under construction in different yards of the Amer- ican Ship Building Co.,:is evidently trying to gradually acquire control of the wooden vessels of the lakes, especially those of 2,000 to 3,500 tons capacity which are needed in the coal trade and in moving ore cargoes of medium size. No wooden vessels are being built to take the place of those lost each year, and the vessels of medium size are most desirable in the coal trade. This is undoubtedly the reason for Mr. Gilchrist’s present move, although it is not probable that he will enter into the undertaking in a way that will cause him to pay fancy prices for the ships. During the past few days he has bought four wooden vessels—the steamers Helena and Neosho from the Milwaukee Tug Boat Line, the schooner Magnetic from the Republic Iron ‘Co. of Cleveland, and the steamer Volunteer from the estate of Capt. Thomas Wilson. For the Helena and Neosho $125,000 was paid. In addition to the new eteel fleet which he is building, Mr. Gilchrist now has twenty-six wooden vessels. He will increase his office force and will employ a shore captain and engineer. Capt. J. L. Weeks, who sailed Gilchrist vessels for a great number of years, has been engaged for the position of shore captain. The shore engineer is Mr. James Mitchell, who has also been in the Gilchrist employ for a long time past. FORECAST OF THE NAVAL REGISTER. Of especial interest to the country and the navy is the forthcoming naval register for the year 1901, which is being prepared under the direc- tion of Rear Admiral A. S. Crowninshield, chief of the bureau of naviga- tion. It will show the remarkable growth of the navy during the past century. From a few officers and still fewer ships, the navy has grown to a total of 1,838 commissioned officers, 17,500 enlisted men, 2,500 appren- tices and 232 ships of all classes, with sixty-one under construction. The new register will also present the name of an officer bearing the rank ot admiral of the navy, while the highest grade of the navy of 1800 was that of commodore. The senior officer of the navy is still Admiral George Dewey. The senior rear admiral is Rear Admiral J. A. Howell, and the junior rear admiral is Rear Admiral J. J. Read. Capt. 'M. L. Johnson is the ranking and Capt. John Jacob Hunker the junior captain. Com. Franklin Hanford heads the list of commanders, and Com, D. W. !Mullan, who was suspended in 1897 for five years, retains his place at the foot of the list of commanders. -Theodoric Porter is the senior lieutenant com- mander, and John G. Quinby is at the foot of officers of this rank. Lieut. J. H. Glennon is the:senior officer of his grade, and J. R. Pringle holds CLEVELAND, O., JAN. 3, 1901. Subscription $3.00 a year. Foreign $4 50 a year. No. 1 position at the foot of the lieutenant list. B. B. ‘McCormick is the leading lieutenant, junior grade, and F. H. Dunn the last of this grade. T. D. Parker is the senior ensign. In the staff corps Medical Director W. K. Scofield has the distinction of being the senior medical officer, Pay Director C. H. Eldredge the senior pay officer, Chaplain W. O. Holway the senior chaplain, W. W. Hendrickson the senior professor of mathematics, Rear Admiral Philip Hichborn the senior chiet constructor and P. C. Asserson the senior civil engineer. During the past year there have been sixteen resignations thirty-seven retirements, thirty-three deaths, one cadet discharged one cadet dropped and two naval cadets dismissed. In the marine corps ‘there have been two retirements and two deaths. The list of dead contains the names of such gallant officers as Rear Admirals J. W. Philip and F. V McNair. ae While compared with foreign services, the material of the navy is small, it has as high a position as the ships of 1800 had established for themselves after their battles with the French and the Tripolitans. The battleships in commission number seven—Alabama, Kearsarge, Kentucky Towa, Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon—and this number is shortly to be increased by the addition of two other vessels of this class, the Wis- consin and Illinois. The armored cruisers number two, the Brooklyn and New York; the protected cruisers fourteen, including the Columbia and Minneapolis, laid up in ordinary; Olympia, San Francisco, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Raleigh and Boston, undergoing reconstruction, and Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, New Orleans, Albany and Atlanta in commission; the second-class battleship Texas, six modern monitors and many unpro- tected cruisers, gunboats, converted cruisers, torpedo boat destroyers, torpedo boats, tugs, colliers, training ships and receiving ships. eae FEDERATION OF LAKE SEAMEN. . Although the annual meeting of the Lake :Carriers’ Association in Detroit is close at hand (Jan. 16 is the date), there is little talk of the presidency. It is an honor highly regarded by the vessel men but never sought openly. J. G. Keith of Chicago, A. W. Colton of Toledo, Robert . Khodes and H. W. Hawgood of Cleveland have all been mentioned for the place. It is now more than probable that the attention of the Detroit meeting will be devoted largely to a proposition involving the establish- ment of a federation of seamen. The executive committee has had in hand for several days past a long petition from men employed aboard the vessels asking for co-operation in the formation of such an organization. The idea was very probably suggested through the success of a similar organization formed some years ago in England and which now has many thousands in its ranks. Men from salt water holding cards of membership in the Kuropean federation came to the lakes and told of its operations. Vhe great advantage of the proposed federation is its insurance features, which will provide for weekly payments in case of accident, liberal allow- ance 9n account of total disability, etc., and this at a very low monthly charge to the men,,on account of the proportion of these benefits to be borne by the employers, The return tu the vessel owners will consist, of course, in securing a better class of labor, as membership in the organiza- tion and issuance of certificates would be safeguarded by rules relating to efficiency, sobriety, etc. The executive committee of the Lake Carriers is now consulting experts in insurance lines, especially those who have had experience with similar organization. It is hoped that the details of the organization may be worked out in time for the annual meeting. NOTES FROM SHIP YARDS OF THE GREAT LAKES. __ As the ship yards of the great lakes are provided with new work that will keep nearly all of them engaged for seven or eight months to come, no new orders are looked for just now, although it is said that the Amer- ican Ship Building Co. may bring its list up to thirty-three steel ships by a contract for a package freight steamer that has been hanging fire for a long time past and which it is now thought will be closed. Four large freighters are being launched within the present week. Their places will of course be taken by keels for vessels that have been under order for some time past. On Saturday last there was launched at the Chicago yard the first of the four Counselman steamers. These are the vessels of Canadian canal dimensions which are expected to engage in trade between Chicago and European ports. The first of these ships was named North- west. A second of the 5,000-ton Gilchrist freighters, named Saturn, was launched at the Lorain yard Wednesday, and it is expected that one of the two steel tow barges building at West Bay City for D. R. Hanna and others of Cleveland will be launched today (Thursday). On Saturday, at the Globe yard, Cleveland, a 6,000-ton steel steamer building for the Cleve- land Steamship Co. (John /Mitchell and others) will be launched. Mr. Robert Curr, who is well known among ship builders and ship owners of the lakes on account of his work for owners and underwriters, looking after their interests in the construction and repair of steel vessels, will shortly go to San Francisco to take the position of superintendent at the new plant of the Risdon Iron Works. ‘Mr. Curr leaves with the best wishes of everybody with whom he has had any dealings on the lakes. His advancement from hard work in a ship yard has been by his own effort. He is practical, industrious and ambitious. He will visit the prin- cipal eastern ship yards and the manufacturers of tools before starting for the Pacific coast. Mr. B. W. Parker of Detroit, manager of the White Star line of steamers, is making preparations for the construction of a steel freight and passenger steamer for the Toledo-Port Huron service, but the con- tract may not be let for several months. The vessel is not required at once, and the order will be held up in the hope of securing better prices later on than could now be had from the ship builders.