Note 202 — Chapter IV
Reading edition
The comparative cost of driving a steamer on the average of 7 knots up to an average of 9 knots is very small compared to what it would be to increase the speed from 9 to 11 knots an hour, and it becomes enormous when that rate is increased (as the resistance increases with the square of the velocity), but my readers must take the very large sum mentioned as the extra cost of one extra day’s saving of time with very considerable qualifications, as the statement was made in Congress with the object of obtaining for the Collins line further assistance either in the shape of a vote of money or an enhanced annual subsidy.