We have, it is true, furnished the rich cargoes of grain, of cotton, and of cattle, that have made the ocean passage in one direction profitable for shipowners.

We found homes for the millions of immigrants who crowded the "'tween decks" of steamers of every flag and impelled the companies to build bigger and bigger craft to carry the ever increasing throngs.

And in these later days of luxury and wealth unparalleled, we have supplied the millionaires, whose demands for quarters afloat as gorgeous as a Fifth Avenue club have resulted in the building of floating palaces.

America has supported the transatlantic lines, but almost every civilized people with a seacoast has outdone us in building the ships.

For a time, indeed, it seemed that we should speedily overcome the lead that England immediately took in building steamships.