The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1873-02-26
Origin and Queer Old Ways, etc, Of a
Pioneer Steamship Company.
BIZ MARX TWAIN.


(Scotchmen they are) 1t was born
before the days of steamships it in.
augurated ocean steamer lines. i;
never has lost more than one vessel
, it has never lost passengers life al
, all its ships are never insured great
mercantile firms do not insure their
goods sent over in Cunard ships it is
rather safer TO be in their vessels
than on shore. Old-fashionedis is the
/ word.
When thing is established BY the
Cunarders, it is there for good and all,
, almost. Before adopting n new thing
the chiefs cogitate and cogitate then
they lay it before their head surveyor,
their head merchant, their head-buil-
der, and their head engineer, and all
the captains in the service, and they
go of and eogitate about a year
then if the new wrinkle is approved
it is adopted and put into the regula-
tions. In the old days, near forty
years ago, when this was an ocean
line Of sailing vessels, corpses were
not permitted by the company to
take passage, or go as freight, either
sailor superstition, you know.
Very well to this day they won't
carry eorpses. Forty years ago they
always had stewed prunes and rice
for dianer on duff days well, to
this present time, whenever duff day
comes around, YOU will always have
your regular stewed prunes and rice
in Cunarder Ifyou don't get any
thing else, you can always depend on
that-and depend on it with your
money up, too. if ycu are that kind
Of person.
1t takes them about ten OF fifteen
years TO manufacture a captain; but
when they get him manufactured to
suit at last, they have full confidence
in him. The only order they give the
captain is this, brief and to the point
Your ship is loaded, take her; speed
IS nothing follow your own road,
deliver her safe, bring her back safe
safety is all that is required"
The noted Cunard companyis COM
posed simply of two or three grand
children, who have stepped into the
shoes Of two or three children, who
stepped into the shoes Of a couple Of
old Scotch fathers; for Burns and
MaclvOr were the Cunard company
when it was born it was Burns and
Maclvor when the originators had
passed away is Burns and MacIvor
still in the third generatioD-never
has been out of the two families
Burns was a Glasgow merchant,
Mac1vor was an old sea dog, who
sailed ship for him in early times.
That vessels earnings were cast into
sinking fund with the money they
built another ship, and then another.
and thus the old original packet line
from Glasgow to Halifax was estab-
lished.
At that time the mails were slowly
and extensively carried in English
government vessels. Burns Il
Mclvor and Judge Halliburton ('Sam
Slick') fell to considering a scheme of
getting the job of carrying these
mails in private bottoms. In order to
manage the thing they need to be
quiet about it, and also they needed
faster vessels Halliburton had a re-
lative who was not a shining success
in practical life, but had an inventive
head: name. Sam Cunard he took his
old jack-knife and a shingle and sat
down and whitfield out this enormous
Royal Mail Line of vessels that we
call the Cunarders-a great navy it
is-doing business in every ocean
owning forty-fye steamships of
vast cost conducting IFS affairs with
the rigid method and system of a
national navy promoting BY merit,
priority in routine, and for conspicu-
Gus service; using company uniform,
retiring superannuated and disabled
men and officers on permanent pen
sions, and numbering its servants by
hundreds and thousands. In its own
private establishment in Liverpool it
keeps 1000 men under pay. That is
what Sam Cunard Whitfield out.
That is to say, he whitfield out a
little model for a fast vessel; it was
satisfactory he was instructed to go
and get the mail contract, simply
under his own name; be did it, and
the company became commonly
known as the Cunard Company then
the company tried steam and made it
work thep prospered, and bought
out Halliburton, and also Cunard's
little interest they removed Cunard
to England and made him their Lon
don agent be grew very rich and un-
speakably respectable, and when he
died he died not as poor, dreaming
provincial whittier of experimental I
models, but as the great Sir Samuel /
Cunard,. X. c. b., or G. W. Y, or
something like that, for the sovereign /
had knighted him.
Well, the Cunard Company is a |
great institetion, and has got more |
money than you and put together
and vet none Of the family ever write /
editorials or deliver lectures. The /
company have built school houses
and they educate the children of their
employees they are going to build
dwellings for their shoremen that shall /
be cheap and clean and comfortable i
when one of their men dies, a sub
scription list goes about his ship or in /
whatever arm of the service his name 4
is booked, and whatever sum is raised .
the Cunard Company add just a SIM
liar sum. and it all goes TO the mans
heirs. Their system of pensions
But | have never been offered a
cent for all this i am not even ac-
quainted with a member of the
Cunard company. l think l will
wait awhile before go ONT cramps
nv hand to write so much on o
stretch. But it is all right, any way.
So many thousands of Americans /
have travelled in those steamers that
they will like to read about that COM
pany.
A Boston manufacturer advertises /
patent shoe that will prevent hors-
es from 'balling" Spieer says this
is not a new idea, as Mrs. s. has used
shoe often to Stop the younp Spi-