of the Hamburg

assenger business. Offices were established in Berlin, Dresden, and Frankfort-On-Main in 1890, and arrangements were made with the Hamburg-South American S.S. Co., the German East Africa Line, and the Hansa Line-the latter running a serv

rway of the Elbe was no longer sufficient to enable the fast steamers of considerable draught to come up to the city, it was decided to dispatch them from Brunshausen, a small place situated much lower down the Elbe. In the long run, however, it proved very inconvenient to manage the passenger dispatch from there, and the construction of spe

timore and another to Philadelphia. In 1889 a new line starting from New York was opened to Venezuelan and Colombi

nal ideas carried into practice through Ballin's enterprise, i.e. the institution of pleasure trips and tourist cruises. It may perhaps be of interest to point out in this connexion that, about half a century earlier, another Hamburg shipping man had thought of specially fitting out a vessel for an extended crui

y for Taking P

the

Teneriffe, Cap Verde Islands, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de la Plata, Falklands Islands, Valparaiso, and all the intermediate ports of call on the Pacific coast of South America as far as Guayaquil (for Quito), the Marquesas Islands, Friendly Islands

vessel, the time spent at the various ports of call, and the details of the whole cruise, are to be arranged wit

unblemished repute and of good education, those pos

voyage. A first-class ship, an experienced and well-educated captain, a specially selecte

e of the wonders of the world, of the beautiful scenery of the remotest countries, and of the manners and customs of many different nations. During the whole voyage he will be surrounded by the utmost comfort, and will enjoy t

ation to the undersigned, and a stampe

M. S

ry, 1845. Shipo

any at that time; the Carl Stangen Tourist Office in Berlin, for instance, regularly arranged such excursions, including some to the Far East, for a limited number of participants. To do so, however, for as many as 241 persons, as Ballin did, was something unheard-of until then, and necessitated a great deal of painstaking preparation. Among other things, the itinerary of the intended c

of Northern Europe violent epidemics were practically unknown, and the scourge of cholera especially had always been successfully combated at the eastern frontier of Germany, so that the alarm which spread over the whole country, and which led to the vigorous enforcement of the most drastic measures for isolating the rest of Germany from Hamburg, may easily be comprehended, however ludicrous those measures in some instances might appear. There are no two opinions as to the damage they inflicted on the commerce and traffic of the city. The severest quarantine, of course, was instituted in the United States, and the passenger services to and from Hamburg ceased to be

large scale; with great energy the city set herself to prevent the recurrence of a similar disaster. The Packetfahrt, in conjunction with the authorities, designed the plans for building the emigrants' halls situated at the

ch was decided upon and taken in hand by the Prussian Government. The expansion of the Packetfahrt's business, of course, was most adversely affected by the epidemic and its after-effects;

and were capable of accommodating a great many passengers, especially steeragers, as well as of carrying large quantities of cargo. The number of services run by the Company was added to in 1893 by a line from New York to Italy, and in the following year by one from Italy to the

most noteworthy among the immense number of letters of congratulation which the Company received on that occasion is the one sent by the chairman of the Cun

with you in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the foundatio

dmiration of the skill and enterprise which has directed

reliable transit between the two great continents of the world by initiating a reg

t of the world's commodities in vessels of greatly increased capacity and proportionate

n for visiting scenes, both new and old, of world-wide interest, and making such journeyings, hitherto

d commercial public; and no one, be his nationality what it was, can, in the face of such facts, abstain from offering his meed of praise to the foresight, acume

d from doing so at your forthcoming meeting, allow me the expression of the wish that such meeting may be a happy and satisfa

ut the service was discontinued, the steamers thus acquired being used for other purposes. Shortly before the close of the same year a suggestion was pu

it by Hamburg, Antwerp, and London firms, could hope to rely on finding a sure basis for its Far Eastern business, did not consider it wise to let the favourable opportunity slip. Quick decision and rapid acti

arly days of January, 1898, the Packetfahrt advertised its intention of running monthly sailings to Penang, Singapore, Hongkong, Shanghai, Yokohama, and Hiogo. Six cargo steamers of 8,000 tons burden

t of the year 1898 as far as the development of the Packetfahrt is concerned. In the spring of that same year an agreement was made with the Philadelphia Shipping Company-which,

intermediary of a third party to purchase its two express steamers, Columbia and Normannia, which were among the fastest ocean-liners afloat. Before accepting this offer, the Packetfahrt, in order to avoid the reproach of having committed a breach of neutrality, first offered these two steamers to the United States Government; but on its refusal to bu

