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Other Ships and Shipwrecks
Lusitania
News from 1907 Lusitania's Maiden Voyage
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[QUOTE="Mark Baber, post: 46816, member: 79063"] [i]The New York Times, 14 September 1907[/i] [b]BIGGEST LINER CUTS RECORD[/b] --- Lusitania Reaches Sandy Hook from Queenstown in 5 Days 54 Minutes --- SLOWED UP IN THE FOG --- Records of German Liners for Fastest Day's Run and Average Speed Not Equaled --- NOISILY WELCOMED HERE --- Big Fleet of Harbor Craft Toot Greeting---Turbine Engines Work Smoothly All Through Trip --- Decorated with bunting from stem to stern, her wistle [sic] screeching a salute, and her sides towering above all other craft, the turbine steamship Lusitania, latest of the Cunard Line fleet and largest vessel afloat, arrived abeam of Sandy Hook Lightship at 8:05 o'clock yesterday morning, completing a record trip from Queenstown. She made the passage from Daunt's Rock to Sandy Hook in 5 days and 54 minutes, just 21 minutes less than was estimated for her in THE TIMES yesterday, smashing the best previous record on that course of 5 days 7 hours and 23 minutes, made by the Lucania of the same line. She maintained an average speed of 23.01 knots an hour, and on one day reached a speed of 24 1/2 knots. The Lusitania left the Liverpool landing stage at 9:10 P. M. on Saturday and arrived at Queenstown at 9:53 the next morning. She passed Daunt's Rock, where the race for the record started, at 12:11 P. M. that day, and crossed the finish line at Sandy Hook Lightship at 8:05 o'clock yesterday morning. Her day's runs were: Monday, 561; Tuesday, 575; Wednesday, 570; Thursday, 593; Friday, 481. The total distance traveled was 2,780 nautical miles. Several times in this fast trip the big liner ran into dense fog banks and had to slow up. But for this she would have made the passage in less than five days. Despite her splendid performance the new Cunarder did not quite achieve the best transatlantic record. That will come later. The Deutschland of the Hamburg-American Line still holds the record of 601 miles for a single day's run, made on a trip from Plymouth in 1901, and the North German Lloyd boat Kaiser Wilhelm II made an hourly average record of 23.58 knots on the 3,082 miles run from Plymouth in 1904. Welcoming Fleet Gathers As she raced along through the early morning mist, the marine observer at Sandy Hook caught the first glimpse of the Lusitania bearing down on the light ship at 8 A. M. He flashed the news to the city, and this was the signal for the putting out of the flotilla of small craft which went down the bay to welcome the new Cunarder on her maiden trip. The revenue cutter, with the customs men and the newspaper representatives, had left the Battery at 6:30 o'clock, and was already dodging about the Quarantine station when the fleet from the city put in an appearance. There was the immigration boat Ellis Island, the customs cutter Dalzelline, in command of Deputy Surveyor Matthew Coneys; the army engineers' tug Manisees, and the Health Officer's tug Gov. Flower, with Dr. Doty, Health Officer of the Port, standing outside the pilot house in a blue and gold trimmed uniform. Besides these there were innumerable small craft, and just as the Lusitania came into sight at Quarantine the Iron Steamboat Company's steamer Sirius arrived with about 1,500 cheering sightseers crowding her starboard rail and making her tip to an almost dangerous angle. From almost every cove and pier along the Staten Island and Brooklyn shores, rowboats, motor boats, and small sailboats put out to join in the welcome. Safely Through the New Channel While all these preparations were going on the Lusitania, her record run over, had passed Sandy Hook, and was slowly swinging into the new Ambrose Channel and on toward port. Though the French liner Provence had just passed, the Lusitania was the first to use the new fairway coming in. Pilot Frank Cramer, who had been selected by the Cunard Line to bring the monster vessel in, stood in the centre of the bridge, and behind him, ever watchful, stood Capt. J. B. Watt, the ship's commander. To port, the junior third officer, Mr. Dolphin, stood alert at the telegraph engine room signal, while at the starboard signal was Fourth Officer Battle. Senior Quartermaster Foulkes had the wheel. Trying the new channel was much in the nature of an experiment, even though Pilot Cramer has been over the route several times in the last week, and the Caronia had gone out by the new waterway. A sigh of relief went up from those on the bridge when the last of the marking buoys was left astern and the Lusitania's big hull had safely passed through the newly completed channel. But once did the Lusitania stop until she reached Quarantine, and that was in order to let the tug bearing Vernon H. Brown, New York agent of the line, and the company's officials, climb on board. She had entered the new channel at a speed of about 8 knots an hour, but this