Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-10-16

authority which lays itself out to cater
2or these craft can, therefore, only rely
on a few of such customers. In other
words, a dry dock which could accom-
modate, say a 75, OcO-ton vessel, would only
/ be employed to its full capacity at fair
I ly long intervals, and IT Is thus open to
doubt whether It would be paying
! proposition
If these great ships were common to
! all trades the position would, OF course,
be different but unless the economic con-
ditions of the world undergo radical
| change, they will be confined TO the
North Atlantic for generations to come.
/ 1t would be useless to place such boat
as the Aquitania on the Eastern or cape
or South American service, for the simple
| reason that the greater part or her pas
senger accommodation would be wasted
| This, by the way, brings us to another
! factor which must initiate against con-
| tinuance of the recent rate or progress IN
the matter of Dimensions. e., the law
| of supply and demand The Aquitania
will be able to carry $3.50 passengers
| the Imperator has accommodation LOT
! 1890 or more the Hamburg-Amorlcah
liner Natcrland will have accommodation
! for a similar number; and the WHITE
| Star liner Olympic can take LOW with
all these boats on the service, the uc-
mand will to put the case mildly be
fairly well catered for. The supply OF
passengers is not unlimited, and, more
over. it is not even increasing in any
thing like the same ratio as the supply
of accommodation Therefore, we have
another automatic check on the develop
mont of the big ship 1t is. indeed, quite
possible that the steamship companies
are making mistake in striving to out
vie one another in this direction None
but the directors themselves can say au-
thortatively whether the existing NAM
moths are really paying propositions, but
many people believe that they are not.
The belief. too. becomes all the more
iustifiablc when one remembers that
the Norddeutsch. -Lloyd-an undertaking
which enjoys n high reputation for sound
management-has not only steadfastly re-
Trained from joining in the race for di-
mensional supremacy, but has even pub
licly announced it's lack of faith in the
leviathan. In their last annual report
the directors definitely stated that they
could not sec any advantage in adopt
ing steamers of larger measurements
than the George Washington" The
vessel referred to was built for the Nord-
eutscher-Lloyd in 1908 and is of $50
tons, or not very much more than half
the size OF the Aquitania. In view of the
directors pronouncemcnt, the looker-on
may well be puzzled.
It is obvious that someone is making a
tnIy, .I,i,
panies which are pursuing the policy of
huge dimensions regard their gigantic
vessels as valuable advertisements It
must certainly he admitted that when
one Of these monster boats goes into the
water, the sound Of the splash so to
speak, is heard all over the world. For
the moment the attention of the travel
ing public becomes concentrated on the
line which has produced such wonder.
but the mischief of it all Is that pres
emily there comes another splash else
where, and Immediately the eyes of the
travelling public are directed toward the
quarter from which it has cmanated.
Accordingly, If steamship company No
wishes to regain its lost advantage, it
must make still louder noise.
Personally, ! am inclined to think that
this sort of thing is being overdone. The
next ten years may see some slight in
crease on the latest dimensions. hut
there will he none Of those sensational
strides which have marked the history of
shphuilding during the past decade.
There is always a possibility, too. that
the great steamship lines may come to
some understanding between themselves
They act in concert already In more
ways than one and it Is quite on the
cards that they may agree to put an end
to the race for the honor of owning the
biggest ship ahoat.