The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-11-05
LINER HAS A hISHAP
Steamer st. Paul Has a Narrow
Escape.
STRIKES A DERELICT
OFFICERS DECLARE THIS THE
CAUSE OF ACCIDENT.

New York, Nov. 4.-The steamship St
Paul of the American line, Captain
Roberts in command arrived III port
today twenty-four hours late, with her
starboard propeller gone and her en-
CINE room badly damaged. Statements
of different officials vary as to the cause
Of the accident. but the damages sus-
tanned by the steamship will probably
amount to several hundred thousand
dollars.
The st. Paul left Southampton and
Cherbourg on Oct. "a with a full cargo,
S16 cabin passengers and 245 in the
steerage.
About o'clock on the evening Of
Monday last, while some of the saloon
passengers We're still a dinner and 9TH
ers were promenading, a sudden shock
was felt all over the ship. although it
was not sufficiently severe to cause a
panic
The engines were stopped in a few
minutes. but it is said that dur
ing that brief time the Whirling ma
chinery, free of the weight of the pro-
pellOr, wrought havoc in the engine
room. The officials of the steamship
refused to allow any one to enter the
engine room.
Official Makes a Statement.
James A Wright, second vice presi-
dent of the International Navigation
company, which controls the American
line. was passenger on the steamship,
having gone abroad in October to bring
back his family. He said:
I was smoking in my stateroom
when I felt a slight tTemOr throughout
the ship. I thought that probably her
head had fallen away a few points and
that she had in consequence shipped &
big sea- The shock was so slight that
the average passenger did not appre-
bend that anything unusual had oc-
CURED. l went below to find out what
was the matter. I found that the ship
had lost her starboaTd propeller, to-
gether with part of her tail shaft and
had otherwise damaged her machinery.
Captain Roberts and Chief Engineer
Hunter are under the impression that
we struck a dereIict. We were running
at full speed at the time. but were not
OFertaXing her engines or driving her.
Chief Engineer Hunter, at the moment
Of the accident, happened TO be pass
ing through the pantry, and immediate
" turned the emergency valve, thus
shutting off the steam. About the same
time the assistant engineer happened to
be in the vicinity of the tail shaft. when
the propeller struck something and
dropped off, carrying with it a portion
OF the tail STldILs which broke JUST IN
side the stern of the ship. The govern
ing machinery worked splendidly, and
the engines were brought to a full stop
In ten seconds.
The St. Paul will leave Tuesday for
the Cramps shipyard, where the neces-
sary repairs viii be made. Meantime
the Friesland, which sails on Wednes-
day for Antwerp, will take the St
Paurs passengers, mail and freight to
Southampton"
Engineer Calls It a Sea.
One of the engineers of the St. Paul
made the following statement tonight:
1T viii take i've months to repair
the damage, which viii cost from $751;
900 to $500, 900. The starbOard engine is
d wreck. The ship did not strike a
derelict but an unusually big sea struck
her, throwing the stern out of the Wa
ter, ana the propellors. having no re-
sistance, made frightfully rapid revO-
lutiOns which caused the starboard en-
CINE to race, and the starboard tail
shaft broke in two and with the wheel
fell into the water. The amount of
damage done IS not surprising when
you take into consideration the sudden
liberation Of 10,Vvv horse power
-Four of the six cylinders are COM
pietely wrecked. two piston rods are
bent, one connecting rod is bent and
the starboard engine shaft is sprung
six inches The starbOard engine is
wrecked beyond repair"