The New York herald., 1922-05-17
MAJESTIC, WORLDS
BIGGEST ship, HERE
White Star Liner Makes
First Trip in 5 Days, II
Hours, 45 Minutes.
GREETED BY HARBOR
Mauretania, Speed Record
Holder, First Vessel to
Pass Going Out.
DOCKS AT 18TH STREET
Stern Extends Forty Feet Be-
yond Her Pier Into the
Hudson River.
DOCKS AT 18TH STREET

nv w Ahlt N'tdt liiitt -hdJCSNiS. Ills
gest of steamships, got in yesterday
afternoon from Southampton and Cher
bourg in command of her knighted
skipper, Sir Bertram iIayes, claiming
the glory of having made the swiftest
maiden trip of any liner from Cher
bourg. She put 305s nautical miles
astern of her at an average speed Of
22.69 knots and covered the whole
course in five days fourteen hours and
forty-five minutes.
That is not great. but It is fire for
an untried ship. Captain Hayes said
that she never had been pushed and
that on the few fair days of the run
she had made slightly more than 25
knots and he felt pretty sure that
after !imbcring up she would come
pretty close to being the swiftest liner
afioat.
Everything in the lower and upper
bays and the Hudson with steam power
greeted the great ship vigorously, and
the Collector and Surveyor Of the port
came up from Quarantine aboard her
to show the gallant Briton that they
pcl1eEeQ III welcoming HdutiCdl 6SHioS,
even if it did happen to be of German
origin, ceremonially and graciously.
When the giant ship. graceful as a
super yacht. dropped anchor Off Quar-
antins she seemed to completely block
the Narrows with her unprecedented
length of $50 feet, the realization of the
thousand foot liner timidly hinted at a
quarter of a century ago by the RI
diculous radical engineers of the time
Rival Dips Her Ensisns.
Curiousy. the first vessel going out
TO dip ensigns with the new giantess
was the Cunarder Mauretania. holder
OF the ocean speed record, which headed
for the open through the Narrows just
as the Majestic let the rusty steel cable
of her mighty mud hook roar through
the hawspipe at her stem. swinging her
PROV downstream against the strong
incoming tide. 1t was noted that the
record holder seemed almost like baby
ship as she passed within the toss of q
ships biscuit, which no longer exists to
be tossed. of the port side of the White
Star colossus. The comment of the ex-
perts was that the Majestic was a per-
feet specimen of craftsmanship. con-
sidered merely from the exterior. and
that never in the annals of seagoing
craft had any of the type come into the
harbor of New York with "sweetr'
lines. The dipping of flags which may
be regarded as sort of nautical bowling
was the only greeting of the ship that
holds the record to the ship that horss
to wrest it from her.
There was aboard the Majestic not a
complete spirit of forgiveness fo- the
talented Teutons who had put the hull
of the splendid liner together. The
Britons. mostly in a humorous spirit,
recalled that just before the ship had
left Hamburg for completion in England
German painters had daubed in red
lead on her hull many skulls and cross
bones to show that they did not exactly
wish the new ship fine first trip But
nothing of a skull and crossbones ma
ture occurred on the maiden venture.
and no bombs were discovered In the re-
mote corners of the giant liner.
stiI to Find Herself.
Harold A. Sanderson chairman Of
the board of the Oceanic Steam Naviga-
tion Company. British name OF the
White Star Line. was a passenger on
the Majestic. and was accompanied by
Henry Harland. executive head of the
Harland & Wolff shpbuilding firm of
Belfast. and a staff of engineers. 1t
was said that they found merely minor
defects in the ship and that after these
were remedied she would be a marvel
OF regularity. and, perhaps. the greatest
liner in the world. The full power of her
boilers, it was said, had not been used.
and that they would not be used until
the ship had. as Skipper Skipllng had
remarked. found herself"
The Majestic made a swift run from
Quarantine to her dock and ten tugs
assisted her in strengthening out and
heading for the bulkhead at the foot OF
Eighteenth street. North River. A great
throng was there to greet her. For a
i. moment the throng at the bulkhead
thought that the Majestic had decided
to cut trench across Manhattan Isl
and. Here $4,000 tons are not to be
regarded lightly. Before anybody In
command could touch lever or press a
button Manhattan Island shimmied
under an unusual thrill. The sharp and
lofty PROV OF tlrv big snip was arrested
by her skipper after she had stove m a
twelve foot section OF the corrugated
pier shed and driven the startled
group In confusion from the bulk
head The damage was trivial, but
the incident showed the tremendous
power OF the ship after her propulsive
force was cut off. Even after she had
been snugly berthed her shapcly stern
protruded forty feet beyond the pier and
scows were moored astern Of her to pro-
feet her from pa ssng craft.