In spite of the competition of the railroads, the canal has managed to increase its business at about the same rate that traffic through the Suez Canal has increased, and a little more rapidly than it has been estimated that traffic through the Panama Canal will grow. The shareholders have not yet received any dividends, but it seems probable that in the course of a few years all of the securities will earn an annual income. Many shareholders have been more than compensated for their subscriptions by the collateral benefits they have received from the canal. The Government of Germany constructed a canal connecting its Baltic and North Sea ports, and named it the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal. The natural route from the Baltic to the North Sea around Denmark is circuitous, dangerous because of storms, and is guarded by foreign powers. The canal was begun in 1887 and completed in 1895, and was constructed primarily for military and naval purposes, although it has proved to be of great value to the commerce of Germany. It connects Brunsbuttel Harbor on the Elbe with Holtenau on Kiel Bay. It passes through low lands and lakes and along river valleys. It is 61 miles long and, as it was first constructed, had a width of 72 feet and a depth of 29-1/2 feet. The total cost of the canal was approximately $37,000,000. It was in operation only 12 years until it was found necessary to enlarge it. The reconstruction of the canal was authorized by the German Government in 1907, and the work, which is expected to be completed in 1914, was started in 1909. When this work is completed the canal will be 144 feet wide and 36 feet deep. At 10 places it will be widened so as to permit ships to pass. New twin locks, built for the regulation of the tides--for the canal itself is at sea level--will be 82 feet longer and 37 feet wider than the Panama locks. The maximum depth of these locks will be 45 feet, although at low tide they will be a little less than 40 feet. During a recent year commercial vessels with an aggregate net register of over 7,000,000 tons used the Kiel Canal. The increase of business during the first decade of the present century amounted to 70 per cent, or a little more than the estimated increase for each decade at Panama. The net receipts from the operation of the canal are not sufficient to pay interest on the investment. No effort is made to levy tolls that will provide for interest charges, or for the amortization of the principal. The canal does not connect regions of enormous traffic, nor does it greatly shorten ocean routes. The longest route is cut down only 429 miles. The German Empire was so well pleased with the success of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal that the enlargement it is now making represents an expenditure one and a half times the original cost.