was increased until, when she left it, she was going at about 12 knots. The channel is dredged to a depth of 32 1/2 feet at low tide; and has a "safety" width of 750 feet. The Lusitania went through at half tide, and as she drew but 30.6 feet at the bow and 32.3 feet at the stern, at no time was she in the slightest danger of getting her nose in the mud. Like a Skyscraper Adrift The big Lusitania was sighted by the waiting fleet about 9:25 o'clock, coming slowly through the mist, and twenty minutes later she was officially in Quarantine The first view those on the waiting vessels got of her was an enormous hull, magnified by the mist until her high sides and stacks gave her the appearance of a skyscraper office building adrift. Then, as she changed her course to get near the Quarantine station, her great length for the first time became apparent. The United States flag flew from her foremast, while from her mainmast flew the red and yellow house flag of the Cunard Line. From her taffrail fluttered the blue ensign of the British Royal Naval Reserves. Noisy Salute Long Sustained Seldom has a vessel arriving at this port been welcomed as was the new turbine liner. As she came to at the Quarantine station bedlam broke loose and every skipper within sight promptly pulled open his whistle valve and kept it open. The joyous crowd on cutter, steamboat, and tug supplemented this welcome with a long-sustained vocal salute. The hoarse whistle of the Lusitania was repeatedly sounding the return salute and every deck was a-flutter with handkerchiefs and flags. The first boat to approach the liner was the Quarantine tug taking out the Health officers to inspect her many passengers. This took less than half an hour and then the revenue cutter crept under the shadow of the tall hull and made fast just aft the mail boat, which had also gone alongside, and to which a busy gang of men was already transferring her 1,500 sacks of mail. Within a few minutes a port was opened and customs men and newspaper men were scrambling on board across a narrow plank. Then the Lusitania moved on up the bay to her new pier at the foot of West Thirteenth Street. The small craft convoy clustered about her, and from every passing craft, and there were many of them, she received salutes from whistle and flag. Thousands of persons crowded the sea wall at the Battery, and it is safe to say that work in every office where the windows commanded a view of the North River was stopped until the liner passed. From the tall tower of the still uncompleted Singer Building the American flag was broken out as the boat came into view, a salute from the tallest building to the biggest steamship. In passing the Battery the big red house flag on the roof of the Cunard office building was lowered three times in salute, and the Lusitania's flag was lowered in acknowledgment. Owing to the condition of the tide the Lusitania had to go up the river and turn around. It took eight tugs almost an hour to get her warped in, but this was done without a hitch, and the giant liner came alongside the pier as easily as the Umbria or the Etruria ever did. Another reception awaited her as she came alongside, for every pier near by was crowded. There was a great waving and cheering as the big hull came into view, and this kept up until the gangplank was in place and the last line making her fast secured. Crush and Confusion at New Pier The Lusitania berthed at one of the new piers in the Chelsea improvement, and the temporary shed erected was far too small for the accommodation of the 486 first class and 483 second class passengers, to say nothing of their many friends who clamored for admission within the baggage inclosure. In addition most of the baggage had to be removed by hand, and there is no hoisting machinery in the new structure. What happened on the pier was nothing to the crush that almost became a riot in the street. At least 5,000 persons were gathered there, seeking admission to the pier. The police reserves were called from a number of stations under Inspector Schmittberger. Men and women were crushed and trampled as the crowd swayed forward only to be shoved back by the police. No consideration was shown, and neither police cards nor customs passes were recognized. "That don't go here," said a policeman to a man with a police card, and he was thrown back into the crowd without ceremony. A well-dressed man who sought to get into the pier attempted to argue with a policeman as to his rights. He was roughly handled. It was only with the assistance of the mounted police and with the eventual thinning out of the crowd that a semblance of order was obtained. The Lusitania as she lies at her pier gives forcible impression of her size. Her giant bow towers far above the surrounding sheds. From her bridge one looks down as from the top of a tall building. Fourth Officer Battle, after explaining the working of the apparatus on the bridge about ten times within as many minutes after the vessel was docked, was