406 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 4, 1890. 



A NATIONAL MARINE BOARD. 



CONSIDERING the benefits which accrue to evnry maritime 

 nation from a permanent and well organized pleasure navy, 

 it would seem but natural that private and individual enterprise 

 in this direction should receive at least the passive encourage- 

 ment and support of the national government. Without asking 

 for special aid or subsidies, yachtsmen have at least, a right to just 

 and reasonable laws, and to such privilegps as can be granted 

 them without conflicting with other interests. That these are 

 often denied them here is a fact too well known to many yachts- 

 men, and the recent discussions of the same question in the Eng- 

 lish and French papers proves that yachting, in spite of an occas- 

 ional "Queen's cup," receives little more consideration at the 

 hands of foreign governments than our own. Save in immunity 

 from customs duties, granted in 1848, the laws of the United 

 States do not recognize pleasure vessels, either sail or steam, but 

 both come under the ancient and often absurd laws governing the 

 merchant marine. In the case of steam in particular, the laws are 

 so utterly impracticable that if enforced literally they would put 

 out of use near] y all t he small classes of steam craft. Fortunately 

 it has been the custom of the supervising inspectors and of the 

 customs officers to interpret aDd apply the laws in a spirit of fair- 

 ness and common sense in most cases, but at the same time the 

 power is vested in every petty official to cause unlimited trouble 

 and annoyance to yachtsmen at .will. 



The greatest sufferers from the enforcement of laws never in- 

 tended to apply to yachts are the owners of small steam launches, 

 hut this year an instance is found in a larger and different class of 

 vessel in the rigid enforcement of the regulation compelling the 

 painting of the yacht's name on a black ground. Although but a 

 small matter, necessitating merely the disfiguring of the yacht to 

 no purpose and some incidental trouble and expense to unwary 

 owners, it is a very good illustration of a useless and unnecessary 

 restriction which should in justice be removed from pleasure ves- 

 sels. 



The spirit, the enterprise aud the liberality which has placed 

 the American fleet at tne head of the pleasure navies of the world, 

 and »t the time, too, when the nation possessed neither a war 

 navy nor a commercial marine of creditable proportions, is at 

 least deserving of recognition in the way of the speedy enact- 

 ment of special laws for the regulation of steam and sailing 

 yachts; laws that shall be up to modern requirements and as lib- 

 eral as the circumstances will permit. The importance of a pleas- 

 ure navy to a nation so situated as ours can hardly be over-esti- 

 mated. It does not lie in the mere material advantages of the 

 few thousand seamen who would be available for the manning of 

 warships in the case of need, or in the dozen or so of steam yachts 

 that might be utilized as dispatch boats or for similar service, 

 but in the strong pride and interest in nautical matters which it 

 awakens and keeps alive in all classes of the people, not alone on 

 the seaboard, but throughout the length and breadth of the land. 



InthislaHer respect the late international races have had a 

 far-reaching influence that but few have suspected, in bringing 

 home to the whole inland portion of the country, to people who 

 never have seen the ocean or a vessel larger than a river steamer, 

 the. facts that our rivals in sport may sometimes become enemies 

 in war, that some day great ships may be necessary to uphold our 

 national honor, in place of mere yachts, and that the vast sums 

 they are now called on to pay are not being wasted on something 

 intangible, but are supplying means of protection to them as well 

 as the dwellers on the coasts. 



Unfortunately Hws do not make themselves, however just and 

 necessary they may be, and if yachtsmen are tired of the existing 

 condition of things they must combine and work themselves for 

 a change. In this connection they cannot fail to be interested in 

 a movement now under way for a most important reorganization 

 of the departments of the Government, in the establishment of a 

 marine board which shall combine in one body the various 

 bureaus connected with the commercial marine. As is well 

 known, the long existing arrangnments have been of the loosest 

 and most unsystematic description; though of no less importance 

 than the internal affairs of the nation, while the latter have long 

 been entrusted to a srparate department, with an officer of the 

 Cabinet at its head, the vast maritime interests, in addition to the 

 neglect they have experienced in other ways, have been a mere 

 detail of tne Treasury Department, divided in a way that has 

 proved most unsatisfactory in the course of long experience. The 

 delegates from the United States to the International Marine 

 Conference, held in Washington last, winter, suggested in their 

 report the establishment of a board to have charge and general 

 superintendence of matters relating to merchant vessels and sea- 

 men, aud in accordance with these suggestions the Secretary of 

 the Treasury op Oct. 11, of the present year, appointed a com- 

 mittee to consider the subject. The report just made public con- 

 tains the following proposed bill: 



A BILL TO ESTABLISH A MARINE BOARD FOR THE ADVANCEMENT 

 OP THE INTERESTS OP THE MERCHANT MARINE. 



■ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

 United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall 

 be in the Department of the Treasury a Marine Board, under the 

 direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. The Marine Board 

 shall consist of one of the Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury, 

 who shall be ex-officio Chairman of the board, to tie designated by 

 the Secretary of the Treasury, and the following named officers, 

 who shall be ex-officio members: The Chairman of the Light- 

 house Board, the Supervising Inspector General of Steam Ves- 

 sels, the Surgeon General of the Marine Hospital Service, the 

 General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, the Commis- 



sioner of Navigation, the Superintendent of the Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey, the Chief Hydrographer of the Navy. None of the 

 members of the board shall receive any additional compensation 

 by reason of any services performed under this act, but shall re- 

 ceive mileage at the rate of 6 cents per mile when traveling under 

 official orders. „ . 



Sec. 2. The Marine Board shall meet for the purpose of organi- 

 zation within sixty days from the passage of this act, and there- 

 after it shall meet on the first Tuesday of January, April, July 

 and October of each year, and at such other times as the Secretary 

 of the Treasury shall direct, for joint consultation and recom- 

 mendation to the Secretary of the Treasury, for presentation by 

 him to Congress, of anv changes in existing laws or enactment of 

 new ones that in their judgment may be necessary for the pro- 

 tection of the interests of the Government, and the benefit and 

 improvement of the merchant marine of the United States or for 

 the relief of the merchant marine from any harsh or injurious 

 laws operating to its detriment, and for the transaction of any 

 other business that may properly come before it. The board shall, 

 upon application, grant hearings relative to any of the above 

 matters to any persons of practical knowledge and experience in 

 the building, repairing and navigation of vessels, the authorized 

 representatives of any organized bodies connected therewith, and 

 any other persons interested in the merchant marine, or receive 

 their statements in writing, or may, upon its own instance, take 

 the examination of any such persons upon any of said matters. 



Sec. 3. The said board shall have supervision of all laws affect- 

 ing the merchant marine not assigned by law to any other branch 

 or bureau of the Government, and the Secretary of the Treasurer 

 shall, upon the recommendation of the board, if he approve, as- 

 sign to either of the bureaus of offices under the charge of either 

 of the ex-officio members of the board the execution of any pro- 

 visions of law relating to the merchant marine not otherwise as- 

 signed. The board shall collect all information and intelligence 

 available affecting maritime interests, and from time to time 

 shall publish for the benefit of the Government and of the mer- 

 chant marine so much of the same as shall be deemed useful, and 

 all officers of the Government having in their possession at any 

 time such information are hereby directed to furnish the same to 

 the Marine Board when not incompatible with the public inter- 

 ests. The hoard shall also make an annual report of its opera- 

 tions to the Secretary of the Treasury for transmission to Con- 

 gress. 



Sec. 4. The board is hereby authorized to make all necessary 

 regulations for its government and for the management of its 

 affairs not inconsistent with law, subject to the approval of the 

 Secretary of the Treasury. 



Sec. 5. The Secretary or the Treasury shall furnish all necessary 

 clerks, messengers, rooms for the meetingH of the board, statior- 

 ery, printing and other things necessary for the use of the board, 

 the expense thereof to be paid from any moneys in the Treasury 

 of the United States not otherwise appropriated. 



Sec. 6. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are 

 hereby repealed. 



As will be seen, the change recommended is in the form of a 

 marine board attached to the Treasury Department, and though 

 the interests involved are of sufficient magnitude to warrant the 

 creation of a separate department, similar to the Treasury and 

 Interior Departments, even the partial measure proposed will be 

 a great advance from the present state of affairs. By bringing 

 together the heads of the various sub-departments connected 

 with the maritime interests, the whole business of amending and 

 enforcing the laws will be simplified, and should it follow out 

 conscientiously the requirements of the second section of the 

 proposed act, the new board will have little leisure time on its 

 hands for some years to come. The creation of such a body, with 

 the specific duties imposed on it of considering complaints against 

 existing laws, and of providing means for their removal, offers a 

 fitting opportunity to yachtsmen for such action as has long been 

 needed, and in view of the probable passage of the bill it is now 

 time to take counsel a3 to what changes would be acceptable to 

 yacht owners. The matter is one in which the clubs can well 

 afford to interest themselves this winter, and in the meanwhile 

 we shall be glad to give space to any suggestions. 



RACING IN NOVEMBER.— The last yacht race of 1890 was 

 sailed on Nov. 21, a private match between Broncho and Sibyl, 

 the course being from Buoy 15 around the Scotland Lightship. 

 Broncho is a 40-footer, designed and built by Capt. Louis Tonns, 

 and Sihvl, 35 l.w.l., was built last spring at Nyack, being copied 

 from a Burgess boat. The former is owned by Messrs. Vredenberg 

 aud Hartley; the latter by Mr. Jerome B.King. The start was 

 made at 9:57, Sibyl crossing first, and both running off with a W. 

