May 26, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



803 



commonly designated a masque, is not, 

 strictly speaking, such a production. 



The distinguishing features of the 

 masque were its allegorical presentation of 

 matter supposedly fitting to the occasion; 

 its lyrical poetry ; its novel musical effects 

 and combinations both vocal and instru- 

 mental, the gorgeousness and costly quality 

 of its costuming ; the ingenuity of its stage 

 settings and mechanical devices for stage 

 effect; its mingling in one performance, 

 though in separate parts, the amateur 

 with the professional actor; and scenes 

 of comic relief offered in the antimasque 

 performed by professional singers, dancers 

 and players. 



The Emancipation of the Waterways: Pro- 

 fessor Lewis M. Haupt, of Philadelphia. 

 In his paper on the 'Emancipation of 

 the Waterways,' Professor L. M. Haupt 

 traced first the beneficial effects of improve- 

 ments in the capacity of navigable channels 

 in lowering the rates of freight, as for grain 

 from Chicago to New York from 29.6 cents 

 per bushel in 1866 to 4.7 cents in 1903, due 

 to the enlargement of the Soo canal from 

 12 to 20 feet. He quoted Senator Frye to 

 the effect that the saving on lake freights 

 in one year was five times the total cost of 

 the entire lake system, and estimated that 

 the saving on the tonnage of 1903 was 

 $194,660,408. He then showed the in- 

 creased value to result to the western 

 farmer by the proximity of navigable chan- 

 nels as illustrated in the lower prices re- 

 ceived in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri as 

 compared with states nearer the seaboard, 

 and that this difference was the cost of the 

 overland haul. On cereals alone this charge 

 amounted to a loss to Nebraska of over 

 $14,000,000 as compared with prices in 

 Kansas, a little nearer water rates. The 

 policy of European countries owning rail- 

 ways was then stated to be a return to the 

 rapid and extensive development of their 



canal systems to encourage the delivery of 

 raw materials for manufactures in the com- 

 petition for the world's markets as in 

 France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Rus- 

 sia, Austria, Italy, etc., where thousands 

 of miles are under construction with im- 

 proved hydraulic and electric lifts and 

 with electric haulage, for barges of from 

 300 to 1,000 tons. 



The decadence of and opposition to the 

 canals in this country are shown in the 

 abandonment of over 700 miles in Pennsyl- 

 vania; 656 in Ohio; 269 in New York, etc. ; 

 and the effort now on foot in the latter state 

 to prevent the enlargement of the Erie to 

 even 12 feet, so as to retain some of the 

 grain trade which must otherwise go to 

 Canadian ports. 



The great profit-earning capacity of 

 canals under corporate control was shown 

 in the case of the English and American 

 canals which have been maintained, as com- 

 pared with those managed by railways, 

 which was stated to he due to the small cost 

 of operation. 



In 1835 there were 2,700 miles of canals 

 in operation in the United States, but by 

 1889 it had fallen to 2,305 miles, while the 

 railroads had increased in the same time 

 from 1,000 to 158,000 miles, and were still 

 opposing waterway legislation, although it 

 was believed, in the speaker's opinion, to be 

 the most beneficial auxiliary to the devel- 

 opment of railway revenues, as shown by 

 the stock quotations of the roads having 

 deep-water competition. 



The great pressure upon Congress, the 

 shortness of the sessions and the enormous 

 demands for enabling legislation which 

 have been accumulating for years, in some 

 cases more than a half century, lead to the 

 conclusion that much more satisfactory re- 

 sults could be seciired for the emancipation 

 of our waterways by a return to the early 

 policy under which they were developed by 



