Oil refinery and tanks, Elizabethport
Because of the superior advantages of railroads, the canals are now obsolete, the Morris Canal being practically abandoned. The traffic between New York and Philadelphia is growing so rapidly that it is probable that the Delaware and Raritan Canal may be widened and deepened and thus may become a barge or ship canal.
Communication with Pennsylvania over the Delaware is by means of many ferries and bridges. There is no bridge between New Jersey and New York over the Hudson, but the construction of one has been proposed. Until 1908 the only means of communication was by ferries. The Pennsylvania Railroad now enters New York by tunnels extending from the Hackensack meadows to its terminal in the city, and Jersey City and Hoboken are also connected with New York by tunnels. In cooperation with the State of New York, New Jersey has provided for the construction of a tunnel for vehicles between Jersey City and New York, and, in cooperation with Pennsylvania, of a bridge over the Delaware between Camden and Philadelphia.
The state is noted for its excellent roads. The state and municipalities are spending vast sums of money on their construction and maintenance. Funds for state roads, which are in charge of a State Highway Commission, are obtained from the issuance of automobile licenses and from a special road tax.
RECREATION AND HEALTH
New Jersey is rich in its facilities for recreation and recuperation. The long sea coast is one long line of attractive summer resorts, which are famous all over the world, while some places are pleasure and health resorts all the year round, and attractions of a different kind are found in abundance among the mountains, woods, lakes, and streams of the northern part of the state.
Under authority given by state law the counties and cities have provided many parks and playgrounds and have adopted progressive plans for extending these healthful provisions.
The Board Walk, Atlantic City
The state has adopted stringent measures regarding sanitation, protection against disease, protection against injury in manufacturing, housing conditions, safety in travel, protection of minors in permissible occupations, and the segregation and treatment of the tuberculous. State laws provide for the payment of damages to persons injured in the industries, and of pensions to dependent widows.