OCR Text |
Show THE VANISHING SAILING SHIP i, ii Tho fact Is that tho advantages are J. J by no means all on the side of the j steamship Though the sailing ship takes a longer time on tho voyage, j the expenses aro correspondingly J small. The motive power costs noth- t Ing, and the absence of engine spaco I and bunkors makes It possible for the J sailing ship to utlllzo almost tho : 1 whole of her capacity as caigo space, fjl In the ordinary tramp steamer at 1 the present day, one-third or more fi . of the gross tonnage has to be deduc- ! ? ted before the net tonnage Is ascr- 1 -tnlned Moreover, the crow required 1 for a sa.llng vessel is in general, pro- J. f portlonatoly to the size, much smaller ft than on a steamer, because no engine j staff is needed. On the other hand ? of course, Tnore men will be needed A J to trim the t-alls. But there Is a fur- C ! llicr rcascin. The construction o. v P sailing ships has not by nny means ' J remained where It was a century ago, j f Even then great advances had been f mado by American builders through J. the invention of the cllppcr-bullt ves- " ' eels The clipper was long and nar- . ? row and was the fastest sailing vessel i afloat. Considerably later than 1812 !; ? tho clipper could, under favorable . conditions, beat tho steamship In tho 1 voyage across the Atlantic. Another l. type of sailing ship was the schooner, : the main peculiarity of which lies In jj the arrangement of the sails. Thcro J are no yards or mast and aro support f 1 cd by booms, as in a small sailing 1 boat. There Is also a topsail, but j this, as well as the othor Balls, can J I bo hoisted from the deck, enabling '1 I groat economy of labor to bo made. I This type of ship has been much do- t I veloped by multiplying the masts, 1 and in 1912 a vessel, tho Thomas W. Jj? Laweon, was constructed with sevon ' masts, built of steel carrying 7500 ! g tons of enrgo, and requiring a crow j J of only nineteen men. In regard to 1' S tho use of Iron and steel, sailing ships I ! have had the same advantages as ji Jj steamers, though salllng-shlp builders p wore perhaps not so much alive to tW the possibilities of these muterlals a 'IM steamship builders. The most Im Imf portant single cause of tho disappear- jfft anco of the sailing ship is Its Irregu- 9y larity, which fits In 111 with tho pro- M vailing desire' for co-ordlnaon In the jml conduct of business. Consequently, fil tho sailing vessel has been drlvop M3 from one ocean highway after "anoth' j or At present time thore are only lfl a few routes, which, in consequonco Ig of the small importance of speedy P delivery or of the greater reliability ? of the trado winds, still enable, the tM sailing ship lo .gain a precarious live- M llhood. The most Important of these .-K" aro 'he ones which lead around Capo ;j Horn to Chile, to California aud to ,Kt Australia, and around the Capo of ,P Good Hope to India and Australia, M London Economist. ., vfl |