ght, prove a great success from a financial point of view. He held that the remunerativeness of express steamers was negatived by the heavy working expenses and, as early as 1897, had projected the construction of two steamers of very large proportions, but of less speed. This, however, was not carried out. Instead, the Packetfahrt dec

service to the rapidly expanding interchange of goods between Germany and the United States. Their great size made it necessary to accelerate their loading and discharging facilities as much as possible. This necessity, among other things, led to the introduction of grain elevators which resulted in a great saving of time, as the grain was henceforth no longer discharged in sacks, but loose. The Company also decided to take t

abroad for the Company's activities. The Packetfahrt therefore ordered the building of two passenger boats in Italian yards, and it was arranged that these vessels should fly either the German or the Italian flag. In the end, however, a separate Itali

ak of the South African war in 1899. An enormous amount of tonnage was required to carry the British troops, their equipment, horses, etc., to South Africa, and the circumstance that this tonnage temporarily ceased

e had done so again in compliance with the special request of Mr. Carl Laeisz, the chairman of the former company, and in 1898 he did so for the third time, but in this case on his own initiative. No practical results, however, were reached, and as Ballin was desirous of seeing an end being put to the hopeless struggle between the two rival firms, he took up those negotiations for the fourth time in 1900, hoping to acquire the de Freitas Line for his own Company. He was successful, and an expert was nominated to fix the market value of the fourteen

South America, a service which was still further extended when the Packetfahrt bought up a British line trading from Antwerp to the Plate, thus also securing a footing at Antwerp in conn

with the whole German hinterland. Finally, it must be remembered that the Scandinavian seaports are also to a certain extent competing for the German business, especially for the trade with the hinterland of the Baltic ports of Germany. All this goes to show that the countries surrounding Germany which have for centuries striven to exercise a kind of political hegemony over Germany-or, rather, generally speaking, over Central Europ

the same time, the Monroe doctrine was being applied more and more thoroughly and systematically. Consequently the attention of the American investors was also increasingly drawn towards those same countries. In Central America new railway lines were constructed by British and American capital, including some right across the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, thus considerably facilitating trade with the Pacific coast of America. Other lines were built in Brazil and in the Argentine, and harbour and dock facilities were constructed in nearly all the more important South American ports. French and Belgian capital shared in these undertakings, and some German capital was also employed for the same purpose. The Trans-Andine railway was completed, and numerous industrial works were added to the existing ones. The great economic advance was not exclusively restricted t

egotiations conducted by Ballin. Later on, indeed, the relations between the two companies became very cordial, and even led to the conclusion of a far-reaching community of interest agreement, the Booth Line being represented in Hamburg by the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, and the latter in Brazil by

erman iron works in the Rhenish-Westphalian district by which the Hamburg-Amerika Linie undertook to ship to Emden the Swedish iron ore needed by them from the ports of Narvik and Lulea. Two special steam

of starting a Pacific service, which engaged his attention. All these important details could only be properly attended to on the spot. It became necessary to acquire a business footing in the various ports concerned, to organize the coast transport services which were to act as feeders to the main line, etc. Besides, the Packetfahrt, and the Lloyd as well, had special reasons for being interested in Far Eastern affairs, as both companies had been entrusted with troop transports and the transport of equipment needed for the German contingent during the troubl

he I.M.S. '

ry 16t

ill her bunkers with the 800 tons of coal that had been ordered. Perhaps there is no place anywhere where the bunkers are filled more rapidly than at Port Said, and certainly none where this is done to the accompaniment of a more deafening noise. Just imagine a horde of natives wildly screaming at the top of their voices, and add to this the noise produced by the coal incessantly shot into the bunkers, and the shouting of the men in command going on along with it. You will easily understand that it was impossible for anyone to go to sleep under conditions such as these.... After trying for several hours, I gave up the attempt, and, on entering the drawing-room, I found that willy-nilly (but, as Wippchen would have said, more nil

