The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-07-21

AMERICAN EXPERTS
REDRAFT LEVIATHAN
Solve Secrets for Which
Germany Demanded
Million Dollars.
COULD SAIL In DAY
Machinery of Vessel in Bet
ter Shape Than When
U. s.. Got Her.
.VITALS ARE RECHARTED
Specifications for Rec0ndition-
ing Liner Are Nearly
Completed.
COULD SAIL IN DAY
VITALS ARE RECHARTED

The great Leviathan, formerly the
German Vaterland, the biggest ship
that ever steamed the seas, lies at
Pier 4. Hoboken. with her hull and
superstructure a dirty gray splotched
with patches Of red which seem to
river voyagers to be rust. Moreover,
her decks are black as the structure
Of a coal wagon, her brass work Is as
dull as brass can become, and she has
a desolate, unkempt appearance that
chills the passing seaman.
Within, a casual visitor would find
a continuation of his first impression
of neglect and desertion. She appears
to be a barn, not a ship. In place Of
brightly lighted, carpeted passageways
between rows of ornate cabins, one en-
counters a dim vastness. punctured
hero and there by pinpoints of light.
The ship seems a succession Of empty
barns and a dark cement floor which
Is broken at various points. 1t is a
horrible thing; silent, gloomy and &C.
cupied only as a haunted house might
be occupied, by the wraiths of its
numerous habitants Of both peace and
war.
That is the first impression. The Sec
ond. acquired only after two hours Of
painstaking inspection. reveals ship
with vitals unimpaired. vessel with
out rust spot and with engines gleam-
ing with grease and new paint. As she
lies, misleadingly unkempt, at Hoboken,
she could within thirty-six hours back
out into the stream and head for any
port of the world. 1t is merely matter
of putting a crew aboard and getting
fire under her boilers. The Leviathan
is like an athlete in a hobo's clothing,
dilapidated but fit. Those splotches of
red on hsr gray paint are not rust, but
rust's worst enemy, red lead.
Her appearance of desertion Is decep-
tive. for there are actually about 270
men on board her each day. But go
men. in boat built for crew of 1,229
and for $500 passengers. are as sparse
as overcoats in Broadway.
Within eighteen months, and possibly
a year, this Leviathan, which has so
often been referred to lately as a costly
junk pile. could be converted into the
most luxuriously equipped and finest
vessel of her time. That is the estimate
of w. r. Gibbs. chief of construction OF
the International Mercantile Marine.
and the man upon whom the RESPONSE
bility for the liner rests.
Mr.. Gibbs explained yesterday 1t cost
$4,000 month to the United States
Shipping Board to maintain the Levia-
than as she is. simply looking out for
her vital parts which might depreciate,
but have not, during the last two years,
drawing plans of her present and pro-
Jectsd states, repairing slight engine
troubles and maintaining a strong fire
fighting force. Money has been spent
only for essentials.
The biggest part of the possible task
OF reconditioning the Leviathan Is al
ready almost completed. That is the
matter Of plans and specifications. This
country got the Leviathan during the
war. Quilted her of all staterooms and
other partitions for greater space as a
transport. and made her help most
materially to win the war. But Ger
many had the Leviathan's plans.
These are neat little drawings of every
fixture. pipe. wire. bulkhead, plate. and
bit Of machinery in the most compli-
Gated mass of machinery ever as
sembled To attempt to do anything
without those plans would have been
Madness and dangerous sort of mad
ness for both passengers and crew. for
in shifting tanks and bunkers and an
paratus In the necessary change from
coal to oil as fuel a dangerous strain
might be put upon her.
Learn Ships Secrets.
Germany was willing to give us the
plans for one million dollars. American
draftsmen-there are now sixty on
a rft ft,
have made plans of every inch of the
$50 feet of length and 10 feet of width
on each OF the fourteen decks. They
crawied through manholes skin tight
into tanks below her false bottom.
through the n-threatening tangle
OF pipes and wires in her mechanism.
drawing what was in place and tracing
what was lacking.
Engineers were busy yesterday, as
they have been for the last two years.
IN running testing, cleaning and repair
ing the seventy-six steam driven pumps,
the seventy-five blowers and auxiliaries
the eight main turbines operating
screws on four main shafts and de-
veioping 10000 horsepower, the 273
electric driven motor blowers and Ave
turbo-dynamos. The Ieviathan's power
plant alone weighs 5000 tons that Of
battle cruiser only 5000 tons.
throughout her whole engine room a
NEW YORK HERALD reporter found not
single bit of neglected machinery or
trace of devastating rust. Nor was
there on her plates or other steelwork-
thirty thousand tons In albany per-
ceptible rust. Scalers and painters look
after that. but the force Is necessarily
SO limited that they cannot make the
Leviathan look pretty in an entire new
coat Of paint.
While the craftsmen, the engineers
and the painters are busy force of
fifty-four, watchmen and fire guards.
working on three shifts. are constantly
patrollng the huge ship under a time
clock system So complicated Is the huge
ships interior that no outside fire force
could hope to save the ship should she
start burning. The private force has al
ready extinguished In the incpient stage
six fires due to spontaneous combustion
In the bunkers and other causes.
One of the busiest places in the ship
Is the machine shop, completely equipped
and doing all the repair work on the
vessel at about half what 1t would cost
outside.