THE 'LITSITANIA.'
[To THZ EDITOR Or THZ ..SPECTATOR.1 Sia,—The maiden voyage of the `Lusitania' was undoubtedly a notable event in the history of Transatlantic steam navigation, • NOTE.—An extension of the periods of training for the recruits of the different arms will be the subject of a Referendum to the Swiss electorate in November next.
particularly in connexion with the unprecedented size and engine-power of the ship, the adoption of turbine engines, and the almost continuous record of progress obtained by the use of wireless telegraphy. National sentiment was also involved, as the Lusitania ' and her sister-ship the Maure- tania' have been constructed with the specific intention of restoring to the British flag that supremacy in speed at sea which it held so long, but lost to Germany about ten years ago. While recognising these facts, however, one may feel that there has been much foolish, if not hysterical, writing on the subj ect in the daily papers, which have assumed that the results aimed at would be at once achieved, and have ignored the necessity for thorough organisation of the numerous staff in the machinery department and the boiler-rooms before the full steaming capability of the ship could be developed on a Transatlantic voyage. What that capability really is has already been demonstrated by a sea-trial extending over forty-eight hours, made when the ship was in the hands of her builders. An average speed of nearly twenty-five and a half knots—nearly twenty-nine and a half statute miles—was maintained on that occasion without difficulty, and this result can be repeated. On the first voyage the engineers of the Cunard Company assumed responsibility with a staff necessarily new to the work, and, following the established practice of that great steamship line, they took no undue risks, but obtained excel- lent results that must be satisfactory to all concerned, and that confirm the promise of the earlier contract trials. The time for record-making has not yet come; but no one—and least of all German competitors—can doubt that the Cunard Com- pany possess in the Lusitania ' and ' Mauretania ' the two swiftest sea-going passenger steamers afloat or laid down up to date. It is no less certain that the enormous first cost, working expenses, and charge for maintenance of vessels which would surpass the new Cunarders in speed render it improbable that their supremacy will be challenged for some time to come. The Cunard Company would not have undertaken the task unless the Government had given considerable financial assistance in the provision of the outlay on construction and in the form of an annual subvention. Even now many authorities on shipping are disposed to doubt whether the Cunard Company will find the bargain completely satisfactory and the expenditure fairly reproductive. But the general public feeling in the country undoubtedly approves the action taken, and applauds the decision to have British supremacy in speed on the Atlantic service restored. We shall await with interest the next steps taken in Germany, where valuable State aid is undoubtedly given to mercantile shipping, although open subsidies or subventions are lacking.
The Germans very properly maintain that as yet the fastest passages—measured by average sea-speed—have been made by their steamships, the Kaiser Wilhelm IL' having attained an average of 23.59 knots and the Deutschland' 23'51 knots across the Atlantic, as against 23.01 knots for the `Lusitania's' maiden voyage. Again, the Deutschland' has covered six hundred and one knots in twenty-four hours, whereas the greatest daily run of the • Lusitania, ' was five hundred and ninety-three knots. It is necessary to note, however, that these record passages of the German ships were not made on their maiden voyages, which showed averages of about twenty- two knots for the ' Kaiser Wilhelm II.,' and 22.4 for the 'Deutschland.' Furthermore, the record passages were made under unusually favourable conditions of weather, and with development of full engine-power. The Lusitania,' on the contrary, encountered fog on three days, and instead of her engines developing their maximum power, they probably did not on an average exceed two-thirds of that maximum, not because they could not have been worked up to full power, but because it was not thought desirable to do so.
A word or two about the engine-power of these great ships may be of interest. The maximum is about seventy thousand horse-power, developed by four steam turbines, and applied to four screw propellers. The German steamers above-named have engines developing only fifty to sixty per cent. of this power, and their coal consumption is proportionately smaller. Steam generation in the boilers, as has been well said, essentially depends upon the stokers putting coal on the fires in an efficient manner. In the Lusitania ' at full power about a thousand tons of coal (in round figures) have to be transported from the bunkers and placed in the furnaces in each twenty-four hours. The task is a gigantic one; thorough organisation and supervision of the staff are essential to success and to economical working. In the Cunard service the Campania ' and `Lucania' were the most powerful steamers previously built; in each of them thirty thousand horse-power was the maximum development. These figures show the great step that has been taken, and emphasise the importance of experience in furthering organisation. They also indicate how great has been the success attained in the first voyage of the Lusitania,' when the power developed probably exceeded that yet reached in the German ships, although it only allowed about two-thirds of what was developed on the contract trial, and will be reached again when the organisation of the staff has been completed. Another most satisfactory feature of the voyage has been the success of the turbine engines, which are said to have worked perfectly throughout. The Cunard Company made a bold, but well-considered, experiment in fitting turbine machinery to these great ships, and their action has been justified : they have shown the way once more in the advance of steam navigation, and are entitled to the gratitude of all interested therein. Hearty congratula- tions are also due to Mr. Charles Parsons, to whose genius, persistence, and courage this revolution in steam machinery is
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