156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 



mation of rival companies, and the like forms of monopoly. Compe- 

 tition and commercial rivalry are becoming extinct, and the ocean, 

 like the land, is parcelled out into spheres of influence and zones of 

 exclusive dealing-. The sailing vessel alone furnishes the chance for 

 the small capitalist. It can be built at a more moderate outlay, its 

 upkeep costs far less, it deteriorates less rapidly, and may still keep 

 the water long years after the steamer has been broken up for scrap 

 iron. A sailing vessel gives a chance to cooperative enterprise, for 

 there is no reason why the profit sharing, which was the basis of 

 the old whaling voyages, should not be applied to every trading voy- 

 age. Just as the sliij) may be owned by 64 individuals, so the profits 

 of the voyage may be shared by the adventurers, the master, and the 

 hands, every one having his personal profit in the success of the voy- 

 age. Under such a system the merchant service would receive a 

 great impetus. It would attract a higher type of recruits and it 

 would call forth and educate their best qualities. After all, Great 

 Britain is and will be what her seamen make of her and what she 

 makes of her seamen. So long as her young men desire to go to sea, 

 and so long as she treats them well when they have entered on her 

 service, be it naval or mercantile, so long is Great Britain's position 

 among nations secure, even against the enhanced rivalry with which 

 we are threatened after the war. 