asked whether he did not get tired of the explanatory work. "No," he said with a weary look, "I don't mind it any more. I am used to it. I explained the same thing to 15,000 persons just before we left the Mersey." Two young men, sightseers from the country, managed to get on the pier, and they stood about in open-mouthed wonder looking upward at the big liner. "No one will believe us," said one to the other, "when we go back and tell them about this ship. And, by heck," he added, "I would not have believed it either." An 8-year-old boy, accompanied by his father, was among those who saw the new turbine. "Papa," said the boy, after looking at the Lusitania, "are the smokestacks as big as the Simplon Tunnel?" "Well, I should say not," replied the father, and then after a few moments' thought corrected himself, and told the boy that they were large enough for two railroad trains to go through side by side, being twenty-four feet in diameter. The new system of allowing the passengers to make their customs declaration at their leisure during the voyage was in force on the Lusitania, and everything worked satisfactorily. All the passengers thus had a chance to remain on deck during the trip to the pier and enjoy the sensation their arrival was making. ---------- [b]STORY OF THE TRIP[/b] --- Passengers Sent and Received 1,000 Words by Wireless Daily --- By THE TIMES Representative Aboard the Lusitania --- When the Lusitania hove up her anchor and steamed out of Queenstown Harbor shortly after noon on Sunday all hands fondly hoped we were beginning a record-breaking voyage across the Atlantic. The Lucania had left half an hour before us, and was completely lost in the fog when we got outside the harbor. Looking around on the crowded decks fore and aft it was easy to realize that we were on the largest ship in the world, with a floating population of 3,000, including the crew, men and women gathered from all parts of Europe, all bound for the land of the West. The steamer was under command of Capt. J. B. Watt, and the engines were in charge of Alexander Duncan, a Scotsman of the old-fashioned Clyde bred type, who are all brought up to believe that words are not necessary for engineers, that it is action that tells. W. J. Luke, the designer of the Lusitania, was on board in company with E. H. Cunard, one of the Directors of the line, whose famous motto used to be "We never lost a life." With the foghorn blowing at three-minute intervals the liner picked her way cautiously out into the Atlantic in the wake of the Lucania. At 3 P. M. we were told that she was twenty miles ahead of us. The passengers in the first cabin did not appear to be a very lively lot, the fog seeming to fill them with gloom. The fact that we had to slow down directly after starting was looked upon as a bad omen by some of the croakers. One tall Scotchman, who still wore his kilts and had a voice that suggested a steady diet of porridge and haggis, said to me: "Hoot, mon; it's a raw nicht the noo, I'm thinking. I wish I could see my bonny bairns again." When the fog lifted in the night the liner was put at full speed and bowled along at the rate of 23 knots. Wireless messages were received from the Lucania all through the night, but our officers professed to have no idea of her position. Questioned closely by painstaking passengers, they did not even remember the name of their old greyhound. Some time, when we were all tucked away in our bunks sleeping peacefully, the Lusitania passed her pacer, and by noon on Monday the Lucania was 61 miles astern, but the majority of the passengers did not know what had become of her until they reached New York. It is not the way of the Cunard Company to let their passengers know too much, lest they should become excited and lose sleep. By noon on Tuesday the distance between the two Cunarders had been increased to 120 miles. Life Aboard the Big Ship One of the features of the daily life on shipboard was furnished by the two elevators amidships, which carried the passengers up and down to the various decks, six in all, which are designated as A, B. C, D, and E. Two boys in gold-laced uniforms were in charge, and were kept busy day and night, especially at dinner time, when the ladles appeared in gorgeous toilettes, escorted by their husbands in solemn evening dress. Sitting in the splendid dining room, decorated in white and gold, with its lofty balcony, and listening to the orchestra, it was difficult to believe one's self at sea. The telephones, which are connected with every cabin, afforded great amusement to the passengers at first, but later were found of great convenience in asking one's friends if they were coming to dinner or for a promenade on deck. The ship was so large that it was not always possible to locate your friends without the aid of the telephones and the central offices on each deck. Following the London custom the passengers all said, "Are you there?" instead of the American "Hello!" After dinner on fine evenings we sat out on