The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-12-31
!, !, IAN be no doubt that the oil was

,.,.,. and ~, can be no doubt that the oil was
p ihe icy any Of them were gu. upon sah Lake
a'oh Mle ignorance Of the keepers OF the fact
W. s/best winter strained oil would CONCEAL and
ia Am al a temperature below 30 degrees of
Sfonheit, and to their neglect TO keep IRE IN the
T8yes placed in the lanterns, so as TO elevate the
|yemperature above this point.
~ have the honor 10 be. gentlemen, very respect
s. PLEASoNTON.
Messrs RIromE & HESS.
Ertrae ef litter from Benjamin r. Congdo,,, INSPIRE
tor Of oil al hsp Bedford Massachusetts, dated De-
GENDER 49, 1885, 10 the collector and superintendent
Of lights al Boston, and ananiiied by The latter 10
the office Of the Fflh auditor
"The oil sent from Boston to the lakes was fur
nished by L. Millkin & Co., and was the first lot
(which ! examined the pfesent year. | tried the
bum ng of each barrel and the oil was entirely con-
sumed in each lamp, with the exception Of three or
four out of nearly hundred used, and in these
three or four but very little remained This was
the case with both winter and spring oil.
For the winter oil, adopted the test fthe late
Mr.. Harris, formerly the inspector for the govern
ment--that is, 800 Of the thermometer tried the
oil in mixture of ice, salt, and water, and not a
cask was sent that did not remain limpid at 800,
and the greater part at 800 also tried it on ice,
and il remained limpid thereon for the space Off
was used by Mr. Harris, and believe the only test
which he used.
"The spring oil l tested at a temperature of $50.
had previously sscerained that oil strained in the
month of April would remain lmpid at this temper
ature."
For the Detroit Free Press.
"CRIMINAL NEcLIcENcE.--Vessels and lives have
been lost the upper lakes in consequence of the
bad state of the oil IN use at the several lighthouses,
Il II. - IL.
lighthouses was, that the quality Of the oil furnish
cd by government was SO poor that Il would not
Withstand the frost"
Mr. EprroR: The above article, which appeared
in the Baltimore Sun of the 18th instant, is de-
void oftrulh in every essential point, that deem It
not only justice to myself but to the public, that
j, should receive at my hands reply. As general
inspector and superintendent of lights on the
northwestern lakes, it is incumbent upon me to visit
the entire chain of lights those lakes-some 40
in number-twice during the season Of naviga-
ton in each year, to wit: AT or about its commence
ment in the spring, and prior to the critical period
of navigation in the fall this has been done. en-
tered upon my fall inspection on or about the first of
October and terminated it early in November and
IN no one instance was there any complaint made by
the respective keepers, or by any other person, Of
the inferiority Of the OIL The above paper was led
into the error by an article published in Buffalo
paper, which charged that owing to the bad quality
OF the oil, vessels and levs had been lost Lake
Huron, which charge is totally groundless, as there
was not single instance Of loss, either to vessel or
life, that lake during the entire of navga-
uon. TIE schooner Haver was stranded about the
middle Of October near Middle island ESQ call
ed,l fifteen miles from any light in one of the most
severe snow storms Of the season; in which instance
however, there was no loss Of life nor was it inn
puted by any to the cause charged in the article
alluded TO; nor has there single case come to my
knowledge where loss Of life or property on any Of
the lakes in question chargeabe or even charged
Except in the Buffalo paper) to any such cause.
had the writer of the article alluded to substiiu-
ted "harbors" in the place Of Flights" there would
have been much more propriety in the charge
your obedent servant,
JOHN McREYNoLDS,
Gen. ms and Sup. of Lights on N. w. lakes.
DETROIT, Dec. 10, 1915.