_This ship, designed by a German, is propelled by the wind blowing against the two strange towers. These towers are rotated by a motor with the result that, according to the Magnus law, the pressure of the wind becomes greater on one side of each tower than on the other, thus tending to move the ship. It seems hardly likely, at the time this book goes to press, that this application of a formerly unused physical law will revolutionize the propulsion of ships._ ] Nor, as the World War showed Americans, is it wise to depend upon foreign nations to transport all their products to America and carry all America’s products away. To be healthy the nation should maintain its own cargo fleet, which, in turn, should provide itself with terminal facilities not only at home but also abroad, in order that cargoes may be loaded and unloaded economically and without delay. America has passed the era in which the interior development of the nation utilized all the energies of its ambitious population. Already it has stepped into the field of foreign commerce in which it must now continue. Time was when the nation’s interests lay entirely at home, but that time is no longer. Increasingly will America’s exports be a factor in foreign markets, and upon this depends to an ever-growing extent the welfare of Americans. Time was when the land was the producer only of raw materials. Now it is one of the world’s greatest manufacturing nations, with an infinite number of products that cannot be consumed at home. Ships, then, must become a growing interest of Americans, for upon ships, and largely upon their own ships, must they depend to maintain the standards of living that have made Americans the most fortunate of the peoples of the world. Whether it be the citizen of New York or of San Francisco, of the mountain states or of the prairies—whether it be the clerk, the farmer, the manufacturer, or the ranchman—whether it be the millionaire or the day labourer, the teacher or the business man, still should he interest himself in ships, for only upon a wide appreciation of their value can wise legislation be built, and only with the support of the people can great fleets be maintained to carry the nation’s products to other lands and return with those vital cargoes upon which the nation’s comfort and happiness are so largely built. THE END APPENDIX APPENDIX An abridged dictionary of nautical words and expressions