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200 Kanawha river has slack water the year round, which costs the govern- ment fully $100,000 a year to main- tain, and on which more than $5,000,- 000 were expended as first cost; but coal carried on this river costs the consumer as much as coal carried by Who gets the benefits? The steamboat men and the shippers. rari: The facts are that inland waterway improvement must be put on a broad- er basis; it must include pure water 'supply, prevention of floods and eros- ion of banks, development of water power, and the propagation of food fish. The improvements required for navigation alone are too costly, and should be linked to those that will benefit the people direct. THE DECLINE OF THE TRAMP. As indicating the spirit of change which is inseparable from the con- duct of modern business, the follow- ing paragraph from the report of the the significant. board * of 'directors. of Cunard Steamship Co. is quite Truly the old order giving way to the new: "A. great change has been slowly but surely coming over the Atlantic freight business, a change which must today be clearly recognized and faced. On the one hand we find that the rapidly growing population of the United States will, before very long, absorb that country's entire produc- tion of food stuffs; on the other hand, the supplemented by while 20 years ago passenger steamer had to be the cargo steamer, today the modern type of steamer of moderate power in proportion to her large size is able to do the work of both. There does not, therefore, appear to be much further prospect of profitable employ- ment of purely cargo steamers at such ports as Boston and New York, and we have, accordingly, decided to. sell our only remaining vessel of this class, the Sylvania.' It has been repeatedly pointed out, especially by James J. Hill, of the Great Northern that the population of the United States would eventually consume its entire wheat crop and have none for export. Farm- railway, THE Marine REVIEW ing of an intensive character 1s nOW required. Any increase in... exports must come from articles of a manu- factured character. Apparently, also, the tramp steamer in such established lanes as the North Atlantic must give way to the intermediate passen- ger steamer, vessels of enormous cat- rying capacity. MISSISSIPPI RIVER BARGES. Editor Marine REeEvIEW: I have a copy of your April number, containing a picture of our barges and some printed matter taken from our circulars. I wish you would give me space to make a brief reply to your criticism of them. In regard to your criticism of the use of the word "yacht-like,' if you are as ' familiar with yacht construction on the lakes in recent years as you are with freight carrying craft, you will know that the type commonly referred to among the reporters as a sidewalk yacht, which has a long, flat raking bow, has attained considerable speed and _ goes through the water with 'little effort. This was the type which we had in mind. The modification of the Great Lakes freighter has reference entirely to the shape of the cargo carrying box, which is built within the hold, and to the flat decks, and numerous hatches, which are certainly of the lake type, and absolute- ly different from anything used on riv- ers anywhere else in the world. As to the ability to build such a boat and the weight that is available, which you say would be 600 tons for hull and equipment, a little figuring will show you that on the proportions given you your estimate is wrong. Supposing that the boat draws but 1 ft. light, which is the figure you were basing it on, then her displacement of water at 1 ft. draught is 33,000 cu. ft. or something more than 1,000 tons. As a matter of fact, this announcement was made be- fore we had the complete figures or her weight, which proves to be light about 1,500 tons, giving her a draught light of 1 ft. 5 in. She then takes 1,000 tons for every foot of displacement up. to her maximum of 7 ft. 6 in. Concerning the horsepower and speed of the boat, it is impossible for me to give you any better estimate than that we have previously made now, but the model of her is being tested out in the tank and we will know in a short time just what horsepower she _ will require for fast package service. The boat, I may add, carries heavy bridging in both sides and also in the longitudinal bulkhead down the center May, 1910 and is further provided and braced with cross bulkheads every 50 it. Very truly yours, Mississipp1 VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (Co, John L. Mathew, Secretary, (Our correspondent stretches the def- nition of a yacht somewhat beyond the elastic limit. Boats of the "sidewalk" type are not yachts any_ more than a self-propelling pile-driver is a steamship, the reporters to the contrary notwith- standing. Our criticism as to weights and displacements was exactly correct, The displacement quoted at light draught was 1,000 tons. The boilers, machinery and fuel would account for certainly 400 tons of this, leaving only 600 tons for hull and hull equipment weights, That our estimate was well grounded is borne out by Mr. Mathew's letter, in which he says the light displacement will be 1,500 tons instead of 1,000. How- ever, we think it will be found that even the revised estimate is too low, and this even with machinery designed for 2,000 horsepower. That the proposed boat will ever reach a speed of 16 miles per hour, either loaded or light, with 2,000 horsepower, is scarcely debatable, and tank results are of little value as an indication of what may be expected in a _ relatively narrow, shallow and tortuous stream, such as the Mississippi - river, ) WANTED--A JOB. Educated at the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., at a cost to the govern- ment of about $30,000.00. Spent three or four years at sea as a line officer 10 learn ship conditions. Assigned to the Construction Corps of the Navy pre- sumably because I gave promise of mak- ing good in the job. Sent abroad and spent three years at the best technical school and engineering works, studying ship building and engineering--at the expense of the .government at a cost of about $15,000. Have been engaged for the past 18 years at the largest ship yards and navy yards, building and re- pairing ships and machinery. Have made management of large industrial estab- lishments my specialty. Well known 0 the engineering world and my reputation as a manager and engineer among those whose opinion is of any value is the best. Have refused in the past offers to take charge of large establishments because I believed my duty was to the government that had educated me. Reason for wishing to make a cha --I am no longer wanted by the goverl ment. The: navy is. not: nua for the country and the benefit of the countty but is run for the benefit and glory of line officers. Experience has proved that line officers of the navy by divine right are the greatest diplomats, astom omers, designing engineers, marine el officers; : i ts electrical engineers, pursers, accountants, nge gineers, navigators, gunnery | naval architects, and managers the wf ao : se has ever seen. By divine right the officers are the best equipped to desig,