Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-03-11
HUGE OCEAN LINERS.
Lewis Nixon Predicts Vessels
 Quarter of a Mile L0nq.
FOREIGNERS TO BUILD THEM
Ships of Next Generation Will Have Trolley Lines on Deck and Moving Sidewalks, Says American Ship builder-Newspapers, Vaudeville and Opera to Amuse Seagoers.

Sidewalks, Says American Ship
 buiIder-Newspaper Vaudeville and
 Opera to Amuse Seasoers.
 Lewis Nixon, the American ships
 builder, who was recently interviewed
 by representative of the New York
 Evening World, made the following
 prediction concerning the future ocean
 steamer:
 A generation from now will see yes.
 sells far longer than any contemplated
 now, even though 1000 foot vessels are
 projected by the White Star line If one will consider, a vessel is a
 great floating girder, and in order to
 extend the length and breadth we must
 extend the depth. This means deeper
 draft, and, as vessels are built to make
 money, we must have terminal faciIi.
 ties to admit the greater draft. Today
 we can see a channel to the wharfs
 of New York city of forty feet No
 doubt deeper drafts can be utilized
 abroad, and, as vessels will tighten
 very much in coming over, heavy i'm. | port cargo could be carried and the yes.
 sel leaving New York take only such cargo as will permit safe departure. To get great power we can go to mul. tiple screws, but there is limit even to this. Except at vast expense, do not believe harbors can be prepared for vessels over quarter Of a mile, or 1,20O feet, long, for I do not expect the general shape of vessels to be subject to radical alteration.
 A serious question even now affect. ing navigation in New York harbor is that small sailboat bent on keeping the right of way can interfere with the movements, possibly disastrously, of a vessel costing millions.
 We can accept as an axiom in water borne freight that the cost, other things being equal, is about inversely as the draft on which it is carried Naturally. then, we shall want to utilize the deep. est draft possible, and therefore we shall see vessels built of as deep draft as possible.
 The larger the vessel the less propor. tionate power is required to drive her at any given speed So we gain in economy of speed production and in economy of freight carrying by build. ing the larger vessel.
 A few years ago we could not build bigger vessels on account of the man driven rivet. Now we drive rivets by power So far as structural limita- tions are concerned, there is nothing to prevent our floating and propelling at sea any sized structure that is de- handed.
 l believe, too, that we can launch any sized vessel, but the proportionate cost of launching will increase rapidly with great sizes. Great vessels must be kept going, and long detentions in port must be avoided. so the vessels must be discharged and loaded rapidly, though the express boat, increasing in size and proportionately in speed, will carry, as today, practically no freight.
 In my minds eye can see the great cargo vessel landing below the Mar rows and the great plain extending from the hills of Staten Island to the lower bay great freight receiving de- pot, filled with railroad tracks and warehouses and facilities for handling freight. There win be a breakwater or protection of some sort about in line with Swinbourne island, and inside of this, in a great dock space dredged to about 100 feet, will be wharfs to &C., commodate the vast freight brought by the deepest vessels.
 Newport News will probably be the other deep water harbor of the Atlan- tic coast.
 Great docks can be built at New York under far better conditions than at London, for example, as the rise and fall of the tides there require regular dock gates, through which vessels pass only at high tide. In New York we have only enough tide to SCOUT out our harbor twice day, so vessels can load or discharge at any stage of the tide.
 It pleases the fancy to speculate as to the creature comforts to be found on great ships. Of course there will be the daily paper, the stock ticker and the cable office, afternoon concerts, the and the opera. This, how ever. we can include in a general sweeping statement that every modern comfort and refinement will be found that is found on land.
 Shall we do away with seasicknessT That cannot be guaranteed, though turing a far greater portion of the lime spent in crossing we shall have no motion. But there are lines when squeamIsh stomachs wnI lnow they are at sea.
 Doubtless along the great stretch of ieeks where the ultra luxurious travel here will be trolley cars or moving platforms to take them to their state- 'Ooms.
 However, we must improve our lredging outfits and prepare the har. ,Or of New York to take the largest -essel that the enterprise of the fos lgner self-
 Arcade For Choppers st ssa.