Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-07

meal at odd hours, or the little dinner
of ones own choosing. The Hamburg
American company soon found out that
the DeutschIands grill room was ap-
preclated and in their next big snip,
the Amerika, it blossomed into full-
blown restaurant. The success Of the
installation was again shown when the
Kaisern Auguste Victoria came to be
fitted. 1t may be taken today that
the Hamburg American company VIII
never revert to the old style and that
the best Of its Atlantic liners VIII al
ways have a restaurant, served from
a separate kitchen, and equal to that
which the Carlton or any other London
hotel can offer. Our ancestors would
have been amazed at the notion OF
being able to order la carte In mid
ocean and still more of being able to
obtain a pick of recognized national
dishes. But their amazement would
not end there.
Two New cunarders
It may be taken for granted that the
two big Cunarders which are now
building will be supplied with passen-
ger lifts. Their great size will render
these essential. But the elevator Is OF
comparatively modern introduction on
board ship. Here, once more, the Ham
burg-American line was first in the
field, with electric lifts running from
the lower to the upper decks Their
convenience is undeniable, and they
have come to stay. Then, again, it
may be predicted that we shall see
still further advance in what may be
called the public apartments of these
floating palaces Perhaps there is not
much obvious room for improvement in
the matter of smoking rooms. many
30 u, nI, HI 70
less than baronial halls, while the
witchery of certain of the ocean draw
ing rooms might make even Park Lane
envious
The real progress just now seems to
be in the matter of lounges, where light
refreshments may be obtained from
buffet, and where ladies may equally
with gentlemen sip their boffee after
dinner. The newest departure in this
direction is the palm court on the
Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, where, un-
der spreading branches, and to the mu-
sic of cooling fountains, sociability
may reign supreme. One of the features
of the Caronia and Carmania is the
lounge on the boat deck, with its easy
chairs and divans. The newer Cunard-
ers will probably go one better in this
respect. OF the accommodation which
is provided for writing purposes on the
modern liner, there is no need to speak,
for as q rule it is both capacious and
dainty; nor is it necessary to lay stress
on the very efficient measures which
are now taken by the use of electric
fans, and otherwise, to assure proper
ventilation on board ship. Half the
troubles of old-time ocean travellers
could be set down to stuffiniess, wheth-
er in cabins or public rooms. Nova
days the air Is first hand, as 1t ought
to be on the ocean.
A few years ago the attitude as
sumed toward the steamship passenger
was one Of qualified liberation. He
must not do this, and he must not do
that. If he wanted any particular
thing he must ask for 1t within certain
hours, or he would not get 1t. He was
hidebound by all sorts of restrictions
of a stupid and irritating character.
Today all this has changed. The strug-
gle is to make the passenger feel at
home, and to render him conscious of
having lost nothing in point of person
al comfort because he is a thousand
miles from land. For instance, one Of
the common trials of ocean voyaging is
the lack of means Of exercise That is
why wise people are always pacing the
deck, sometimes at furious rate. To
meet their case some of the German
liners are fitted with gymnasia, where
the athletic may keep themselves in
good trim and hold corpulence at a dis
tance. Again, there is an ample choice
of baths.
Z OF course, all boats are not alike, but
on some of them you can have an elec-
trio bath, and there Is even the prom
Use that the Hamburg-American COM
pany will presently build boat which
will contain a Turkish bath and
swimming bath as we'll. The later
Cunarders make a special feature of
their shower and needle baths. What
aids to comfort can, indeed, be said to
be lacking? The Amerika, for exam
pie, introduced trained hospital nurses,
whose presence should prove useful in
case of illness at sea. Again, there are
boats which carry coiffeur de DANES.
Other boats offer day nurseries for chill
dren. Photographers may generally
reckon on finding dark room at
hand. Another idea is a florists shop on
board ship, where fresh flowers can be
had every day. How it is done is a
mystery, but there it is. In mid-Atlan-
tic charming bouquets can be bought
as easily as in Bond street.
A New Invention
Another little invention for the BEN
eft of passengers has lately been
brought out by Director Won Helmolt