The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-24
THE BIGGEST OF SHIPS.
FIVE HUNDRED MEN REQUIRED TO
run THE OCEANIC.

Administration of city Are Con-
stantIS Busted in Keeping the
Ocean Monster Ahoat.
New York. Sept. 22-WhHe the reading
public mas been toler8bly Informed as to
the size and speed Of the great ocean lin
ers ana knows by how many feet each
would overtop the Washington monument
or how many city blocks IL would MI
there is one feature of the immensely Of
these ships Of which very Itue is known
even by the most experienced travellers.
This concerns the business management OF
these vessels. which in the case of the
largest liners has grown TO he an enter
prise Of vast proportions requiring the ser
vices of hundreds of men.
For example. the operation Of tn
Oceanic. the largest steamer ever hunt
which arrived in New York on her maiden
trip last week. involves a multitude Of ac-
Invites and is managed on a scale that
seems almost incredible 10 the landsman.
An inkuug Of their proportions may be
gained from the fact that it would take a
miner twenty-five years of steady work to
get out the coal required TO i'll the bunkers
OL llt Oltdilll 4'i - SliNif mp VIM ttAt
food supplies that she demands for each
voyage would more than support the miner
and his family during the whole of that
time.
To appreciate the vastness of the bust
ness operations connected with the great
est ocean liner it is necessary to rid ones
mind Of the idea that she is ship as our
fathers understood that term. She is not
manned by sailors. and the seamen form
10 ffI n Tuaxp-Ilu
Of her crew. Nor is she a floating hotel
as the magazine writer is fond Of calling
her There is no hotel that compares with
her in the extent and variety Of its actiF-
flies. The Oceanic is an ocean city-noth-
ing less When she is al sea she has
population Of 20oo-as great as many
town with county seat aspirations can
claim. A score OF different trades and &C
equations are practiced on board her She
has independent lighting, heating and re-
frigerating plants. machine shops.
printing office, a carpenter snop. IN snort
almost all the equipment of an up-to-dats
community. together with much that is
peculiar 10 herself
What a single Voyage Means.
To all practical purpose each voyage rep
resents a complete business venture. All
accounts are rendered separately for each
voyage The crew from the captain down
are engaged at the European port for
each round trip. They are technically dis
charged at the conclusion of the voyage
and must sign new articles before they
are shipped again.
As soon as the liner ties up at her pier
at the end of one voyage the prepare
tons for the succeeding one begin. While
cargo is being discharged from one side
great barges are pouring coal into her
bunkers from the other The Oceanic has
coal carrying capacity of 300 tons and
l., ar1 ,F .
it requires the service of sixty men work.
ing steadily for forty hours to coal her
and the operation costs about 81 200. The
coal itself costs about five times that
amount. In other words, the coal bill OF
a vessel like the Oceanic. while she is at
sea amounts 10 the tidy sum Of 81 900 per
day.
While this operation is going on the ship
undergoes a thorough cleaning that makes
her shine like a new dollar. Painters,
repairers and cleaners swarm over her
Truckloads Of provisions amounting in the
aggregate to half a hundred tons are put
or board Every piece of her machinery
every plate and rivet. is carefully inspect
Cd, and by the time the cargo is shipped,l
nd passengers come aboard a matter Of
500. aside from the cost of coal and
provisions, has been expended in preparing
her for her voyage.
The Men Who DO This Marvel
While the captain IS Of course. the SUI
preme authority, the actual mana cement !
e conducted by three separate depart |
meuts. The first Of these concerns itself |
with the sailing OF the vessel, and is pre-
sided over by the chief navigator under |
the directions Of the captain himself The |
second is the engineers department. This
IS under the direction OF the chief engi- |
neer, with whom the captain seldom in |
terferes. il IS all important to the well |
far
passengers see practically nothing Of its |
operations. The third department looks |
after the wants Of the passengers and is |
under the direction OF q chief steward.
The first Of these three departments in |
cludes the only men on shipbCard who
can properly be- called sailors. Their du- |
ties, however are not hose Of the tradf-
tional Jack tar but consist largely of !
scrubbing decks and operating lifts and |
machinery. In fact about the only item
of their work that recalls the old time du- |
ties Of the sailor is in the drill for man |
ming the boats, which they are compened |
10 20 through az regular intervals. The |
men under the direction of the navigators
and their sub-oi1cers number about 100 in I
al.
In the engineering department fully 200 |
men are employed. The officers includa |
besides the chief engineer score of assist |
ants, hydraulic engineers, refrigerator en- |
t7'tfNfiHf Mat'l ttihttSf StOFGkeeDeIS and "A !
clerk. There are 60 stokers, divided into |
three shifts, whose duty It is TO shovel |
into the twelve furnaces the $50 tons of !
coal required 10 keep the ship at fun |
speed during each twenty-four hours As |
many more "irimmers" pass the coal from
the bunkers to the furnace doors and 30
greasers look after the machinery of the
engine rooms.
The stokers, who perform the most ar |
duOus labor 10 is possible 10 conceive of |
are paid 50 per month, while the trimmers |
aud gfcasers ?, ccivc a little less than this |
amount. The men are all employed in Eu- |
ropean ports, as il IS possible TO secure !
mem there more cheapy than in America. |
Most OF them are Scandinavians or Irish. |
while the engineers as a rule are Scotch |
and he sailors English
Whlle the principal activities of the |
ship's company are comprised within those |
departments presided over by the CHIEF |
navigator the chief engineer and the chief !
steward there are numberless smaller en- |
terprises nat 90 on more or less independ- |
entity. There is "A vast amount of auxiH |
airy machinery. i'm fact nearly oyovyth{ro.