Evening journal., 1914-12-22
Steamers USELESS
As result OF WAR
Billion Dollars Capital is
Tied Up in Atlantic
Coast Ports
MANY GERMAN
LINERS ARE IDLE

NEW YORK. Dec. 22.-At least fifty
! gigantic ocean liners, representing
| total value of billion dollars, are
lying idle in American ports today as
"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
1 incalculablo
Tnc Atlantic coast ports Of the Uni
ted States I'm nearly every instance
contain one or more ships. either in
/ termed or laid up by lack Of trans
/ Atlantic travel Boston and New York
are harboring the greatest number.
When the war first broke out, many
! big German liners we're forced to put.
back into American ports to avoid
raiding by British cruisers. Others
were ordered 10 disband crews and
lay up In our ports until end OF hos
! tilitips.
The two great German lines, the
North German Lloyd and the HAM
burg American own forty-three YES
sells, now enforcedly idle in American
ports The White Star line was forced
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 Lauroniic, Canada and
Teuionic.
The big piers IN Brooklyn present
some disconsolate scenes of suspended
activity At ono pier are tied three
big ocean grcyhounds. their sides dirty
/ from lack of paint and with winches
and brass work rusted from disuse.
/ They are the Kaiser Wilhelm H. the
Grosser Kurfurst and the Friedrich
/ Der Crosse. A small crew Of men arc
kept aboard to guard the big liners,
and a wisp Of smoke coming from
one Of the stacks on each vessel tells
that fires are being kept to prevent
freezing
At another Brooklyn dock stands the
mighty Vatcrland OF the Hamburg
American line. At the time OF launch
ing, the Vaterland was heralded as the
last word In ocean liners. Her cost
was estimated at over S6.000000 Her
tonnage is greater than that OF any
liner afloat. Today she Is worse than
useless to the Hamburg American line
because every day of idloness Is piling
up huge costs on idle investments
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 to fight
for the Fathorland but the laws OF
neutrality prohibit them leaving the
United States unless they are Amori-
can citizens. To get around this
law a trlving trade has sprung up
among neutralized foreigners who
sell their naturalization papers for
amounts up 10 800. With these pa
pers the Germans pass the port au-
thorities and reach the Fatherland
as American citizens.
The fleet of the North German Lloyd
line. tho produest transatlantic fleet
In history. has been decimatod by
the war Tied up at docks in the
port Of New York are six of the lines
biggest vessels. They arc the Kaiser
Wilhelm II. the George Washington.
the Grosser Kurfurst, Friedrich Der
Crosse, Barbarossa, and Princess
Irene Many of tho North German
Lloyd and Hamburg American ves-
sells have also been taken over by
the German government and are CON
verted into scouts and cruisers.
At Boston lies the Kronprinzessin
Cecilio. whose palatial equipment Is
known to thousands Of Americans.
Along side her is the Wittekind. tho
Willehad and the Koln, vessels OF les
ser size.
The idleness Of the big liners has
increased the business of the smaller
neutral lines tremendously. The
freight departments Of the Uranium
line. the Russian Norwegian and IN"
French line are working night and
s day handling their increased bust.
ness.
England having control Of tho seas
4 her big transatlantic lines are still
I doing business. but travel and trade
have diminished TO such an extent
a that all are suffering. The Cunard
Z line is operating all Of their vessels
Y either I'm commercial business or for
4 tho Government OF Great Britain. ThS
n White Star line is also operating all
n OF its steamers.