Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-09
BY AIR OVER OCEAN
Germans Building Monster
Ship for Atlantic Service.
CROSSING IN THREE DAYS
Intended to Have Capacity for Two
Hundred Passengers-American
Girl Musician.
By Count Won Elphberg
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram TO The Star
BERLIN, April S.-Germany intends to
lead the world i'm the construction of huge
dirisibles, and to exploit the navigation
OF the air on an unprecedented scale.
Two companies have already been form
ed for this purpose. One with a cap
ital of $1OOO0.OOO has decided to
adopt the plans of Engineer Boerner fo:'
a monster airship, with a capacity OF
900 cubic meters. The largest existing
Zeppelin has a capacity of 1900 cubic
meters, so the new vessel will he eight
times larger than Count Zeppel:n's latest
creation. The Boerner airsl1p will be
built on the rigid system. and the bal
loon will be divided into thirty-eisht air
tight compartments, to increase it's buoy
ancy aid insure safety.
Its extreme length will be 775 feet and
it's breadth 100 feet. The vessel will be
driven by thirty motors, each developing
be assisted by numerous horizontal
screws, while other propellers will be pro-
vided for driving the vessel ahead when
in midair. There will be six officers and
a crew OF ninety-four men. OF which num-
Der eighty-four will be chauffeurs tend
ing the motors.
Two Hundred Passengers.
The airship will be capable of carrying
200 passengers, besides the crew. Elabo-
rate arrangements will be made for their
comfort, including cabins, with. sofas con-
vertible into berths at night time: a
spacious dining saloon. and with prom
enade decks, approximately 1900 feet
long, which will run around the cabins.
Everybody. passengers and crew. will be
provided with parachutes in the event OF
disaster.
The vessel will be equipped with
wireless and will carry a portable mo-
tor boat, packed in sections. SO as to
be hastily assembled in case of need.
The cost of the vessel is estimated at
100000.
According to the organizers plans,
the first vessel constructed will be en-
ployed in passenger traffic between
New York and London. Owing to the
great quantity of baggage expected to
be carried on such voyages the number
of passengers will be limited to $50.
The fare will be 5000 each.
A Three-Day Journey.
Boerner says that in view Of the large
number of powerful motors the transit
from New York to, London will be ac-
complished in three days. At the ex-
piration Of each voyage he will allow
and for any necessary repairs. so that
each airship will be able to make six
transatlantic trips per month.
The promoters of the new company
are convinced that the new means
Of conveyance will be 80 popular that
each vessel will carry it's full compile
ment Of passengers on each trip. On
this basis they calculate they have ex-
cellent prospects of earning big divi-
dends.
Other airships will be employed on
round trips. starting from London and
going via Paris and Vienna, to Berlin
and back to Paris and London. The
fare for this will be 500
Two other German engineers. Wetzel
and Schleibinger of Stuttgart are con-
struct1ng another aerial monster. also
of the rigid type, with capacity of 1OO.-
OCO cubic meters. This will be equipped
with twenty motors, developing an aggre-
gate of 2,4OO horsepower, whereby it is
calculated that a speed Of forty-hve to
fifty miles an hour will be obtained.
American Girls Success.
Miss Olga Steel, a young American
pianist from Los Angeles whose sem
sational appearance in Berlin last year
has since been matter of discussion in
the musical world. has just successfully
finished a remarkable orchestral debut.
L,
playing in three evenings nine Of the
greatest piano concertOs selected from
the works of Schumann, Chopin. List,
Beethoven. Scharwenka, Grieg, Brahms,
Mozart and Tschaikowsky.
The leading Critics OF Berlin expressed
establishment at this gigantic undertaking
and all commented on her rema rkable
ability.
This remarkable girl has the largest
repertory OF any musician in the world S
history. playing from memory over / 100
of the best piano compositions written.
the list including everything worth while,
from the seventeenth century to the
twentieth Her enthusiastic admirers say
that within the next two or three vaars
Miss Steel is destined to be generally rec
oeniZed as the greatest pianist since
List and Rubinstein, and she is but
twenty years old.