The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-01
LIFE ON THE OCEAN LINER
THE ROMANCE AND REALISM OF A
TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE.
Stoker Down i'm the Depths of the ship
Is an Important Figure-The Look
Ont and the "Marconi Man.,


An ocean trip to-day Is usually very
conventional affair Travelling hotels-which
the big liners boastfully claim TO be-do
not lend themselves TO the spirit OF romance
supposed to be attached TO Old Ocean.
Diligent search viii, however. reveal a
certain amount OF genuine romance even
on travelling caravanserai. In order to
find the romance, a process OF elimination
must be resorted to. We must get away
from the first-cabin passengers, with their
dress suits and evening gowns: nor will
any romance be discovered in that cradle
or ennui. the deck-chair. Far removed
from all these-the farther, the better
we come upon some phases OF life which
appear to be more or less picturesque.
Doubtless the life of a liner farthest re-
moved from that of the passenger is the
stoker's. Begrimed. smutty-faced, red-eyed
mortal that he is, the stoker's a good deal
Of man "for a that" Down in the
depths Of the ship. far below the water
hne' up to his neck in condensing steam
and foul air, his lungs choked with coal
dust, the heat of the furnace soaring his
very eyeballs, your stoker leads a sorry
existence.
Yet upon him depends, In greater meas
ure, the very speed OF the ship itself. and,
as speed seems to be considered the one
desirable thing in these degenerate days,
the stoker thus looms into prominence.
STOKERS ARE SHORT-LIvED.
Suckers work only brief periods at a
time. their watches being divided into two
hours ION" and two on" Stripped to the
waist, these men pass their time while
on duty in feeding roaring flames kept
going by forced draught. Special sets OF
ventilators, run by dynamos, drive a GER
tain quantity of fresh air down into the
bowels Of the ship-otherwise the men
would be unable to breathe
1t n said that the life of a stoker Is
only eight years; that is, after that length
OF service his constitution is wrecked This
is due to the fact that he IS constantly
passing from the hot furnace room into the
cold air on deck. He comes out of his oven
AFTER two hours baking, with thin coat
thrown over his shoulders, and, unless he
goes TO his bunk and sleeps you will find
him on deck I'm some breezy spot. If you
point out his danger from possible pneu-
monia, he SAYS: well we have To get
enough air in the two hours on deck 70
last US for the rest of the time below
strange to say, however, stokers seldom
catch cold'
Thus do these men shorten their lives
and exist under a condition that would
seem TO be intolerable. Their wages range
from five to eight pounds per month.
them are married-abOut once every two
weeks. The ships paymaster will tell you
that many of the men lead exemplary lives,
keeping their children at the best schools
and in pretty homes with gardens and
bright sunshine.
But where's the romance? Well. ii may
not be exactly romance that leads man
10 live such an unnatural life, in CRIME
and Nth, his lungs choked by superheated
air, deprived of light and life that those
he loves may have plenty of sunlight and
fresh air. But there are other things than
romance in life, perhaps.
Approaching somewhat nearer the ro-
mantle element is the life If the lookout.
Lookouts to-day on the Atlantic liners no
ward end of the ship. The liners go too
fast for that. Their bows are driven
through the waves at such speed that the
forward section is frequently deep under
great seas. The modern lookout occupies a
little iron box near the top of the mast;
the Crows Nest" On a fine, clear day,
when the sea is smooth. the position of
lookout is a rather enviable one. On a
dark. stormy night in midwinter, however,
with the seas running mountains high.
while the tossing and pitching ship makes
across the sky, 1t is another story"
1t not infrequently happens that spray
from big seas finds it's way even up to the
Crows Nest" which is nearly seventy
feet above the deck. Lookouts have four
hours on duty and four hours off.
AN IMPORTANT PERSON.
On the lookout, in a great measure, de-
ponds the safety OF the ship. He must see
perfectly, and report Immediately, every
object in the ocean that comes within
range of his vision. The position of a
lookout ON a liner forging through the
waves at a speed of twenty-five miles an
hour is one Of utmost Importance He
has little time to enjoy the aesthetic rap
ture supposed TO be attached to his lofty
perch.
His thought is concentrated on prevent
ing a collision. His eyes are strained into
an anxious stare every moment he Is on
duty. II the officer on the deck or on the
bridge see vessel before the lookout re-
ports Ii from aloft, the occupant OF the
Crows Nest is called on for an ex-
PLANTATION, lacking which he loses few
days pay by way OF fine. At night, on
the big liners there are always two look
outs stationed up in the Grows Nest"
while only one is on duty in the day time.
The one complaint of the lookout's life
Is vibration He does not mind the wealth
er, or the wind, or the seattle shaking of
the engines gets ON his nerves." Up on
the far end of a steel mast every move
ment of the great engines Is felt. The
mast shakes like the proverbial aspen leaf
every moment of the voyage, from the time
when the engines begin to throb at South
ampton or Liverpool until they come 10
rest in New York. So strong is this vi
bration that great care has to be taken
lest man lose his hold and fall from the
mast-in climbing into the Crows Nest
from the iron ladder which rms from the
deck.
Were is not for the great responsibility
of his position, doubtless the lookout
would enjoy his trip across the Atlantic
in the little iron box on the top OF the
mast of an ocean flier.
Next to the lookout and the stoker ro-
mantle interest centers round the Mar
conf man." He is the hero of the hour
His little telegraph room on all the liners
is always full of admiring passengers. The
wires leading to his instrument are the
only means of knowing what Is going on
I'm the world beyond the waters. Mystery
and romance both attach TO the ''Marconi
man." and wherever he goes he is the OBJ
served OF observers shipboard. Not in
frequently is he the recipient OF confidence
that passengers would never dream of d.
vulging save TO the man who has it in his
power to communicate with home" even
while In mid-ocean. Possibly the wireless
telegraph operator Is the most popular
person the Atlantic liners to-day. and
he comes in for no end OF romantic in
tereSt.
The stoker. the lookout and the Mar
conf operator absorb about all the romance
that is left in modern ocean travel. Doubt
less the mana cement of the lines will do
all in thier power TO eliminate even this
element as soon as possible. And then
we shall have left only the chefs who cater
n the first cabin aDDetiteS.