The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-30
MARINE INTELLIGENCE.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS
OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING.

Supervisor Inspector General Du-
mOnt's Annual Report of the
Steamboat Inspection Service.
the WOrld--Fruit Steamships Here
In DiStress-Other Notes of Inter-
est.
The annual report of Supervising In
spector General of Steam Vessels James
A. Dumont. which has recently been is
sued Is es usual a very interesting dcoC-
ment To sloan vessel nlen of all cares.
The report IL made UP to the end of The
fiscal year, June 80, 1898.
AT that time there were a total of III
officers. clerks and messengers in the SER
vice. The only changes that have occurr-
ed were I'VE by removal, six by DEATH
six by resignation and one by transfer
One local board of inspectors was estab-
Fshed at Sitka, Alaska. Sixty thousand
eight hundred and forty-eight life pre-
servers were examined and a total num-
Der of 1927 applicants for masters and
pilots licenses who successfully passed
the color blind examination. The number
rejected was 70: the number of foreign
vessels Inspected during the year 316; do
nestle vessels, 8,132. Number of officers
lcensed: Masters 5,32S; mates, SCI; pilots,
$685. joint pilots and engineers, $50; engl-
neers, 1856; total of all grades, q sol. OF
the number of steam vessels inspected
there were 766 on the Pacific coast, Allan
tic coast. S,744; Western rivers, Loss;
Northern lakes, 1853; Gulf coasts ga. OF
the officers licensed 1850 were on the Pa
cifc coast, 9,S06 on the Atlantic. S4O5 on
Western rivers, 4,i97 on the Northern
lakes, 1,74S on the Gulf coasts
The estimated number of passengers car
rIed on vessels inspected during the year
was $50 100000. Only 2S3 lives We're lost,
and only 40 of these are credited to the
Second district, which extends from New
York to the eastern coast of Maine. The
salary list for the service during the year
amounts to S2SS 979.64. Travelling expenses
and other expenditures during the year
amounted to SAG. 340.19.
Notwithstanding the Increase in the
number of vessels Inspected and the work
in the various departments, the expenses
have been kept down so that they are
$S3S764 less than the previous year.
In connection with his report, Gen. Du-
mont takes up the civil service question.
He is strongly opposed to the extension
of the civil service over his branch of
the government service, and goes into the
matter fully, showing how the civil SER
vice rules have hampered the steamboat
inspection work.
Gen. Dumont has been at the head of
the inspection service for years. He has
made a study of 1t in every branch and
in all it's details, and to his care, Judgment
and excellent management is largely due
the degree of perfection that it has reach
ed. Notwithstanding its extension dur
ing the last few years by the creation
- AZ late he
Of the service, the expenses have been de-
creased and the purpose of the service
has been effected.
The Morning News has received the fol-
lowing communication:
Editor Morning News: On my arrival
at your port / was notified that none of
my crew would be allowed to sleep on
| board at night as a fine of $50 would be
| imposed or thirty days imprisonment, or
| both, at the discretion of the court See
| ing that this was a law of the city and
enforced for the public good, / and other
| British shipmasters had no alternative
but to comply, although at great incon-
venience and expense to ourselves. There
fore, you VIII readily understand my sur
prise yesterday on being Informed that
the British steamship Buckminster, now
in port, has, since her arrival ignored the
law under the plea of curtailing expenses.
fair that this should be allowed. On his
return home this master win be praised
for sailing his ship cheaply, while the
other shipma ster, probably, win either
have to refund the amount for boarding
out his crew, amounting to about $3.50,
or be given his walking ticket. Although
the sickly season is apparently nearly
! over it IS not practically, as several Brit
ish sailors are now in the hospital. II
your law above quoted is for the prevention
of disease what will be the effect on
those that set your law at defiance? Mr..
Editor, is the faw dead letter and the
wisdom of Mayor and corporation to be
set at naught? Seaman.
It would seem as though all the world
were building ships of war and commerce,
says the New York Commercial. The pres
ent condition Of activity in the shipyards
is the greatest known. In countries where
the industry had almost passed into decay
and in others where It had not been foster
ed yards are in fun blast and have all
the orders possible to execute.
In point of tonnage under construction,
Great Britain reads, with Germany next;
then comes France, with the United States
fourth. OF the tonnage building, 82.73 per
cent. is for British owners. In Great
Britain 1t appears that sos merchant YES
sells, totaling 1,36i,25O tons gross, and rs
warshlps, aggrega ting 266, 295 tons displace-
ment, or a total Of SIS vessels and 1880 -
545 tons. were under construction during
the quarter ending last September, against
654 merchant vessels and warshios of
1,5426 78 tons at the end Of the previous
quarter, and 533 vessels Of 1,126,22s tons
at the corresponding date of last year.
The following table gives the total num-
Der and tonnage of merchant vessels of
over 100 tons under construction in the
eleven named countries in September as
compared with the same period OF last
year:
Sept, '98. Sept, 81.
Country No. Tons. Tons.
Great Britain ......... "a 1854 145. 43e
Germany ............... 45 14,1O5 81, 1888
France ................ % 5,432 81, 089
United States ......... 50 58.545 $500
Italy ................... II 1884 q, $50