the spacious verandas of the promenade deck and listened to music. Wireless Operator Kept Busy One of the busiest men on the ship was the Marconi operator, who was besieged at all hours by passengers anxious to receive news and by those who wanted to send dispatches to their friends on other steamers that were crossing the ocean. One man's wife had got aboard the Lucania through some mix-up at Queenstown and the things she flashed to him by wireless made even the operator wince. About 1,000 words were received and dispatched daily, and the record was made yesterday, when over 2,000 words were dispatched. When I went to send off my first message to THE NEW YORK TIMES I discovered that we had a press censor on board in the person of Joseph Lancaster, the purser. When I took it to him he glanced at it severely, and, pointing out an obscure word, asked: "What's this?" I explained, and then he crossed the offending word out and wrote it afresh. "Are you really the press censor?" I asked. Drawing himself dramatically up to his full height of 5 feet 1 inch, the purser replied: "I am." The next day, Tuesday, one of the correspondents on board gave the press censor a severe shock by suddenly announcing that he was going to send a message to his paper In code. When the message was handed in, the purser examined it very carefully and pounced on the words, "We tank." "Suffering Samuel Johnson," he yelled, " what's this cryptic sentence mean?" The correspondent explained that it was one of his own code words meaning that the Lusitania was going ahead at high speed. The word "full" after "tank," he said, would mean that she was going at her top speed of twenty-five knots. The weakest part of the great liner was The Cunard Dally Bulletin, which was so feeble that the printer used to go to sleep setting it up. It struck the crowd of newspaper men on board that it would be a kindness to the purser, who was editor as well as press censor, if we took the labor off his hands and brought out a real live paper, filled with the little incidents and romances that were happening every minute around us. When the proposition was put to him Mr. Lancaster stepped back at least four feet with alarm depicted in his cherub-like countenance and said: "Oh, no. One would never know what would happen to one if one allowed one's work to be taken out of one's hands, would one?" We thought that it was possible "one would not," judging by the remarks the owner of the amateur code made daily about the censor. By noon on Tuesday we had made a run of 575 miles, 1,121 miles from Queenstown, and all on board felt happy with the idea that the British flag would once more fly in the van and the colors of the famous Deutschland would be hauled down. Alas! it was not to be. That night we had a rough sea and a strong north-northeast wind which whistled around the promenade deck, but did not rock the ship a little bit. The pools were auctioned off each night In the smoking room, which seemed to arouse some of the men on board from their lethargy in the hope of winning money from their fellow-passengers. The highest pool was $1,000. and was won by a man who paid $200 for the number. A slight dispute occurred on Wednesday night over who had bid first for the low number In the pool for £31, but it was settled by the vote of those present. The choice paid his money, and the number did not win. Then the man who was not allowed to buy the ticket bought refreshments for the crowd with the money he had saved. About midday on Wednesday, after the run of 570 miles had been put up on the notice board, the whistle was blown, and as the weather was clear, we all rushed out on deck to discover the cause. By the aid of powerful glasses we saw a small steamer about twenty miles ahead right in our track. The vessel looked so near to the officer from the altitude of eighty feet on the bridge that he was afraid the Lusitania would run her down, and a brawny chief from Scotland's shores shouted out over the bow, "Ship ahoy. Get out of the road, or we'll sink you." Almost before the excitement had died away we passed her. On Wednesday night we had a concert in the lounge, with a couple of speeches, in one of which Senator Sutherland declared that the Lusitania was more beautiful than Solomon's Temple, and large enough to hold all his wives and mothers-in-law, while Robert Balfour M. P., spoke of the ship as another link of friendship between America and England. Senator Sutherland caused the first laugh that had been raised on the ship since leaving Queenstown by his speech because he came from Utah, though not a Mormon. Fog Again Causes Drop in Speed Late on Wednesday night we noticed that the speed had increased very much, and the steamer was slipping through the water at a great rate. Then at 11:30 P. M. a fog came on and dashed our hopes once more. We could not make out where the bad luck came from as there were no Jonahs on board and all hands were kind to "Bill," the ship's big black cat, which always walked