The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-12-22
war PLAYS HAVOC
With OCEAN LINERS
(By United Prsss.)

gigantic ocean liners representing q
total valua of billion dollars are ly-
ing idle in American ports today IS a
result of the European war. The loss
sustained each day by the various
steamship companies through the idle
ness of their costly vessels is almost
iDcalculable.
The Atlantic coast ports of the
United States in nearly every in
stance contain one or more ships eth
e. interned or laid up through lack of
trans Atlantic travel. Boston and
New York are harboring the greatest
number.
When the war first broke ont, many
hig German liners were forced to put
back into American ports TO avoid
raiding British cruisers. Others were
ordered to disband crews and lay up
in our ports until the end Of hostili-
ties.
The two great German lines, the
North German Lloyd and the Ham
burg American, own forty-three ves-
sells now enforcedly idle in American
ports. The White Star line was fore
ed through lack of business to discon-
tinue the sailings of the Cedric, the
Celtic and the Cymric. The White
Star Dominion line discontinued the
sailings Of the Laurentc, Canada and
Teutonic.
The big piers in Brooklyn present
some disconsolate scenes Of -dspend-
ed. activity. At one pier are tied three
big ocean greyhounds, their sides
dirty from lack of paint AMI with
winches and brass work rustei from
disuse. They are the Kaiser Wilhelm
IL, the Grosser Kurfurst and the
Frederick Der Crosse. A mall crew
of men are kept aboard to gnari the
big liners and whisp of smoke com
Ing from one of the stacks Oh each
vessel tells that fires are being kept
to prevent freezing
At another Brooklyn dock stands
the mighty Vaterland of the Hamburg
American line. At the time of launch
ing, the Vaterland was her,ldcd as
the last word in ocean liners. Her
cost was estimated at over $4,000 600.
Her tonnage is greater than tina. of
any liner afloat Today she is worse
than useless to the Hamburg Aneri-
can line because every day of illeness
lis piling up huge costs on idle ,vest-
ments.
In one of the long warehouses at
the Bush Terminal docks in Brooklyn.
nearly one hundred sailors, members
of the German vessels interned there
are being housed. The Hamburg
American line and the North German
Lloyd has fitted up the warehouse
with hunks and small stoves and all
day the men sit idle waiting for a
chance to either work around the
docks or smuggle themselves out of
the country. They all want u fight
for the Fatherland but the laws of
neutrality prohibit them leaving the
United States unless they are Ameri-
can citizens. To get around this law,
a thriving trade has sprung no among
raturalized foreigners who cell their
naturalization papers for anoun;s up
to 800. With these papers, tn, Ger
mans pass the port authorities and
reach the Fatherland as American
citizens.
The fleet of the North German
Lloyd line, the proudest transatlantic
fleet in history, has been decimated
| by the war. Tied up at docks ir the
| poIt VI ANcW IuIh arc SiA " the
| lines biggest vessels. They are the
Kaiser Wilhelm III, the George Wash
ington, the Grosser Kurfurst, Friede-
rich Der Crosse, Barbarossa and Prin-
cess Irene. Many of the North Ger
man Llovd and Hamburg American
vessels have also been taken over by
the German government and are con
verted into scouts and cruisers.
| At Boston lies the Kronprln sessin
Cecilie, whose palatial equipment il
known to thousands of Aemricans
Alongside her is the Wittekiad, the
Willehad and the Koln, vessels of les
ser size.
The idleness of the big liners has
oincreased the business of the smaller
neutral lines tremendously. The
freight departments of the Uranium
line, the Russian, Norwegian AMI ths
French line, are working nigh. and
day handling their increased busi
ness.
England having control of .ao seas
her trans Atlantic lines are still do
ing business but travel and trade
have diminished to such an exten
that all are suffering. The fhnart
line is operating all of their vessel
either in commercial business or TO
the government of Great Brit sin. TIL
White Star line is also operating al