Aden an

ry 24t

e island. Aden, which the British would like to turn into a second Gibraltar, is situated in a barren, treeless district, and is wedged in between hills without any vegetation. Small fortifications are sca

ry 28t

. Shortly before 9 o'clock we went ashore: and as the business offices do not open until an hour later-thus preventing me from calling on my business friends at that hour-I took a carriage-drive through the magnificent park-like surroundings of t

old man who was pestering me with his offers to sell some precious stones, he said to me, in the inimitable singing tone of voice used by these people when they speak English: 'Just touch this stone, please, but do not buy it: I only wish to receive it back from your lucky hands.' In spite of their manners, however, these fellows are the biggest cheats on earth. Another dealer wanted to sell me a sheet of old Ceylon stamps for which he demanded fifteen marks-a price which, as h

as fallow deer, pursued us in our carriage, begging for alms. It was curious to see with what unfailing certainty they managed to distinguish the German from the English passengers, and they were not slow in availing themselves

ary 2n

ion is extremely complicated in this part of the tropics, which is favoured by kind Nature more than is good. The excessive fertility of the soil makes the cultivation of vegetables and cereals quite impossible, as everything runs to seed within a few days, so tha

Borneo, the Philippines, and the Federated Malay States. To achieve this, of course, was a difficult matter, even with the aid of the shipping companies, but its clever and e

rs. As regards the difference in the national character of the French and the British, it is interesting to note that the former have just erected a magnificent building for a theatre at Saigo

ry 16th

t for a long term of years-forty-two, if I remember rightly; and he now occupies an exceedingly prominent position both in German and British society. That this is so is largely due-apart from his intimate knowledge of all that concerns the trade and commerce of China, and apart from his own amiability and never-failing gene

ishas, which are drawn by coolies, predominate; but the greater part of Hongkong is situated on the slopes of a hill, and nearly all the private residences are built along the beautifully kept, terrace-like roads leading up to the summit of the peak. In this part the chair coolies take the place of the jinrikisha coolies; and in the low-lying parts also it is considered more stylish to be carried by chair coolies. The ordinary hired chairs are generally carried by two coolies only, but four are needed for the private ones. The work done by these poor wretches is fatiguing in the extreme. They have to drag their masters up and down the hill, which is very steep in places, and it is a horrid sensation to be carried by these specimens of panting humanity for the first time. In the better-class European households each member of the family has his own chair, and the necessary coolies along with it, who are paid the pr

p at the pawnbroker's to prevent them from being stolen). To keep the evil spirits away during the coming twelvemonth, they burn hundreds of thousands of firecrackers when the New Year begins, and also during the first and second days of it, accompanied by the noise of the firing of guns. One must have been through it all in order to un

roofs with bunting, beautiful big lanterns, paper garlands

their town, and the British administration is wise enough not to interfere with the enjoyment of the

, March 6

rts, and the bulk of that with the northern parts of the country, passes through Shanghai. The local German colony is much larger than the one at Hong

singtau an

the s.s '

18th,

y large-sized ocean-going steamers for a several days' journey. During the summer months it often happens that the level of the water in its upper reaches rises by as much as 50 feet, which-on account of the danger of the tremendous floods resulting from it-has made it necessary to pay special attention to the laying-out of the cities situated on its banks. The object of our journey was Nanking. This city, which was once the all-powerful ca

happy in consequence of enjoying a practical monopoly of the protection extended to him by the home government. He has helped himself to the consul's cigars and to his moselle to such good effect that the Sibiria arrived just in time to prevent the German colony at Nanking from lodging a comp

g lady who accompanied us on our Yangtse expedition were borne in genuine sedan chairs as used for the mandarins, preceded by the interpreter of the consulate, and followed by t

there were more people suffering from some disease or other than there were healthy ones. When we stopped outside the big temple of Confucius, where the ladies of our party dismounted from their chairs, the people, in spite of their natural t

was surprised and delighted with what I saw. There, in spite of innumerabl

ing Governor and the officers of higher rank had their homes. Even though it is true that up to now military necessities have taken precedence in the laying-out of the town, so that the needs of trade and traffic have not received due attention, it must be admitte

ity. The Governor and I went on board to welcome the old gentleman, who was evidently greatly touched at meeting me out here, and it was plain to see that my presence in this part of the world made him almost feel homesick. The Field-Marshal very much dislikes the restrictions imposed on his activities; and judging from all he told me, I must confess that a great military leader has hardly ever before been faced with a more thankles

March 31

Here we are surrounded by beautifully wooded hills, and a magnificent harbour extends right into the heart of the city. From the windows of our rooms we overloo

ve and sulky, and not inclined to be friendly; the other always cheerful, fond of gossip, and overflowing with politeness in all his intercourse with strangers. But it must not be forgotten that the integrity of the C