the rounds with the master-at-arms when he went through the ship at night. Then some one discovered that we were to land in New York on Friday, the 13th, and lie at the foot of Thirteenth Street. Then we knew that the record held by the Deutschland for so many years would not be lowered this trip. Next day at noon the run of 593 was announced, which was the best since we started, but it was too late to save us. As we passed Nantucket Lightship yesterday morning Capt. Watt said he was pleased with the ship, and satisfied that she had done all that was expected from her, but he would not speak of what the Lusitania might do in the future. The canny Scot who had charge of the engines said in an off moment, when the press censor was not standing by, that we had consumed about 1,000 tons of coal a day, but judging of the trial trip when she used up 45 tons an hour, there in a likelihood that it was nearer 1,100 to 1,200. All hands on board enjoyed the trip, but there was a general, though unreasonable, feeling of disappointment that the steamer was not driven a little more to beat the German steamer's records. Winners of the Pools Nowhere was the interest in the day's runs of the Lusitania more keen than in the smoking room, where the pools were sold. The principal winners during the four days were Archibald B. White and Henry L Doherty. They took the low field while most of the passengers were estimating on record-breaking runs. On the first day £210 was won by Messrs. White and Doherty. The next day, by taking the low field against the enthusiasts, who still believed that the Lusitania would hit above the 600-knot mark for the twenty-four hours, White and Doherty pocketed £219. They paid only £7 for the low field. The third day the bidders began to figure an a 24-knot clip, and so the high numbers were not in as great demand as on the previous two days. Doherty, however, got the lucky number and won £150. The next day, the day of the Lusitania's high run, neither the high nor the low field won, but this time the lucky holder of the right number was Ohio C. Barber, who pocketed £184 on the result. Ten per cent. of the pools went to the seamen's charities, while 10 per cent. of the remainder went as a sort of consolation purse to the man holding nearest to the winning number. ---------- [b]TURBINES GIVE SATISFACTION[/b] --- First Test on Big Liner Declared Successful---Better Speed Expected --- Much of the interest of the passengers on the Lusitania was concentrated on the great turbine engines of 68,000 horse power, which were driving the liner toward New York at a speed which varied from 20 to 24 1/2 knots, according to the clearness of the weather. In a brief interview with a TIMES representative on Tuesday, when the Lusitania was in mid-ocean, Mr. Duncan, the chief engineer, said that the turbines had been working splendidly and there had not been the slightest hitch. "Had they developed any special qualities?" he was asked yesterday. "No, because I have known them for some time and knew what they could do." "Has the ship done her best yet?" "Oh, no," he said, "we never expect to get the best results out of a ship on her maiden trip. When the engineers and stokehold staff get better acquainted with the engines and boilers we shall achieve far better results than we have done this trip." When asked if there was any probability of the Lusitania beating the record of the Deutschland on another voyage he said: "Perfectly sure. There's not the slightest doubt of it." The engine room staff, all told, was 343 men, consisting of 31 engineers, 192 firemen, and 120 coal trimmers. The chief engineer refused to give out a copy of his log as, he said it was against the rules of the Cunard Company to do so. One of the expert engineers who was on board as a guest of the company said that the Lusitania consumed 1,000 tons of coal when driven at her top speed of 24 1/2 knots, which was the limit of average speed fixed by the British Admiralty, and as she had not attained that speed during the voyage for any length of time he considered that the coal consumption would work out about 800 tons a day. With regard to the vibration which was perceptible in all parts of the ship, especially when she made the longest day's run of 593 miles on Wednesday, he said that was unavoidable in steamers of such a high rate of speed. In the first turbine liners, the Victorian and the Virginian of the Allan Line that crossed the Atlantic the vibration was not felt because the speed of these vessels did not exceed 17 knots an hour, and they were very little more than one-third of the size of the Lusitania. But he thought the vibration would have been much greater had she been equipped with reciprocating engines. "The dominant feature of this voyage from an engineering point of view," he said, "has been the production of the immense power to drive this 32,000-ton liner through the water at a high rate of speed. Turbines themselves are comparatively simple things to look after. They