Show J The Ship Railway on Paper ANN AEBOE August 28At the Social Science Convention held at Ann Arbor today in an address by Captain Carthele on The InterOceanic Problem he said The most serious obstacles have been overcome all except this one that lies in the center of the world a narrow neck of land uniting two continents and allowing no passage Our manufacturers who turn out over live billion dollars worth annually exporting ex-porting only two per cent cannot participate partici-pate > in two billions worth of trade in the far Pacific countries The American Isthmus has been considered for four centuries It has been examined surveyed sur-veyed plans made and perfected but nothing has resulted There are three routes Panama Nicaragua and Tehauntepec Summoning Sum-moning up the practicability of the last its advantages will be acknowledged The true scientific method is that which transfers a ship from ocean to ocean most promptly and economically The method is a ship railway Its details embpo a lifting dock with a system of hydraulic ivmsso arranged as to hold up and perfectly distribute the weight of the vessels and a regulated system of carriage supports to be placed under the vessels hulls the road bed to be built of materials to be found along the whole length of the railway the superstructure to be long steel ties on which will be laid heavy steel rails weighing weigh-ing about 100 pounds per linthil yard and powerful locomotives weighing 102 net tons with a capacity of 3600 gross tons on the level will haul the ships aero th > isthmus The difference in speed would oe one to two miles on an ocean railway to ten miles on a I ship railway The expense of transportation transporta-tion by canal is five times that of a railroad I Its strategic advantages are important and obvious Seven million tons of freight arc I in sight for transportation over the railway in 1889 The railway can be built and equipped in four years time 50000000 in I business cash will complete everything ready for I |