The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1877-03-03
Atlantic Traffic.

One Of the Oldest Of the Atlantic com
panies, and the most famous, next to the
Cunard Line, is that bearing the name 81
Mr.. William Inman. known originally as
the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship
Company, and now trading as the Imam
Steamship Company QimIted.) 1t was in
1880 that the first Inman steamer, the
City of Glasgow, a vessel of 600 tons
and 800 horse power, went out, and she
was sent. not to New York but to Philadel-
phia. The former place vas already the
port of arrival for the Cunard fleet, now
consisting Of twelve Clyde built steamers,
varying from 100 tons to :, 200 tons, and
not to seem too bold in their competition,
the company sent their new steamer to
Philadelphia. A few years experience,
however, sufiiced to give courage to the
competition, and in 1857 the Inman steam
ers went also to New York. To the orig
nal steamer, the City Of Glasgow, there
had now been added three other vessels
the City Of Baltimore, the Kangaroo, and
the City Of Washington; and in 1860
came the City Of New York, of about
2. POO tons and $50 horse power, at which
date the servics Of the company's steamers
became weekly one, to be increased in
1868 to three times a fortnight, and ulti-
mately to once, and OCCASIONALLY during
the summer months to twice a week The
fleet at the present time consists of thir-
teen vessels, varying in gross tonnage from
2, o36 to ., 400, and in nominal 'yorsc power
from $50 to 1000. OF the lumber four
have been butt within the las i've years,
the three latest-the City of Chester, the
City Of Richmond, and the City Of Der
lin being among the largest and finest
merchant vessels ahoat The City Of Ber-
lin, the latest addition to the fleet, is sur
passed by the Great Eastern alone, and in
addition to her great carrying capacity, she
has the now indispensable merit Of speed,
her average passages out to New York
being : days, III hours and 81 minutes,
and homewards, 8 days, hours and "A
minutes. 1t was the City of Brussels,
however-which vessel has Just undergone
her trial with new engines-that in her
trial made the fastest run yet recorded be-
tween New York and Liverpool-namely,
days, 20 hours and SO minutes. The
shOrtness of time in which the Inman
steamers have reduced the passage across
the Atlantic was conspicnously shown by
the voyage in 1869 Of Prince Arthur, who
attended service at Queenstown on the
Sunday morning Of his departure, and was
landed in Halifax in time to attend morn
ing service at that place on the Sunday
following.
Briefly stated, the company, during the
twenty i've years Of its operations, has
carried between the two countries some
thing like million Of passengers. II Is the
emigrant or steerage traffic to which it has
from the first specially applied itself, and
but for the official emigration returns il
would be impossible to realize the extent
Of the service it has rendered. Mr.. Lind
say, in his : History Of Merchant Ship
ping, records that in 1856 and 1857, when
the sailing to New York began. the Inman
Company conveyed in their steamers 50, Y
900 passengers to and from the United
States Of America, or about one third Of
all the passengers who crossed the Allan
tic during those two years. London Times