The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-05-04

route. winter and summer for the fol
lowing good and substantial reasons
First. that if another craft should
strike her the force of the impact
would be distributed over larger area
If the Titan bad full headway. and
the brunt of the damage would be
borne by the other: second. that if the
Tithn was the aggressor she would
certainly destroy the other craft, even
at half speed. and perhaps damage her
own bows. while at full speed she
would cut her in two with no more dam
age to herself than paint brush could
remedy In either case. as the lesser
OF two evils. it was best that the
smaller hull should suffer A third rea
son was that at full speed she could
he more easily steered out Of danger
and fourth that in case Of an end,
on collision with an iceberg-the only
thing atiOai that she could not con
quer her bows would be crushed in
but Il few feet farther at full than at
half speed. and at the most three com
partments would be flooded. which
would not matter with SIX more to
spare
So it was confidently expected that
when her-engnes had limbered them
selves the steamship Titan would land
her passengers 1900 miles away with
the promptitude and regularity Of a
railway train She had beaten all rec
ords on her maiden voyage. but up to
the third return trip had not lowered
the time between Sandy Hook and
Dannts rock to the five day limit. and
ii was unofficialy rumored among the
1000 passengers who had embarked at
New York that an effort would now be
made to do so
Eight tugs dragged the great mass
to- midStream and pointed her nose
down the river: then the pilot on the
bridge spoke word or two. the first
officer blew Il short blast on the whis
tie and turned a lever. the tugs gath
cred in their lines and drew off Down
in the bowels of the ship three small
engines were started. opening the
throttles of three large ones: three pro-
pellers began TO revolve. and the nam
| moth. with vibratory trenble run
ming through her great frame, moved
slowly to sea
East of Sandy Hook the pilot was
dropped and the real voyage begun.
Fifty feet below her deck, in an in
ferno of noise and heat and light and
shadow. coal pasSers wheeled the pick
ed fuel from the bunkerS to the fire
hold. where half naked stokers, with
faces like those OF tortured fends, toss
ed it into the eighty white hot mouths
of the furnaces In the engine room
oilers passed TO and fro. In and out of
the plungins. twisting. glistening steel.
| with oil cans and waste. oyerseen by
the ~atchful staff on duty. who listen
| ed with strained hearing for a false
note in the confused tumble of sound
or clicking OF steel out OF tune
| which would indicate a loosened key
or nut On deck sailors set the trian
| gular sails on the two masts to add
| their propulsion to the momentum of
the record breaker. and the passengers
| dispersed themselves as suited their
| tastes Some were seated In steamer
| chairs. well wrapped. for. though IT
| was April. the salt air was chilly:
some paced the deck. acquiring their
sea legs: others listened to the orches-
| ira In the music room or read or wrote
| In the library. and few took to their
| berths. seasfck from the slight heave
| of the ship on the ground swell
The decks were cleared. watches set
| at noon. aud then began the never
| ending ciea ming up at which steamship
| sailors put In 50 much OF their time
| Headed by six foot boatswain. a
gang came aft on the starboard side