This is due to a large extent to the way their homes are built. Their houses are just as dainty as they are themselves; and it is really quite remarkable to see that the Japs, who closely imitate everything they see in Europe, still build them exactly as they have done from time immemorial. They are practically without windows, and in place of these the openings in the walls are filled with paper stretched on to frames. Instead of doors there are movable screens made of lattice-work; and sinc

d we arrived at Kobe, where

look like when we get back? At almost every port of call some sad news has reached us, and our stay at Kobe was entirely overshado

mmarized the results of his trip from

during my trip the following

nt of a branch of ou

ervice to Shanghai, Tsingtau, and Tientsin, former

Yangtse Line, hitherto carri

ite outside Shanghai harbour intended for the building of docks and quays, and the lease of the so-c

ment of temporary

ding concerning the running of a line from

sentative of the firm of Forwood are under w

ending Packetfahrt shipping interests. Time translated many of his suggestions into flourishing actualities, some of which survived the 1914-18 years; others disappeared in the cataclysm; others, again,

ang

4th,

h the negotiations concerning the possible ina

saloon steamers plying on the Hudson. Their draught rarely exceeds 12 feet, and those which occasionally go higher up the river than Hankau draw even less. Most of the money earned by these boats is derived from th

s.s. Sibiria o

10th

e country. It can scarcely be doubted that, if the Celestial Empire is thrown open to the Western nations still more than has been done up to now, the commerce of the Yangtse ports is bound to assume large proportions. During the summer months, i.e. for practically two-thirds of the year, the Yangtse is navigable for ocean-going steamers

the Sibi

au and

19th

ping point of view, it must be stated that the work accomplished looks too much like Wilhelmshaven, and too little like Hongkong. It was, of course, a foregone conclusion that in the development of a colony which is completely ruled by the Admiralty the naval interests would predominate. However, there is still time to remedy the existing defects, and I left Kiautschou with the conviction

s.s. Empress o

a and V

17th

of slightly familiarizing myself in more respec

credit, she has imported far more than necessary; she is suffering from a shortage

d States to Japan have increased just as much as those to China.... I cannot help thinking that in the coming struggle America will enjoy immense advantages over us; but you must permit me to postpone the presentation of a

th German Lloyd, which had become somewhat less friendly than usual in more respects than one; and in particular t

by the acquisition of valuable concessions, especially of teak-wood plantations in Siam. In course of time this business developed into a shipping firm which, owing to the concessions just mentioned, was always in a position to ship cargo of its own-an advantage which proved inestimable when business was bad and no other freight was forthcoming. When Mr. Andersen returned to Europe he continued to enlarge his business, making Copenhagen its centre. He enjoyed the special patronage of the Danish Royal Family, and afterwards also that of the Imperial Russian family. His special well-wisher and a partner of his firm was the Princess Marie of Denmark, who became known in the political world because she incurred the enmity of Bismarck, chiefly on account of her attempt to

Dear

ry 17t

that Mr. Andersen had to attend to so many other things. If you and he alone had had to deal with it, and if it had been purely a business matter, the agreement would certainly have been concluded at once. Perhaps you and Andersen will shortly discover a basis on which you can co-operate. I personally should highly appreciate an understanding between my company and yours if it could be brought about, so that you could work together hand in hand like two good

, Yours f

ed) "

ar Dir

ry 10th

nderstanding between you and Mr. Andersen would lead to good results, and you may feel convinced that I shall extend to you not only my personal assistance and sympathy, but also that of my f

faith

ed) "

The business outcome of the negotiations was that in 1905 a joint service to the West Indies was established between the Hamburg-Amerika Linie and the Danish West Indian Company. Four of the big new st

Russia, and Denmark for the special purpose of developing Russian trade, and to organize the Russian East Asiatic S.S. Company on such lines as would make it a suitable instrument to this end. It is to be regretted that the community of interest agreement then concluded was not of long duration. The Russian bureaucracy made all sorts of difficulties, and it is possible that the representatives of the Hamburg-Amerika Linie in Russia did not disp

d the Diesel engine, a German invention, to the propulsion of ships, and who subsequently built a fleet of excellent motor-ships for the East Asiatic Company. One of these vessels was afterwards acquired by the Hamburg-Amerika Linie for studying purposes. The new type of vessel proved exceedingly remunerative during the war, as it made the owners independent of the supply of British bunker coal, and relieved them of the numerous difficulties connected with obtaining it. This great practical succ

sell a large number of its units at a considerable rate of profit, and the contract concluded with the Russian Government for the coal supply added enormously to its revenues. The Russian Government partly converted the purchased steamers into auxiliary cruisers for the purpose of chec

