Washington sentinel., 1899-02-11
THE CARS PRoPosALs.


The paper which Sir Robert Gifen
read before the ROYAL Statistical Society
dIsposes efectually cf the delusion that
our prosperity is declining because the
Board OF Trade returns show a growing
excess of imports over exports. The
alarmists have INTERPRETED this excess
to mean that we are living on our capi-
tai. II would be somewhat nearer the
truth to say that we are living upon the
interest on our capital, tor the income
we derive from investments abroad IS
now estimated at something like $780,
oOo, 900 year, a figure which alone goes
half way towards explaining the excess
OF imports. In addition there Is the
large sum earned by our shipowners for
doing the bulk OF carrying the trade Of
the world and this is estimated by Sir
Robert GIffin at another Eeo, 100000 a
year. Other important items are the
ships sold to foreign purchasers and the
commissions earned by bankers and
merchants on the international transac-
tious which they conduct. When these
and other items presented by Sir Robert
GiiteD are all brought into account, It
will be seen that, so far from living on
our capital, we are still sending capital
abroad for fresh investment Nor is it
true, as the Board of Trade figures at
first sight seem to indicate, that our ex-
port trade IS stationary, On the con-
trary, when the fall of prices is taken
into account it will be found that our
exports during the past thirty years have
with slight ups and downs, been steadily
incress sing, and it must be noted that
lower prices DO not necessarily mean
lower profits, because the cost of pro-
duction all round has been low cred by
improvements in manufacture and by
the cheapening of raw materials.
StdNdGyd.-London, January IS
America is buying back its own in
vestments fast, aud to an extent which
Sir Robert Giffen hardly seems to real
ize. There is no other point in his
speech which calls Tor remark. He is
by no means concerned at the stati nary
or even declining condition of some Of
our staple industries. AS one branch OF
our foreign tra,le decays, others, he feels
sure come in to take its place. We
have lost our old supremacy in iron and
hardware, and, TO a certain extent, in
cotton and wooden manufactures. Coal
and shipping still remain to us, and in
the latter especially we are unriyaled,
though cot unchaileDged. ButEoUE ex-
port trade undoubtedly grests on a slen.
derer basis than OF old, and it is not
wholly Teassuring to know that it de-
pends so largely on a raw material which
IS widely diffused over a large part OF
the habitable globe, and is being pro-
duced in increasing quantities in many
countries, Coal is not like corn; when
a mine IS once worked out, it cannot be
sown and planted to bear fresh harvest.
To a certain extent, we are living on our
capital, though not exactly IN the sense
accepted by those who are alarmed by
the statistics which are a cause of so
much satisfaction to Sir Robert Giffen.
THR "OcEAMC"-THE LARGEST VEs-
sEL IN THE WORLD.
SkaHdard-London,J Jan. I6.
The Oceanic, OF the White Star line,
the largest vessel in the world, was
launched on Saturday from the ship
building yard of Messrs. Harland and
Wolf, at Belfast. She is IS feet and a
half longer than the Great Eastern,
which had hitherto held the record for
size. if for nothing else. In other words,
she is considerably more than an eighth
of mile in length, and, with her full
complement of passengers and crew,
will accommodate two thousand one
hundred and four persons. In comparison
with the enormous bulk Of the Oceanic,
the most formidable bittleship a1oat is
almost insignificant, y Mr..
Plrrie. the desIger Of the new leviathan,
addressed himself, primarily, to the
construction of a ship which would not
necessarily be very fast-and hitherto
the larger has, generally speaking, been
the most rapid-but which should be at
once comfortable and punctual. The
size and plan of the Oceanic insure that
the toughest seas will have but little
retarding effect upon her, and should
the calculations OF her builders be justi.
fed, she will be able to steam from
London to New York, in any weather,
in six days and a half. The
requirements of speed, and the necessity
for providing accommodation for large
numbers OF passengers, make it difficult
to endow a modern ocean steamer with
anything approaching the external grace
Of a full rugged merchantmen, which is
one oil the most beautiful sights the sea
affords. In a world of steam and IRON
there is little room for the gracio us
forms OF the wooden ship, with its belly
ing canvas and its maze OF cordage.
pafly Nsw5-London, January I6.
The vessel IS expected to vibrate less
than her rivals, For this reason she is
riveted throughout with steel. Counting
crew, and passengers OF all classes, she
will carry more than 2,IoO souls. She
is little heavier than the Great Eastern,
il she can feel any pride in that. She
is expected to smile at heavy seas, But
then, so was the Great Eastern and one
Of the first things tn at they did with her
was to hurl a COW from its stall on deck
into one Of the cabins. The building OF
these monster ships is purely an affair
OF the science of construction. and that