It is sometimes supposed that if a city can make its harbor deep enough and its terminal facilities sufficiently large and convenient it can assure trade for itself. This is only partly true. A city like Port land, Maine, cannot hope to compete with Boston no matter how deep its harbor or how large its terminal facilities because it lies farther from the great centers of production in manufacturing and agriculture. Nor can Boston hope to compete with New York for the same reason and because the route from Boston to the interior is rugged while that from New York is level. Nevertheless, there is no question that unless a city keeps deepening its harbor and enlarging its terminal facilities in accor dance with the growth of industry its commerce will rapidly dwindle.
One of the most serious problems that confronts American trans portation is how to make an American merchant marine pay and at the same time maintain American rates of wages. At present the laws of the United States oblige the owners of vessels registered under the American flag to care for their sailors in a much more expensive way than is required by most other countries. Many shipping firms have in the past found this impossible and have preferred foreign registry even though the vessels were owned in America. It is generally agreed to be highly advisable that the United States should own a large num ber of ships but it is also agreed that it is not profitable to own ships which cannot earn enough to make them pay. At present the laws of the United States foster American shipping and attempt to maintain I the American standard among sailors by providing that only ships ' with American registry shall carry goods from one port of the United States to another. When it comes to transoceanic commerce the prob ' lem is more difficult. A large 'number of the ships which were built during the war were tied up for a year or two during the succeeding period. Subsidies from the national government to ships carrying the ' United States mails are thought by many people to be the best means of encouraging American shipping. Others think that this method is too expensive, and that it is better to let foreign ships carry American goods. The whole question is one of the most important in connection with America's foreign commerce.
The Internal Waterways of the United States.—On the map it appears as if the Mississippi River leading from the Gulf of Mexico into the heart of the agricultural regions of the United States ought to be a highly important waterway. On the map it likewise appears as if the New York Barge Canal linking America's most active manufacturing region with the Great Lakes near the most productive agricultural region ought to be equally important. In spite of a slight recent
revival neither carries commerce of great importance compared with what could be carried, or with what similar waterways carry in Europe. The reason is partly the slowness of transportation by canal or river, partly the fact that the channels in both cases are not deep enough for ocean-going boats, partly the necessity for more trans-shipment than is needed with goods carried all the way to their destination by train, and partly the competition of the railways. New methods may increase the, use of the inland waterways, but the development of the automobile and of other transportation facilities has recently lessened the demand for them.
Facilities for Communication in the United Post Of cc and Telegraph.—In the United States, as in all other advanced coun tries, the chief facilities for communication are the post office, the ordinary telegraph, wireless, and the telephone. While the postal service of the United States is fairly efficient, it is not equal to those of Englant and some of the other European countries. Nevertheless the accurac3 with which it delivers something like 70 million letters and other piece: of mail each day is marvelous. We hear of the miscarriage of a single letter and forget that for each one that is missent a hundred thousanc are delivered correctly and promptly. As an agency for business thy post office is of almost incalculable value. When a business firm mail letters it can be practically certain that every one will be delivered ever' in places so remote that the mails arrive only once a week or once e month.
Another important feature of the post office is the parcels post Although this was established only in 1913, it today carries an enor mous number of packages. In 1921, the American Railway Expres shipped about 400 million packages while the post office shipped 2,604 million or about 25 for every man, woman, and child in the Unite• States. So important is this service that some of the largest businesse in the country are mail order houses which rely almost entirely upo: the post office to deliver their goods. Through their huge catalog and the accurate service of the postal authorities the rancher's wife in Montana or the miner's wife in Arizona or Alaska can purchase almost as easily and cheaply as can the woman who lives in the center of one of the greatest cities.