The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-12
UMBUIA LAST OF HER CLASS
ONCE FAMOUS SHIP CONSIGNED
TO FEE JUNKMAN.
Was tns Only Remalnmg singls screw
heoOrd Bhip and Mad . Notable
CaFeeF-Contest q Big Now alalus e
British and German Atlantic Lmus.

British and German Atlantic Lmea.
The cOnsignmont Of the CmArder
Umbria 70 the junkman. an event still
fresh in the memory Of men Of the 60.
recalls the fate Of other ships Of the angie
screw typo that also were holders % the
svanesOent transatlantic record.
The Oregon. while on her way 70 this
port, striving for more glory. vas sent
10 tho bottom on Fire Island by an uni
IDENTIFIED coal laden schooner away back
in the days Whsn electric hghts aboard
a liner were a novelty Tho Alaska. .
heavy coal consumer and therefore an
expensive ship. had a short lived career
that made her SUCCESSFULLY q dirty tramp,
seeking cargo in any port Of the seven
seas, and 4 collier The Umbria. last Of
the single screw record ships. never Loaf
caste. She Was always a liner. although
latteriy not OF the class that attracts the
high rollers on he lane between Sandy
Hook and Queenstown.
IL IL almost marvellous how she held her
own in the twenty-five years Of service
that has Included the Development Of the
quadruple screw turbines LuGitania and
Mauritania and tho flight Of the RiFahip
over inland waters The descriptions Of
the Umbris, a. issued by tho line. impel
the enthusiast Of this age Of swift and
luxurious navigation TO smile.
The old pink circulars. issued before
the days Of the prsss agent. say that the
saloon 10 lighted throughout by the in
candescent electric light placed close 20
the ceiling: the view 10 not ObstrUcted nor
the design marrcd by the obtrusive and
odorous lamp. Il IL said that among other
qualities possessed by the electric light
is considerable reduction In the cost Of
cleaning and redeOOFRting the ships
saloon and staterOoms.
The electric light after that became
necessary in all great ships also aftsr
that all great ships Of all aAtiOnalitiss
were equipped for service e. cruisers in
time Of war Tho Old pink circular de-
scTibinE the virtues Of the UmbFia men,
toned that she was ~ for the admiralty
service and that she could carry sixteen
days coal supply going at q speed Of
~ knots. That IL still . pretty good steam
ing radius. The circular thus proclaimed
the policy Of the line;
-COaling is in the popular mind the
great cost and drawback Of high speed
sseaming. hut the popular mind is wrong.
Coal IL comparatively a small matter
when the earning power Of thu vessel 10
fully calculated. High speed means high
fares. small consumption Of food and .
smaller proportion Of HSsd charges In
the shape Of wages"
The foregoing observations. made q
quarter Of century ago. hold good to-
day Of the great express Steamships in
the transatlantic trade. Great and rich
folk still patronizs the swift and comfort
able ship. Although the Lusitania and
Mauritania NAV consume more than
a thousand tons Of coal a day thsy are
enormously profitable Investments. not
only receiving the patronage Of the pub
lie that Ia in a hurry and seeks the swift
est ship but also getting from the Brit
ish Government. because Of their vAlus
in the emergency Of var. enough money
TO pay large part Of their sXpensss.
Naturally as the single screw ships,
mighty coal consumers, surrendered 10
the twin screws the glory Of being first
in port their patronage began 20 ebb.
The Umbria, which used 10 20 with cabins
full almost all the year round. began 10
ny lighter. her former passengers going
to-the swiftsr and finer ships; but she
was still a six day boat TO Queenstown
and some voyagers who had been trav-
cling by her for ten years or more could
not give her up in a hurry, being conser-
vative
The line saw that il would have % up
hold Ia traditions and put out the Cam
pania and Lucania. also former record
holders. The invasion Of the British
right n supremacy on the eeas by the
Germans. Who created the Deutschland
Of the Hamburg American Line and the
Kaiser ships Of the North German Lloyd
feet impelled the Britons 70 send forth
their final defiance and challenge, the
twenty-siX knot turbines L,lsitania and
Mauritania.
Now the Germans are considering what
they will do 20 regain the glory that was
theirs for = few years. The Britons are
waiting for the answer Of the German
engineers, generally admitted 70 be
among the greatest in the world and Ger
iainly among the most patient and sys-
iematic. The impression Of some British
engineers who have taken note OF the
German attitude Ia that they will build
! lighter ship and will put In her enough
roller space 20 drive her turbines, Of a /
type approved by tireless experiment.
ng. more swiftly even than thOas Of the |
Mauritania. Meanwhile the Germans are |
aging nothing. but that they have been |
lreaming Of the honor OF excellinR the |
british speedera there can be no doubt
n the mind Of any man who has talked
nth their engineers.
There are some who declare that the
swift ship. consuming perhaps
,ss than half the coal burned by the
pant Cunard record holders, will be the
money winner Of the future. That NAV
- true. but these ships will receive no
,ratuity from the Governments. which in
ime OF war are looking for craft that are
= swift or swifter than the fastest war
essels In service.
The price Of speed 10 chiefly the price
4 coal. hut the rule laid down In the
Id pink circular about the UInbria still
lOlds. high speed means high fares.
loal h dearer than Il was when the
Jmbria made her first trip across the
Atlantic. but there IL a possibility that
oal may be succeeded by oil fuel on the
,ewest liner. thus reducing the important
TEN Of stOkers' wages 10 an inconsiderAble
minimum. There can BE- no doubt that
he seven or eight day ships. such az
he White Star lineys Adriatic and Baltic.