 N. W. wind with balloon jibtopsails set. These were carried to 

 Buoy 10, when spinnakers were set to the point of the Hook, the 

 balloon jibtopsails being carried again from there to the turn. 

 The times at Buoy 10 were: Sibyl 11:20:05, Broncho 11:25:20. At the 

 lightship the times were: Sibyl 1:03:00, Broncho 1:13:48. The two 

 beat in as far as the South West Spit, there setting clnbtopsails 

 and reaching home, being timed thus: Sibyl 3:13:10, Broncho 

 3:29:50. Sibyl wins by I5min. 35sec. 



Ccmvas Canoes and how to Build Them. By Parker B. Field. 

 Price SO cents. Canoe and Boat Building. By W. P. Stephens. 

 Price JS.00. The Canoe Aurora. By C. A. NeidL Price $1. Canoe 

 Handling. By C. B. Vaux. Price $1. Canoe and Camera. By T. 

 S. Steele. P)-ice 1.50. Four Months in a Sneakhox. By ST, H. Bishop. 

 Price $1.60. Canoe and Camp Cookery. By ''■Seneca." Price $1. 



FRANCE AND THE AMERICA'S CUP. 



A FRENCH yachtsmen, Mr. Phillip Daryl. has lately contributed 

 to the Temps a series of important articles on yachting as a 

 national sport in France, in which he has urged an organized and 

 systematic movement on the part of yachtsmen and of the national 

 government as well, for the advancement of yachting and yacht 

 racing. Mr. Daryl evidently realizes how great a benefit, direct 

 and indirect, may be derived by a maritime nation from its pleas- 

 ure fleet, and especially from successful, or even creditabie com- 

 pel itors with otner nations. His appeals have met with the most 

 encouraging support from French yachtsmen, as well as from 

 others whose interest is purely patriotic, and as a result a pre- 

 liminary meeting was held on Nov. H at the office of Le Yaclit, in 

 Paris, at which the first steps were taken toward the organization 

 of a national body whose object should be the advancement of 

 French yachting to such a point that it can enter the field of in- 

 ternational racing, thus far held exclusively by America and Great 

 Britain. This body, the title of which is the Comite du Yacht 

 Francais, will include a number ot leading yachtsmen, with naval 

 officers and engineers, and its immediate work will be the pro- 

 motion of yacht building in French yards, and the building up 

 and training of a body of yacht sailors for the formation of racing 

 crews. 



It is hardly necessary to say that a challenge for the America's 

 Cup will form a leading feature of this scheme; but as we now 

 understand, there is no intention of challenging in the immediate 

 future. We believe that the promotors of this scheme are suffi- 

 ciently well informed in the history of international racing 1o 

 know that the present is no time for a challenge from any nation, 

 and that even if it were, France is in no position at present to at- 

 tempt the task in which England has so often failed. 



The readiness of British yachtsmen to challenge again for the 

 Cup, and the reasons which deter them, are clear enough to all 

 who are not wilfully blind, and it would be foolish in the extreme 

 for another nation to make a trial under conditions which British 

 yachtsmen recognize are so unfair and one-sided as to make the 

 defeat of the challenger a foregone conclusion. 



Even if such conditions did not exist, and the. America's Cup 

 was as free as its owners intended it to be, it is only too plain that 

 France, thus far without a victory to boast of in such international 

 contests as she has entered against Great Britain, is in no position 

 to throw down a challenge to a distant nation, and for a race 3,000 

 miles from home. Before t his is possible she must win races in 

 the Channel and in the Mediterranean, and only by earnest and 

 laborious work can French yachting be brought to a point where 

 a cutter of 80 or 90ft. will be a natural growth, and not a spas- 

 modic and abnormal effort. 



We have no desire to discourage this laudable attempt for the 

 elevation of French yachting, we wish to it the suecess which it 

 deserves; but such success can only como from a thorough under- 

 standing of the many obstacles, and an intelligent attempt to 

 surmount them in detail. It would doubtless be possible at once 

 to raise a sum of money for the construction and manning of a 

 90-footer, and to have her in New York by next August; but only 

 two results could follow from such a venture, she would be de- 

 feated beyond question by the representative of the New York Y. 

 C, and French yachting would receive a blow from which it would 

 not recover for years. The successful advent of a new nation info 

 the field of international yacht racing would be welcomed by both 

 of the present contestants, and yachtsmen here and in Great 

 Britain will watch with interest the result of the new experiment 

 across the Channel; 



CORINTHIAN NAVY.— The Admiral has appointed Messrs. 

