New-York tribune., 1900-07-01
HISTORY OF THE LINE.
FOUNDATION AND GROWTH OF THE
NORTH GERMAN LLOYD SERVICE.

steamers
tween Bremen and England In 1858 the steamer
Bremen began the New York service of the com
pany, and year later the newly established trans
oceanic line intrusted with the carrying of the
American mails
In 1866 the company estab ablished a weekly service
Of steamers to New-York, and fast did the COM
panys fleet grow that in 1867 it had fourteen
ers Eight steamers composed the fleet In the
New-York service and six in the English. In 1857
the vessels of the company made forty-seven trips
to America and 127 trips to England. In 1869 the
company opened its Bremen and New Orleans
line, and in the following year it opened line to
the West Indies. and instituted regular service
Rotterdam and Antwerp.
IN 1871 and in 1875 the South American service was
established. The South America Line was operated
to Brazil in the Plate River This line was d.
vded into distinct lines three years later one
running to Bahia. Rio Janeiro and Santos. the
other to Montevtdeo and Buenos Ayres. In 1885,
when new epoch in the history OF steam naviga-
tion opened with the express steamers the directors
of the North German Lloyd recognized that the
future of the passenger trafnc and mail service
lay with those lines of express steamers Offering
to passengers the greatest possible safety, com
taed with special elegance and comfort during the
voyage. and decided build a whole feet Of ex-
press steamers.
The first Of its new express steamers the
Elbe. Her speed sixteen miles an hour. and
on June rs. 1881, she left Bremen for New-York.
This vessel followed two years later by the
Werra and the F'ulda, both of which could make
sixteen 10 seventeen miles an hour. The Werra and
the Fulda were single screw vessels and were sold
in 1898. In 1884 two vessels were added to this
new fleet of express steamers. They the Ems
and the Elder, with speed OF seventeen miles an
hour. In 1886 added the Aller and the Trave
(speed. seventeen to eighteen miles); in 1887 the
Saale (speed, seventeen eighteen miles) and the
La hn (speed nineteen mes); 1889 the Kaiser VIII
helm II; in 1890 the Spree and the Havel (speed
nineteen to twenty miles, The engines Of the Elbe
indicated 5000 horsepower and those of the Spree
Another important change in the construction of
steamers occurred about the time the
fleet of express steamers being built. Before
this the fittings of the saloon kept within
the narrowest limits of necessity so that there
would be economy OF space in favor OF cargo.
The company that the times demanded that
ships for passengers should be more commodious
and tasteful. and it only filled cabins. din
ing and other rooms with every comfort, but pre-
vided them with masterpieces OF art.
In 1885 the company secured Government
tract for the establishment OF five new lines reach
ing India, China, Japan and Australia, with branch
lines IN the Mediterranean and the Pacific Ocean.
These lines required the building of six new steam
In June 1886. the first Imperial German mail
steamer. the Oder left Bremen for Eastern Asia
The Salier followed in July Australia In advance
of these steamers a number of smaller vessels were
sent for service on the branch lines to ply be-
tween Hong Kong and Yokohama in connection
with the China line. and between Sydney and the
Samoan Islands in connection with the Australian
line.
For It's main service in the Imperial mail lines
the company built the Preussen, the Bayern the
Sachsen and the Kaiser Wilhelm H. and the Stet-
tin, the Danzig and the Lubbock for the branch
lines These steamers were constructed by the
Vulcan Company, of Stettin. Germany, and their
speed averaged between fourteen and sixteen miles
an hour. All were built for service IN the tropics,
and in speed dimensions and beauty of interior
decorations they far exceeded the requirements of
the Imperial Government.
Singapore and the east coast OF Sumatra, 1t was
intended a feeder for the China line. In 1898
the company instituted a line, between Singa-
pore. Batavia and New-Guinea. Since 1890 the
company has added many handsome fast and i'm
posing vessels to its extensive feet. Its most re-
cent additions were the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse
and the Main 1t also had built for Its service the
Kaiser Frederic by Schichau, the torpedo boat
builder at Ebllng, Germany. This vessel
launched in 1898. and her machinery was con-
structed on torpedo boat lines. She rejected
by the company as she did not fulfil the condi-
tions Of the contract. She guaranteed TO make
half a knot hour more than the Kaiser Wilhelm
der Crosse.
The company built in the last ten years a number
of vessels especially for carrying steerage pas
sengers and cargo. These vessels are capable of
accommodating twenty-four hundred steerage pas
sengers besides eighty cabin passengers and about
three thousand tons OF cargo. The steerage COM
pa artments are arranged that they can be easily
and quickly removed that six thousand
cubic metres of space can be appropriated for
cargo. They used In the New-York Baltimore
and Plate River trade, and also In the season for
the wool traffic from Australia.
The company opened in 1891 the New-York- Genoa
Line, and in 1892 ii established regular service
betwee. Genoa, Naples and Alexandria, and later
a line between Naples and New-York
In 1858 the total tonnage Of the line was 1926
and in 1893 230 567. The amount of coal consumed
in 1863 was 1884, tons, and IN 1892 O6s tons
In 1858 its steamers made total mileage of 2S,52O
miles, and in 1892 a distance CT 2,S4O824 miles
The number Of passengers carried in 1853 1870
and in 1892 2J3.498. 1t announced years
ago that the companys possessions had become
so vast that ii did not insure with underwriters
bat wrote off each year a equal TO the pre-
miums it would have to pay. This it put
1t was said in an insurance fund of It's own, on
which 1t drew in an emergency.
Since 1875 Oerichs Co. have been the local
agents of the North German Lloyd. In 1899 Her
mann Oerichs retired from the firm leaving as
partners Hermann {. Won Post. Gustav II. Schwab
and Benjamin w Schwab