Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-01
TIL Lightning Voyages That
are Now Made Over
the Atlantic,
The Most Remarked > Trips
on Record-Still Swiiter
Vessels Building.
Cutting Down the Sohsdule Tim o
TO Europe to sin Days.

tSlE VI lNSloAbY WAAIh hCE hlslRb. WIFI
their standards of green unfurled, LED
the RED Branoh Knights to danger.
Iu the race for fast timo the steam.
ships are making rapid strides to be
frat. Since the Sirius left Cork Hsr.
Dor on the Al OF April, 1888, arriy.
Ing In New York on the 23i of the
same month steam navigation has
made an immense gain In speed. The
Great Western, which left Southamp,
ton on the 8 n tf April, arrived In
New York on the ssme dsy o. the
Sirius. The latest modern feat of
last time has been accomplished by
the Normlndie Of the rrausatlsntiuue
line. She left Hsvre at 8 o'clock on
the morning of May 5 and arrived at
Sandy Hook May Is at 8 D.. M, thus
making the voyage In eight days and
eleven hours, the distance being 800
miles further than Queenstown.
The Alaska and the Ariz ma of the
GuyOn line have hitherto been easily
first In tina race for the fastest time
between New York and Q leonstown,
having run rom the former TO the
latter port In 6 days, Is hours and 81
minutes, while the Arizona performed
the same distance In Z days, 8 hours
and 80 miuutee.
The Anchor line has hitherto been
proverbiaily slow, but, a, If With the
intention of ~redeeming It's character
In this respect, 1t is about to make a
grand effort for the fastest ocean time
on record. With this intention the
Rome started from Queenstown at 3
o'clock Thursday afternoon. Mr.,
Henderson said to a Star reporter:
"We expect she will make the bess
time on record. In her speed
trlsla on the other side
she has made eighteen
and q half knots an hour, which is the
highest speed ever obtained by a
steamship upon the Clyde Others
are of opinion, however, that the
Rome will hardly make her best time
In her frat voyage. It took thu All.
iona q year to come up to the fastest
time which she has made. The Rome
was originally built for the Inmsn
lin, In Bsrrow.on Furnese, by the
Barrow shipbuilding line, owned by
the Duke of Devonshlre, who Is also
the owner of the Anchor line She
WAS returned by the Inman line be.
cause she did not come up to the con
tract ia her freight capacity. Some
improvements were then made upon
her and her engine capacity increased
with the intention OF leaving all her
ocean companions in the distance.
How far this calculation has been cor.
rect three days more will tell. If she
can sustain her eighteen and one. half
knots an hour with favorable weather
and a straight course, II is presumed
she will make the voyage In 6
lays and 6 hours or whereabouts.
The next fastest time to that of the
Alaska was made by the Ssrvia of
the Cunard line. She crossed from
New York to Q Jamestown In z days,
5 hours and 40 minutes, having left
New York August 80, 1882 The
Arizona, of the Guion line then comes
next, running from Queenstown to
New York In z days, 8 hours and 80
minutes, Tae White Star line makes
an admirable showing of good aver
ages since the year 1876, but Its ape
cially good times under eight days are
as follows: Gsrmanic, April, 1877,
Queenstown to New York, z days, IL
hours, 81 minutes; Britannic, August,
1877, Qneensto wn to New York, z
days. 10 hours, SO minutes; Ger.
manic, February, 1876, New York to
Queenstown, z days, 10 hours, II min,
utes; Britannia, December, 1876, Z.
days, II hours, Al minutes; A1riatic,
May, 1881, Z days, 20 hours, 80 min.
utes. For six voyages from Greens.
town to New York IN 1876 the B titan.
mic has an average Of Z days, 1s hours,
rs minutes; and for the same number
from New York to Queenstown the
average is z days, 20 hours, Sc min.
utes. The anne vessel has an average
of 81 voyages of 8 days, 8 hours and
% minutes between the years 1876
and 1881; and the Germanic has an
average during the same years of Sc
voyages of 8 days, 6 hours and 20
minutes.
The best time of the Inman line was
by the City Of Bsglin, October, 1877,
from Creenstosn to New York In Z
days, Ia hours, IL minutes. The time
made by the City Of Rome, the great
champion of the Anchor line, now on
the way here, In May, 1882, from Liv-
erpool to New York, was 7 days, 20
hours, 30 minutes. There are q few
points of considerable interest with
regard to all these fsat timers not gen.
orally known to the public. and to
which the agsnt of the Inmsn line
called the attention to the reporter.
"There Is a practical limit to this
fast time, The remarked, "Vhich s ems
TO have been nearly reached. During
the past fourteen years, with all the
appliances of science and immense
expense, shs speed has only been In.
creased ABOUT twenty hours, This, of
course, is a great deal, but it lG still!
becoming more and more dificult and
expensive to increase the speed, go
that, ia e short time, 1t will be a very
expensive matter to increase the time
an hour, and it will not pay to do 30.
Now take the Waite Star line, for K
ample. Their ships make the best
average tims-a trlfe over eight days
and ] venture the prediction that In
future they will not beat their previous
record, because it will not pay to do
3d."
"How 500"
"Well, in the first instance, the
freight space is greatly encroached
upon by the immense machinery re.
quired for n of the fastest. Then
there Ia an enormous expense In coal.
For example, the Alaska now burns
245 tons a day during the voyage,