The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-03

Carl schurx Says a New Era Il at Hand In
Ocean Travel and American
bodybuilding.

oArl schurz says a New Era Il at Hand 4
OCEAN Travel and American
shipbuiiding.
TWritsan for The HELENA INDEPENDENTLY
- EERLESS STEAMSHIPS TIA
will fy the stars and stripes frol
their peaks and make the ocea
VOYAGE to Europe in less than five days. ar
now promised by American money kings
American capital will at last restore TIL
country TO her long vacant place AZ leade
In transatlantic traffic. Recent acts o
congress in allowing English ships to Il,
our Gag, under certain conditions, nav
brought this great scheme OF reyolutioniz
Ing ocean travel to its elimination.
Men Of millions have been plotting ant
planning for a dozen years to make u Crane
coup dc grace in ocean traffic. The passage
- Europe is TO be reduced very nearly fifty
hours. The promoters OF this great revolu-
zion in the transatlantic trade are not Wis
ionary schemers, but moneysd and
praotical men. They first secured
1he passage of the postal subsidy
act by the last congress. This measure en-
titles ships Of American register 10 $4,000
a round trip, or about $3.50. 600 4 year each,
being at the rate of 81 \ mile for each mile
travelled on the outward voyage, and upon
the assumption that about twelve trips a
year will be made by each ship. Their
next step was to secure the passage OF a bill
TO admit to American registry foreign built
ships, but with 4 ~proviso that an amount of
- $3.50 - A,slk -, 4 rNapiror nhIr-
Yards equal to that admitted under the flag.
This will entitle all the ships to the fat gift
Of the government provided by the postal
subsidy bill.
Speed and safety have always been tho
great requisites, and the new ocean grey
hounds now building for a $lO.000,O0o COM
pany. composed Of American capitalists.
will, il is claimed, eclipse anything in the
steamship line ever before known.
For more than ten years a party of Ameri-
car millionaires, with Austin Corbin at
their head, have been figuring out the
problem of how to materially reduce the
time to Europe. 1t was Mr.. Corbin, the
king of Long Island, as he is known among
his associates, who first thought the scheme
and then interested others.
After repeated postponement OF inter
views, owing to the incomplete condition
Of %his'plans, I have succeeded in getting
the bottom facts about the new trans
Atlantic line of lightning ships. In 1889
Mr.. Corbin secured $4,000 acres'of land at
Lontauk Point, l.. l. 1t is pretty generally
Long Island, and that his railroad facilities
10 this point could be made to till any re-
uuirement. Well, inside of Montauk
Point, L. l., is Fort Pond bay, where, Mr..
Corbin says, there is never less than
forty feet Of water at low tide. Mr.. Cor
bin figured out that a ship could leave
Montauk point without regard for wind or
tide and cut across lots, as it were, for Eu-
rope, touching at Milford Haven, in Penn
broke, Wales, where there is a harbor of
fifteen by two miles of deep water large
enough to anchor all the shipsof the United
Kingdom. This passage would cut the dis
lance down 300 miles, and there would be
no waiting for tides in passing over the bar
of New York harbor. a regular time table
could be made. With this cut in the dis
tancs, and faster ships. Mr.. Corbin CON-
eludes that the voyage could be made in
less than five days, the distance between
she two points being 2.s7l miles.
In this great combination formed to rev.
olutiopize ocean traffic are officials high in
railroad and steamship companies. The
Pennsylvania railroad, and the New York
81 Now England will be tie two principal
feeders for the new transatlantic line.
And here ia how it is to be done:
For several weeks past there has been
great mystery in Wall street over the activ-
ity in Austin Corbin's Long Island railroad
stock. The mystery is at once cleared uE
by the statement Mr.. Corbin authorizes me
to make that the Long Island and the
Pennsylvania railroads have joined hands
TO build a tunnel from Jersey City &c
Brooklyn. The agreement has already
been signed between the two companies
and the papers for the incorporation of the
company to build the passage under New
York and the Hudson and East rivers have
just been filed in Albany. The New York.
New Jersey and Eastern Railroad COM
pany is the name of the incorporation, and
1t was Incorporated to build. maintain and
operate a railroad from Flatbush and At
lantio avenue. Brooklyn. under the two
rivers and Manhattan Island to New DER
sey, the length being five miles in New
York and one mile in New Jersey.
This is n OF the most important
branches Of MI. Corbin's mammoth trans
Atlantic enter prises. So far he has enough
land at Montauk Point to build a city, all
the roads on Long Island, the probable
cheap foreign market, the American regis
try and subsidy for all his vessels and the
privilege to build a tunnel from the
Pennsylvania depot in Jersey City to his
Long Island railroad depot in BROOKLYN
and the Now York d New England railroad
running express trains direct to Long Is
land, where connections are made with his
line of fast Expresses from Elatbusb
avenue. Brooklyn, to the ships side at
Moutauk Point. The Pennsylvania road
he depends on for all the European pas-
sengers from the west. and the New York u
New England will be the feeder for the
eastern states. Now listen to Mr. Corbin
tell in his " language of this gigantic
scheme.
twill there not be more danger in run
ming your ships at HI increased rate 0
speed?"
"No, there will be less danger running a
twenty-one knots an hour than at fftep1
or eighteen, unless you run into an iceberg
and no matter at what rate Of speed you
are going you are wrecked then, sure"
Naturally, Mr.. Corbin's proposed new
line of ocean greyhounds has aroused tn,
greatest activity on the part of other linef
The latest scheme, m old one with ney
varnish, is the Arrow Steamship company
that has recently completed and launche,
= ship. the Howard Cassard. at Baltimore
This ship has q keel that weighs 80, 90
pounds, and it Was believed she would SIN,
of her own weight. At any rate Sd
has been completed and teste
to the satisfaction Of the me
who invested money in her. 1t is said b
MI. Fryer, her builder md inventor, ths
other ships of this style will be built q
once and employed in the ocean passenge
traffic, and Mr.. Fryer and his hackers ga
they can make the voyage in even less tim
than can MIR. Cofbin's ships. As they wi
carry IL passengers, they claim that tn
Howard CassRrd, now in the water. wi
make the trip in four days to Qusenstow,