570 The National Geographic Magazine 



more dams built. THe cost per unit is 

 not nearly so high as at Panama, be- 

 cause the work will be done in the tem- 

 perate zone, where labor, tools, and 

 materials are abundant and reasonably 

 cheap. 



The canal will be located, wherever 

 possible, in streams and lakes, and it 

 will have no towpath. This will reduce 

 the cost of maintenance enormously, for 

 the cost of keeping the towpath in order 

 is the heaviest item of expense of the 

 present canal. 



The existing canals may be called 

 " hillside " canals, as they go through 

 the open country and along the upper 

 portions of the valleys above the rivers, 

 from which they religiously keep away 

 to the greatest extent possible. The 

 new and greater canal is put in the val- 

 ley bottoms and in the water courses 

 and lakes wherever practicable. It is 

 interesting to note that the new canal is 

 to follow the water route across the 

 state of New York used by the pioneer 

 settlers of the western portion of the 

 state a century ago. 



ANNUAL DINNER OF THE NATIONAL 

 GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 



THE annual dinner of the National 

 Geographic Society will be held 

 at the New Willard Hotel in Washing- 

 ton, D. C. , on December 20. The Sec- 

 retary of War, Hon. William H. Taft, 

 and Mrs. Taft will be the guests of honor 

 of the Society, and there will be a num- 

 ber of other invited guests, including 

 Messrs W. S. Champ, Anthony Fiala, 

 and W. J. Peters, of the Ziegler North 

 Polar Expedition. The dinner will be- 

 gin at 7 p. m., and at its close several 

 brief toasts will be given. The presi- 

 dent of the National Geographic So- 

 ciety, Dr Willis L,. Moore, will preside. 



It is hoped that many of the members 

 of the National Geographic Society who 

 live not far from the national capital may 

 be able to attend the dinner. The So- 

 ciety, with 1 905, completes its eighteenth 



year. It has now a handsome home and 

 a substantial membership of 10,000 per- 

 sons, and is in fact the largest geographi- 

 cal organization in the world. 



On another page is pasted a blank 

 form which members who can attend the 

 dinner are requested to fill out and mail 

 to the Society. Members may invite 

 their friends to attend as their personal 

 guests. The price per plate is $5 for 

 members or their guests. 



AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE 



IN his budget speech in the Federal 

 House of Representatives the other 

 day, Sir John Forrest, Minister of 

 Finance, took a very hopeful view of 

 the future of the Australian common- 

 wealth, in spite of the fact that the total 

 government revenue of $57,300,000 was 

 $545,000 below the estimate. 



Sir John pointed out that though the 

 population was only 5,000,000, Aus- 

 tralia had since 1852 raised gold and 

 other minerals to the value of $3,055,- 

 000,000, an average of nearly $59,000,- 

 000 yearly. In the single year 1904 the 

 gold yield was $80,000,000, and that of 

 other minerals was $40,000,000. Acres 

 under cultivation numbered 12,000,000, 

 with exports of wheat $26,250,000, of 

 butter $12,500,000, and of wool $85,- 

 000,000. The foreign commerce for the 

 year was $472,500,000, of which 74 per 

 cent was with Great Britain and British 

 possessions. The ordinary banks held 

 $480,000,000 deposits, $107,500,000 of 

 coin and bullion, with $175,000,000 also 

 on deposit in the savings banks. The 

 shipping tonnage which entered Aus- 

 tralian harbors during the year totaled 

 29,000,000 tons (Sir John did not men- 

 tion American ships). Most of these 

 figures are record-breakers. The ex- 

 ternal trade exceeds that of Denmark, 

 Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, 

 Portugal, or Japan individually. 



The production from primary indus- 

 tries, including manufactures, exceeds 

 $600,000,000 a year. 