don't have small breakdowns. If anything goes wrong, which is always improbable, it means a big thing. Nothing has gone wrong on this trip. "What we have had to do particularly has been to watch the supply of lubricant to the main bearings. A thin coating of oil has to be kept between the revolving shaft and the bearing itself, and this is done by means of a tube which automatically supplies cool oil. The water fed to the boilers has also to be carefully watched." Vernon H. Brown, who met the Lusitania down the Bay, said that the coal consumption, so far as he knew, had been between 900 and 1,000 tons a day, but he could not give out the exact figures. The cost of the coal is about $3 a ton. He had no doubt that the Lusitania would do better than she had done this voyage, as in his experience with the Cunard steamers it had been demonstrated that the engines were never at their best for the first few voyages. As an example, Mr. Brown said that the Lucania had made her record trip after 3 years, and the Etruria was ten years old before she made her record. Ernest Cunard, one of the Directors of the company, who was a passenger, said: "I think that the Lusitania is a wonderful vessel, and has more than come up to our expectations. The turbines have acted splendidly in every way. Naturally there was some slight vibration when the ship was being driven at top speed, but it was nothing like the vibration of reciprocating engines. The engines have worked without a hitch during the entire trip. "No ship ever makes her record passage on her maiden voyage. The Lusitania averaged 25 1/4 knots on her trial trip for forty-eight hours, and there is no reason why she should not do better later on. We are very much pleased from every point of view with the latest addition to the Cunard fleet." Capt. J. B. Watt, the commander of the Lusitania, said that he had not tried to make a record, but was content to bring his ship safely into port. The engines ran well throughout the voyage, he said, and gave every satisfaction. Asked it the engine room would be thrown open to the public for inspection, Mr. Brown said that the new pier was not completed and there were no appliances there to coal the ship. This might prevent the Lusitania being open for inspection until she returned next voyage. ---------- [b]BRINGS 2,090 PASSENGERS[/b] --- Old Sea Travelers Praise the New Boat's Steadiness --- The Lusitania brought 969 cabin passengers and 1,121 in the steerage. State Senator E. R. Ackerman of New Jersey, one of those aboard, has made twenty-five round trips across the Atlantic and was on the Deutschland when she made her record run and on the Etruria and the New York when they were blue-ribbon winners of the sea. He especially praised the steadiness of the Lusitania. "On Tuesday there was a bit of rough weather," he said, "but we only knew it because of a bulletin posted to that effect." John H. Starin, ex-Rapid Transit Commissioner, returned from a trip through France, Belgium, and England. He was met down the bay by Gen. Howard Carroll. He said the Lusitania was "as stiff as a tree and as slippery as an eel." Mr. Starin laughingly declared that he had not studied rapid transit abroad. Another enthusiast on the subject of the new liner is Robert P. Porter. This is his eighty-sixth trip across the Atlantic. "She has not done her best," he said. "She can, I believe, make 625 knots in twenty-four hours and break another record. A slight vibration was noticeable at her speed trial, but it was found that this was not caused by her machinery, but by the fact that the structure aft had not been sufficiently stiffened. This was done, and now there is practically no vibration. There was not a hitch with the turbines. The matter of coal consumption is a question open to speculation. The company will not give out any figures as to the coal consumed. "The great disappointment to many on board was the fact that the Lusitania did not break all records. I am certain that she is 'going to do things.' The fog out of Queenstown and the two hours yesterday morning caused us a delay, and, of course, that could not be helped." Another passenger was Robert Balfour, M. P., who first crossed in the Cunarder Russia in 1869. Mr. Balfour also lived twenty years in California, and so he considers himself a part American. He said the Lusitania was like the feeling between this country and England---the best. "The Captain, the chief engineer, and the naval constructor are Scotch, like myself, and so I expect great things from this steamer," he said. Another who was greatly interested in the performance of the Lusitania was Ansel Oppenheim, Vice President of the Chicago & Great Western Railroad. Senator George Sutherland of Utah, who returns from a brief pleasure trip abroad, declared that the Lusitania was "as free from vibration and as steady as it is possible for a ship to be." Among others aboard the new boat were H. Hartley Dodge and Mrs. Dodge, Mrs. H. W. Dresser and Mrs. D. Le Roy