Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-11

That the Leviathan, once the great
Vaterland of the neutrality-suspicious.
line, which the United States govern
ment seized following Americas dec
laration of war, and for the deStruc-
ton of which by submarines the
kaiser himself offered prize OF
$4,000, carried one out of every
eight of the American soldiers to
France to break the German power,
is one of many interesting facts told
about the great liner by DR.. Richard
Orme Finn, pastor of the North Ave-
nue. Presbyterian Church of Atlanta,
who sailed on the Leviathan short
while ago on a special mission to
France.
In his diary, written especially for
The Journal, he tells of the trip
across with Secretary of the Navy
Daniels, former Ambassador Morgen-
than, the noted French general, Emile
Adolphe Touffieh who commanded
at Verdun, and other notables, every
one of whom went to France for
special work under the direction Of
the United States or war relief agen-
cies. His description of the huge
Leviathan follows:
"'All ashore is sounded and the
boat is cleared. Presently with
scarcely a sound or vibration we see
the wharf slipping past us and real
lie LudI LILO Lev 10 . w lllSo =
out into the channel What a. boat
she is! On her last trip she brought
10000 troops. Her full capacity, ac-
cording to the German estimate when
they built her. But Uncle Sam wants
our boys to come home, and so she
will bring $4,000 when she returns.
Three thousand is a full load for a
large liner, and she is to carry 49,
600! There are hunks built every
where that pipe supports and wire
SWINGS can be placed. Five times
round the promenade deck is mile.
There are hunks almost the. entire
length port and starboard 1t would
be open air treatment, sure enough,
for the men who must use them but
for the fact that the deck is incloSed
in glass. The swimming pool is deck
ed over and filled with bunks--bunks
are everywhere. Or maybe we had
better call them mere hammocks, for
they are more on the order of the
top berth of sleeping car and built
of iron piping and wire.
Utility, Not Luxury.
1.-THE big dining room, now cleared
of tables, is the assembly hall Tor
the crew of soldiers. The soldiers
use the Ritz and Winter Garden.
The boat is stripped of every useless
ornament and the pride of the Ham
burg-American line once the Water
land, now as the Leviathan, the
greatest transport afloat, is arrang-
ed for utility and not for luxury
The service she has rendered may be
better appreciated when we remem-
Der that one out of every eight men
| of our troops in France were carried
across by her. Coming home she is
| beating her own record.
Through Captain Emery, of the
| Lackawanna railroad, and Mr.. Werner
uyI1n &c hoa6 IF a marine nnRl-
neering firm, we were introduced to
Commander V. V. Woodward and a
number of other officers. Mr.. Wer-
ner it was who, commissioned by the
government, put the boat into shape
| It was estimated it would take two
but in FIVE months she was car
rying troops. Mr.. Werner took
us all over her, from propeller shaft
| to upper deck. She is ten decks deep
We did not have to climb them,
| though, but used one of her several
elevators.
Three Monster tunnels.
"The ship shows three tunnels
tunnels so big that a mogul railroad
engine could run through them as
| through a 25-foot tunnel. But only
| two are for her furnaces-the mid
die one is for ventilation. We STOOD
at the bottom of the well beneath
her machinery, far below the water
line, and looked up. 1t seemed as
| though her tunnels top was amid
| the clouds She has four propellers,
| 65 boilers and her turbines are rated
at $4,000 horsepower.
"With her circulating engine and
others used for divers purposes, she
produces in all well nigh a hundred
thousand horsepower. She has a raw
| enous appetite; ninety tons a day of
coal are required for her consump-
fon but at this she is Hooverizing'
Mr.. Werner tells me that in his est1-
nation Commander Woodward (who
by the way, is from Charleston. w.
| Va and scarcely nast thirtY), is the