The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-27

ceipts arc Considerably Larger and the
Grand Ships Undoubtedly Pay.
What does it cost to run palatial twin
screw racer across the Atlantic? That i
the question which The Sun, for the en-.
hghtenment Of many inquiring readers,
recently put TO the New York agents Of
several big steamship companies. The
questioner was about TO file the query
away with lot of other unsolved riddles
of the sea, when he strolled into the office
OF the Hamburg-AmericHn line. There he
obtained the information which had been
withheld at every other Office. The agent
dissipated as well as he was able the mys.
terry that had enshrouded the little prob
lem. A midsummer trip of the Inagnif-
cent Normannia was the theme Of his calcu-
lation. The Normannia is not quite as big
as the twin screw boats Of the White Star
and Inman lines, but her expense account,
owing TO the greater length Of her voyage,
is just as formidable. The cost Of running
her from her dock in the Teutonic town of
Hoboken to her dock in the town of Ham
burg, no less Teutonic perhaps, is about
the same as the cost of running the City of
Paris from New York TO Liverpool
When the Normannia starts on an east
ward voyage she carries nearly 5000 tons
of coal in her protected bunkers. Some of
this is American and some foreign soft
coal, and 1t costs about $3.50 a ton. The
sooty stokers daily shovel into her roaring
red furnaces between $50 and 300 tons. The
expenditure for coal runs Just short of
1000 day, or nearly $1,000 for the voy-
age. The cost of the gallons and gallons
Of oil used to keep her ponderous triple
expansion engines, her dynamos, her nu-
merous smaller engines, her pumps and
80 on running smoothly, combined with
the coal bill, is quite S, 800
A BIG SALARY ROLL.
The salaries of the big ships company
are not an unimportant factor IN the ex-
pense account. Among the 800 persons who
look after the working Of the racer and the
comfort Of her passengers are, besides the
cool headed captain, officers, surgeon,
25 engineers and machlnists, pursers, )
boatswains, % seamen, ia firemen, G5
walters and mattresses, % cooks, bakers
and assistants ? carpenters, barber and
il skilled musicians. The total wages of
these for a trip OF eight days is about
$1,000, not counting perquisites.
Capt. Hebich receives the highest salary
1t varies between g, 900 and $4,000 a year,
and depends somewhat on the earning. of
the ship, of which he receives q small per-
Centage. This is the way the shippers of
Bll the colossal racing craft are paid, and
it is not likely that any Of them are going
20 cease racing, or to be cenSured for it, as
long as fast trip means money in their
pockets and the Golfers of their company
Every hour the captain of the City of New
York saves means a saving in coal alone
of $50
Next in importance to the captain of an
ocean speeder is the chief engineer. He is
not as frequently visible TO the cabin pas
sengers as his gold laced superior and
nobody makes much fuss over him, but he
Is, in the opinion of his employers, very
big man indeed. lie is the man who makes
the great ship git up and git" He SUD-
mits daily reports of how things are going
On down below to the captain He tells
how many tons of coal lac is using, how
much indicated horse power he obtains,
and the number Of revolutions the ships
propellers make "A minute. If he doesn't
get as much speed ont Of the clanling twin
giants as the captain thinks he ought TO
the captain pats hin on the back and tells
ulul 10 NuDpD l4tI AEl. IKE Il gDDl ltllDW.
Vt is essential to the captains interest that
be should be friendly with ne boss Of the
mighty machines. For his great work the
chief engineer receives $3.50 month and
bis board, which is equal to that Of the
cabin passengers The chief officer receives
ESQ a month, which Is more than the cap
tains of many steamships of the second
glass get.
CAN'T DRINK SALT WATER.
The food and drink consumed by passen-
gers and crew during a recent trip of the
Normannia cost about $4,000 This is the
complete list Of the things that were neces-
Bary to make life aboard the luxurious
floating hotel something like a dream:
Two thousand five hundred bottles of red
wine, 1000 bottles of Rhine wine, 1000 bot
ties of champagne. 200 bottles of cordials,
1900 bottles of beer, so kegs of beer, 400
bottles Of ale and porter, $500 bottles Of
mineral water, $1,000 gallons of drinking
water, 10000 pounds of potatoes, 10000
pounds of beans, peas and so on, 800 cans
of fruit, 1900 pounds of jellies, tarts and
biscuits, A. baskets Of vegetables, 1000
pounds Of butter, 200 pounds of cheese.
10000 eggs, $500 pounds of sugar, / 800
pounds of coffee, 1000 pounds of tea, 30
pounds of chocolate, $50 gallons of milk,
10000 apples, 1900 oranges, 1000 lemons,
600 glasses Of preserved fruits, 120 barrels
of -four, 50 gallons Of ice cream, 1000
pounds of beef, 2.00O pounds OF mutton,
800 pounds Of ham. smoked beef and
bolognas, 200 pounds of veal, 700 pounds
of bacon, coo pounds Of pork, 600 pounds Of
game, 500 pounds of canned meat, $50
pounds Of lamb, 30 barrels of preserved
meat, 20 barrels of salt pork, 10000 pounds
of fish, $50 chickens, $50 ducks, 90 turkeys,
60 partridges and 80 geese.
From the foregoing facts and figures it
may be said that one trip Of the Norman
mia costs the Hamburg American line not
less than $4,000 To offset this expendit-
ure, which does not include the cost of
insurance, the Normauuia must carry
many passengers and some freight. The
number OF her passpn gers varies, OF course,
according TO the season. She carries in
midsummer sometimes nearly 800 first and
second cabin and about 800 storage vow
Rgers. The average price Of first cabin
passage j. about Sllo, and that of a second
cabin about $50. The average price Of
Eteerage accommodations is about So
The receipts from all classes OF paSSen-
gers on a good midsummer trip are over
$4,000 Usually the Noruanuia carries
500 tons of freight, which, at the transpor-
tation rate Of about $40 a ton. amounts to
$500 The cost Of loading and unloading
this freight is borne by the company. In
the dull season the big twin screw ships
do not make much, but their receipts
throughout the year are large enough 70
warrant the declaration that they are great
successes financially, and that they are
the Passenger ships Of the tuture.-New
York sun.