Dresser, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goelet, Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Higginson, the Rev. Joseph L. McCabe, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus H. McCormick of Chicago, George Peabody, Count Ward, Consul General for Roumania at London; H. N. Harriman, A. J. Taylor, Percival Tallersfieid, S, H. Lever, and O. C. Barber. Ernest Fahrenheim, victualing superintendent for the Cunard Line, gave out these figures on the amount of food consumed by the passengers and crew: 40,000 eggs, 4,000 .pounds of fresh fish, 2 tons of ham and bacon; 4,000 pounds of coffee, 1,150 pounds of tea, 500 pounds of grapes, 1,000 pineapples, 10,000 oranges and bananas, 1,000 lemons, 30,000 loaves of bread, 11,870 quarts of milk, 2,675 quarts of cream, and 25,000 pounds of fresh meat. ---------- [b]BRITISH JOURNALISTS HERE[/b] --- 16 Arrive on the Lusitania View the City from The Times Tower --- A party of sixteen prominent British financial journalists, who arrived on the Lusitania yesterday, inspected THE NEW YORK TIMES Building yesterday afternoon, and were much interested in the plant. They came to this continent as the guests of the Government of Ontario, Canada, to inspect the mineral and other resources of that province. As soon as the big boat was docked they were taken in automobiles for a run about the city, and lunched at the Lotos Club. The things they particularly wished to see in New York in the very few hours allowed them before their train for Canada left at 7:30 o'clock last night included the Brooklyn Bridge, the Bowery, and the Times Building. They were greatly impressed by the height of the Times Building and amazed at the view of the city from its roof. They will go to Cobalt and the Sudbury nickel mines at Sault Ste. Marie and Copper Cliff to inspect the mines, and on their way back will have another opportunity to see this city. ---------- [b]LUCANIA SIGHTED[/b] --- Former Record Holder Will Land Her Passengers This Morning --- The Cunarder Lucania, which left Queenstown ahead of the Lusitania, was sighted off Fire Island at 7:20 o'clock last night. This shows that the Lucania has made a very fast passage. The Lucania will sail from New York next Wednesday at 2 P. M., instead of on Saturday as heretofore. The Lusitania is next week's Saturday vessel. The Lucania will land her passengers about 8 A. M. to-day. ---------- [b]GERMANS MAY NOT COMPETE[/b] --- Sentiment Against Contest for Speed---Great Interest In the Lusitania --- BERLIN, Sept. 13-The wireless reports of the Lusitania's progress across the Atlantic have been watched with the keenest interest by the German public in general and shipping circles in particular, and everybody breathed more freely this evening when the news came that the record of the Deutschland had not been broken by the English steamer. Nevertheless, it is regarded as highly probable by ship owners and shipbuilders that the Lusitania, when one takes into consideration that this is her first trip, will win the blue ribbon of the sea at an early date. Whether or not the German lines will enter the contest to win back the record has not yet been settled. The North German Lloyd is the only line likely to take up the competition, the Hamburg-American Line having long since decided that great floating palaces of moderate speed pay better than vessels of the highest speed attainable. The building plans of this latter line are accordingly based upon this decision. What course the Directors of the North German Lloyd Line will pursue is not known. While the German shipyard companies are convinced that the speed limit with reciprocating engines has not yet been reached, it is doubtful whether the Lloyd will order a vessel materially exceeding the Kaiser Wilhelm II in speed, owing to the great proportionate increase in the cost of operation. The fact that the Cunard Company enjoys a Government subsidy for the Lusitania will tend to keep the North German Lloyd out of further competition, for it receives no subsidy for its lines to New York, and the German Government could not be induced to grant one merely for the sake of retaining speed supremacy. The North German Lloyd, however, has for so long enjoyed the prestige of possessing the fastest boat, barring one single vessel, the Deutschland, that many persons here think the company will not surrender its position without a struggle. If it decided to fight for the blue ribbon it probably will be with a turbine steamer, but the Lloyd, up to the present time, has regarded turbines for great oceangoers with much skepticism, and consequently it probably will want several years to get the full benefit of the experiences of the Cunard Company before inaugurating so radical a change in its building plans. ---------- [b]COUNTESS OF DUNMORE HERE[/b] --- She and Her Daughters May Visit Mrs. Eddy---Mrs. Potter Palmer Home --- The Dowager Countess of Dunmore and her two daughters, Lady Victoria Murray and Lady Muriel Gore Browne, were