y,

the sale of some of our steamers. On Christmas Day I sent some representatives to Petrograd who were to approach the government in case it intended to acquire any merchant vessels for purposes of war. These gentlemen are still staying at Petrograd, where they have been all the time with the exception of a few weeks, and we have c

ut by the circumstance that the Fürst Bismarck has been chartered to the firm of Thos. Cook and Sons for an excursion from Marseilles, in which 500 members of a Sunday school are to

the anxiety he felt concerning these contracts, especially as he had just then received a long telegram from the German Ambassador in Tokio advising him to proceed with much caution. I told the Chancellor that he need not study in any way the damage which our company might suffer; that we did not ask that any regard should be paid to our business interests in case these should clash with those of the country, and that, if the Government were of opinion that the interests of the country necessitated the cancelling of the whole agreement, I should be glad to receive instructions from him to that eff

of the coal contract with the Foreign Office, which the Chancellor

ve been obliged to charter a large number of steamers, so that at times as many as 80 of these are employed in this Russian transaction. Besides the old express steamers and the Belgia we have now sold to the Russians the Palatia and the Ph?nicia, as well as nine other boats of our company, including the Belgravia, Assyria, and Granada (the remaining ones are cargo vessels, mostly taken out of the West Indies service), but as regards these latter, we have reserved to ourselves the right of redemption.... We have successfully accomplished the great task we had undertaken, although, owing to the absence of coaling stations, it was thought next to impossible to convey such a huge squadron as was the Baltic fleet all

nt on this new tonnage-viz. no less than 24 million marks-represented the profits made on the sales of ships; another large portion was taken out of current earnings, and the remainder was secured by a debenture issue. Never again, except in 1913, has the company added such an amount of tonnage to its fleet in a single year as it did at that time. But the "re-birth" of the company did not only consist in this augmentation of tonnage, but also, and chiefly, in the entire reorganization of its New York service by the addition to its fleet of the Amerika and the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. This event meant that the er

German South-West Africa, and the year 1905 witnessed the settlement of a short-lived conflict with the North German Lloyd. This con

ned a special line to the Persian Gulf in 1906. The year 1907 is chiefly remarkable for a rate war affecting the services from

bsolutely different environments, yet resembled each other in the daring and the fearlessness with which they defended the interests of their businesses. The one had trained himself to employ moderation and commonsense to overcome resistance where the use of forcible means promised no success; the other was a pioneer in the colonial sphere, a king in his African empire, the discoverer of new outlets, but broken in spirit and

retary of State Dernburg himself once told me that he knew quite well that the work he was doing for the benefit of ou

done this without receiving any aid from the Government; in fact, he had to overcome all sorts of obstacles which were put in his way by the bureaucracy. His confidence in his work was not shaken when losses had to be faced. Then, more than ever, he had his eyes firmly fixed on his goal; and practically every vessel which he had built to facili

d. All that was proved was that Woermann, who hated red tape, and who never had recourse to legal assistance when drawing up his agreements, did not use as much caution in this matter as would have been advisable in his own interest. The facts that have become known most clearly disprove the accusation that he had made large profits at the expense of the country, and that he had used the country's distress to enrich himself. To the task of carrying out the troop transports he devoted himself with his customary largeness of purpose, and he accomplished it magnificently. In order to be able to do so, he had enlarged his fleet by a number of steamers, and the consequence was that, when the work was achi

ally taken up an attitude against him, he became a prey to that resentment to which I have referred before. All those who had the privilege of being associated with him during the past few years must have

ratitude as the reward of his life's work, although he was actuated by truly patriotic motives throughout. Still, this shall not prevent us from acknowledging that he was the greatest, the most daring, and the most self-sacrificing private shipowner whom the Hanseatic cities have ever produced-a princely merchant if ever there w

ended with the acquisition of the shipping interests of the Princes' Trust, the business career of which came to a sudden end shortly afterwards by a financial disaster causing enormous losses to the two princely families concerned-the house of Hohenlohe and that of Fürstenberg. The details connected with this affair are still in everybody's memory, and it would be beyond the scope of this volume t

ifferences of policy arose between the Hamburg-Amerika Linie and the North German Lloyd. The Hamburg company demanded a revision of the percentages, contending that the arrangements made fifteen years ago no longer did justice to the entirely altered relative positions of the two companies. The discussions held in London in February, 1908, under Ballin's chairmanship, which lasted several days, and in which delegates of all the big Continental and British lines,

