The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-04-18
DINNER ABOARD SHIP.
How Americans Going to Europe
Eat, Drink and be Merry.
From the Nelo York Star.

Eat, Drink and be Merry.
From the Netc York Star.
The Transatlantic lines are preparing to
reap their annual spring harvest, and they
have good reason to believe that this will
be the red-letter year in the history of the
traffic. More Americans will go abroad
this year, they say, than ever before, be-
cause OF the Paris exposition. There is an
enormous profit in the steamship business
during the spring and summer months, the
gross receipts from a single voyage fire.
quently rising above 100000. When the
Etruria, the Umbrla, the City of New
York or any other of the great liners leaves
her dock with from 500 to 600 cabin passen-
gers, as they do regularly every week be-
tween the middle of April and the middle
of July, receipts from the cabin average
more than 500 for each person, and repre-
sent in the aggregate $4,000. The other
sources of income from the ship, such as
freight, the mails. the storage and the
bar, amount to almost as much gain.
The expenses, however, are very large,
especially for food and coal. Not more
than one or two of the dozen or more regu-
lar lines running to this country are making
ANYTHING above expenses, the English COM
panies not having paid a per cent. di-
vidend in six years. The profits of the
summer go to make up losses incurred by
bad winter seasons or by shipwreck. When
there is anything left over they put it into
new ships, a favorite form Of investment
among the companies at present, aud in
very prosperous years they are able to build
one or two new ships apiece and declare a
dividend besides.
The captain and higher officers on board
the first-cass liners come IN for a share of
the general prosperity in the spring of tho
year by giving up their rooms, which are
among the best on the ship, TO people who
are willing to pay for them. The deck
cabins are very desirable, especially when
there is family party. The captains
cabin costs 500 or 5000 extra, which he di-
vides with the company. The first, second,
third and fourth officers and the first engi
neer are among those whose rooms may be
thus obtained These individuals are gener-
orally very glad'to give them up and find
a place for the voyage somewhere in the
bowels of the ship. There are nearly 300
persons in the crew of vessel of the first
officers, the pursef, the surgeon, who is
compelled by British law to be there, and
receives fees from the passengers; forty-six
seamen, twelve engineers, seventy-two
stewards, six stewardesses, twenty-four
cooks and / IL flremen.
The crew strictly speaking, are those, in
GLIDING the engineers and fremen, who
mand Of the the captain; the stewards,
cooks, etc, being under the purser, who has
charge OF the comfort of the passengers and
of all the interior arrangements, being SUI
perior to the captain in this department. 1t
is he who mainly sees after the provisions
of the ship, and his position is a very i'm
portant one in the eyes of the company,
being the cashier of his vessel.
There is not vessel on the ocean that
can seat more than $50 people in the main
dining room. For this reason there are two
dinners served when the passenger list runs
above that number, and you are asked at
the office whether you prefer the first or the
second dinner-one at $50 o'clock the other
at land this, with the number of your
room is put on the purser's list with the
number OF you place at the table, aud
when it is once fixed no change will be
made. An officer presides at each Of the
main tables, and the highest honor is to sit
at the captains tablet possible, on his
right or let--and great tact - "Hquired to
arrange the seats satisfactor "a, Il give no
cause for jealousy among the .sHg gers.
The perlshable food only is Oought in this
country, and such things as melons, oysters,
peaches. cigars, tomatoes and other articles
that are cheaper and better here than
abroad, together with the necessary supply
of coal to carry the snip across the Allan
tic. All of thu groceries and wines are pur-
CHASED on Jno OuneT Sue, Tue supply DeluR
laid in for the round trip.
When a vessel OF the first class is lying at
her dock in New York in the spring months
with nearly thousand people to feed for
seven or eight days, she lays in an enor-
nous amount of provisions, which are put
in the ice room. OF fresh beef the usual
amount is 1850 pounds, with 200 pounds of
corned beef, $3.50 pounds of mutton, $50
pounds Of lamb, $50 pounds of veal and tne
8 l. 49, ~
pounds of fresh fish. These figures may
well make the thrifty house wife stare in
open-eyed wonder. What could she do
with the fifteen tons Of potatoes put aboard
every ten daysl These ocean greyhouDds
are we'll supplied with game as the list Of
the head cook, which was recently seen by
the writer. showed 200 brace Of grouse as
being put aboard for a single voyage, with
600 fowls. 300 chickens. 100 ducks 80 geese,
ard so turkey, besides 80 hampers Of vege-
tables 220 quarts Of ice cream, LOCO quarts
Of milk and II, 500 eggs.