Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-19
OCEAN TRAVEL In 1886.
FAST STEAMERS, CHEAP FREIGHTS.
ENGlkND'S OCEAN MONOPOLY.
Steerage Profts-The Tramps of the Sea.
ss5.oOO.oOO spent Abroad Yearly by
Americans-English Railway Peculiari-
ties-The Penny Versus the Dollar.

Americans-English Railway PecuIiari-
tie--The Penny Versus the Dollar.
Especial Corrrspondence.I
INNAN STEAMER. CITY OF RICHMOND,
ATLANTIC OCEAN, S75 MILES
FROM QUEENSTOWN, Sept.
am writing this letter in the cabin of a
big ocean steamer. My light comes from a
little round porthole the size Of a tin wash
basin, and the cabin is of the size of 6xl0
hRll bedroom. Ny only furniture is a camp
stool, a so:a ana two beds whish run along
the wall like the berths of sleeping car, one
above another. At the hack of the room
there Is Il stationary washstand, and over this
a laxl4 inch looking glass in a walnut frame
The iron ceiling Of this room is about seven
feet from the floor. 1t is studded with the
heads of riyets as big as an old-fashioned
cent, and, like the rest Of the room, is painted
white. A silk pOrtiere swings to and fro in the
breeze from its brass rod over the door, and
the color of this, like that of the curtains Of
my little round window, are crimson. A
piece % brussels carpet covers the floor, and
an electric button at the side of the door
viii bring me servant at the touch of my
finger l take my three full meals a day in
a dining saloon as large as that Of good
sizei hotel, and ! have a promenade walk
about the upper deck seventeen times Of
which makes just one mile. NY company is
made up of eighty ladies and gentlemen and
boys and girls of all ages, compilations and
sizes, from the little ls-months-oid baby, who
i going TO Belfast with her grandfather, a
member of the Produce Exchange of New
York, TO the stiff, gray haired suprem. court
s,,l.r q fsnntas-fir1f who Il ahOut To.
his son, the consular clerk at Liverpool
Then there is the population of the second
cabin, who have quarters below us in the
stern of the boat. and the hundreds IA the
steeragc, who are below ON the other side
near the PROV All classes seem to be happy.
We have had no rough weather, though we
are now beginning our ninth day at sea, and
the time, with reading, chatting, walking,
sleeping and eating, flies as fast as 1t does on
shore Tomorrow we will be at Queenstown,
and the day following the ship viii lie IN the
docks at Liverpool
Ocean travel is rapidly changing, and the
steamboat is improving as fast as the railroad
train The first ocean steamer was built
near New York in 1919, and she made trip
across the Atlantic one year later. She was
named the Savannah; she was of $50 tons
burden, and when she came ii.so Liverpool,
after passage Of twenty five days, she was
the wonder of all the world The big ocean
steamship of to-day is of from 4.ap 10 S,Op
tons, and she makes her passage from New
York to Queenstown in from six days and a
few hours TO twelve or thirteen days. Some
shipowners now assert thst the passage
across the Atlantic will soon se made in four
days, and the engineer Of thisvessel tells me
that fast ocean travel IS fullyas safe, though
more expensive, than SLOW taveL The coal
consumed by the seven days steamers Is
nearly three times as mucl as that consumed
by the ten days steamers and fuel is one of
the largest items in the cost Of steamship
travel Some Of the fat Cunard steamers
burn $40 tons Of coale day, whereas the City
of Richmond, of atout the same size, but
ten days steamer, rquires only from 100 TO
lIO tons per day. Ii costs about s. a ton
10 buy this coal anput ii in the furnaces Of
the ships engines, that the difference be
tween the seven daj and ten days steamers
in the cost OF coaAlone is over 81, 900 per
day.
Can YOU apprecie how much 800 tons of
coal day meansl Fifteen tons OF coal is a
yearly allowance " a small family in an
eight-room house. he daily consumption of
the Etruria wouldeep twenty such families
for year and the 800 tons which this ship
carries on each triwould more than supply
village of eightyamilies for that tine.
Tha coal used hers slack 1t is stored in
great vaults and ff-four men are required
toput it in the furns The ship has twenty
seven furnaces, each which is as big around
as a ton of hay one farmers wagon and
about twice as long. hey are away down in
the bottom of the ST. and as crept in and
out among them yestiay, by the aid of the
chief engineer and lantern, and saw the
blaze of their entraes, felt the consuming
heat of their surrouings and talked with
the sweaty, sooty who were kept at
them all day shovelincoal, Dante's Inferno
did not seem very fan and Hades was per-
sonifed before me.
The faster steameruve 100 men to sttend
to their furnaces. ly must be kept going
night and day and labor is very hard
The furnaces are 50 b that the men must
drink great quantitiof water, and here
they mix the water v oatmeal and each
man consumes gallonsaily. This is neces-
sary to keep up the peiration. In such a
beat if man cannot sat be will die.
This immense cost coal in the great
ocean steamers has en- rise to class of
cheaper steamers, WI Mr.. Shangleur, e
leading cotton shippef Georgia, tells me
are known as the ~trss of the scar They
are cutting the life ou the carrying trade
of the more. expensiveaes, and have made
freight rates materialower These boats
are iron shells with jrenough machinery
and furnishing 10 ruben. They do not
carry passengers, and can get along On
about twenty tons of day. They have
crews Of from twelve wenty hands to run
them. and they will anywhere to get q
cargo, and will carry ny place if paid for
1t. II used to be that ON shipped to Eng
land had to be arranger as TO carriage long
beforehand Now thcean steamers Will
take it at any time hey do not the ship
per has only TO telegrJfor one of these sea
tramps, and he will &C and take it for him
at as low a rate and ur as good insurance
as the great lines. Sc sea tramps don't
care where they 60 they have a cargo.
Today they may liant Liverpool with a
ship load Of cotton anheat, and next week
be sailing out rom End with supplies for
the Congo valley. Thre owned, l am told,
by responsible parties1 can make money
ON freight rates whicmld ruin the Cunard,
the Inman or the WhStar.
Freight rates are merry low, and few Of
the big steamships lirre making money.
Cotton is taken to Eui for little over IS
bale or less than onet pound, and the
freight of bacon is nouch over s. a ton.
% This ship carries grquantities of fresh
meat and cheese, an has refrigerators
which viii carry 400 tor 500, 600 pounds of
fresh meat. This is at entirely of beef.
The cattle are killed aressed in New York
the night before the ster leaves, and the
meat is sewed up in cs and hung up in
the refrigerators. Ems keep draft Of air
rushing through the during the whole
nd - Ian IaA or