|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 8
Each Trust declares that it is a positive benefit to trade, and while it
is true that they do employ a vast number of men, and make the best
quality of goods at _apparently_ the lowest possible price, it must not be
forgotten that the public does not benefit as much as it ought by the low
cost of production, and that all small manufacturers are driven out of the
business by the enormous power of the Trust.
A man who wishes to succeed to-day dare not try to compete with the Trust;
he must join it or be boycotted by it; that is to say, if he attempts to
undersell the Trust, all retail dealers will be forbidden to buy from him,
and he will have no market for his goods.
There has been a great outcry against this investigation, and the Trusts
are very indignant. They declare that such investigations ruin trade, and
make prices higher. To prove this argument, the Sugar Trust has put the
price of sugar up an eighth of a cent a pound, or about forty cents a
barrel.
This is, however, an argument that works both ways. If the Sugar Trust is
so powerful that it can revenge itself for the investigation by putting
the price of sugar up, it is then too powerful for the welfare of the
people, and it shows clearly that it is high time that the government
makes an attempt to restrict the power of the Trusts.
* * * * *
Admiral Bunce and his fleet of warships have been engaged in some very
interesting naval practice off Charleston.
The especial object of the visit was to see if they could effectually
blockade the port.
In making their trip down the coast, the fleet ran into a heavy gale off
Cape Hatteras, and Admiral Bunce was able to see how the vessels under his
command behave in a storm.
Arrived off Charleston, the Admiral arranged the fleet in a cordon across
the mouth of Charleston harbor, and when night came, ordered the little
cruiser _Vesuvius_ to steam out to sea, and then try to steal back into
port without being discovered by the big warships that were guarding the
harbor.
In other words, the _Vesuvius_ was ordered to "run the blockade."
In times of war, an enemy will often blockade a port by stationing big
ships in such positions that they may prevent any vessels from entering or
leaving the port, just as the combined fleets of Europe are preventing the
Greek fleet, under Prince George, from entering the harbor of Canea.
In our late war the harbor of Charleston was actually blockaded, and
vessels were regularly employed as blockade runners, many of them getting
through without difficulty, and many having hair-breadth escapes.
The steamers selected to run the blockade in war times were light, swift,
and built so that they lay very low in the water. They were painted a dull
gray color, so that they could not be seen at a distance; their funnels
were made like telescopes, so that they could be shut up, and be little
higher than the deck, when the moment for actually running the blockade
arrived. They burned smokeless coal, and could blow their steam off under
water, so that it was very hard to discover them, and on dark nights they
could often slip by the watching vessels without being observed.
Admiral Bunce thought that the search-light system which is in use on all
our war-vessels would make it extremely difficult for a blockade runner to
pass a modern blockade, and it was to test this that the game of blockade
running was tried off Charleston.
When all was in readiness for the game to begin, the _New York_, which was
the flagship, sent up a rocket, warning the other vessels to be on the
lookout for the blockade runner.
The flagship of a fleet is always the one which has the admiral on board.
The ships in a fleet are like a regiment of soldiers, and act under the
orders of the admiral in command; and as the orders are always sent from
ship to ship by means of flags or signals, the ship from which the orders
are issued is called the flagship.
All the search-lights were in play, and there was the greatest excitement
on board the various vessels as the little cruiser steamed out to sea to
begin the game.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|