sted until it was destroyed th

olera epidemic sixteen years earlier. Business had been excellent for a fairly long time, but it became thoroughly demoralized in the second half of 1907, and an economic crisis of a magnitude such as

h as it had strengthened the inclination of the shipping concerns everywhere to compromise and to eliminate unnecessary competition-the formation of the general pool, in fact, being the outcome of that feeling. The subseque

e which was also unusually low. It almost created a record for cheapness; and the courage of the builders who accepted such an order at such terms was greatly admired. A German yard-the Vulkan, of Bremen-then came forward with a similar offer, because the German

of speed, these new vessels resembled the fast steamers of the older kind; with regard to their equipment, they represented a combination of this type and that of the Kaiserin, but from the business point of view they were quite a novelty, as the basis of their remunerativeness was no longer the cargo and steerage business, but the cabin business. If the booking of a certain number of cabins could be relied on for each voyage an adequate return would be assured. Everything, therefore, was done to attract as many cabin passengers as possible. These vessels were a triumph of German shipbuilding and engineering skill; and the senior partner of Messrs. Blohm and Voss, when the Vaterland was launched, stated with just pride that she was the biggest vessel in existence; that she was built on the biggest slip; that she had received her equipment under the biggest crane, and that she would be docked in the biggest floating dock in the world. The launching of the third and biggest of the three steamers, the Bismarck, represented a red-letter day in the life of Ballin and in the history of the company. Nominally she was christened by the granddaughter of the Iron Chancellor, but actually by the Kaiser. The bottle of champagne used for the purpose did not break when it left the young la

advantage. Apart from this, however, not much damage was done, as negotiations were soon started with the object of securing the conclusion of a far-reaching community of interest agreement which was not merely to be restricted to the transatlantic services of the two companies. If these negotiations could be brought to a successful issue, Ballin thought that this would be the dawn of a new era in the contractual relations existing between shipping firms everywhere, because he believed that such development would not be confined to the German lines, but would assume international proportions. The a

t Ballin's life-work if he keeps before his mind the fact that while in the early part of 1886 the Hamburg-Amerika Linie maintained but a mail serv

teamers and 1,028,762 G.R.T. respectively. During the twenty-eight years 269 vessels of 1,388,206 tons had been added, either by new building or by purchase, and 101 steamers of

ed from 15 to 157? million marks, the debenture issues from 5·6 to 69·5 m

o 521,727,426 marks, 2,735,700 of which were Government subsidies received du

known was to a small extent only a "capitalist enterprise." Out of a total net profit of over 500 millions, no more than 140 million marks went to the shareholders as

not kept pace with the technical progress in steamship construction, and the consequence was that, when the pool was set up, it had to content itself with a percentage which was considerably less than that allotted to the Lloyd. The enormous advance made under the Ballin régime naturally caused it to demand a larger share. At the same time the Lloyd also increased its efforts more than ever before, and thus a race for predominance was started between the two big companies, which greatly assisted them in obtaining the

merika Linie was called into existence, and on February 20th the North German Lloyd will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation. I suppose that a more competent pen than mine will present us on that day with a detailed account

did in some cases lead to the conclusion of an agreement concerning certain rates to which both companies bound themselves to adhere, but they never lasted more than a short time, and ultimately, far from causing an improvement of the existing state of things, they left matters worse tha

mers under the German flag. He had been fortunate enough to meet with a congenial mind on the technical side in the head of the firm of Messrs. John Elder and Co., the Glasgow shipbuilders. At their yard, starting in 1881, a series of fast steamers were built-the Elbe, the Werra, the Fulda, the Saale, the Trave, the Aller, and the Lahn-which opened up a new and memorable era in the progress of the means of communication between the Old World and the New. These boats proved of great benefit to the company financially, and they were also a considerable boon to the passengers o

rs of his life he had not been well advised technically, and failed to adopt the twin-screw principle, as had been done by the Hamburg company. Thus, when the two fast single-screw steamers, the Havel and th

eign of Mr. Reck-by Mr. George Plate. To Mr. Plate, if I am rightly informed, great credit is due f

the Wiegand régime far surpasses

st the world has ever seen-practically on all the seven seas. This competition, by intelligent compromise, was restricted within reasonable limits, the guiding spirits of the two co

erwise than it was. Up to now, however, Wiegand and I have always been able to maintain pleasant relations between our two concerns, and in t