New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-02

LLOYD and the Hamburg American all know, ana
must know, what their captains are doing.
So presumably, does the Imam Company al
belt the Inman commanders are believed 10 na'o
q free hand, and choose their own ROAD Inc
City of Paris was built 10 make record anu s'e
has made it: and having no other record 10
break, has lately broken her own. ENploi'S sum
as hers were conceived and carried out WIN
little or no regard to those precautions winch MI
Forbes and Captain Maury thought essential 10 ''c
safe navigation Of these crowded seas. All o'"oI
precautions are taken; all shat the Dullders an"
commanders Of the two fast Inman ships have
of science and experience. OF skill ana caution an"
sound seamanship. is at the service OF 'heir
passengers. But they, like the Frenchmcn ana 'he
Germans have graspcd the Fundamental truth
that a ship of given speed can cover 2'''o
miles in less time than it can 1900; and upon
this perception and doctrine they act.
The remaining company, which j referred 10
above as still cnging to the route policy, is the
White Star Their ships do not follow strictly
the Maury lines, but they sail under orders 10
follow distinct and separate and well delined
courses on their eastward and westward voyages.
Mr.. lsmay is not man to be trifed with, and
his orders are obeycd No White Star ship IS
allowed 10 cross the track of consort or, at one
fixed point, to come within sixty miles OF an
other Of the same line proceeding III opposite
direction. If she does, her alteration is due 10
fog or gales or to some caamitous cause whlch
insurers have agreed TO describe in their policies
as the act of God an expression more sanctiled
by custom than by any intrinsic reverence tor
the Deity. But it is obvious that for single
group of ships TO move on this strict line, wmle
all the other groups transsress 1t. is OF com
narativclv little use They are guaranteed
against collision with their consortS. but must
endure all the possibilities of peril from other
ships which run free from this Wholesome con-
strant. The same company. I believe, urged
upon the recent Maritime Conference the adop-
ton of International Steam Lane Routes; bat
it is not known that this suggestion was adopted.
The northern routes offer, as / said other
hazards than those of collision. The shortest
line from Sandy Hook to Queenstown takes
ship across the Great Bank of Newfoundland,
as indeed did all of Maurys routes,
which, because of this in practice early Inodi-
fed. The great Bank is the chosen home OF iog:
the one thing which the sailor breads beyond all
other things and would avoid if he could; or IL
he were not under the stress of competition which
induces him TO face any tning rather than loss
of his ships reputc for fast passages. 1T is, how
ever perfectly possible TO mark out lane ehtfcIS
clear Of the region of probable fog. 80 oil Ice
The existence of ice at certain seasons Ill certain
parts Of the North Atlantic is known. prudent
commander gives it a wide berth in advance; at
least he does not go in search of it. or keep
predetermined course which he knows to he moral
" sure to bring him within sight, if not within
touch of icebergs in the summer months OF the
wear A less prudent one, with full faith III his
power of providing for pcrils as they arise acts
otherwise. The ice, serious danger as 1t is, does
not. in fact, as we saw above, altogether drive oil
all transatlantic steamships from the northern
most and narrowest track across the Atlantic.
take it you cannot make Cape Race every time
in Nav or June without being favored with very
fine views of these wanderers from the Acuc
zone: views which do, moreover, crafty the pas
senger with an eye for the picturesque.
Such | believe are the facts as they stand to-
dav. | have no other object than 70 state them.
| offer no criticism censure upon English or
French or Germans, and none can he aimed at
American lines for the best Of all reasons, that
there are none. Broadly speaking, tie Maury
Lane Routes are abandoned. Maury thought they
would not only increase the security of naviga-
ton but, TO some extent, diminish the average
passage The present generation thinks him
wrong on the latter point Nobody ever doubted
that on the question of precaution lie was right.
But so paramount and pressing has become the
question of speed and SO keen tic passion Tor
records" that Maury and his routes have been
silently dropped Tie public may or may not
care Nothing is at stake except the safety Of
ships and the lives OF officers and crews, and OF
the few hundred thousand passengers who yearly
traverse the North Atlantic. q. W. 3.