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-THE AMERICAN LINE.
's'rANCII SHIPS. 'ron rates on WAR.-
I'Loa'rmc PALACES WHEN m we PASSENGER
oeuvres. THEY MAY BE QUICKLY TRAN“-
romunn m'ro EFFICIENT cams-
Ens IN TIME or NEED.
When the old Inman Line became extinct and
was converted by act of Congress into an.
American corporation under the American flag
and known by the name,“American Line,” pa-
triotic citizens rejoiced over the change and
felt a. pride in the possession of the first-class
ocean liners. . ' _
The bill by the operation of which the.vcssels
of the Inman Line were removed from the *-Ad-
miralty list, because they were no longer availJ
able to the British Government for use as cruisl
crs in case of war, was passed and became a
law‘in May, 1892, and on the next anniversary
.of Washington'sBirthday. President Harrison
raised the American flag on the New-York, the
A
\
STARBOABD BOWHOQETHEFST. -_Loo|_s_,-g.,:
‘ flagship of the line. According to existing laws
American registry is restricted to ships built in
. American shipyards, and, although the act by
A which the American Line was established, made
no..m_ention of names of steamships, it was well
understood that it referred to the New-York and
the Paris, and it was agreed that two additional
1 ships-of like tonnage should be built in America,
and soon the St. Louis and the St. Paul. were
added topthe fleet. The two new shins not only
equalled. but surpassed the New—York and the
Paris in beauty but they were larger than the
greatvessels after which they were fashioned.
A writer on the subject says: I
“The two new ships are even larger than the
'1 Paris‘and the New-York, and the reader cannot.
fail to be interested if he pauses to consider
what such dimensions are as compared with
other things. Take the magnificent Victoria
TOwer, the loftiest pinnacle on the English
Houses of Parliament; the St. Paul or the St.
Louis, if placed in a vertical position, would be,
from stem to stem, 214 feet higher than this
tower; or again, take the dome of St. Paul's
Cathedral, and either ship would overtop it by
189 feet; or again, compare the length of this
cathedral with that of the ships, ‘and it‘is found
that they are 54 feet longer than it is. Coming
nearer home, we may look at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, New-York, and admire its noble pro-
portions, only to find by comparisori that‘while
its length is 306 feet, the length of the new ships
is554 feet. They are 63 feet in breadtlo; 42 in
depth; subdivided into seventeen water-tight
compartments on the same improved plan as
, those of the Paris and the New-York, and each
has a displacement of 16,000 tons when drawing
26 feet of water. I
put on board over (5,000 tons of steel had been
used in the construction of the hull of each
ship.”
The first thing considered by the builders 'or
the American Line ships was safety, andin this
respect nothing was left undone to make the
vessels as nearly unsinkable as possible. Twin
screws and double engines guard against delay
because of possible breakdown, and life-saving
paraphernalia of the most recent designs was
made for the vessel.
The second consideration was the comfort of
the passengers, and there the builders also ex-
hausted all sources to give their patrons all
that could be provided. The ships are veritable
floating palaces, arranged on the hotelplan, but
no. hotel can give its patrons‘a spray swept
promenade, twice 554 feet long. as provided on
the decks of the new American liners. Dining
hails. smoking-rooms,Imusic—rooms and libraries
are among the palatial features, while the sleep-
ing apartments are wonders of comfort and
beauty. ~
One of the argi :ents in favrr of the American
Line at the time of its creation was that under
Before boilers or engines were.
came apparent to all.
the act of Congress the fleet would become a
valuable ,addition to the Nation's naval reserve.
and could be utilize; in case of war. For that
reason it was stipulated that the vessels must
be constructed with particular reference to
ON,THE
o
Fab-MEN‘ADE DTEcK gOf'
THE , ST. PAUL. ,
called the magnificent ocean racers of a. few
Weeks before.
.The New—York became the Yale, and the Paris
the Harvard, and from April 16 to September 1
these vessels were in active service as fast dis-
patch boats, troopshlps and fighters. The St.
Paul and the St. Louis retained their original
flamesrand weresecured for service on April
l4,_and-remained in service until August 22,
when'they were returned to the owners. After
the vessels 'had become auxiliary cruisers in .~
charge of a. regularly commissioned naval of-
ficer, the fear‘varose~ among the various Crews
that in case they were captured they might be
regarded. as pirates, because they were engaging
in hostile demonstrations'without having com:
missions or being ‘mustered into the United
States service. This belief caused so much
alarm that the crewsof several of the vessels
struck and refused to do further ‘duty- under
thegcircumslances. To remove all dangerfrom'
thatflquarter the officers and men'were then
“mustered: into the United States Service, andgbej
.‘camefimembers of the Volunteer navy. ’
\Vith war paint'removed and guns dismounted,
the crews divested of the regulation uniforms
and the interiors reconstructed, the magnificent
steamers of the American Line have once more
returned to their peaceful sphere. The vessels
I
SEARCHL‘IGHT AND SlX-POUNDER ON THE ST.
prompt and economical conversion into auxilia-
ry naval cruisers. , - '
This-provision seemed superfluous .to many.