among the passengers who arrived on the new Cunarder Lusitania yesterday. All three were attired in the deepest mourning, as it is only three weeks since the Earl of Dunmore died somewhat suddenly. The Earl was the head of the Christian Scientists in England, and many times visited this country in this connection, his last visit being only a few months before his death, when he had several interviews with Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy. It is expected that the Dowager Countess and her daughters will also pay a visit to Concord, as they are strong adherents of Mrs. Eddy. Mrs. Potter Palmer and her son, Potter Palmer, Jr., who also returned on the Lusitania, were met at Quarantine by Gen. Frederick D. Grant, her brother-in-law, who went down on the revenue cutter. Mrs. Palmer looked in very good health, and said she had enjoyed her stay abroad immensely. When told of the persistent rumor here to the effect that she was to marry King Peter of Servia, Mrs. Potter said, wearily: "Oh, dear, what is the use of my keeping on denying, denying, denying, only to be asked again." ---------- [b]REJOICING IN LONDON[/b] --- Still Some Chagrin Is Felt Over Her Failure to Beat Everything --- LONDON, Sept. 14---There are apparently two views over here of the performance of the Cunard Line steamer Lusitania; that she broke the record for the quickest passage from land to land, and that she made the most speedy maiden voyage across the Atlantic. These views caused great popular rejoicing, which is voiced and emphasized by almost all the morning papers. That the Lusitania failed to achieve what, in spite of all official denials, it is positively believed she set out to accomplish, seems to cause chagrin in some quarters. At least one important newspaper says that to call attention to the great passage of the Lusitania does not explain away her defeat. The optimists, however, declare it may be taken for granted that the blue ribbon of the Atlantic is practically in Great Britain's grasp again; that the Deutschland had been running nearly a year before she achieved her best; that the Lusitania had to combat fogs; that it may confidently be expected that she will lower the Kaiser Wilhelm II's record for fast steaming and the Deutschland's for the best day's run before the end of the year, and that against obviously unfavorable conditions, in which the new liner did not put forth anything like her full capabilities she has shown her herself [sic] to be the swiftest as well as the most comfortable vessel afloat. A telegram was received from Liverpool that the news of the result was received there with great satisfaction, especially among shipping experts. ---------- [b]Thirteenth Club's Congratulations[/b] --- The Cunard officials and officers of the Lusitania were too overjoyed at the record made to attach any significance to the fact that the liner reached this side on Friday, the 13th, but this did not escape the notice of the Thirteen Club, which met last night and adopted resolutions congratulating the line. ---------- [b]OTHER RECORDS AND COMPARISONS[/b] --- The following comparative table will show the difference between the Lusitania's trip and a record trip of the Deutschland in September, 1903: ......................DEUTSCHLAND..........LUSITANIA ......................Miles..........................Miles First day.........417........................... *561 Second day.....571............................ 575 Third day.........578.............................570 Fourth day.......570........................... 593 Fifth day..........583............................481 Sixth day.........335 Total mileage, 3,054...........................Total mileage, 2,780 Average speed, 23.15 knots............... Average speed. 23.01 knots ........................................................*Includes five-mile run to Daunt's Rock. The record for the longest day's run, 601 knots, was made by the Deutschland in August, 1900. Other record runs: Kaiser Wilhelm II, 5 days 11 hours 58 minutes; average speed 23.58 knots, June 20, 1904; best day's run, 564 miles. Provence, from Havre, yesterday, 6 days 1 hour 12 minutes; total distance, 3,140 miles. Lucania, from Queenstown, Oct. 21, 1894, 5 days 7 hours 20 minutes; total distance, 2,784 miles. Deutschland to Plymouth, Sept. 5, 1900, 5 days 7 hours 38 minutes. St. Paul, from Southampton, 6 days 30 minutes, August, 1896; average speed, 21.08 knots. DIMENSIONS OF THE LUSITANIA---Length, 790 feet: breadth, 88 feet; depth, (molded,) 60 feet; gross tonnage, 32,500; displacement tonnage, 45,000; load draught, 37 feet 8 inches: height of funnels, 24 feet; height of masts, 216 feet; keel plate, 5 feet wide and 3 3/4 inches thick; coal bunkers for 7,000 tons of coal; watertight compartments, 175; rivets used in construction, over 4,000,000; three anchors, weight, 10 tons each; lifeboats under davits, 18; turbine engines, 70,000 horse power; crew, 750 men. -30- [/QUOTE]
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