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4 THE" MARINE RECORD. ^he Ratine Record, Published Kwty Thursday »t }44 BapaHor i Street, [Leader Building.] 'A, A. POMEROY, Editor and Proprietor, •TKKMS OF SUBSOBIPTlONl One year, poitage paid,. , Six raonthi, postege paid "V K.0O ..1.00 IaTtriibljr In sdTtne* Tbe MAUINKI1ECORD tin bo found for aals it the tollowlng placon « Cf F Bowm«D, corner of Ponrl and Datrolt sti.,CleT«- lind, Ohio, JOMpb Gray, No V Weit Randolph street, Chicago 0. Ilohmor, Mlohlgtn street 8wllg Bridge, BuOUo, Now York. \ 0. F. Johnson, 117 Welt Superior itreet, Duluth Minn D VcMaiUirt-aVCo, Saraia. Ontario Wm Qodley, Eacanabe, lfkhlsan J E SomertlUe, UanhUM, Mlobijan ArUelei, Ietttm and (juerieiin ill inbjKta ire solid* led AD VEIITISINO RATES. Ten cents per" line, nonpareil meaiurement, or 11.20 par ineb, each luartlon, lour weeke 14 00, with a liberal dlaeount on ordera amounting to W0 00 or over, Entered, at the Foit Offloe at' Olereland >■ second- eliae mall metier. ""*' THE SHIPPING SILL. In passing Mr. Dlngley's shipping bjll tlfe lower house or Congress tacked on to It an amendment that will be very apt lo ride It to dentil. Mr. Dlngley's bill was Intended to relieve ihlp ownern of certain burdens. It abolished the murine hoeplinl tax, re¬ duced the three months' extra wages to one month's wages, abolished consular fees, re¬ duced the tonnage t»x, etc. Its provisions were simple. The bill effected wholly In- dlgenlous enterprise, was satisfactory to -^An>erloan-ve6sel~lmer*8tsr-and—generally considered lo be a good thing. If it had been allowed topas& as oUgliially drafted It would have nccomplished its purpose and worked harm to no one. .Consequently It '"had no enemies and w ai pretty sure of plafn sailing. It was too much, however, for the mischievous nerves of free trade Sam Cox to stand. He no sooner saw the buoyant shipping bill ready to start off on her pros¬ perous cruise thiin It occurred to him that •ho would be a splendid craft on which to float some nt his dogmas. She was not go¬ ing his way, lie knew the loud won 111 And no purchasers ut her port of destination and that her master recoiled with natural Amer lean instinct against cauylng such a cargo; but he had the opportunity and he could not resist the chance 01 deciding definitely a -questlou-upon-Jtvldch lie «ecieilv_iind the. greatest doubts, namely, whether an Ameri¬ can ship could possibly keep from sinking with a cargo of free trade theories aboard. So he freighted her with an amendment pro¬ viding that torelgir built ships of not less than -1,000 toni> burden; bought and owned by citizens of the United States, may be ad¬ mitted, free of duty. Our leaders enn read¬ ily see that this amendment Is to permit the buying of ready made foreign ships, built with cheap uibor and material and bringing them Into this country without paying the duty the law now Imposes alike upon foreign ships or foreign material ot, which they are made. In other words, It Is it flat-footed free trade measure. We have stated our purpose many times not to discuss the free trade Interest except where It affects the ^-maritime Interests, iwhcif It would he our objectrtodo so Impartially, and, always fur the greatest good to that Industry. The vexed question'now Is. wlij did Congress¬ man Oox attach that Issue to the shipping bill? It Is In no way related to It. There would have been Just as much sense In tack Ing It on to the bankruptcy act, more, in fact, for free ships means bankruptcy to a pretty large dais of oltlzens. -But ihe fact Is he wanted to see what would become of shls free ship Vogma when It reached the Sen¬ ate. He Is loaded down wltl these free trade theories and It Is doubtless an Instinct with fling him, like a boy with a-handful of burs, to them wherever he thinks they will stick. It Is purely mischievous, however, and the Sen¬ ate ha* seen It In that light. At all events It Is not to be allowed' to remain a part of tlie^ Dlngley shipping bill. It turns that In¬ to a curse which would have been a blessing to ship owners. Even if free ships were a good thing, this amendment la out. of place attnohed to the shipping bill, for the reason that the shipping bill does not touch the question of tariff In tho remoloat way, while tho free