New-York tribune., 1911-01-22

in the feet has increased to Us ocean
steamships and 227 other vessels. represent
ing more than 100000 tons. Bsllin in
creased the business rapidly and to-day 'ho
company has 4 capital Of $50 .ooo 200.
The Hamburg American Line had only a
for services when 1t acquired the new
director and when he became director gen
oral he soon conhded {" his associates on
the board that Now services must ho start
Cd This policy was adopted and by slow
hut sure degrees he built new ships ana
made now routes until now his company
has sixty services, stretching Ike the
tentacles Of great octopus arQrnd the
world and making stops AT three hundrei
lorts. With this foundation 10 back Vt 4
j. not strange that the line should take
unto itself the motto, "Mcin field ist die
welt"
Herr Ballin has a most kindly tc"iinC Tor
his service between Hamburg and New
York, hut it is by no means the one from
which the line draws its greatest business
1t has long been the popular impression
that the Hamburg American Line draws It's
biggest revenue from the New York ana
Hamburg service. hut whenever this is
suggested 10 the director general he only
smiles and says: Il wish it were true.
Although single screw iron steamships
had been going over the seas since the
Great Britain went ont on her maiden
voyage in 1Sij. The idea Of taking thousands 5
! cf passengers across the rough Auanti"
on single screw vessels did not appeal to
Herr BALM. lie had long contcndcd that
while a single screw steamship might he
adequate enough il Houid be much safer
proposition for life aud property If steam
ships were equipped with twin screws. lie
advocated such construction for incrcas't
speed and safety. and when it was learned
that the wizard OF Hamburg was about to
/ luild a vessel with two propcilerS he was
severely criticised and told tha; such
propulsion was not alone unnecessary but
impTaCticable
Herr Balin merely informed his critics
that some day tho value Of twin screws
would DO demonstrated at sea. 4 striking
fulflmcnt of his prophecy occurred twice
within two years on the North German
Lloyd liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse.
The big vessel when on one 4 ucr east
ward tripS, less than two years lco lost
her Tuddcr in mid-AtlaDtic and would have
been a ,hc mercy Of the sea had it not been
fer her twin screws Steering with hls
Iropellers Captain Polack brought his NcS-
sci safely to Plymouth Chcrbourg and
Bremen. arriving at the home port only
twcnty-four hours late. About TWO months
ago the same steamship. westbouEd. lost
rcr port rropellcr of Halifax. hut came
along 10 New York as if nothing had hap
pened. making an average speed Of seven
teen knots under one propeller.
More than twenty years a-o Herr Balm
devised a plan OF getting some profitable
business for his company by starting
cruises TO various parts Of the world. lie
believed that there were many persons
who would travel much If they were not
subjected to the inconvenience OF = dis
connected journey. Again his good judG-
ment was demonstrated. lie Duiit spen.al
/ cruising steamships. equipped with all the
/ convenicnccs for the routes they were tc
+ cover. ana the cruises soon became an i'm.
portant factor in the service of the line
/ The public early found that it was as
cheap to make cruise 10 A dozen ports AT
the rate of - and so day as 10 stay AZ
home or spend the time at resorts ashore.
Herr Balm after a few years. however,
was not alone i'm his cruise enterprise. His
competitors saw 1T to nattcr him by imi-
,aGou. but they did not 90 into the game as