Evening star., 1907-10-27
Atlantic
Crossed

, "a t1aAtAS
rived in Liverpool the 20th
Crosseo. of June when. after visit
ing divers ports in Europe including st.
Petersburg. the Savannah returned to the
rort of Savannah September 30. The
,,ovase across. it Should be added, Wa
effected in great part with the aid OF
sails This fact rendered the innovation
of steam a subject of doubtful utility.
The exclusive employment of steam was
considered too expensive, even il 1t were
poSzlb G. -. .,,,
RristoI to Naw York and the Sirius from
Cork in 1898 both having ac"omph. ma
the trip entirely by steam, deci cideo
definitely the success of steam nav ttioI
From that moment the establishment OF
transatlantic navigation was inaugurated
no longer as an experiment, but as d COM
merCial undertaking.
The struggle for domination between
steam and sail was still maintained as
late as 1s5o-1seo. Maury. the distin-
gllished American. by his profound stud
les o. the physical geography and me
teorology of the Atlantic. had until now
permitted the sailing ship to success
fully compete with the steamer.
The magnificent forests of America fur-
nished the wood for the construction OF
the famous clipper ship of Baltimore.
Long. narrow and with sail measuring
) 400 square yards, the American clippers
such. for example as the Sea Witch,
the Grey Hound and the Grey Eagle,
were celebrated for their speed, reduc'
ing to twelve sto thirteen days the voyage
between New York and Liverpool. IN
1851 the Flying Cloud made the trip
from New York to San Francisco with
immigrants in ninety days. one day
the ship made run OF 42I miles, speed
which the Atlantic steamers did not sur
pass from 1880 to 1890.
The American clippers, indeed entered
the Thames and threatened to take from
the British their monopoly OF the carry
ing trade Britain quickly met the dan
ger by the construction of the british
clipper" and in 1880 launched the Chal-
leneer. The white Star before being
a steam navigation company was d emp
per- company France, too, had her cllp-
ners Transporting engrants to Australia
attracted by the discovery of gold
The nautical charts of Maury permitted
the sailing ship to prolong the struggle
with steam. The clippers
Maury's undertook long sea voy
ages to India, II China. to
California and to Austria
liza In 1854 Capt. Porter of the Ameri
can steamship Golden Age wrote to
Maury: we have not attained the speed
of the clippers. Little by little, how
ever. the conditions are becoming less
favorable for the sailing ship. When
the steamship improves her hull and her
machines and may count upon long VOy
ages with depots of coal on her route the
struggle will have ended" For a fact,
the adoption of the screw. the substitution
of iron and then steel for the hull, the
use of triple expansion machines. ended
the conflict in favor of steam. In 1850
the clipper ship disappeared from the
Atlantic and only maintained itself for a
brief period in the tea trade in the
China seas. AS late as 1872 there were
eight and in the following year there
was none.
The turbine syst an has just now scored
a success, and marks, perhaps. d new
epoch in naval construction. 1t widens
again the horizon of the still unlimited
possibilities Of steam navigation. born
one hundred years ago of the marriage u
French and American genius. and whose
centenary * being comm smOrated at
Bordeaux by the French Maritime League
for the benefits of which governments
and peoples offer their grateful acknowl-
eGgmentS. CH. CHAILLE-LONG