ship clause Is purely a tariff quel tlon. The free ship amendment penults free entry to foreign built »,llP* of over 4,000 tons burden, when purchased by Americans. Out tarllflawi Impose a duty on lumber and Iroitathe material which compose these for¬ eign ships, and also on foreign ships thorp- sol ve», and along comes Mr. Cox, who, know¬ ing that lho tariff laws are intact, and are likely to remain so, Inserts a proviso tq allow'shlps to be brought In free of duty. It Is a tremendous breach he would make by throwing this bomb through the tariff wall. Under the present law, If an American pur¬ chases a foreign ship he must pay a duty on It to protect our shipbuilders; If he wants to evado that he must pay n duty on the ma¬ terial., and trjtte give our shipbuilders the work of constructing It. This free ship clause sweeps away every one of these guards at once. It gives permission of free entry to ships built by the cheap labor of foreign' countries, and wouk) bring down the wages of American workmen lo a corresponding figure, which nould wipe the Industry out of existence. Neither would Its eflects stop at the shipbuilding Industry. They w'ould ramify the iron and steel interest-lu all its various forms and branches and work ruin to a now slowly recovering brand) of busi¬ ness. There can be no sound argument made In defense of this tree ship scheme; If our tariff for/ protection Is pernicious let It be proceeded against honestly and system¬ atically. Let the people be convinced that It is pernicious and It will be eradicated. But the task of convincing them will be of such duration, and the evolution from pro¬ tection to free trade so gradual, that our in¬ dustries can accommodate themselves to the change without serious detriment to any one. We can not, however, believe in any such theory of evolution that Involves a leveling process. Wo believe In an upward grade not a dow nward. Wo do not see for Amer¬ ica any future good In a scheme that seeks to bring her workmen down to the condi¬ tion of European peasantry. We are still more firm in the opinion that the public n111 not uphold Mr. Cox's sneaking way ol destroying the tariff laws by tucking his tor¬ pedoes to the tails of beneficent measures Introduced In Congress. , . THE DULUTH CUSTOMS DISTRICT. A bill introduced Into the Senate by Senator Beck of Kentucky provides for the reconstruction and .consolidation of' the customs districts of the United Stales, and vlrluaUy-wJpes out a number of them. _We will not now question the wisdom ot this measure only so^tw-viis It concerns the facilities for the transaction of business on the lakes, viz.: '1 he removal ol custom houses from the proper grogrnphical location and establishing them In Inlnml towns, whereby a city Is constituted a port of entry which in reality Is no port and has no harbor, no navigation Interests, and no national boundry line. It Is possibly true that some of Ihe customs districts on tho Atlantic coast should be consolldaiid, on tho ground of economy.so that they may be sell sustaining, which they are noi now, but as regards the merit of some other changes considered by Ihe raeusuie under discussion we can not comprehend, one of whloh Involves the transfer of the customs offices, wlth'nll the business pertaining thereto, from Duluth, a city of much population, muny marl- time Interests, and a natural port of entry, situated at the very head of lake navigation, with a long national boundary line, and clear Ing and entering during a single year (1883) vessels of the largest class, representing a tonnage of over 800,000 tons, to St. Paul, an Inland elty, without any of the above ad¬ vantages, and no marine commerce what¬ ever, presents Itself to our mind as u reversal of the eternal fitness of things, as the tall wagging the dog, or as another "Vllfard blind pool," wherein the Oregon .Navigation Company gorged Itself with-tho Northern Pad lie Railroad Company the connecting link between Duluth and the Pacific sea¬ board. _ In case this measure Is passed without necessary amendment, gross injustice wlij be done to Duluth In favor of St. Paul Minn. It will appear to all who are ac¬ quainted with the.relative merits of the olttes above mentioned that the Kentucky Senaior ha« made a very wild discrimination, either