Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-05

cheapest and best market. Mr.. Griscom
and his associates took over a company al
ready Incorporated under British law and
so 1t came about that from the days Of the
Arctic until Congress-, In 1892 admitted the
British-built City Of New York and City
Of Paris to American registry. none of the
transatlantic record holders owned largely
by Americans sailed under the protection
Of the American flag.
The Luxurious Arizona.
During the years OF her supremacy the
Arizona. with the possible exception of the
City of Berlin, was the largest steamer
afloat. Her length was 462 feet. Her
breadth OF beam "a. and her depth OF hold
S73a feet. Many river steamers Of today
are as large.
And consider her luxurious acoommoda-
lions. as boastfully set forth la published
descriptions: Pneumatic bells run from ell
the staterooms to the stewards pantry.
THE saloon extends the entire width or
the vessel and contains fine plano al the
forward end and a library at the after
end The companionway Is unusually
wide, and will allow streams OF people
three abreast to pass up ana down at the
same time without crowding In the least
She had accommodations for lSS hrst-ciass
the Is second-ciass passengers, Wniie there
was steerage room for 500. On her nrst
voyage to this country she brought Out d
general cargo of freight and ia PASSENGERS
among whom was Mr. Carl Rosa. LINK
of a crack liner OF today having anoara
only one passenger sufficiently distinguished
to be mentioned by name in print.
The Arizona's fame was undimmeo until
March of 1882. when her sister snip, tne
Ala aka. made the run from New YORK 10
Queenstown in seven days. SIX hours and
forty-three minutes. On Apra 10 sne
reached New York after seven days Elk
hours and twenty minutes spent at sea
On the last day OF this voyage she MADE
the uuprecedented run Of Alb miles In TWEEN
ty-four hours. She had left port on sun
day and made port on the 1oloWils pun.
day A great point was made or TINS, thus:
Her passengers might have ATTENDED
church at Queenstown on the morning OF
Easter Sunday and could have been pres
ent at divine service last evening IN TINS
city, thus worshiping on one Sunday IN
Europe and on the following SUNDAY Ia eho
United States"
Less Than Seven Days.
On nearly every succeeding trip the Alas
ka smashed her previous best record. By
the last of May the Alaska was regularly
affording her passengers the opportunity
of attending morning service on one Sun
day in Queenstown and afternoon service
on the following Sunday In New York"
When her time was brought down to within
twenty-three minutes of seven days fiat, "a
large number Of people went down to the
Guion dock lin New York; to see the cele-
brated ocean steamer which has distanced
all competitors In point of speed
1t was on June 7. 1882 at 5:15 o'clock
Of the afternoon, that 1.-The monarch OF the
seas" as she was called on two continents.
reached Queenstown in six days, twenty
two hours and ten minutes. the first boat to
make either the eastward outward pas
sage In less than seven days. Was there
excitement? Ask any man around forty,
who was living in New York at the time.
Excitement Had not the doom of the
boosted seven-day boat been written-the
day OF the six-day boat ushered in?
A record boat. in every respect, was the
Alaska She was $50 feet over all. In
breadth of beam she was 50 feet. Her in
dictated horse power was 10000, her meas
urement about 5000 tons. She had four
masts, rifs. two forward ssbuare-rigged, the
other fore-and-aft rugged; and her spread
of canvas is quite large and with a ia
vorabJe wind would enable her to make
good rate of speed without the aid OF her
engines" greyhound" but still put
ting dependence sails!
She was one of the first ships to have
electric bells in the staterooms and cleo
trio lights in the f1rst-class cabins. And
her promenade was a promenade, IN fact.
some 2S0 feet IN length. Also, there was
a large smoking ROOM 24x28 feet with
lounges, while the grand salon could easily
accommodate $50 persons, since ii was "a
feet long and it's breadth that of the ship
herself. She was a single screw boat, pad
die wheels on transatlantic boats having
gone out of fashion in the late ffties. She
was steered by steam and she had aboard
all the latest steam appliances. Like the
Arizona, she boosted OF watertight COM
partments.
Oregon's Ignominious End
Fleet as was the Alaska. her triumph was
short-Hved. In 1888 her new sister, the Ore
gon, went from Queenstown to New York
in an hour and fifty minutes under six and
half days. The next year the Oregon
passed into the hands of the Guion lines
bitter rival, the Cunard company The
New York member of the firm had INDUCED
in too heavy speculations outside of ship
ping interests. Notwithstanding this and
the subsequent death of the partner In Lon
ly saiiings until 1891, when the ARIZONA,
the Alaska and the other surviving ships of
the once crack fleet were put up for sale.
But the fall of the Arizona, 'forerunner
of the ocean greyhound" and of the supe-
rior Alaska was not SO ignomnious as the
fate which overlook the Oregon. On March
IL 1886. she eoiIided with a miserable little
wooden schooner off Long Island. She was
struck near the engine room bulkhead
which was pierced by sliding doors The
grooves had filled with small coal the doors
could net be closed in time, and the Oregon
sank Hike lead. All hands were saved
Inc year prior 10 THIS dcciQent the Gu
harder Etruria. still travelling across the
Atlantic with clock-like regularity. brought
the time Of the passage down to six days
five hours and thirty-one minutes. She was
as superior In every way to the Oregon as
the Oregon was to the Alaska and the
Alaska to the Arizona. The Cunarder was
queen when the City OF Paris on May g.
1889. made the phenomenal run of five days
twenty-three hours and seven minutes, the
first time the Atlantic had been crossed In
less than six days.
During the ensuing five years the City of
Paris, the Teutonic white Starr, the Cam
pania and the Lucania. both Cunarders
pounded down the time with startling reg
uiarity. When q fortnight SO did not
bring a record broken there was general
disappointment Then on October 90 1894.
the Lucania entered New York harbor after
being at sea FIVE days seven hours and
twenty-three minutes.
This Is the record between Queenstown
and New York that the four turbines and
four screws Of each OF the new Cunarders
Lusitania and Mauritania win have to beat
4 ne hourly speed record they wifi have to
overcome Il now held BY the Kaiser VII
helm II. lila statute miles.
WIN they surpass these records. The