Capt. E. J. Smith, R. N. R., the Commodore of the White Star Line, who is to command the new mammoth liner Olympic, will retire at the end of the present year, it is understood, as he will have reached the age limit. He will be relieved by Capt. H. J. Haddock of the Oceanic, a naval reserve commander, the only skipper in the Atlantic trade who wears the mid-Victorian mutton chop whiskers without a beard or mustache.

The second big liner, the Titanic, which is to enter the New York-Southampton service toward the end of the year, will be commanded, it is said, either by Capt. B. H. Hayes of the Adriatic or Capt. Henry Smith. To mark the advent of the Olympic into the service the pay of the Commodore of the White Star Line has been increased from $5,000 to $6,000 a year, which will be the highest pay in the Atlantic trade. The salary of the Captain of the Titanic will be $5,000 unless he should happen to be the Commodore of the fleet.

Owing to the fact that the first voyage of the Olympic will be made while the coronation is taking place, Lord Pirrie, head of Harland & Wolff's shipyard at Belfast, where she was built, and a number of invited guests, will cross from Southampton to New York on the second voyage, arriving here on July 19. The party will stay at the Ritz-Carlton while the Olympic is here.

The Olympic has been open to the public in Liverpool and Southampton at a charge of 60 cents each person, the proceeds being handed over to local charities. The officials of the White Star Line in Liverpool, when asked for passes for their families had to pay for tickets, it was said, the same as the ordinary public. On her arrival here the new leviathan will be open for inspection at 50 cents admission, which will be given to the charitable organizations in New York City. When the Oceanic came out in 1899 the same charge was made, and a sum of $10,000 was thus obtained for local charities.