The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-11-16
Not More Than Two Sail
ings a Month During
the Winter
HOW CANADIANS
CAME TO ENGLAND
Twelve Battleships Safeguarded 80
Steamers Bearing the Dominion
Troops-An Even Greater
Armada Now Forming
By Hop

Liverpool. November H-tspeciaD.-
though there has been no public an.
nounoement forthcoming from the half
dozen important transatlantic steamship
companies whose headquarters are here
| regarding their plans for service this
winter between England and America
the hNads of these lines privately predict
that not more than one ship a week will
depart from an American port. The Gun
ard line, for example. expects to reduce
| its sailings to New York to two ships a
month. The last time this kind OF
schedule was In force In the Cunard or
ganization was in 1910, the first year OF
/ its existence
The reason for curtailment of passenger
service to basis that has not existed
since ante-belum days, as advanced by
the steamship company representatives, Is
simply that the demand justifies nothing
more. The westbound traffic has fallen
off until none of the ships which have
sailed for New York in the past month
have been filled to capacity, and east.
bound traffic Is almost nil.
But the fact remains that British
steamship companies could offer no better
service II the demand were as great as
1t was In August, when 60 liners left
English ports bound for New York. Az
most every first class passenger ship fly
ing the English flag Is at this moment
under orders from the admiralty to par
ticipate In one or another of the troop.
ship squadrons which have been organ
izied to bring soldiers by tens of thou
|
Nothing Like II Before
Never in the history of the worlds
shipping has anything been known COM
parable with the cruise of one squadron
of this kind-and this in spite of the fact
| that not one word has even yet leaked
out about It, All England knows is what
| II reads in brief dispatches stating that
| about 10000 Canadian troops have been
landed at Plymouth AS a matter of fact
| the total number exceeded 10000
| / saw today a chart prepared by tina
| admiralty which gave the position OF
| each of the 30 liners on which this army
| was transported, Even on /iper the
maenificence OF this armada was appar-
emit There were three long lines of ships,
Is In each line. From the time they
| cleared the st. Lawrence until they sight
| ed Plymouth the distance between these
ships, 900 yards, never varied. In FROM
| were three of Britiain's newest dread
| naughts-exactly COO yards between Their
freeboards. Thanking the first line OF
| the steamship columns, again 600 yards To
| right and left, were two other battle
| ships Halfway back down the squadron
! on either side. were two more OF the
conveying battleships. The rear Of the
fotilla was guarded as was It's head. lr
all 70 battleships safeguarded the passage
of these 80 liners
| oIIt a
| of ocean In width and five miles between
| the leading and the rear guard dread
| naughts this armada. representing In ton
| mage and value a total such as never
before In the history OF the world has
| been approached made the voyage OF
| 5000 miles without single mishap and
| to within an hour of schedule time.
Among the liners were almost all the
| ocean greyhounds that ordinarily carry
| Americas milionaires their annual
| pilgrimages to Europe. But they resem'
bled not at all the ships THAT tourists
| know All of them were painted wal
gray from tunnels to water line. From
all OF them had been stripped every last
vestige of interior adjournment. Literally,
| millions of dollars worth of fittings now
| lie In endless rows of warehouses along
| the river here--where they We're stored
month ago before the departure OF these
! liners to Canada With the plans the
/ admiralty has for these ships carried
| through, IL Is doubtful If these iittings
will find their way back for many months
to come.
Even Greater Armada Soon
For presently there will be organized
an even greater armada-even now up
wards of half hundred great liners
are speeding towards the appointed rem
devious which will bring almost twice
/ 1000 troops from another corner OF the
empire into the fghting line In Europe
And by the time this Job he: been ~
ished there will be need for the imn.e-
date dispatch of these same ships te
still another end of the globe for still
another batch OF fighting men.
Not only In it's human cargo but In the
stuff each ship brought in its hold war
this fiotilla OF liners remarkable. While
soldiers filled to Overlooking suites do
luxe rooms that heretofore have beer
piled high with wardrobe trunks and
perlshable express matter were crammec
with wheat and coal and every conceiv.
able kind OF produce As fast as each
ship finished unloading its troops II
steamed to Liverpool. where the WORK
of transferring it's freight was accom-
plished at top speed.
At this moment there Is accumulated
in the Mersey docks greater amount
of the necessities of life than at prob
ably any other ono tina ainco Lv0rpoO