Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-02-12
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
SPECIAL CoREESpONpENCE.

One of the most interesting consular
reports recently made to our depart
ment of state is that Of Mr.. James
Boyle, United States consul at Liver
pool. upon the extension of the docks at
that port. The paper is of especially
instructive value tu the shippers ald
merchants of New York. Who have
been brought face To face this year
with great increase of the commerce
OF the United States. most of which is
credited to other ports. while the har-
in the competitive race for this trade
The Liverpool docks have thus far
cost over 5000, 600 They are al
ready the largest and most substun-
TALLY built in the world, hav-
ing the strength of fortresses,
numbering ninety, with river
frontage of seven miles. having an
equal double length of warehouses,
and being controlled by apuh.ic b. ard,
which, Consul Boyle says. "ha, no
parallel in the world, either in impor-
tance or magnitude" Yet. with all
this magnificent equipment, and with
the credit of being the Sc ,onl largest
seaport III Europe. being exceeded
only by London, there is in Liverpool
such II lively sense of the competition
of other ports and such far sighted
appreciation of future needs that there
are now in progress and contempla-
tion extensions and improvements
,f " IA oh a fal ,,,ot
800, 900. There is even now building
Il dry dock go feet long, and it is in
tended to enlarge another dock.
now 40 feat long, to length
Of 1000 feet and width of
ninety feet. The largest ship
now aAoat, the Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse, is 649 feet long and sixty-six
wide: but it is well known that there
is now building the Oceanic, which is
to he 7Ol feet long and l7,0JO tonnage.
Therefore,, it will be seen that the Liver.
pool authorities are making wise pro-
vision for the future in adding to their
already enormous docking facilities.
But the lesson to New York in all this
lies in the fact that the Liverpool
docks are not maintained "primarily
for the profit of any individual or
business corporation, but for the
general good of the district, and
partirula ly of Liverpool. 1t
is to be observed, furthermore, that
the dock charges ald other sources of
revenue are so rated as to maintain
the docks and harbor( including dredg-
ing of the barr, to pay interest and to
meet the annual required payment of
s. O,0o0 to the sinking fund.- The
ability of the financing may be judged
by the statement that for the last tis-
cal year the receipts of the dock board
We're ST. S04, 73S, the expenditures So
997,9 The great natural advan-
tages of New York harbor are also
wildly presented by contrast with
the conditions at Liverpool. Here
vessel goes directly to her pier. There
the rise and fall of the tide in the Mer.
sey of thirtytwo feet has made neces-
sary the construction of floating
landing stage, threefonrths of mile
long, from eighty to 100 feet wide,
supported on iron pontoons and con-
nec!ed with the shore by hinged
bridges for vehicles and foot passen-
gers. No such obstacle as this con-
fronts the development of the river
front facilities of New York. Again.
Liverpool shows its enterprise by the
construction of an elevated railroad,
using the third rail electric system,
along the entire line of docks, which
is used, not only by the men whose
occupation is connected with the docks
and shipping, but by the general pub
lie as Il quick means of transit from
one end OF the city to the other.
Noteworthy here in New York, also, is
the announcement that the West India
and Pacific Steamship company is to
build two additional fast vessels, of
1000 or 5000 tons capacity, to ply be-
tween Liverpool and New Orleans, not
only to carry cargo, but ''to meet the
constantly increasing demand for
passengers between the Southern
States of America and Great Britain
Do we sometimes laugh at our British
cousins for being slow? New York
cannot afford to laugh at Liverpool
Nor can New York longer afford to
smile, superciliously at the growing
commerce of Boston, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Norfolk, Wilmington,
Tampa, Mobile and New Orleans.
Some time ago Mayor Van Wyck as
tonished and shocked the intelligent
people of this proud metropolis by in
dulging in fierce denunciation of the
action of his predecessor in consent
ing to the granting of the site for the
new public library building
here free of charge. This ontburst
was charitably regarded as nothing
more than manifestation of the
mayors bad temper at the time.
but, in view of the attack he has Just
been making on the president of the
board of education here, it
would seem as if Mayor Van Wyck
cherished deep-seate animosity
against anything and everything that
to the education and ell
of the people. In his
attempt to overhaul those having the
public schools in charge he betrayed
an extraordinary ignorance of the COM
monest educational methods, and lie
sneered at about all the innovations
that have been made in the public
schools of all intelligent communities.
He went so far in this direction as to
disgust the only newspaper in New
York that favored his election and
which promptly ''called him down."
1t may be that they are putting up
a job on Actor Radcliffe, and that he
is not really guilty of all the offences
charged against him. If this sus-
picion has any foundation. it wonld
seem to he about time for him or his
friends to furnish some evidence of
his innocence. Innocent men do not
stay in Jail long without q protest
from SOM mebOdy