Evening star., 1909-02-07

he n much use-even to a south Amer
can republic.
Keen competition is found today in the
ship breaking trade. in all others that
are followed by the sons OF men. But
the ''plums' that often fall 10 tn" ship
breakers lot make the pursuit well
worth following. Huge fortunes have
been made from purchasing ships and
converting them into scrap iron. One
of the mos famous strokes Of luck Of
modern times was that which befell a
man named Aikman. an Australian
tradesman. In 1904 the magnificent
peninSular and Oriental liner Australia
built at A cost OF S2.500.o00- went ashore
in Port Philip bay. near Melbourne, and.
is usual with ships which are likely
to become hopeless wrecks. she was put
up at public auction without reserve.
Aikman. "A draper of Melbourne, happen
ed TO be attending the sale. and he
bought the ship for the absurd sum OF
sI.450 with a further S3oO for her cargo.
or 3l,730 for ship and cargo "as shs
stood He employed divers. and. {"
his surprise. discovered portion OF ths
cargo in the afterhold which the own
crs had not counted In their estimates.
IT consisted OF several tons OF hardware,
plated goods and enameled dishes, worth
In themselves more than he had paid for
the entire ship. In addition. there wers
ten tons OF Muntz metal, worth &3,ao0:
900 tons OF iron and steel, worth $4.So"
200 tons of brass. and nearly 1000 tons
OF scrap iron-all OF which was clear
profit. His entire cleanup" from this
ship was just 100000, which. consider
ing that he only paid S1.7SO. was not SO
bad. Aikman-from his lucky ship
blossomed out into the owner and pro-
prietor OF the Melbourne Coffee Pal
ace" and became a member of the legis-
latiye council of Victoria.
Another remarkable stroke Of luck
befell poor man who attended one or
Kellock's ship auctions at Liverpool. Hs
strolled into tho room where the sale
was going on out of mere curiosity and
with no intention of buying. A fine
yacht was being sold. He knew nothing
OF these sales, and when the auctionecr
stared at him and seemed TO recognizes
him the man nodded his head. To his
great surprise the yacht was knocked
down to him at $4,000. He was about
Ia protest hat he had no idea Of buying
and To explain that he didn't have
cent wherewith to pay. when the man
Immediately next To him-who was anN
ious to secure the boat--immediately Of
fered him $500 advance on his pur-
chase If he would turn the bid over 10
the new buyer. The transaction was at
once concluded. and the stranger walked
out or the SaleSroOm with SI.oOO 10
the good" But things like this don't
happen at ship auctions more than once
or twice in a geological period.
All sorts Of ships come under the
hammer" and there Is always keen bid
ding for likely lots" TIE Great East
sold at auction in this manner
for $SO.500. This was tie largest single
lot" ever offered. The "breakers' OF
the Great Eastern made something like
500, 900 clear profit. She had originally
cost S2,500,000.
Even the royal yachts belonging to the
kings and queens OF England are knock
ed down" These yachts always COM
mand big prices owing to their choice
fittings. There a lot OF valuable
woods used In their construction. and the
copper and brass alone are worth a for
tune. Royal yachts are not "scrapped
every day. however. and the ship-breaker
who gets one is sure Of good pickings"
despite the high prices asked by the ad-
mifalty.
Copyright 1900. by Curtis Brown)