Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-03-24
WATERFRONT NOTES
AMERICAN sHIpBUILplNG /

AMERICAN SHlPBUILDlNG Is at
the lowest ebb since 1886. a.y -.
Secretary of Commerce and Labor, yet
the means that would have readily
built II up have been deliberately neg
lected by Congress. one needs only
to look at the steamers ST. Louis and
st. Paul for two examples of the pro.
duct of American shipyards created
because permission was given for the
naturalization Of two equally good for.
eign built ships. Offers have been re-
peatedly made TO build other ships In
American yards on the same principle
If foreignbuilt steamers of equal
class and tonnage now doing the trade
could be put under the flag but the
law prohibits any such encourage
ment TO our shipyards. In February,
1905, a pamphlet was published by
Samuel Holmes. Of well known ship.
broker setting forth the harm that
would be done the vessel.owning In.
dustry by the enactment OF an amend.
ment to Section 4136 X. s. restricting
naturalized and rebuilt wrecks from
participation In the coastwise trade.
Mr.. Holmes abundantly refuted the as
sertion that every foreign.built vessel
that Is given the privilege OF engaging
In our domestic trade therefore denies
to our shipbuilders the contract for
"A new vessel" He quoted the report
of the Commissioner of Navigation for
1908 In which II was stated that from
December 20. 1852, to June 30, 1904.
.405 gross tons Of foreign.built ship
ping had been admitted to American
registry under the general act and
180,163 gross tons under special acts
OF Congress.
THE UNITED STATES man.of.war
Michigan although still In service on
the Great Lakes IL the oldest iron
ship In the world having been built
on the shores of Lake Erie In 1912, al.
most So years ago. She was meteran
when Ericsson's Monitor threw all the
navies Of the world into the junk pile,
and many and many generation of
fighting ships have come and gone
since them. Her iron construction was
a novelty In naval work. but for years
afterwards the United States con.
tinued to build wooden ships for It's
navy. including the famous Kearsarge,
which was built twenty years after
Even the Constitution, wooden ship
that shares the honors OF the old sail.
Ing vessels OF the navy with Old Iron.
sides, did not come until 1854. The
material for the ship was dragged
across the mountains from Pittsburg
to Lake Erie an Infinitely harder task
than II would be now to transport
enough material for a navy of great
battleships The plates and angles
ha nj haa 4 90.
inss and castings, were all made at
Pittsburg.
THE VESSELS OF the Pacific
Coast Steamship Company carried
last year 1898 passengers as
against 1l4.3l6 for the twelve
months ending December IA. 1908,
according to the annual report OF
the company. This shows an in
crease OF over SO per cent. In the
volume of passenger business. or
this number 1902 were carried on
the company's vessels operating
fIom Seattle to Alaska, includl ng
both those on the Southeastern
Alaska run and the vessels from Sc
attic to Norton Sound. The freight
carried on all the lines operated by
the company aggregated 653,25U
tons last year, as against b35.71O
tons In 1908. OF this amount the
Alaska business, again including
both the Norton. Sound and South
eastern Alaska carriers. totaled 81
926 tons as against 1884 tons In
', the year 1908.
1T IS UNOFFICIALLY announced
that the Hamburg American Steam
ship Company intends to give con-
tract to the Vulcan Shipbuilding
Company for constructing a trans.
atlantic steamer displacing from
$4,000 to $4,000 tons. The steam.
err Is designed to be 500 feet In
length, with u speed of twenty-one
knots an hour.
! THE 'battleship' Virginia main
i tanned an average speed of 1854
. knots an hour In a four-hour trial
which Rear-Admiral Schroeder put
her through of Guantanamo. Cuba
recently. This is better than, the
speed attained during the oncia
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