Until a generation ago our great lakes of the north were closed
with the ice, which stopt all navigation until the thaw of
the spring came. Now there are ice-boats, made of steel with
powerful engines, that not only cut paths for themselves and the
heavy freight which they carry, but also make a path for less
powerful craft. They pound their way through the ice-fields,
and thus make all-the-year-round navigation possible. The ports
of northern Europe used to be locked with ice until these great
ice-breaking ships were brought into use. There is nothing short
of an iceberg which they can not overcome. Our lakes do not have
bergs, of course, and hence these great ice-cutting ships have a
marvelous mastery over the obstacles.
The mastery of the ice-fields by the hardy men and powerful ships of
the north is another illustration of human genius and sovereignty.
(Text.)
(1987)