Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-08
ocEaY STEAMSHIPS.
What it Costs an Ocean Greyhound to
Make Trip.
ITrom the Philadelphia Press

$50 900, the last figure being often too
small for such boat as the Teutonic, the
CITY of New York or the Columbia. The
former vessel turned into smoke full s. 800
worth of coal on her last passage here, or
about 81 200 each day. II she had been
going to Liverpool, instead of from that
city, the American coal that would have
been used up in getting the same amount
of power would have cost about SIC, 1000.
Steamship men who have been discussing
last weeks ocean race claim that the Teu-
tonic must have burnt nearly $4,000 of
Welsh coal anyhow, and are not inclined to
accept any lower estimate. The Columbia,
on her record-bealing journey across the
ocean, averaged 345 tons daily, or twenty
tons more than the Teutonic's officers say
she consumed, while The Inman officers
say that the City of New York burned
$50 tons OF coal day in her last voyage.
The coal bill, OF course, is the biggest
item of expense in fitting out crack
steamer for a trip across the Atlantic,
though the feed bill," as the pursers call
it, makes good second. Every hour taken
off the record means a decrease in this
important item, too, for 1t is estimated
that four pounds of meat are consumed
per minute on voyage with an average
summer passenger list.
On some steamers the sfeed bill' ex-
ceeds the coal bill, but not on the grey
hounds that make the trip in six days or
better. All the boats are proyisioned for
fifteen days trip, SO that in the event of
an accident the bill of fare will not be
sighted. The steward makes his pur-
chases after scanning the passenger list the
day before sailing.
The slaughter houses along the Hudson
get the order for meat thirty-six hours be-
fore the vessel sails, and they go to work
at once killing the cattle. A full passen-
ger list would compel the steward to put
into the refrigerator about 5000 pounds of
fresh beef and half that amount of mutton,
500 pounds of corn beef, 800 fowls, 250
chickens, so turkeys, 80 brace of grouse,
1900 pounds fish, 1900 pounds ham, and
500 of bacon. Besides these there are pro-
portional amounts Of other kinds of meats,
SO that nothing will be missing from the
table that could be found on the menu of
any first-class hotel on land.
The meat disposed of, the ships steward
gives out his orders for the other neces-
saries. Ten tons Of potatoes go into big
bins that look like caverns, and truck loads
of other vegetables are dumped beside
them. Five or six hundred quarts of milk
are sent on board the morning Of sailing,
together with about 5000 eggs and 900
pounds of butter For obvious reasons
these are not delivered until the last mo-
ment A single trip uses up 250 pounds
of tea also, double that amount of coffee,
and 200 pounds of sugars. Besides these
staple articles of the table there are dozens
of dainties sure to be called for by epicur-
can passengers and which the steward can
not afford to be "just out Of"
There are four regular meals on ship
board every day, but the tables are always
supplied with fruits, nuts, etc. These dis
appear SO rapidly that, the steward esti-
mates three oranges daily per passenger,
two and one-half apples, and two lemons.
The bread, biscuits and pies are all made
on board the vessel, and several tons of
-four disappear on the voyage.
June or early July list OF cabin passen-
gers will knock the necks off champagne
bottles faster than any hotels inmates.
Those are the months when wealthy folks
&C abroad. If half dozen good story
tellers, or men of the world, are on board,
too, the steward never sails with less than
a hundred cases. About 1000 bottles of
ale and porter will disappear on the same
journey, $500 of mineral waters, and 800
of other kinds of drinks.
A profit is made on the sale of these,
however, and it helps to lessen the net cost
of the stewards requisition on the COM
+lala al y E,,o-
it stands next to the coal bill in size. The
cost of manning the vessel comes next.
The big 'uns average 800 men, all told.
Their pay ranges from S400 or $500 a
month for the captain, to SIS for the "help-
ers." Thirty dollars might be fair aver
age That would mean $4,000 fer the 800
men per month, and few vessels average
more than round trip each month the
year through.
These three items of coal, food and crew,
therefore, foot up over $4,000 for swift
journey across the Atlantic and back In
addition to these, however, the cost of
maintaining docks on both sides of the
ocean, Offices in all the principal cities
and making repairs to the vessels eats up
another $4,000 during every voyage, and
often more than that.
Where does the money come from
That it does come in is evidenced by
the prosperity of nearly all the ocean
lines. The Hamburg American Company
paid y per cent. on its $4,000, 900 capi-
tai last year, and the White Star is said
to have done as we'll The French line
has always been a great money Garner.
The agent of one line said the other day
that full cabin list on the crack steam
ers paid all the expenses. This means
400 or 500 passengers who average 500
apiece in fare and money spent on
shipboard. That would be nearly $4,000
from the saloon cabin alone. Some of the
boats average $50 steerage passengers
Westward bound at $40 each, which would
an additional income. Freights
on the "greyhounds" seldom run over
s., 900, because passengers take up all the
room.
Then Uncle Sam and Queen Victoria
make up purse of $500 for carrying,the
mails on each voyage. The totals would
then read; From cabin passengers, $4,000;
steerage, $4,000; freight, $4,000; mails,
s2,500; total, $4,000. This would be only
for single trip, too, from Liverpool to
New York, and if the vessel were equally
full going back the companies would be
money. But the figures given
represent the highest that are obtained by
any of the lines, and they are often cut in
two during nine months of the year. At
other times the passenger list is short and
not more than 200 names are on it. They
have to be takep care of as well as if
double that number were on board, how
ever, and it is this that eats up the profit
made by all the lines in the summer
season. The loss of such vessel as the
Oregon, which was sunk in New York
harbor, cuts the stockholders out of div
dend, too and the accident to the City of
Paris, which took the Inman record
breaker into dry docks with her last spring,
not to yield it up until the Teutonic
brushed off thirteen minutes this week,
has lost the Inman people full half a
million.