The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-14
MIGHTY OCEANIC Is HERE.
THE BIG SHIP WARMLY sALUTED As
SHE ENTERED PORT.

Here on Schedule Time, Although She
Had n Green Crew in the stokehold-
Came over without a stop-Crowd Mt
the Pier to Sec the Leviathan Docked.
No liner ever has been more rapturously
greeted at this port than the palatial White
Star steamship Oceanic. which finished yester-
day her maiden voyage from Liverpool and
Queenstown. Through the nawless horizon
stretching eastward from Fire Island the ma
rine observer saw her rise above the placid sea
line at 8 O'Clock yesterday morning. He had
never seen her before. but he recognized
her intutively. She hasn't beaten any
records but she has done better on
her maiden voyage than the Cunarder
Campania. and all other liners on the
Queenstown route except the Lucania. Her
time was 9 days. . hours and 81 minutes over
n course Of 2. 7S0 knots. The Campania on her
initial trip covered 1850 knots In o days. 8
hours and 81 minutes The maiden trips OF
the Teutonic and Majestic OF the White Star
line were. respectively. IL and 8 hours slower
than that Of the Oceanic.
The average speed Of the new colossus was
1895 knots. and her daily runs were 443. 40
457. 400. 4S3 and 43l knots. She was not run
at top speed. simply because her stokers
aud ooalpassers we're all green men OF
various nationalites. including Greeks.
ltblldnS hrmenlduS anu uerndnS. WIN
never had been to sea before. and
who as a whole. knew much more about tailor
ing. fruit vending and other unexciting occu-
pations on shore than feeding the cavernous
maws OF mighty furnaces The green hands
were taken aboard because the ex pert firemon.
mostly Liverpool Britons. are on strike. The
wonder Of 1t all was. Capt. ]. g. Cameron. the
commander Of the lofty liner said. that the
ship was able to get in even on Wednesday
without any talent at all in the stokeholds.
Naturally she burned more Goal than she will
when she has a trained lot OF Britons before
tho furnaces. This time she consumed 400
tons day. which Is about 100 moro tons than
the Teutonic and Majestic send in vapor
through their tunnels Chief Engineer Sewell
frankly declared that the indicated horse-
power OF the great ship 10 az. 600. but that, be-
cause VI her mex perienoed flreroom force. she
was able to develop on this trip only
about 900 This gave her a working steam
pressure to the square inch OF 100 pounds. and
made her propellers rush around at the rate
OF seventy-two turns minute. She has devel-
oped a triie moro than 100 pounds pressure
to the square inch. and. according to some
English experts. has made twenty-three knots
on the measured mile.
1t was few minutes before noon when tho
Oceanic steamed through the Narrows and
broke out her prismatic string OF remnants.
stretching. rainbow fashion. from stem to
tafSrail. She carried the American flag at her
fore. a red swaowtail with white star In the
centre tine homo flag at her main. and the
Royal Mail pennant at her mizzen. The rev.
enue cutter Calumet went alongside the man.
moth vessel as she came to anchor at Quaran-
tine and the boarding officer and a throng Of
folks who had business aboard the Oceanic
tried to Chamber up the cutters ladder to the
| liners deck. The ladder Ia long enough for an
| ordinary 900 foot craft, but It didn't reach the
| Oceanic. She had to have u boarding
| officer. however. SO her nimble men
| opened a freight port and let everybody
in on the ground floor. so to speak.
Later. j. Pierpont Morgan. whose wife was a
| passenger boarded the liner from his yacht.
the Corsair. The mailboat Postmaster Cen
eral. which is pretty big harbor craft. made
herself feel small by getting alongside the
Oceanic. She looked almost as II she were
merely a life boat just lowered from the davits.
Everything with a whistle screeched well
come to tho new shin as she steamed males
tically up the bay. OF Liberty Island. the out
| going White Star single-screw Germanc
| piped three times as she passed to port
OF tho Oceanic. and flow code signals
saying Welcome" The Oeeanic's whistle.
deep as n fog horn and more reverberant.
responded. and she set flags meaning to those
who could read them Bon voyage!' The air
was 40 clear that the Staten Island hills seemed
nearby from the orchestra front seats In Bat
| terry Park. A frosty breeze from northwest set
the flags and pennants OF the incoming stranger
streaming astern and cracking like whips
| There was a multitude on the Battery walls and
| at pier ends and the Produce Exchange tower
| was black with spectators. giant red swa "
4 tail. W it'll white star in the middle stood out
stfIly as a sign board from a tall pole on the
Bowling Green building in which the White
Star line has it's ofiicss. As the Oceanic rounded
the Battery the siren Of the freboat New
Yorker ran screcchingly up and down the
vapor scale. and enthusiastic folks hurrahed.
Ten tugs accompanied the big ship to hei
pier. the longest in the borough. at the foot Of
West Eleventh street. The tide was flood, and
the ship after turning headed down stream of
the head OF the pier. The task OF docking the
biggest ship In the world for the first time
naturally made Capt. Cameron mighty careful
Two heavy Manila hawsers. stretching over the
bow. were made fast to the piles Six power
full tugs with matted bow tenders stuck
their snub noses against the Oceanics port
quarter and showed with all their might. The
slack Of the hawsers forward was taken up a.
the big ship turned on the bunch NJ piles at the
southsrly end Of the pier rs on a fulcrum. ant
she began to warp in. There was some crunch
ing OF wood and rope as the port side OF the shit
scraped along the pilinG The prof eoting plates
OF the coal ports ripped away large slivers o
wood. and few OF the bolt heads OF the de-
tachable plates were twisted of. No bolt heaC
could resist the tremendous momentum OF tn,
Oceanic's tonnage WthInIthree-quArterso Of al
hour the great vessel was in dock. and her two
long gangpanks were up at her passenger
ganRway. These panks are run from
platform eight feet high on the pier II the!
had been hoisted from the floor OF the pier tn,
passengers would have been forced to slid
down to avoid casualties. Everybody VIII,
came ashore was happy and praised the shil
and her commander unstintedy
John Ice. the New York agent OF the line
was ON hand to SEQ that everything was ship
shape. He 10 practical navigator and know
how to dock a ship. Assisted by Can't. Cameron
and Chief Engineer Sewell he told all h
thought the people wanted to know about tn
Oceanic The Chief Engineer said:
"We have 1873 men In the engineers depart
| orly all oG