by reason of the poor logic he has brought to bear On tho advantages of the grographlcal location of the cities to be affected by the proposed, changes In that dis¬ trict, or the Influence of the counsel he has had from representatives of tho latter city, who aro watching with uneasiness the rapidly growing importance of Duluth. We «»n not adapt Ihe situation of St, Pa.pl to our definition fit a port of entry, a port or town where foreign ■ goods first enter our territory and become subject to customs duties. Benco we consider the ground occu¬ pied by a committee, appointed by the Du¬ luth chamber of commerce, well taken, viz.: "I. St. Paul is an Inland elty 150 miles from the nearest mooring grounds ofay' marine vessel and has no commerce That requires customs roports'and clearances. In explanation of this assertion- It Is hardly necessary to say that Inland river steamboats, such as run to and lrom,St. Paul, are not required to report and clear at any custom¬ house. River steamers are lu this respect the same as railway trains;or canal boats, absolutely free froth customs survellauce, except at points where they cross to or from foreign territory with which we are not In an absolute slate of reciprocity, and as St. Paul Is not located at any such point said city cannpl be In fact a port of entry for the proposed district. -J'lI.-St^Panl la-sltuated-aomo-250 rotlet from the International boundary line, and-the farthorest removed of any city of the pro¬ posed district for the transaction of the actual customs business of a port of entry. She Is In a position where sheican only have dutiable goods stripped to her In bond for delivery and approval; hence can never be, either in the meaning of the word or as a matter of fact, the proper place for the principal port of entry for a oustoms district that has naviga¬ ble lake coasts andjiu International boundry line. v \J It also seenfa unreasonable that'such a Vn-t area of territory, comprising the states MiUllnssntajJIontana, Idaho and Dakota, should be Included In one customs district, covering"as-thejrdo twelve hundred miles of International boundary line, when the bill In all oiher Instances provides for one (o eight districts T In a single state, the higher number applying to New York, and Texas__pn the southern border, occupying the same relative position that Minnesota does on the northern, is honored with five distinct customs districts. We take it, that in case the territory above noted Is included in one cus'oms district Duluth, the principal port, should be made the port of entry u'nd the scat ot Ihe government offices; that the collector of custon s should have his residence there, not 250 miles from the nearest boundry line, and 150 miles from the nearest marine port, as would be the Jact-IL be_werejealdent at St. Paul. We also consider Duluth the proper place lor the location of the United States civil engi¬ neer, now. located at St. Paul, that the needs ot the harbor may be attended to without delay In ofder to accommodate the deep dralt vessels now pljlng Into that port; and that Ihe United States inspectors ot hulls and boilers, iiiBtend ot being located at Marquette, should be centered at Duluth on account of the greater shipping Interest there and which requires their closer atten¬ tion. We must say that Duluth, fancying herself strong In her natui nl commercial lm. portance at the head of lake navigation, has let many advantages slip by her and Is but now awakening to the Importance of assert¬ ing heiself. The bill In question has passed its secoild reading In the Senate and Is now In the hands of Ihe committee on commerce. We deem It' the duty of Hon. Knute Nelson, representa¬ tive ot the Duluth Congressional district, and of all the lake shore representatives In Congress, to advocate before the committee and In the halls the true Interests of their constituents, which will Inuludo the In¬ terests of navigation, an amendment to the section which applies to the Dulutb customs district so that It may continue Duluth, a growing and prosperous city and the princi¬ pal shipping point of an enormous grain area, as the port of entiy, and thereby save the annoyance and vexation to the vessel Interest that uonld be experienced with the port of entry 150 miles