The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-07
ATLANTIC VS.. PACIFIC.
Double Distances and Slower
Steamers in the Pacific.
Lieutenant Commander &. G. Calkins in

Lieutenant Commander &. q. Calkins in
AinSle.'S
Those who insist upon travelling regard
less of eSvUnSe and in the best company
may Vet hold all sea voyages as protracted
Nightmares, and they will seek the short
est route aha the swifteSt packet with NJ
tie care for conscious existence on the hiSh
seas. In other words. they travel as par
GELS sent by express. rather than as intel!l.
gent uaseen:ers. Consequently. they viii
continue TO throng the great Atlantic Ter
ry. caring nothing for the lonely and prlIni.
live charm OF the wide. gray ocean beyond
the Golden Gate. But there are some who
renew their youth whenever thy dream OF
sailing to the Far East and the Islands OF
the South Sea.
Taking New York as the port Of de-
partIre. we find the nearer ports of Europe
at the following distances: Queenstown.
NIB miles: Liverpool. s.u95. HaVTe. a,ioJ;
Gibraltar 5.20i. All these are in nautical
miles. nf course; If any reason for reGuc-
Ing them to statute miles can be imagined,
these figures may be increased fifteen per
cent. The circuit can he continued in the
same direction to Yokohama. whence the
distance 70 san Francisco is i.s}h miles. and
some 80 miles less. These estimates cover
the shortest naviGable routes. in the Al
ldntic such routes are closely foilowed-teN-
ceit for a diversion of about 10 miles dur
most steamers find their profit IN touching
at Honolulu. which is 2,1se miles from San
Francisco. and 800 from Yokohama. 50
that the visit costs 1000 miles OF navlSa-
ton.
Ii more remote terminals are considered.
We find steamers plying 10 Hamburg from
New York in 3.6Oo miles: to Antwerp. $3.50
miles and to Naples. 1870 miles. Steamers
from San Francisco extena their voyaSe 20
miles. after leaving Japan. other lines
cruise beyond the equator. touching AT
Honolulu Apia,steyeinson second ss'o turn IN
sydney. and covering nearly l.o miles.
There is no traffic between the Pacific
States and the Philippines by direct steam
ers though Spanish and English lines con-
meet them via Asia and Europe. and a
japanese line i'm Australia proposes 70 can
rarely makes the direct voyage IN e'-e
miles: il Is convenient for them 70 coal al
Nagasaki. and reasons have been found for
serdiug them to Guam and Honolulu, 1huS
lengthening the track to 'lS5 miles
Double Distance. Triple Time.
Trans!ating distances into time suggests
across the Pacific. While the run from
New York 10 Queenstown has been cur
close to five days. IL requires sixteen DAYS
10 cross from San Francisco 70 Yokohama
via Honolulu Thus thrice the time is re-
required To make double the distance In the
Pacific. tine daily run falling from nearly
$50 miles to something less than 300 or
course. this reduction rests on strict COM
merciaI principles. Companies In the ftci-
fc trade are not forced TO renew their
steamers in order 10 take advantage OF the
latest impro :.nents in engineering In fact:
II is doubtful whether the old types or
stngle-srrew steamers nave MOI WASTE -
coal Yet Ii is certain that The saving OF
fuel is Il controlling factor in the cdlcula-
,fons Of ,hns.. who manage lines of ocean
steamers and that they refrain from GrtV-
Ing their vessels at full srced accordingly.
There is no need of citing scientific form.
nj, 70 show that a moderate increase OF
speed rnultipleS resistance and its eGufva-
Tents in power and fuel in q startling rd-
ito. High sieed is an advertisement to at
trdct Messengers: where freight is the main
interest economy is inevitable. Even the
Famous P.riIIsuIar and Criental-though
more largely subsidized than all the trans
atlantic and trsnspacific lines combined
is allowed TO carry passengers and mails
at n sDeed far below that demanded ny the
nubli,. which sails from New York. Every
where east of S,Icz and west ~; the Rocky
Mountains coal IL dear. and time is a less
costly object Of consumption. @; course
millions Of ions Of freight and thousands
OF passonyers are likewise carried across
The Atlantic at the modest speed of 800
miles a day-but they DO not boast OF the
eXperien e."