6 ON THE MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS OF SHIPS. 
community as a whole, or for strategical reasons which lie outside the present 
discussion. 
V. Up to the present time the response made to the appeal from ship- 
owners for increased accommodation for larger ships by authorities of the 
great seaports of the world has been neither niggardly nor unsatisfactory. 
At the present moment extensive and costly works are in progress which 
will provide accommodation for the largest ships now building, and leave 
some margin for further developments. The Ambrose Channel to New 
York, and the new docks provided at that port for the great Trans-Atlantic 
liners furnish illustrations of the foregoing statement. At Liverpool and 
Southampton corresponding works are in course of performance, while still 
larger schemes are contemplated. It is not necessary to amplify this list, 
because it is a matter of common knowledge that all over the maritime world 
the same policy is being followed. Immense sums are being expended 
on improvements and extensions of docks and harbors as well as on the 
approaches thereto, both by governments and by proprietary bodies. One 
of the latest and largest schemes of this nature is that for the River Thames. 
From reports issued by the new Port of London Authority it appears that 
the estimated outlay for making the dock and channel accommodation of 
the Port of London suitable for the existing trade, and for providing a proper 
margin to meet future developments, will be about 143 millions sterling 
(over 72 million dollars). 
VI. The marvelous growth of the world’s commerce in modern times 
has enabled these great engineering works to be undertaken hitherto under 
conditions which have, in most cases, either yielded fair returns to investors 
in dock and harbor securities, or which have been considered by governments 
beneficial to the whole nation and worthy of adoption irrespective of the 
return upon capital expenditure. In many cases this question of dock 
accommodation has been treated by great corporations—such as railway 
companies—as parts of their schemes of operations rather than as inde- 
pendent undertakings. Modest returns have been accepted on large sums 
expended upon docks, because the existence of that accommodation has led 
to such an increase of earnings on the system considered as a whole, as 
justified the expenditure on docks. The growth of traffic in most of the 
great seaports has also enabled earlier docks to be fully utilized by vessels 
of smaller dimensions than those for which the latest docks have been con- 
structed. But while this has hitherto happened it seems not improbable 
that a point may be reached beyond which dock and harbor authorities will 
not care to go in expenditure in order to meet further increase in dimensions 
and draughts in a relatively small number of the largest ships; and it is well 
