The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-25
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

A week ago to-day the steamer La Cam
pania arrived at New Y ork from Queens
town. having made the voyage in days,
hours and q minutes. By the route she
took the distance is 1888 knots; her aver
age speed for the whole trip was thus 2l49
knots, or $3.50 geographical miles per
hour. No such speed has been maintained
for 135 consecutive hours before. 1t is IN
excess of the average speed OF railroad
trains on this side of the con tinent. and
about half the average speed OF express
trains in the East and in Europe. Y ct Mr..
Cramp of Philadelphia announces that he
stands ready to build an American pas
senger steamer which will beat this record.
The Campania had a smooth sea and
light west winds, shifting from northwest
to southwest throughout her voyage. her
best days work was done on the day before
her arrival, when she covered 545 knots
in the teeth of en- adverse though not
strong wind. One of the secrets OF her
speed on this last voyage is the shortness
of the route she travelled. By close ad
herence TO circle sailing she reduced the
distance from port to port TO 27S3 knots,
whereas on the trip on which she made
her best previous time she covered 2Sl2
knots-a difference of twenty knots;
on the fastest trip Of her rival. the Luca-
MIA, the distance travelled was 2911 knots.
When steamers are covering their three
miles every minute, these differences,
small as they are, count up. 1t is hoped
by navigators that, in smooth weather,
the course from Queen stown TO New York
will be red uced TO 200 miles, which will
be equivalent to a reduction of five hours
in the average time. Now. if hereafter
Montauk should become the American
terminal of the European steamships. in
stead of New York. The ocean voyage
might possibly be brought within the COM
pass OF five days.
Early next summer the Cramps will
launch from their shipyard the st. Paul
and the st. Louis, which were ordered
when Congress authorized the transfer of
the City of Paris and the City of New
York 20 the American flag. These vessels
are contracted to steam twenty miles an
hour for six consecutive hours, and to be
of equal, if not larger, carrying capacity
than the Paris and the New York. When
these vessels were ordered it was supposed
that they would be the equals of anything
a1oat But naval architecture is pro-
gressive science. and the progress is swift.
The English are now building steamers
which are as far ahead of the Paris aud
Nav York as those ships were ahead three
years ago of the Philadelphia liners. And
il appears that the engines Of the st. Paul
and st. Louis are not yet begun. By this
time next year, when those steamers are
in commission, it is quite on the cards that
the English may have 20.000-ton ships
sfloat which will consider a five days run
from Queenstown to New York a tedious
passage.
Mr.. Cramp says that he can build
steamer to beat the Campania and Luz
cania. 1t is 10 be hoped that he will have
the opportunity. Unless he can the
United States will continue as heretofore
10 play second fiddle to England and their
steamers will have to fill up with second
class passengers at low rates. We are
even letting the Germans get ahead Of US
people who have practically no national
navy. The German Hamburg line is now
running bi-monthly steamers from New
York to Constantinople, By way of Fun
chal. the Azores. Gibraltar. Algers,
Genoa, Naples. Athens, Alexandra and
Jaffa. Arrangements have been made by
which passengers per these steamers are
allowed time for land journeys, which
enable them to visit Madrid, Paris, Rome,
Venice, Vienna and Cairo. 1t need hardly
be added that the ships are sailing full.
The line pays better than the Hamburg
line. The passengers are almost without
an exception American. But the profits of
the enterprise go Into German pockets.