New-York tribune., 1903-01-18

com. jr- the manager of the American Line
gave cut the following statement:
Mr. GRIsCOMs STATEMENT
The delayed arrival of the ST. Louis was
caused by leaving Cherbourg late and by ex-
tremely bad weather. There was nothing in the
known condition of her boilers that would have
prevented her from reaching here after a nor
nal passage The marked loss of steaming
EOWer could not have been foreseen- Even in the
light Of our present knowledge there is nothing
in any way that affects the perfect safety Of
the ship. The management much regret the in
convenience caused the passengers and the an1d-
ETY. caused their friends
Mr. Griscom was asked whether he had heard
the assertions made by several passengers that
it was well known to the company that the
~hips builers were leaky, and that the ship was
unfit 10 go TO sea when she left the other side.
I wish you would deny that empha tically'' ne
said. The boilers were not leaky. II has been
known for months that they were not giving
satisfactory service. They did not leak. but
simply were inadequate TO the task of getting up
sufficient steam to keep the engines working az
their best speed
When asked about the inspection of the boilers
before the steamer sailed, he said, The steamer
would never have been permitted to leave South
auapton if her boilers had not been in safe
condition They are always examined by repre-
sentatives of the Board of Trade at the end Of
every voyage"
John Philip. the chief engineer of the st. Louis.
told reporter Of The Tribune in detail about
the action Of the boilers throughout the voyage.
He said:
We did not have any trouble with the boil
ers until two days out from Cherbourg.
Then the boiler tubes began to choke UP with
SCOT and other material and required cleaning
The choking gradually got worse It was neces-
cIa1 FaS
not be done except by putting out the fires.
We had 10 get at the backs Of the boilers We
cleaned two at a time On only one occasion
were there more than two boilers out Of COM
mission at one time. Then there were three.
There are six double ended and four single ended
boilers Throughout the trip we were unable TO
raise the pressure above 40 pounds. owing TO
the choked condition of the boilers We got all
the boilers cleaned before We reached Nantucket,
and were then going II knots hour. We
maintained that speed to port. Every available
man was kept at work on the boilers"
The average amount OF coal burned q day Mr..
Philip said. was 159 tons, and the ship came
| into port with 24S tons in her bunkers. When
in her normal condition. he declared. the boilers
| consumed 800 tons day.
When asked about the report that the boilers
had given trouble on the eastward voyage, he
said that the tubes had choked only little
burned slightly. he said. The fame shot out Of
one OF the blowers and scorched his arm
slightly
From Mr. Phillips explanation. which was
given with the frankness Of one who was en-
deavoring 70 explain accurately as he could
the trouble. il evident that the boilers
owing TO their age were not in condition TO
burn the coal necessary to maintain the pres
sure required for q normal speed
bad Il
finished his duties He said that, in a nutshell
the boilers were not in a condition TO burn the
coal required TO drive the ship ahead at full
speed. There had been complaints that the sup
ply of running water had been cut off on Tues
day and that the menu had been reduced IN
quantity. In regard TO the water, which from
Tuesday forward was carried TO the rooms by
the stewards. he said that when there was dan
ger Of probability Of a long voyage II was al
ways wise TO be careful about the water as dis
TILED water is the most expensive kind He
added that he did not know Of the resolutions
until he had been told Of them in Mr.. Griscom' $
Office.
In answer 20 a question as TO why his ship had
not been sighted by other vessels coming over
the northern track. he replied;
TEN OR TWELVE MILES OUT OF COURSE
There were. some days when we drifted some
ten
again, we often experienced snow squalls, and
,ba weather was very thick at times. This
would allow vessels on the same track TO pass
rs without catching a sight of US. We do not
travel on a railroad track, you know. and II a
vessel passes another by but few miles IN
thick weather the chances are that she might
not see the other. Even the Pennsylvania, OF
the F5auburg-American Line. did not sight US
until she had run past US and was almost out OF
our sight Evidently the captain of The kaiserfn
Maria Theresa did not make our ship out when
she passed
The Rev. Arthur Crane said in regard TO the
comments a bout the alleged reduction in the
food that. while some Of the padding was taken
ar. Of the menu there was more than one could
a.. r7eea-,5ing the statement Of one passenger
that The eggs were cut out Of the bin Of fare
entirely. he said that ne did not know about
that a. he did not eat eggs. for they were not
good food to eat vteu travelling one passen-
-ar ke declared rad told Of eating nine eggs
~ one meal. and some one else had remarked
that al that rate the supply of eggs would noi
last 70 the end Of the voyage H1e SAID 'Heie
,,o,,1d do,btIess be cases brought against the
American Line but he could not tell now many
there would he He had made notes Of the cases
n 2 number of persons but could not make
,ben7 public. Mr. Lloyd would meet him on
Monday he said TO discuss them with him
The chief ground on which action would i'e
brought 4 brought At all. he said. would oe
,bs. the snip was advertised to travel at twenty
,r,o4s and 2 higher price charged for passage
for that reason. The ship was sound he add
-, and seaworthy. We cannot speak TOO
e,vo,glv against the Off of the company
The ofieers 'N@ s"''' ac'eo h'"''
f--ta
-se1 ,n..,sh FOX TIE oFFs. -