Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-26

Mauretania and Lusitania are being
followed by the SS2-foot Olympic and
Titanic and the 9OO-foot Europa will
make her appearance in service in 1913.
How soon the 1000-foot steamship is to
become a reality it would require a
bold prophet to foretell. Meanwhile
New York has no piers on Manhattan
island that will receive a boat OF a
length greater than S25 feet and is face
to face with the problem of providing
larger docks or seeing her position as
the port of the biggest ships pass to
some other point.
FIGHT FOR SEA SUPREMACY
The cost of the competition for the
supremacy of the high seas has multi
piled with the growth in size and speed
of the liners. When the old Collins
liners were projected the business
world marVelled at the extravaganza
of spending 100000 on single steam,
ship. Each advance i'll size or speed
since then has been attained at an in
creasing outlay. The cost of the huge
liners that bear the palm today is
close to $4,000, 900. This is a very tidy
sum to be expended for exceeding the
record for size by few feet or clip
ping few hours off the time of pass
age. 1t requires net earnings of halt
a million dollars "a year to return D
per cent upon the investment and the
cost of running these great boats Tor
q single round trip is 100000 or more.
In spite of the tremendous advance
in the cost of constructing and operat-
ing ocean liners and of the far greater
luxury of their equipment, the cost OF
transporting passengers and cargo is
much lower than by the old-time boats
which now would not be considered fit
for the carriage of cattle. The charge
for a stateroom from New YORK TO
Liverpool on the Great Western IN
1888 was $3.50 and the lowest cabin rate
was $3.50. Food, service and convent
ences, of course, could not compare
with what is to be obtained today for
half the sum. Considering the greater
purchasing power of dollar in this
earlier period, the reduction has been
even more marked than the figures
indicate. The reduction in freiShts has
been still greater than in the case Qt
passengers, so that the charge for
CARRYING goods across the 5000 miles
between the United States and Europe
is less than the cost. of transportation
over a similar distance anywhere else
in the world.
In one respect ocean competition has
been brought under certain degree
of regulation. This is in the matter
of rates which are determined for diff
ferent classes of vessels by agreement
among the leading lines. This has done
away with the runous rate wars that
prevailed formerly in the course ol
which freight was sometimes carried
from New York to London for less than
nothing, the charges amounting to
less than the London port dues. The
establishment of stable rates is held
/ to be q protection to the shipper as
well as to the carrier and equaliZes tC
| a certain extent the position of the
! older and slower boats by allowing
| them to make lower charges, just as
| in the case of railroads ditterentlals are
| allowed to inferior or lndlreCI lines
In fact the situation of the big steam
shin companies is very much like thai
of the leading railroads in the respect
that competition is keen i'll the matter
of service though not in that of rates
Inst as the two leading railway lines
between New York and the west Speno
millions of dollars in track equipment
and fast trains in the attempt to eX'
eel each other although they are II
agreement on the subject of rates &c
be charged, so the steamship lines
spend their millions in constructine
/ floating palaces, in engines designed tt
slip a few seconds an hour off the rec
ord of some competitor, or in adding
improvements and luXuries to tempt
/ tie travelling public.
COMPARISON WITH RAILROADS
There is one important difference be-
| tween the situation of the railways
and that of the ocean liners. A rail
way may be fairly secure in its con
troll of the traffic of given territory
for the reason that it is not possible
to put in a competing line at shor
notice. But the ocean is still free
highway. While the liners, by reason
of their great capacity, regular sail
ings and low freight charges have sue
ceeded in taking the lions share o.
the transatlantic business away from
the tramp steamers, the latter are al
ways on hand wherever cargo Is to b'
had Mt profit and any considerable
advance in rates from any port would
bring them flocklng in great numbers
ready to pick up freight at the loves
rates that would give them livint
profit. This is perhaps one reason VIII!
the ocean trade, in spite of the grea
advance in the volume of business
never has paid very liberal returns OIL
| the money invested The figures fo
twenty-six of the leading lines of vari
Gus countries show that their divi
dends last year were only about A pc
| cent and this record is better than tina
| of many other years The failures il
the ocean transportation business haV
| been far more numerous than the sue
cesses, and yet the business itself ha