| Show UNCLE SAMS SHIPPING liverpool lUver pool weekly mercury oct 5 nearly every account of the corn com mercial enolal tonnage of we the different aou countries 11 of the world places the united states in a very position botlon pot lon because such accounts account ignore the large tonnage that country possesses in its it inland water larve Larf lre passenger teamer steamers ot of 19 or 20 knots speed peed bad and of fully tons have during the he last season been running in connection with the railways rail waya on the great lakes lake cargo vessels of like tonnage aro are being regularly added to their duets flu eta quite recently so ao called revenue out teni terp but capable of almost instant conversion into armed cruiser have been placed oo on these theae inland water and it is in evident therefore that 1 it the united states flig Is deat laed to be no more in evidence in foreign waters in the future than in the be past that disparity die will be referred rev erred oed on the great errity ake where the united states ton nage already exceeds exceed that ot or canada by about a million of tons tong the immensely imme preponderating power of the united states on the in d seas of the american continent and ahe extent of that power may be gleaned from the fact that the tonnage passing one point in the lakes in the eight or nine dine months montha only during which there was wae open navigation ex ceede the amount of tonnage passing through the jhb suez canal in a twelve month by no fewer than five millian tons tone this tonnage has bag carried during the last season theirly bour our million bushels of wheat nine million barrels of it ff flaur jur six and a half million tons tins ot of iron ore and two and a half million tons of coal the most surprising however in connection with this lake transport are the astonishingly low raids at which the nood rocci i are carried and the fact that these rules rates pay the average rate for grain carried from one end of the lakes jakes to the other during last season was equal to halt half a crown per ton whilst cal was conveyed at two shilling and a peony per ton and for part of the distance at only one shilling per too ton the remarkable laborsaving labor saving appliances employed on the lakes jakes in loading and dis die charging obar ging alone admit of this tuese rates are not exceptional and the pr jor of that they are remunerative is found in the fact that american tonnage on the lakes jakes increased last season by 84 per cent despite this cheap transport and the delays caused by the nature of the navigation they make the trip in fourteen days from chicago to new ark FA a remarkably good one tor for aff a atilla of 01 birges as was noticed in this column colun iiii a snort time algo ago vailuu projects nave from time to time been moot mooted J betwee lo 10 facilitate the navigation between the two points mentioned and to do away with some or of the thirty five looks that now impede it A suggestion worthy of the he other big chingo done in america has recently been made whereby it is asserted asaei ted that ocean steamers like the cevic with their arns tons of cargo could pro ceded at aalf direct from now new york to chicago the details of this proposal are too many for this column but the main feature is that by higher lifts ot of IL 11 for or instance four or five lifts bouli Auf floe where now 86 85 are required it it be granted that such looks locks are teas feat ible the remainder of the be task to is only a question of exo ezoa avati vatin D it Is is worth while tb therefore 0 to briefly describe he proposed look pneumatic dry docks that is pon submerged to decalve the vessel venal and stion hosted floated by pumping out the water are to in common use in several ports of the world and the suggestion la in that two pneumatic balanced wet docks be constructed in each of which would ft flaat jag a steel tank capable of taking the largest ocean vessel and that thai tank lank floating aim on a cushion of oum praised air made tight by a water pit pil below the compressed air la is con necked in the two docks by a phoned siphoned sy flexible pipe ot of 21 ft diameter toon then the introduction of any extra weight into either tank whether of a ship and her bar cargo or additional water will it il is obvious cause the tank so extra weighed to sink mink and the lighter one to rise ale the be requisite distance automatically it such a design is ever carried out and gitya the present low price of steel the one ODO and only difficulty of cost should estelly be overcome there would be a complete revolution in the inland navigation take the mano mane jester ship canal tor for instance one look would suffice where now there are live five anait and it would be worked without any waste of water a verlous question in a of drought further the services of a man and a buy boy would be sufficient lor for the transfer from one devol to the other of the largest vessel and it could be done in an incredibly short space apace of time tim e for the flow of compressed om pressed air is 18 many times greater than that of water every inland town of importance would then have its ship canal seaports aporte Be would become a misnomer and railroads rall roada would cease to pay however like george III in his bis view ol of the constitution the pree ent ant state of things is likely to continue during the be lifetime of the present generation era tion |
