206 
Modern Business Geography 
SO0 
SUEZ 
PANAMA 
Fic. 144. ‘The three lines represent the tonnage that passes through the Soo Canals, the Suez 
Canal, and the Panama Canal in an average year. If the lines represented the value of the cargoes 
that passed through, would the line for the Soo Canals be so much longer than the others? 
3 
On what part of a journey by water from New York to Duluth would 
there be fewest passengers? Why? At what cities would you change 
boats? Why? What freight would your boat be likely to pick up at each 
large city along the route? 
Take a similar journey from Chicago to Quebec. Name at least seven 
bodies of water and six large cities that you would pass. 
One commodity comprises 85 per cent of the westbound traffic through 
the Soo Canals. What commodity is it? Why is it shipped in such quan- 
tities 
Why do Duluth and Superior use Pennsylvania coal when Illinois and 
[ndiana have plenty of coal not nearly so far away? Explain how the 
railroads running to Duluth and Superior benefit from the cheap Pennsyl- 
vania coal on the docks there, even when they do not carry it as freight. 
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3). 
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F. The effect of the Mississippi on transportation. 
|. By far the larger part of the traffic from St. Louis south to New Orleans 
goes by rail instead of by the Mississippi River. Yet the river is impor- 
tant to transportation because for bulky articles like coal and cement it 
serves as a sword of Damocles ” hanging over the heads of the railroads. 
Explain this statement. What canals have you studied that are a means 
of regulating railroad rates? 
Water transport in the United States is unpopular because of the cost of 
transshipment. Show how the railroad is superior in this respect. 
G. The relation of governments to transportation by water. 
1. Explain how the government helps transportation by each of the follow- 
ing means: (a) the Rivers and Harbors Bill passed each year by Congress, 
usually carrying appropriations of about $50,000,000 or more; (b) the 
Panama Canal; (c¢) the charts of the United States Coast and Geodetic 
Survey; (d) the Weather Bureau; (e) the Lighthouse Bureau of the De- 
partment of Commerce; (f) the Coast Guard Service. 
Find out what a ship subsidy is. In your notebook write a paragraph on 
“ Advantages of Ship Subsidies.” and another on *“ Disadvantages of Ship 
Subsidies.” 
According to the laws of the United States, all traffic between different 
ports of the United States must be carried in vessels flying the United 
States flag, which means those registered as belonging to this country. 
Does this encourage Japanese steamers to carry freight to Hawaii when 
on their way in either direction across the Pacific? 
2.