In judging of the possibility of commercial success the cheapness
of modern transportation is an element in the case that should not
be overlooked. I believe the principal part of the resistance
which a limited express train meets is the resistance of the air.
This would be as great for an airship as for a train. An important
fraction of the cost of transporting goods from Chicago to London
is that of getting them into vehicles, whether cars or ships, and
getting them out again. The cost of sending a pair of shoes from a
shop in New York to the residence of the wearer is, if I mistake
not, much greater than the mere cost of transporting them across
the Atlantic. Even if a dirigible balloon should cross the
Atlantic, it does not follow that it could compete with the
steamship in carrying passengers and freight.
I may, in conclusion, caution the reader on one point. I should be
very sorry if my suggestion of the advantage of the huge airship
leads to the subject being taken up by any other than skilful
engineers or constructors, able to grapple with all problems
relating to the strength and resistance of materials. As a single
example of what is to be avoided I may mention the project, which
sometimes has been mooted, of making a balloon by pumping the air
from a very thin, hollow receptacle.
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