New-York tribune., 1902-10-22
THE NEW CUNARDERS.
-vrRsToH TO BRUNEL's GREAT EAST,
rRv TYPE AND TO THE ORIG
TNAL CUNARD SUBSIDY
.nn.N-rrATr-N-rs
ARRANGEMENTS.
London. October i

FgTc
s,-seone conclusion that the British rivals OF
80 German liners viii be launched on the
- The accepted method Of constructing
- --sar Easterns, both in Great Britain and
= -srrosny. is that Of the payment Of builders
Is with a percentage added for profit on the
o,saate expenditures. There may be a de
s.-,-e from this system if the competition be
sr.sc,ertly brisk 10 justify proposals for con-
-, nrice The vessels have not. however
=, designed nor have the requirements for
,.,g,b tonnage engine power and speed heen
tiled Since the government is 10 lend the
r.y for the construction Of these two ships.
"a : 70 subsdize the line heavily FOR keeping
-, sAoat the Admiralty experts are 10 be
-sr,tss respecting every detail of the designs
- +be contracts viii proba bly, be awarded to
-. sbirbuuding company which IL considered
~. rnost trustworthy for undertaking so i'm
.+sDt a national interest. The recovery OF
-. ,ransa tlantic record has become a British
,.rest John Bull has set his heart upon il.
a aoes not care how much the effort costs, nor
- unprohtabls the enterprise may be in com
,,.-c,sl terms provided the German liners are
beaten.
There sre nc indications that any OF the eH-
-.s,srts recommended by dreamers. who plan
enknot ships for a four days passage between
T,rsrnool and New-Yorl1, viii be carried out in
"a
,'-s,, thar the ships while Weighted below viii
:. ligbrened q bove the water line by the sub
.,,,,,oo of nickel steel for ordinary steel, or
- ,be use OF aluminium, by which a saving Of
,,s.th,rd in the weight of material can be ef-
,,rsd Aa aluminium Great Eastern would be
.,s.l,, as 70 be condemned at once by the
-...spry officials, if not by the Admiralty ex-
-. Nor is il likely thet any experiments
IN bs tried with water tube boilers turbines.
,l.rre mower or LIQUID fuel No marine engi-
uasr in England has faith in turbines for leTia-
hans useful IS they may be for small craft Of
high speed Electric power for propelhng large
liners Will rot be practicable until more eco
,o,,,csl method of obtaining II Al sea is dis
,ovsred 1hsu that Of burning coal and using
,,A-+,'rs more fuel than is required for steam
rover The gain in speed might be great if oil
,-sra 1se5 as fuel ana were forced by pumps
from, tanks and conducted directly into the
sree aud the engines and machinery would be
much lighter than those now IN use. There
p-oula be a great saving in expense both OF
construction snd operation through the employ
--eat Of LIQUID fuel; but the risks from hre
would be enormously increased. and liners with
oil tanks would never be popular passenger
sbirs These expedIents viii not be considered
by marine engineers until they are required -
provide 30-knot ships for the Atlantic trace.
They can now halt somewhere between - ana
% knoJs.
uisa question OF building larger ship than
the biggest German liner, and Of obtaining su-
perior engine power by burning more coal The
German designers surpassed the Lucania and
Campania in this way. and are now exposed TO
retaliation by similar methods The new Gu
rsriers are expected to be $50 feet in length and
10 have machinery OF 5000 indicated horse
power. The Great Eastern. when designed by
Brunei and built on the Thames by Scott Rus
sell IN 1859 was ESQ feet in length and was Pa
600 tons in measurement: and the boilers for
her paddle and screw engines had over two
ceres Of heating surface and could develop
combined horsepower Of 10000 A freight boat
TAR IN advance Of the requirements Of commerce
me Great Eastern never made a profitable voy-
age and after being temporarily used as q cable
ship she was broken UP ana her designer con-
demned as an idle dreamer. 4 generation has
passed and the new liners outstrip her in length
Il not in draueht and tonnage and surpass her
IL horsepower. although the proportionate space
required for engines and boilers has been greatly
reduced by The adoption Of lighter and more
compact types. The public taste for luxurious
travel has been developed IN the course Of a few
decades, until a feet OF Great Easterns is now
required for the Atlantic passenger trade; and
owing 10 the appointments for the comfort and
convenience Of passengers and 10 the engine
power needed for high speed, each is more costly
IN construction and maintenance than Brunels
miscalculated failure with its seven nasts and
eight engines. Phenomenal as the increase OF
passenger traffic has been during the last thirty
wears, IT has been accompanied by a oorre-
spending growth in cost Of construction and op-
Grating expenses. Every knot gained in speed
represents an enormous increase in the con-
sumption OF coal and In the investment required
ior construction. II the limit Of speed has not
oeen reached, neither has the problem Of TWEEN
iy-three knot, much less twenty-five knot liners
been worked out in commercial terms naturally
convertible into remunerative dividends.
The extra knot becomes more expensive as
he standard OF speed is raised. The three fast
est German liners are not supposed TO have
averaged IN cost more than 100000. The
Kaiser Wilhelm II is 10 be half knot faster.
4 not more. and her cost viii be not less than
10000. and il may be as much as $500
The lowest estimate for each OF the new
cunerders which are 10 be well above twenty
Tour knots and as close possible 10 twenty
I've knots. Is tS75000. When ships are length
eaed and 1eepened. and their engine power is
enormously increased. the cost OF construction
snc of maintenance increases in geometrlcal
Progression. The ADDED knot above twenty in
wolves meagre fraction o' the eS.ense of the
ADDED knot above tWenty-four; and with the IN
creased consumption of coal and the enlarge
Rent Of the force Of engineers. oilers. hremen
ano stokers there is q steady expansion of op-
erating cost when the ship has been constructed.
decade Of service is a short term in which
tWeEty-knot ship can repay In earnings the
oapitGl invested I'm her. a twenty-five-knot ship.
"lth The largely increased investment required
Tor construction. and with the smaller margin or
moht in operating expenses, can hardly be eN-
pecled 10 pay for herself in the course OF ten
wears Without generous subsidy from the
government, such vessels as the new Cunarders