people who'read the particulars, and the possi-
bility of}. making use‘of one .of- the American
Line- ships as a war ,vessel seemed so remote
that thousands of people refused to look upon
that side of the question'seriously. But when
the war with Spain broke out and it became
necessary to transport men on fast and safe
vessels, ,and when swift'cruisers 'Were needed
for service in conjuné’tidn with the vessels of the
regular Navy, the wisdom of’the-men-who made
the American Line a National institution .be-
The great ships were con-
verted into auxiliary cruisers in a few days, and
the promenade geek where-paSSen‘gex-s' were wont
to stroll 'resounded to the tread of blue-jackets,
who manned -» the guns which were mounted
there. The decorative woodwork, paintings and
everything of a luxurious character were taken
from the vessels, and when they sailed away in
war paint there was little about them that re-
5“
,ple. but; the war experience iottthe .liners,__tno
.similar .to_.those for which they
'in the war with Sp‘ain'.‘
were
were always favorites with the American pe '
{banner in'fjwhich; they carried, out the work
.irh‘ich was set; aside for them. niadeithem still
morepopular and showed them to be. 88 f” as
safety and ' seaworthiness were concerned. ‘8“:
that the. owner said they were. _ '
In_ the, elaborately decorated drawing-rooms:
through which :the~-_orders of commanding of-
ficers resounded only a few weeks ago. con-
certs‘are, held; the‘di’ning halls. where the of-
ficers had their mess."now accommodate the
touris.ts,_.and ;.-luxuriously appointed staterooms
have-takenethemlace of,.sa_ilors’._ sleepipg 94’8""
-~ments. . The transformations were,-accomDHShéd
rapidly;.and- convinced the? public—that . ships like
those of-theAmerican Line‘ were of great ser-
vice intime of "war, and that the law by which
they ebecame .available} for war service was a
wise one. The people whohave given the mat-~
ter the most; attention'believe that .the fleet of.
the American .Line should beenlarged, so that
lattimaotneedrmore. vessels. of the stamp of the-
New-York. the Paris, the St. Louis and the St.
Paul might. be drafted intothe service for uses
were employed
The-dimensions of the American Line steam-
ers are: ' ‘ ,
. ' Tonnage.- . Length. Breadth.
.St. Louis.................. 11.629 554 63
. New—York 10,803 560 63%
St.,Paul........... ..... 11,600 554 1% ‘
Paris 10,795 560 635%
The entry ofCervera into Santiago Bay was
witnessed by the St. Paul,- and her commander.
- CaptainSigsbee, of theunfortunate Maine, was
intru‘sted by. the commanding ofliccr with many
importantduties while the Spanish fleet was
bottled up in the harbor; As a scouting ship.‘
bearer of dispatches and a blockader she did
good ‘service, and .her experience with the
Terror showed that she was..capable of good
work in a fight. .
The Terror had been left behind at Martinique
by Cervera, and thenhran ,to San Juan, Porto
Rico. whence early in June' she sailed forth for
the purpose of‘destroying the St. Paul. She
was discovered by Sigsbee, and, contrary to the
expectations of the crew of the Sranish de-
stroyer, turned upon the Spanish ship and drove
her off in a Severely injured ,rconditicn. While
theTerror was being repaired and madeavail-
able for future service, in which she might
prove herself more worthy'of her name, her ad-
versary, having-earned her laurels,.was stripped
of henwar trappings, her saloons and. cabins
again converted into' luxurious apart-
ments,'which attracted so much attention before
the .war, andxon October 19. she sailed proudly
away from her berth in New-York on her first
trip to Southampton, where she went into dry-
dock. - ‘
The officers of the American Line feel a pride
in their vessels, because of the work accom-
plished by them as auxiliary cruisers, and the
pride of the officers and owners ‘is 'shared by
the American people, who have learned -to“ap-
preciate the value of good ships sailing/under
the Stars and Stripes, - _
Charles Emory Smith, Postmaster-General, in .
his last report said: ~. .
“The great value of the aid contributed dur-
ing the war by steamships employed in the
mail service, and converted under the act of
March 3 1891, into"~auxiliary cruisers, is uni-
versally recognized. The St. Louis and the St.
Paul and the New-York and the Paris, the last
two rechristened the‘ Harvard and the' Yale.
added rraterially to the naval strength and
gave unequalled special and distinct service.
Their superior speed peculiarly fitted them to
act as scouts. and in actual encounter they
proved their fighting efficiency. Independent of
their value as fast mail steamers, the part they
played in our naval operations vindicated the
broad policy of the law under which they float-
ed our flag. Our recent experience has illustra-
ted and emphasized the importance of this re-
source, and has demonstrated that one of the
most effective and economical bulwarks of na-
val power is the possessionpf swift mail steam.
ers capable of conversion into armed cruisers.
In-thc further devglopment of. our naval force
this factor cannot fail to receive consideration,
and it supplements and strengthens the reasons
for Governmental action which are found in the
wisdom of promoting the upbuilding of a mer-
chant marine. The advancement-of our com-
merce requires that we shall have carrying
facilities." .
Norwalk Chronicler