Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/562

 548

��l'j)iil(ir Scicticc Monlldji

��Xotwithstunding llie handicap, however, nearly half of the foreign commerce of the I'nitetl States passes the Ambrose Channel and Scotland Lightships swinging at the enlraiue of the two pathways into the harbor. It is not until one stops to realize that New \'ork's foreign commerce is equal to that of Portland, Me., Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, Newpcjrt News, Wilmington, N. ("., Charleston, Sa\annah, Jackson- ville, Tampa, Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston, San Francisco, Port- land, Ore., Seattle and Tacoma combined, that one can appraise that statement at its worth. De- spite the fact that all raw ma- terial must be transported many miles to its factories. New York City is the greatest manufacturing community in the United States. At least one-tenth of all the manufactured goods ])roduced in this country are fabricated within its borders. It has been asserted that the city is the food market for 15,000,000 people. And yet only f)ne of the great trunk lines can run its freight trains directly into M a n h a 1 1 a n.

K^ a n k i n g first in some resi)ects among the four chief ports of the world, its w a t e r s a r c p r b a b 1 >■ busier than those of auN' other port, for a large [jrojior- l i o n of i t > freight mui^l In- (listributedand collected upon them. Therein it resembles Venice. Oni' Salurda\ after- noon the \\ riter ^to^d III!' ,in hour on the Battery Wall watching the

����Instead of loading and unloading freight several times during trnnyit from New Jcrrey to New York city, Mr. Wilgus would send it by rail under the river directly to its (innl destination

��The Wilgus freight subway for New York city is to extend throughout the city. Branches will

various types of vessels rang- ing from great ocean-liners to snorting grimy motor- l)oats moving over the ever-shift- ing surface. In the course of that time, l.S_^ s i tl e or t h e other, an a\er- age of more t h a II I h r e e per minute. There is i)rob- al)l\- no busit-r bit of water in the world. The l.ij-l report ot the .\ew N'ork Stale Commis- sion to In\es- I iga I e Port
 * )assed on one

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