ces the iron horse could ever compete with the canal boat in
rates. The most sagacious business men had unlimited faith in the
destiny of the canal as a prime commercial factor and invested largely
in canal stocks. To many these investments proved a disappointment. The
marvelous improvements in locomotives and other rolling stock, the
unprecedented reductions in the prices of iron and steel, and above all
the fact that in our climate canal carriage is unavailable during five
months of the year, gave the railroads a decided advantage in their
competition with canal transportation. There can be no doubt, however,
that the presence of this competition was one of the chief causes of the
great reduction of railroad rates on through routes. In this respect
alone the canals have accomplished a very important mission. In the
transportation of many of the raw products of the soil and the mine
canals still compete successfully with the railroads, and it is still an
open question whether future inventions may not enable them to regain
lost ground in the carriage of other goods. It would certainly be a
short-sighted policy for our people to discourage the construction of
new canals.

For the improvement of navigable rivers, appropriations have been made
by Congress ever since the establishment of our national government, and
these appropriations now amount to millions of dollars annually. Since
the introduction of railroads the usefulness of these national highways
of commerce has ceased to depend upon the tonnage carried upon them, but
the influence which they exert upon the cost of transportation is so
great that it is not likely that the policy of making annual
appropriations for the improvement of these water ways will be abandoned
by the American people for many years to come.

There has recently been a strong agitation in some portions of the
United States in favor of extending government aid to the Nicaragua Ship
Canal, and there seem to be indeed many arguments in favor of such a
policy. President Harrison said in his annual message to Congress in
December, 1891:

"The annual report of the Maritime Canal Company of
Nicaragua shows that much costly and necessary preparatory
work has been done during the past year in the construction
of shops, railroad tracks and harbor piers and breakwaters,
and that the work of canal construction has made some
progress. I deem it to be a matter of the