Items of Interest December 16, 1916 Issue

Items of Interest

In order to relieve congestion and to eliminate the expense of extra handling of freight between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, a car-ferry service from Cape Tormentine on the mainland to Carleton Point on the island was authorized some time ago by the Canadian Government. The work of carrying out the project has now advanced to such a stage that the end of the current calendar year is expected to see the new service in full operation. The distance between the terminals is approximately nine miles, and the intervening strait is often dangerous to any but full powered craft. The boat, designed with special regard to the local conditions, is of large size, with a freeboard much greater than that of ordinary car ferries, is heavily built to cope with ice, and is equipped with powerful engines.

Port Kembla, when it is finished, will be one of the finest harbors of New South Wales. The work of construction in connection with the breakwater and wharfage accommodations has been proceeding for fifteen years but is now nearing completion. The port is situated fifty miles south of Sydney and is destined to be the shipping port for the bulk of the coal from the southern fields. Vessels of any tonnage can now enter in all weathers and unload cargoes with perfect safety. The depth of water at the northern end of the breakwater is 65 feet, and at the eastern end 70 feet, with an average of 70 feet between the two walls.

The so-called "starch trust," representing aggregate capital of $80,000,000, was adjudged guilty of "unfair methods" of competition, in violation of the Sherman antitrust law, and a plan for its dissolution was ordered filed with the Federal Trade Commission within 120 days, by a final decree filed Nov. 13 in the Government suit against the combine. The corporate defendants, which include the Corn Products Refining Company and its allied concerns, are enjoined from continuing unlawful practices, but not, however, from carrying on their business at prices and under methods adopted in good faith "to meet fair, free, and bona fide competition."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

A Progressive Step