Inland. This annual regnttn of the Northwestern Association, of Oarsmen, will be held at St. Clair, Mich., this season. The Farragut boat club, of Chicago, will contest the honors. PATENT APPLIANCES. — Wo have recently examined a very voluminous printed copy of testimony taken before the Circuit Court of the United States, District of Maine, In tho equity case of the i American Ship Windlass Company vs Thomas W. Hyde, a case whloh Involves tnl • frlngemonta on valuable appliances or ma¬ chinery Invented and 'owned by the 'above, company, and whloh Would have been de¬ cided nt tho spring term of said court but for the resignation of Judge Lowell, but which will again come up forbearing at the next term of the court, at Portland, Maine. In Hie nfeantlme, Mr. Hyde, recognizing his liability, has discontinued the use of the locking gear Involved In the case and gives public notice to that effeot. In order to . Insure Itself of the full benefits and ad¬ vantages accruing from the userof their many valuable Inventions to the ship windlass, the Providence company has been to muoh ex¬ pense and has complied with every letter of / the patent laws and purpose to Institute fur¬ ther proceedings against other Arms who are Infringing on this and other patents be¬ longing to the company. The patent aet ofI 1830 provides that whenever any notion for „ damages for Infringement of or tresspass on the rights of a patentee n verdict Is rendered for the plaintiff, the court may render judge, ment to any sum above the amount found by such verdict as Ihe .actual damages sustained by the plaintiff, but not exceeding threo times the amount thereof, according to the circumstances of the case, with costs, and which may be recovered by the persons legally authorized In any court of competent lurlsdlctlon. Infringement mav also be remedied, as above, by a bill In equity for an injunction and an account. « ■ ■ ___ . RKPmtsENTi'yvK Converse's amendment to the Morrison' tarlfl bill will Include a sec¬ tion providing for a reduction of 10 per cent oTHutles wh1ch~nWTrre7Tyr~1rereafter~ may be. provided by law on all merchandise Imported Into Oie United States from any foreign country in vessels of American reg¬ istry for a period of not less than ten years, bur which shall not be, operative until notice has been served upon foreign governments under treaty stipulations. The Aquntlo Monthly fur April, a maga¬ zine which has ahead} become authorliy in Its field of Information, vonflilns much valu¬ able matter for lovers of aquatic sports, In¬ cluding an ill tide from the pen of Charles E. Chase, entitled <'Down the Ohio lu a Ca¬ noe," and "Hints on Bowing" by Robert B ' Johnson. The National Association of American - Oarsmen has decided the flue point at the recent meeting, that a junior oarsman is one who has never pulled In a senior race or won a Jimror)rai.e except in a regatta of ihe club to which Jie belonged. A general provision was made In the rl ver and harbor bill before Congi ess to pre¬ vent obstruction to navigation by bridges. \Ctmcluded from M page.} DcrrUTK. Special to Me PlariM -ffocont Duluth, May 5. Navigation opened nt Duluth with tho de¬ parture of the tug T. H Camp at 10 a. m , May letj for Two Harbors, on the north shore. She w as followed by the steamer R O. Stewart at 2 j>. m., for the same place. At 3 p.m., the same day the barge Osceola, Cnptuin Murch, of Ward's Detroit & Luke Superior line, cleared for Buffalo with §,000 bushels of wheat, and 3,000 barrels of flour, etc., the first clearance ef the season for the lower lakes. The Snrnia propeller Quebec was delay ad/on acoountof some boiler tubes which did not arrive at the specified time, but she departed for north shore Canadian ports, May 4th, with flour and 276.passen¬ gers. ; The same day the steambarge Wallula, towing the Newcnmbe and Ouldo Phlster, and the D. M. Wilson, tow Ing the Manito¬ woc, all wheat laden, departed for Buffalo. The Egyptian and Peterson will leave to- monow, the Oth Inst. Meanwldle heavy Ice Is yet in sight on the south shore, and fears are entertained that it nlay yot come back and cause trouble. But late 'men seem to think that as long as It does not jam In hard enough to pack there Is no danger to an un¬ interrupted navigation at this end of the lake. I B.