The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1885-02-26

How Hundreds ofPsopls Live Luxuriousl3
on the Ocean Steamers.

AO964sS AE1OAT.
How Hundreds ofPsopls Live Luxuriousl,
on the Ocean Steamers.
From the New York Herald.
Should the reverend George Wash.
ington suddenly reappear in the flesh,
he would probably evince some aston.
lshment at the several improvements
made in the world since he went out Of
1t. But nothing; perhaps, would be
more surprising I'd the good Old man
than the fact that the hundreds of PEG:
pie he might see, magnified twofold, in
the big reception-room at the barge of
flee had all been brought across the
ocean in one vessel: Indeed, it is al
most beyond the belief Of the minds 81
to-day that more than 500 persons could
be comfortably and safely transported
In one ship distance Of 5000 miles in
. week; but such is reality, and con.
6rmatory idea of the magnitude of the
undertaking may be obtained from the
fact that the cost of round trip of ont
of these monster transatlantic coursera
ranges between $4,000 and $4,000;
And the hundreds at the barge Office
are more than duplicated by the steer;
age passengers at Castle Garden.
"The cost of q voyage differs accord
ing to the speed of the vessel" said
Mr.. Gustave Schwab, of the North
German Lloyd line yesterday, "the
faster vessels being more expensive
than the slower ones"
"That seems rather illogical" re-
piled the reporter. zone would nat
urally imagine that the shorter voyage
would cost the less money"
"The explanation is in the consump-
ton of coal. The fast steamers use
from 1875 to 100 tons of coal per day,
while the slow steamers only use about
sixty Or seventy tons per day, The
distance to Southampton Is about 9,10e
miles, and our fast steamers make the
trip across in seven to eight days, and
the slower steamers make it in the
neighborhood of ten days
''How many in a crew do your largest
vessels carry?"
about 100 men, including officers.
The salaries of captain are never less
than 81, 500 year, and sometimes reach
$4,000, according to their gross earnings.
The wages of the seaman and petty Of
fcers average 81 per day each, and the
daily cost Of feeding the crew and Of
fcers is averaged at SO ceilts per eapi'
ta."
"How much does each person on q
voyage eat IN the day?"
"Uh, 1 could hardly tell that, but we
calculate on allowing pound and hall
of meet for each person."
"Can you give fresh meats and vege.
tables on every day of the voyage?" wai
asked of Chief Steward Charles Winter,
of the Elbe, who overheard Mr.. Schwah
and the reporter talking.
ooh, yes" was the reply. On our
big trips, we ship about $4,000 pounds
of fresh meat, and we serve it daily,
not only to the first and second cabin
passengers, but to the steerage and the
crew. Should we meet with any acct
dent causing delay, we could give the
first and second cabin passengers fresh
meats and all the luxuries of the season
for several weeks by putting the crew
and steerage passengers on regular sea
fare of salt meats. We have three ice
callars-one for fresh fish, one for poul'
try and one for meats-and in these
everything is preserved.
Chow much ice is required for voy.
age?"
"The amount varies, according to the
season from ten to twenty TONS"
''How about fresh eggs; do you have
hens on board?"
cha, ha, ha! Oh, no, not exactly
We get fresh eggs at the beginning Of
each trip, and they are kept fresh by 6
patent preparation of lime and some
other preserving matter"
"Butter-how much butter is con-
sumed on voyage?"
Between 200 and 1, 400 pounds. We
use from 1000 to 5000 cigars. Wines
and beers are not SO largely consumed
because we keep the price high in order
to keep down intoxication.
On well-regulated steamer, it wal
learned, the bedclothes, towels, table
linens and coverings for all the furni
ture are changed every day. On YES
sci of 5000 tons 1000 napkins are used
on every trip in the first cabin anc
about l 900 napkins are used in the sec
cond cabin, while the sheets number
about 1000 and the towels 5000. DIFF
ferent colors are used on the upholstery
and. furniture every day, because of tn,
relief change of scene affords to per
sons who become seasick, and also ow
ing to the additional freshness OF thu
atmosphere of the cabins thus obtained
The steamer is newly painted on thu
outside from stem to stern every voy
age, and to do this work, together Will
the repairing and cleaning of uphol
stery, from 200 to 400 men are e nploy
ed. The washing is all done at the ent
of each voyage,
"How much crockery do you use in
day?" was asked of the steward.
Somewhere in the neighborhood o
1000 pieces in the first and second cab
jns, separately, and about 2, 900 pieces o
glassware. The silver of the first cabil
about 1000 pieces-is valued at $40,
900, and the same quantity in the sec
ond cabin is worth just half that sum
OF course, you know. although every
thing is just as serviceable and cleal
in the second cabin, nothing is as ele
CANT"
Although the principal revenue o.
the big ocean steamers is from passen
gers, they all carry tons and tons @
merchandise, which is generally of
raw nature. Nearly every transatlanti
steamer obtains its wines, canned good
and delicacies abroad, but, of the bread
stuffs and much of the smoked meat
that they obtain on the other side,
frequently occurs that the steamer ha
carried it from New York as merchan
disc freight. The captains say they ca
carry Oh articles to the markets abroa'
and buy them as cheaply as at the HON