The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-18
LINER ST. LOUIS
SAFE IN PORT
Boilers Were Leaky When She
Put to Sea.
PASSENGERS ARE INDIGNANT
SUITS AGAINST THE COMPANY
ARE THREATENED.

New York, Jan. 1.-THE steamship
st. Louis arrived at her pier today aft
er an extremely slow trip, owing to
leaky boilers. Her time from Cherbourg
10 the lightship was thirteen days five
hours and twenty minutes, six days fif-
teen hours and twenty-five minutes be-
hind the ships best record. There was
no accident of any kind at any time,
and although heavy weather was en-
countered, practically all of the delay
was caused by inability to get up good
steam in the defective boilers.
The passengers became very indig-
nant when they learned of the poor
progress the vessel was making, and
an Indignation meeting was held at
which the line was severely censured
for permitting passengers to embark on
a steamer in the condition the St Louis
showed A statement was drawn up
and. given to the public on arrival here
today by a committee chosen to- set
forth the grievances of those on board.
Large Crowd Gathered.
After she was sighted OFF Nantucket
last night the st. Louis made good time
to New York and reached her pier
some hours ahead of the time set last
night. A large crowd gathered at the
@AAASAACeH llit pier ana CnGSt6u DIS the
snip came in with her load of human
beings, for whose safety grave fears
had been felt for several days.
The tugs having gathered around the
st. Louis, she was slowly brought to.
the dock, and when she came within
speaking distance the excitement on
the pier grew. It did not take long for
the first and second cabin passengers
TO cross the gangplanks once the lines
were fast, and as they got beyond the
rope enclosure they were gathered to
the arms of their waiting relatives.
Each little group provided a scene, the
women in most cases weeping their joy.
While this was going on on the upper
deck of the pier, where the first and
second cabin passengers land, similar
scenes were being enacted among the
steerage passengers on the lower deck
of the dock, but in this case the pas
sengers had again to part from their
friends to go to Ellis island for exam
nation by the immigration officers.
Company Will Be Sued.
Many of the first-class passengers
declared their intention to enter suit
against the company, and their cases
were placed in the hands of lawyers on
board.
When the passengers started ashore
a quartermaster was placed on guard
at every gangplank with orders from
the dock superintendent not to allow
any one to go on board. None of the
ships officers was allowed to come
ashore
The passengers freely expressed their
feelings at the delay. A. P. Lloyd of
Baltimore was one of the signers of
the first cabin passengers resolutions.
He said:
THE speeches made at the indigna-
tone and much more bitter against the
management of the company than the
resolutions show. We attempted to
make the resolutions as dispassionate
as possible.
There was no pleasure nor gaiety
aboard the ship Every one was as
depressed and angry as men and wo-
men could be in such a situation. Sus-
piciOn began from the very moment
that we left Southampton. When it
first began to be rumored about the
ship that the boilers were defective and
leaky we sought information from
the officers and steward, but we could
learn nothing. Our fears were either
laughed at or jocularly evasive answers
made.
In Deadly Earnest.
But when the officers saw that we
were in deadly earnest and would not
be denied in our endeavor to know the
truth, they changed their attitude and
told up promptly what we wanted to
know, or told US they knew nothing
about the cause of the delay. All of
the first-class passengers have put
their cases into the hands of myself
and Mr.. Bernei as their lawyers, and
authorized us to make such claims
against the company as we see fit and
to endeavOr to collect damages"
The American line gave out the fol-
lowing statement later in the day:
THE delayed arrival of the St. Louis
was caused by leaving Cherbourg late
and by extremely bad weather. There
was nothing in the known condition of
our boilers that would have prevented
her from reaching hereafter a normal
passage. The marked loss of Steaming
power could not have been foreseen.
Even in the light of our present knowl-
edge there is nothing in any way that
affects the perfect safety of the ship.
The management much regrets the in
convenience caused the passengers and
the anxiety caused their friends"