The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-20
PEOPLE ON THE ATLANTIC.
!sorsET'S NOVEL sT1TIsTIcs or NO.
NAN LIFE At ~

heems TO have plenty OF time on his hands. hai
been engaging In very curious Investigations
the results Of which appear In a pamphlet h,
has published In Berlin. It occurred TO him L
regard the Thousands OF vessels that thropG
tho Atlantic as 30 many inhabited GASES in the
vast desert OF waters, and the novel problem he
act himselft to solve was the average density oil
human population on the Atlantic Ocean. Sc
he went TO work with all q Germans patience
and Industry TO study this interesting question,
First he spent n long time collecting statistics
from every port showing the number Of ships
plying between the various Atlantic ports. the
number OF persons on board Of them and tho
number OF days spent at sea. He gathered all
attalnable data on these points. covering an
entire year. and by skilful combination OF his
facts he was able to reach some interesting
conclusions. though. In the nature Of things,
he could not attain a high degree Of exactitude.
He was unable. for instance. 70 obtain s%atisfac-
tory data concerning warships and tho fishing
fleets on the Atlantic. and so he left them en-
tirely out Of his calculations.
Herr Boysen found that for the year under
Investigation thore was q daily average of 1851
sailing vessels ut sea. with 44.So0 men In their
crews. Every day. also. 1.504 steamships. with
crews numbering SO. 263 men and 80. 565 pas
sengers, were afloat on the Atlantic. This
made a daily average for the year Of 5.155 ves-
sells and $780, 27 persons spread over the whole
Atlantic surface.
Herr Boysen had no easy nut to crack when
he attempted to work out from these statistics
and the manifold paths OF all these vessels in
the sea the density Of population throughout
the Atlantic. In fact he found no density of
impressive proportions. or course there are
wide areas OF the ocean which are seldom Wis
tied by vessels. and for the entire Atlantic
Herr Boysen found that the average density
Of population for the year he investigated was
only 0.002 per square kilometre. which is com
parable with the extremely small density of
population among the hunter and fisher folk
of 1.-THE northern half OF North America. The
density was more considerable. of course.
along the well-travelled ocean routes. and Boy
sen found that between the British coasts and
North America the mean density OF this fuc-
tuating population was 0.01 per square XII
lometre. which is about equal to The density OF
population along the Arctic coast OF Siberia.
where there are a good many Yaknts and
Chukchees; and upon the route from England
to Gibraltar the density was OOPS per square
kllometre. as in Patagonia and Terra del Fue-
go. The most thickly populated part OF the
sea. tho English Channel. where the average |
density is 0.07 is comparable with the popula-
tion scattered over Yakutsk. Siberia.
Tho color scheme on Herr Boysen's map to
show the various densities will be likely to
eSNfSa ITO etAitc u tto Nv III III l
transportation continue. Within the past ff-
teen years ocean carriage has been practically
revolutionized in point OF cheapress and
speed. Last year. two shipments OF lace on the
steamer st. Louis and st. Paul from South
anipton were placed on the shelves of mer-
chants in New York and Chicago within eight
and ten and a half days from the time they left
Calais. A bale of Sea Island cotton is now
put down at Liverpool or Manchester ut a little
~ nFA #fhnn tIA - - a III VI
York. Many facts Of this nature induce British
manufacturers to regard the United States as
economically nearer to Great Britain by sea
than Glasgow is to London by rail. 1t costs
the Germans only S1.87sto move a ton Of wheat
several hundred miles on their river routes:
but thousands of tons OF wheat have been
transported from New York, to Hamburg for
SLAB a ton. No wonder that German farmers
find 1T almost impossible to compete with
American grain. Tho enormous decrease in
ocenn freight charges is one OF the most potent
causes of agricultural distress In Europe. In
1870 the cost OF carrying a ton OF wheat from
New York to Havre was S10.S1. Ten years
later the cost per ton was 81 .g4. l.
Our industries and arts are not embarrassed
by the fact that the home supply Of sulphur is
mad equate to their needs. when San Francisco
can draw directly upon the boundless supplies
OF Sicily. shipped around Cape Horn at n
lrelRnthpn cost oil only S3.bO per ton. /
Surprising as these low figures Of freight car
riage seem. there is one phase of our inland
transportation that is cheaper still. The Ohio
and Mississippi. rivers can safely boast the
cheapest carriage In the world. This is accom-
pltshed by the system of tows. flatboats dashed
together and propelled by stern wheel steam
ers. One such tow consisting of thirty-eight
intboats has been sent down from louisville
TO New Orleans hauled by a single steamer.
and u great deal OF coal is carried in this way
from PittsbnrG TO New Orleans, 1000 miles. at
go cents a ton. The marvellous cheapness of
this hatboat transportation is one reason why
the amount OF freight moved on steamers in
the Mississippi Valley has decreased fully one
half In tho past twenty years. whilet the amount
moved on fatboats by the tow system has in
creased about threefold in the same time.
Returning to ocean transportation. we find
that the remarkable decrease in freight charges
within twenty years is almost wholly due to in
and improvements In machinery. I'm
provements In steam engines now enable YES
sells bound for the Orient to go from Great
and the Continent direct to the Suez
Canal without coalins at nyintermediate port.
progress now makes one pound of
coal furnish as much steam as three pounds
twenty years ago. In other words, the cost OF
steam power owing to improvements In en-
gines. boilers and CRATES. has been reduced fully
two-thirds. Less time Is now required to build
freight steamers than formerly. their carrying
capacity is much greater. they travel faster
md the risks OF ocean traffic have been much
The largest freighter In the world.
he steamer Pennsylvania. built In 1897. has a
ARRIVING capacity OF 1900 tons, a remarkably
consumption for SO large q vessel.
md an average speed Of thirteen knots. Other
mammoth vessels are building for the Ham
,uig. White Star and other lines. and they will
Illustrate the meaning OF the now era In freight
ransportation.
All the transatlantic vessels. until within a
ew years past. were built with a view to the
'yer Increasing emigration to the United
without which they could not be made
o pay. on account OF their large consumption
coal and small freight capacity. Freight
'arnlnR was snbordinated to steeraGe passen- I
Ter earning. But to-day emigration to tho {
;nited States has largely fallen or. and the
type OF freighters is built to consume a
minimum, quantity Of coal aud carry n maxi /
mum amount OF freight. When tho White'Star I