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CARGO TRANSFERENCE AT STEAMSHIP TERMINALS. 171 
and the arrangement of the upper part of the structures left the ships without suf- 
ficient strength against compression. From accidents of that nature there has 
arisen a necessity for better and more scientific design; and those who have followed 
the matter will know how many rival and competing types of steamers have been . 
developed, all of which differ essentially from ships built ten years ago, and embody 
scientific principles in their structures, as well as better means for handling cargoes. 
The lifting appliances of the ship obviously ought always to be made as com- 
plete and efficient as possible, and the extended use of electricity is greatly assisting 
rapidity and ease of control. 
A few words about the harbor authorities? In England, in the construction 
of new docks and the arrangement of warehouses, attention is always paid to the 
handling of cargo. If one wishes to see how much attention has been devoted to 
that side of the subject in recent years, as compared, with what was formerly given 
to it, one only needs to go to Liverpool and walk through the docks, passing from 
the older docks to the later docks. 
In England we have one difficulty which I suppose is not felt much here. In 
some of our docks we have to deal, if I remember rightly, with a rise and fall of tide 
of as much as forty feet. That isnot a comfortable thing to face in connection with 
the use of lifting appliances. 
I was at Prince Rupert the other day, where there is a rise and fall of tide 
amounting to 27 feet. In England the use of enclosed docks is general because 
of these tidal conditions. Ships enter these enclosed docks, wherein a constant 
level of water can be maintained, and the relation of the ship to the wharf is un- 
changed. In the latest development in English ports, that on the Thames, after con- 
sidering the whole matter, it has been decided that further enclosed docks shall be 
built. The key-note of the whole situation, as the author says, is consideration of 
the services to be performed. The cooperation of all concerned—civil engineers, 
mechanical and naval engineers, and port and harbor authorities is also essential 
if the best results are to be obtained. 
Mr. Rosert H. Rocers (Communicated):—I cannot lose this opportunity 
to endorse Mr. Harding’s paper on Cargo Transference. Asa student of the intri- 
cate problems presented by freight traffic in general and the terminal handling of 
package freight in particular I have been handicapped by the lack of comprehensive 
data and statistics covering this important and costly class of work. 
_ Probably go per cent. of the data of a reliable nature on this subject available 
to-day is due to the unremitting efforts of Mr. Harding and is found in the form 
of short papers and addresses published in technical magazines and in the pro- 
ceedings of traffic associations and technical societies such as this. 
One can hardly conceive of more difficult figures to analyze, segregate, and 
properly label than those covering the cost of handling freight in terminals. In the 
first place these costs are not generally understood by those in charge and in the 
second place fear of harmful comparisons seal the lips of those having approximate 
figures at their disposal. 
