The Portland daily press., 1898-12-29
THE RECORD BREaKER.
Eleven English steamers in Port at
One inc.

One / ime.
Grand Trunks Capacity Taxed to Ut
most--Custom House Officers Forced
to work All Night--Four ships in
One Dock.
| Eleven big transatlantic liners were in
port at one time yesterday This Diade
net tonnage aggregating over $4,000 tons.
There were four steamers in one dock,
something never seen here before, and one
Zig ship forced to lie out in the stream
for want of docking room. Up to this
point there has been altogether twenty
four steamers here since the middle of
November. This is seven more than had
come to Portland up 60 this time last
year. The Grand Trunk railroad is taxing
| its capacity of it's single track to the ut
most to bring in the immense amount of
freight which 1t requires to load these big
ships Freight trains in long professions,
laden with all the marketable commo-
dities that can be thought of are con-
/ stantly rolling into the Grand Trunk
| yards and the contents of their cars are
being rushed into tbs big sheds which are
alternately crowded with freight and then
stripped bare of everything. Hundreds OF
men are engaged night ard day about tie
wharves unloading and loading these big
ships. Crews are at work at all hours OF
the day and night. The United States
custom house employees are never off duty,
while the checkers and boss stevedores are
forced to catch what sleep they can at
their posts. and some of them do not get
home for days at a time
The Grand Trunk docks certainly
present the busiest scene which can be
found in Maine today. The roar and
rattle of big freight trucks of moving
trains of empty and laden freight cars, OF
steam windlasses, of rumbling elevator
machinery and coal lifts are to be heard
on every side. II a man is seen loafing
around the street corners now it is be-
cause he is too lazy to work or is not
strong enough for the kind OF work the
longshoremen are expected to perform
Yesterday and the night before were
tlt0 UuSicSu AtdlS uAAtss VAAS NfAeeAAN<
Trunk ever saw.
The first steamship to reach here yester-
day was the Iona, She arrived alongside
the dock about the time the Shelkh was
getting out of her dock to go to sea- Then
came the Georgian of the Leyland line.
She had made a remarkable quick trip
across the pond. She left Liverpool nine
days and half ago and arrived here yes
tsrday with twelve returning oattlemen,
800 tons of cargo, including china clay
| for Portland, bundles of hides for the
west and sugar for Montreal. The
Georgian was unable to get into her dock
yesterd ay and passed the night in the
stream.
| The Tompson liner Cervona sailed last
night and this gave the Georgian chance
to be docked early this morning.
1t became necessary to put four steam
ships in one dock yesterday morning. No
work has been going on board the Gallia
for two or three days There seems to be
some trouble over the question of who is
responsible for the ship She has changed
hands several times lately and it is under
stood that when the Elder-Dempster
people bought the Beaver line out it did
not include the Gallia, as she was a
chartered boat She has taken grain but
large amount OF coal and package
freight remains untouched as yet pending
a settlement of the situation. She has en-
gagged to take troops to England from
Halifax and was due to sail Thursday.
1t is expected that she will begin loading
again tomorrow.
Every customs official worked Tuesday
night and many said 1t was the busiest
time ever seen around the docks. The
German boat kept u large force busy
taking the bagged sugar ont Of her and
loading it into cars. The sugar is very
heavy each bag weighing either 30 or 220
pounds, and as it can be taken out of the
vessels hold much faster than it can be
loaded into cars, pile-ups in the freight
shed were Fl equent
The Grand Trunk railroad is being
taxed to its utmost TO keep the ships sup
Piled with freight and take away, what
they bring. They have succeeded in do
ing SO, however, and rot ship has been
Obliged to wait fer freight. There We're
over 400 car loads of London merchandise
alone in the yards Tuesday.
Only about half the sugar has been
taken out OF the German ship up to the
present time
The next Hamburg liner, the Assyria,
is expected Wednesday of next week. She
has 5000 tons of sugar for this port which
means a grand hustle on all sides.
The present rush will probably continue
the steamers will have gotten Strengthened
out and not arrive all in bunch.