The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-08-30
COST TO RUN A HIP.

The cost of running a big ocean grey
hound to Europe and back reaches in
to the the thousands. A transatlan-
tic liner is really a floating hotel, and
everything ON board is conducted on
the same scale of lavishness that is
found in fashionable Fifth avenue
hotel.
Clement A. Griscom, Jr., son of the
president of the line controlling the
st. Louis, agreed to give some figures
to Void reporter covering the ex-
pense of her voyage to England and
back. He figured for some time and
round trip of a steamer like the st.
Louis average between 100000 and
$50, 000,k according to the season.
The voyage between the two ports
takes trifie more than seven days,
making the daily cost of operation in
the busy season something like
S., 500.
No single individual on the st.
Louis gets IL large salary. The cap
tain heads the list, getting about
5000 n year Captains on smaller
passenger steamers only receive So, 900
a year The chief officer of ship like
the ST. Louis gets 81 800, and the bulk
of the heavy work really falls on his
shoulders The second officers pay
ranges from 5000 to 1900, according
to tn size of the ship, while the third
and fourth officers only get from 5000
to 5000. All of these men have to per-
form duties of a responsible kind, and
as there are no bonuses attached to
their work it can be seen that they
are not overpaid.
The crew of the ST. Louis numbers
410 men. Two hundred of these are
in the engineers department. and all
of them are directly under the auth Or
ity of the chief The stewards de-
partment is the next largest, number
ing 10 in all. The sailors, including
the deck officers, numbering but 40.
The engineers department is the
most expensive on the ship, owing to
the immense coal bills. The st. Louis
burns more than 800 tons a day, or
about 4, 800 tons the round trip. This
means an expenditure of $15, 900 alone.
The salaries of the men, the engineer
ing supplies, including the thousand
and one things needed for the vast
machinery of great ship, will require
an expenditure of So, 600 every round
trip.
The chief engineer draws $1,000 a
y
ceive 81 500, $1,000 and 81 900 respec-
lively. The stokers or tiremen aver
age about $50 month, and the fur
naces of the st. Louis require $50 of
them working in different shifts.
The purser, who is a most important
person on board, does not get much in
the way of salary, as the company i'll
fixing his pay figured on the large
bonuses he receives for changing mon.
ey and performing the little services
which the wealthy traveller does not
hesitate to pay for literally. His sal
airy is only 81 900 year, but he makes
another $4,000 in fees and sometimes
considerably more.
The ships surgeon only receives 5000
a year for the same reason. He is
brought in contact with numerous real
and fancied invalids of the wealthy
class, and although no one is COMPEL
ed to fee him few fail to do so, and a
big, popular ship like the st. Louis is
worth to him at least So, 900 to 81, 900
year.
The stewards department is one of
the costliest on the ship. The provi-
sions for round trip cost in the neigh
borhood of $4,000, and the salaries of
the stewards men amount to So, 900
of any on the ship, for the reason that
in the fees of the passengers they col
lect considerable sum annually. All
the pay they get is $50 a month, but
they take in $40 a month in tips. The
seasick man and woman are always
willing to give their last cent for some
little service.
The chief steward receives 81, 500 a
wear and also comes in for his share
of the tips, as it is within his power to
place many delicacies in the way of
the liberal tourist.
The chief cook is a great man on the
ship almost as great as the captain,
and in all makes 1000 a year out of
his job.
The breakage and wear and tear on
the ship and its furniture are very
heavy, requiring all expenditure in in
cidentals of about $1,000 each round
trip. There are countless things to be
replaced, and comparatively little
thing like the washing of the ships
linen means an expenditure big
enough to support man for a year
in the lap of luxury.
Here are some odd facts about the
st. Louis: There are fully 1000 tons
of piping of various kinds in the ship.
The condensers will pump up at
least 50,000,000 gallons of cool water a
day. The furnaces will consume no
less than 100000 cubic feet of air an
hour The boiler tubes, if placed in
straight line, would stretch nearly 10
miles and the condenser tubes more
than 25 miles. The total number of
separate pieces of steel in the main
structure of the ship is not less than
40, 600, and the total number of cubic
feet of timber used in the construc-
ton is more than 100000. The total
number of rivets is not far from
1 1850, 000.-NeoO York World.
Talk moves fast when the burden
of fhOnnhf iS LIGHT