The City of Paris held her record for upward of two years; the Etruria and the Umbria each was the crack racer for a year; but the Majestic only held the coveted place at the head of the Atlantic fleet for just two weeks.
At the rate of increase of speed since 1880, when the Arizona was champion, with a record of 7 days, 8 hours, and 8 minutes, we should have a five-day ship before many years, and perhaps eventually a four-day ship. At a 25-knot gait a steamship would cross from Daunt’s Rock to Sandy Hook in 4 days and 15 hours. The Teutonic averaged 20.349 knots for the entire trip, and on a 24-hour run she averaged over 21 knots.
The success of the White Star ships is bound to have a marked effect upon the future of ocean navigation. The Cunard Company has already contracted for the construction of two steamships which are promised to outdo any of the present greyhounds; and rumor has it that the Inman line is about to add two new vessels to its fleet, the plans of which are now prepared, and it is expected that these new ships will go “one better.” Should this promise be fulfilled, there is little doubt but that Europeans who visit Chicago’s Columbian Fair in 1893 may cross the Atlantic in five days, or even less.
The freight capacity of the ocean greyhound, however, is small compared with her gross tonnage. The engines, boiler, and coal bunkers, and the space devoted to passengers, leave but little room for general cargo. Thus the gross tonnage of the Teutonic is 9,686, and her net tonnage 4,244, considerably less than half; while the Cufic, a freight boat of the same line, with a gross tonnage of 4,639, has a net tonnage of 3,055. The fast steamships therefore constitute the ocean express. They carry the mails, specie, and freights of a perishable nature, like meats and provisions, or of a character that requires speedy delivery.
The mail is placed in a capacious compartment about 50 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 7 feet high. It is located on the lower orlop deck, forward of the forehatch, and is capable of holding about 1,000 bags of mail. The bags for the different countries are separated in transit, and on arrival at Queenstown the mails are landed, provided there is time to catch the 12.30 A.M. special train, which is made up to connect with the mail-boat leaving Kingstown early the same morning for Holyhead. Should this connection be missed, only the Irish and Scotch mails are landed at Queenstown. The other mails are landed at Liverpool.
To the steamship Trave belongs the honor of having carried the largest European mail ever shipped from the port of New York, being 1,002 bags, in December, 1889. The largest European mail ever received at the port of New York was 1,062 bags, brought by the Servia in December, 1890.
The system of sorting the mails on board ship, which was recently inaugurated by the United States and German governments, is a success. It is in operation on eight vessels of the North German Lloyd line and the four express ships of the Hamburg-American line. This system is termed the “sea post-office,” and is similar to a post-office on land. The space required on board ship for the manipulation of the mails is equal to about three or four state-rooms. For each vessel the United States provides one official, and Germany supplies another. The latter has an assistant.
All disbursements are made at present by the German Government, but at the end of the year the two governments divide the expenses. On the eastern trip all mails, except the newspaper mail, are landed at Southampton. Only the German mail, and that for countries beyond Germany, is sorted. The British mail is put ashore unsorted, in the same manner that it is on the British steamship lines. The sorting of the mail during the passage enables the packages for each country to be forwarded direct from the nearest landing-point to their ultimate destination without delay. The saving of time at New York City alone is from 4 to 6 hours, and for Pittsburg and for points west and south of that place, where an immediate reply is required, a saving of from 24 to 48 hours is effected. The day cannot be far distant when all foreign mails will be sorted at sea; the system indeed has been in operation for many years on the P. & O. ships sailing to India and Australia.
In these days of heavy gold shipments, the specie-room on the steamship is a very important institution. It is located in an out-of-the-way place amidships, under the saloon. Few of the passengers know of its existence, or of the valuable treasure that is carried across the ocean with them. The room varies slightly on different ships, but is usually about 16 feet long, by 10 feet wide, and 8 feet high. It is constructed of steel plates one-quarter of an inch thick, and strongly riveted together. The floor, the ceiling, and the walls are all of steel plates. There is a heavy door, also made of steel. It is provided with two English “Chubb” locks, a variety of combination lock that is said to be burglar-proof. The gold and silver is usually in bars, but occasionally a quantity of coin in bags is shipped. This was the case when the heavy shipments of gold were made last spring. The Majestic is credited with carrying the largest quantity, her strong box having $4,500,000 intrusted to it for safe keeping.