 Robert Center, Thomas FleniingDay and W. D. Stryker as a Board 

 of Education. This board will carry out the new rules regarding 

 the examination of members for certificates as seamen and navi- 

 gators. The high standing of the gentlemen forming the board 

 will add weight and value to these certificates, and speaks well 

 for Admiral Connolly's sincerity in carrying out the new act fully 

 and with good intent. Proposed for membership, S. M. Rewey. 



Jlnswet[S to ^ams^andmts. 



No Notice Taken of Anonymous Correspondents. 



Reader, Scabrook, N. H— We do not know the manufacturers 

 of the gun you name. 



C. F. B., Salem, Va.— The strain of the powder on the gun Is not 

 considered injurious. Its force depends very largely on the man- 

 ner of loading. For table of charges and loading instructions send 

 to the manufacturer's agents. 



M. D., New York. — In an editorial in your edition of Sept. 11 

 you speak of a Maine game law preventing the sportsman from 

 taking home his venison. I have understood also that there was a 

 law forbidding the sportsman from taking home the hides and 

 horns of any game killed in Maine, and yet I can find no such law in 

 the Book of the Game Laws. Will you kindly ascertain if there is 

 such a law and if it is enforced? Ans The law limiting the num- 

 ber of game animals lawfully had in possession has been held to 

 apply to transportation companies. Deer are taken out of Maine, 

 but as personal baggage, or packed and shipped to pass as some- 

 thing besides deer meat. 



^HUMPHREYS' 



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HUMPHREYS' MEDICINE CO., 

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Forest & Stream File Binders 



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FOR SALE AT THIS OFFICE. 



MARK 



ave You Seen Our New Catalogue? 



HOOKS from 1-10 Cent each to $2.00 each. 

 FLIES from 25 Cents a dozen to $9.00 a dozen. 

 LINES from 7 Cents a dozen to $12.00 each. 

 RODS from 10 cents each to $100.00 each. 

 REELS from 25 cents each to $50.00 each. Etc. 



For further particulars send 10 cents to prepay postage on our 136 tolio page Illustrated 

 Catalogue for 1890. 



Manufacturers of every dessription of 



FINE! FISHI3NTG 



18 Vesey Street (Fourth door from the Antor Flous*}), rJovsr York. 



Notice to Fishermen. Cut Prices for 1890. 



Here I am again as usual cutting the prices of Fishing Tackle. Low prices and good quality of goods increases 



my business. It will pay you to buy your tackle in Brooklyn. 



No. 1, 3 joint, 6 strip, Sp'it Bamboo Trout or Black Bass Fly Rods, solid reel seat below hand, nickel mountings, silk -whippings, extra tip, all complete in wood form, length 94, 10, 



lOjft., weight 7, 8, 9oz Price $2 72 



No. 1, G, same as above but is Germaa Silver Mounted " 3 82 



No. 4, 8 joint, 6 strip Split Bamboo Black Bass Bait Rod, Raised Tie Guides, solid reel seat above the hand, extra tip, silk whippings, nickel mountings, complete in wood form, length 



8J, 9, 9£,. 10ft , weight 9, IOJ, 12, 13oz. .. Price 2 72 



No. 4, G, same as above but is German Silver Mounted " 3 32 



No. 7, 6 strip Split Bamboo Salt Water or Lake Trolling Rod, 2 joint, solid reel seat above the hand, double tie guides, nickel mountings, length 8ft., weight 20oz . " 2 75 



No. 8, same as No. 7, bat is 3 joint " 3 75 



No. 280, 3 joint Ash aud Lancewood Heavy Salt "Water Bass Rod, hollow butt, extra tip, brass mountings, 9ft " 90c. 



Brass Multiplying Reeis, Balance Handle, Screw Oil Cup, fine finish, 25yds., 83c. ; 40yds., 95c. ; 60vds., $1.05; 80yds., §1.15; 100yds., $1.25. Hard Rubber Multiplying Reels, Balance Handle, 

 Sliding Click, Nickel Plated, 40yds., $1.75; 60yds., $2,25; 80yds., $2.50; 200yds., $3.75. Braided Linen Reel Lines on Block, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 300ft., 41c. J. F. M. Brand Liuen Reel 

 Lines on Block, 300ft., 9 thread^ 3Sc. ; 13 thread. 43c. ; 15 thread, 46c. ; 18 thread, 53c. Brass Swivels, 15c. per doz. Best Quality Hooks on single gut, per doz., 10c. ; double gut, 15c. per 

 doz. ; treble gut, 20c. per doz. Single Gut Leaders, 1ft., per doz., 15c. ; 2ft., per doz., 80c. ; 8ft., per doz., 45c. Double Gut Leaders, 1ft., per doz., 15c. ; 2ft., per doz., 30c. ; 3ft., doz., 45o. 



J. F. MARSTERS, 5X, 53 & 55 Court St., Brooklyn, N, Y, 



fkrnd m for XUnctratai Gatatogiuv tor 1890, OPEN 



