River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-12-18


tooer and November, 1878, were SIS, S63 029. %.
and for the same months of 1874 they were
without some unexpected interruption of the
industries upon which these taxes are imposed
/ the luii amount of the estimste hereinbefore
presented Will be realized
The suggestion Of the Commissioner that
the taxes now collected by stamps on bank
checks. matches, perfumerv. cosmetics. etc
may be abolished and compensation made
therefor by increasing the tax ON spirits ten
cents per gallon BY making this chance the
items Of internal taxation would be consider
ably reduced. and the system smplified with
out loss of revenue. The means now In use
for the collection of tax ON spirits will. il i
believed, secure the collection Of the increased
amount.
COMMERCE AND NAvIsArIoN.
Little Improvement il Observable in the for
ign carrying trade. Over y per cent. ct our
imports aud exports during the last fiscal
year. was carr ed IN foreign vessels. This
ratio Is however, somewhat better exhibit
than for the fiscal year 1872, when 76 per cent.
Of this trade was transpol ted IN vessels Of
other nations. Ii Is estimated that. prior to
1861 from IS TO 50 per cent. was done IN YES
els Of the United States.
From the report OF the Register of the
Treasury, the total tonnage OF vessels the
United States appears TO be 4,SlO,652 tons, be-
ing an increase over that OF the fiscal year
ended June 80. 1873. of lO4, 626 tons, nOtwith-
standing the omission from the official returns.
under the act OF April IS, 1874, of canal-bOat
tonnage amounting to i 3,065 tons
The tonnage Of vessels built during the last
fiscal year. as given in the report of the Reg
ister is 422, 725 tons which amount exceeds
that OF! the preceding year by 10, 4S9 TONS aud
is greater than any wear since 1855.
From July LIST, to November 10th, 1874 Off
cial numbers have been awarded by the Bureau
of Statistics to 6S4 vessels. whose carrying ca
pacity amounts t. 169, 654 tons. OF these. 2i3
were new sea-gOlng vessels.c arriving from 100
to 5000 tons. with an aggregate tonnage of
I4O. g72 tons. OF this number tWenty-nine
vessels measured over 1000 tons, three over
1000 tons, while two were iron steamships of
5,00S tons each.
LIFE-sAyING SERVICE.
There have been erected during the past
wear twentS two new life saving stations. as
follows Five on the coast of Maine, one on
the coast Of New Hampshire, five on the coast
of Massachusetts, one on the coast of Rhode
Island, three ON the coast of Virginia, and
seven on the coast of North Carolina They
are completely equipped and were manned for
The winters service on the first of this month.
There have been in operation during the
past year eighty-twO stations. They are all
located in the three districts designated as
the Cape Cod district, Rhode Island district
and the New Jersey district, which embrace
the most dangerous riions OF the Atlantic
coast
The reports of the Superintendents show
that during the season OF 1873 IA, fOrty-eight
vessels valued, with their cargOes, at -, 3d.
COG. and having on board ]. LOG persons, were
driven upon these shores,
In twenty-Rine instances the life-savIng appa-
ratus was called into requI>lllon, and 3O3 per-
sons were rescued by 1t. In other cases ITS
use was not required, Dur assistance OF some
sort IN administering 10 the comfort OF the
l-.adf ssIF
dered in nearly all by the force Of the service.
OF the amount of property je0Darded, only
st57.2S2 was lost and the number Of hives
lost was but two. Both OF these were caused
by the falling of the mast OF vessel when
she struck case IN which, OF course, llie-
saving appliances were not available. The
number OF days shelter Afforded shipwrecked
%, rsOns at the stations was 494.
The lIfe-saviDg service mas now been IN
Operation. Gnder the present system three
wears un the coasts of Long Island aud New
Jersey and two Years on the coast OF Cape
Cod The statistics Of disasters upon thsse
coasts during this time are reported rs fol
lows:
Number of wrecks ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS l02
Number of lives imperiled. !, i0I
Number of Inves saved. 1,6ot
Number of lives lost....-..-..----.- 49,. "
Number Of shipwrecked persons sheltered
and suceored at stations ...........--.. l4H
Number of days shelter afforded. -...-... 5fl
Total value of property imperiiled. $500. $3.50, ~"
-.-
Total value OF property lost .-....--...-- WHO'D
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE.
The Lighthouse Establishment which eN-
ceeds in magnitude that of amy other nation
Droviding as il does for the necessities of II
coast line, including the great northern lakes
over ten thousand miles i'll distance, besides an,
extent of four thousand seven hundred miles
on inland rivers making total of over four
teen thousand miles-keeps pace with the de-
mands for increased aids 70 commerce and
navigation.
Within the past year 25 lighthouses. light
ships, 7 fog-signals, beacons and q buoys
have been established. The total number of
such aids to navigation now in use in the
United States is $40 lighthouses, % light
ships, AZ fOg-signals, 3S2 beacons, and 2,S6S
buOys.
MARIO HOSPITAL SERVICE.
Although the rate OF hospital dues wa
/ doubled by the marine-hospital act OF 1870
\ the average year C Election OF such dues has
not vet been cOTTespondngly increased, as
compared with the average Of the three year,
/ preceding the passage OF that act. Ant
/ this, Notwithstanding there has been sine
then an increase Of about foniteci
4 and one-half per cent. in American tonnage
exclusive of vessels engaged in the fisheries
and of thirty-six per cent, in the amount hos
/ pital relief required.
I According to the most reliable data obtain
/ able for the ascertainmeBt of the proportion o.
7 crew to tonnage. there are upwards of Isl. 50i
seamen employed on American vessels subjec
/ to hospital dues. AS the actual period of ser
vice in the merchant marine averages abou
nine months per annum. there should have
/ been. instead of 1916 &c, the amount received
| last year, an aggregate OF about 1857 go, the
amount received last year, an aggregate OF
about 1867 900. sum amply sufficient to make
the service self-sustaining.
An examination Irto the causes of Is de-
| ficieDcv leads to the belief that 1t is largely
due to defects IN the mode of collecting the
dues. The statute authorizes the master
or owner of every vessel sub
ject to hospital dues. to retain ont Of
the wages OF each OF his crew, the sum
of forty cents per month for each month OF
service. which sums he is required to pay to
( the collector of customs at certain specified
times. accompanied by true statement of the
number of men and the length of service of
each man since last payment of hospital dues;
and the Secretary Of the TTeasary is author
lied 10 direct the preparation If all needful
regulations for the mode of collecting the
same"
1t is claimed that these regulations. al
though modified in 1873. still entail, in char
acter of the hOspital-dues return. an onerous
amount of clerical labor on masters and own
ers, men not accustomed to such work; that
much of the information is useless, as for eX-
ample, the rank and name of each seaman en-
ployed, the seamans name being seldom salts
factory evidence of his identity while upon the
western rivers the return of the names Is i'm
practicable, the members of a crew often
changing more than once on single trip; and.
finally, that as there is no mode provided for
verifying the account, there is every induce
mcnt to make loose and inaccurate returns
These defects are thought to be sufficient TO
account for the disparity between the sum &C
tually received and that authorized to- be re-
tanned from the seamen's wages, and, in con-
sequence of which disparity, either the relief
facilities must fan short of the requirements
or the Government make good the defic 4ency.