OCEAN MAMMOTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 43, 11 July 1914, Page 8

OCEAN MAMMOTH.

TTIF WDNDKRI-VL \ ATEPJ.AX!). SAFKTV AM) I.CXUIV COMUINKI). London, Miiv ■>). If flic Ci-i-ninn publicist who declared that, liner,- would ,|n more good iii helpin jr to im Aiiglo-Oermau understanding tliaii diplomacy wa, correct in hi.-; he. lief, then the mammoth Oerman liner Vaterland. which iron, Southhampton to Wiv Vork last Friday, i slioiilil in vize ami sumptuous appointments eouiit ut all. do much to promote -noil feeling between the Kllglisl, people aii.l their cousins m-ross tin: North Sen. The Vaterland is certainly a ves- : sel upon which our Oerman friends have j every reason to pride themselves, for J she is not only the biggest liner ailoat, ! lint the most perfectly equipped vessel that is sailing the seas. This muinmotii ship has a length of ilSOft... a breadth of HMift,. and a tonnage of :>S.II|IO. Mere figures give little idea oilier size. but. roughl'v. the Vaterland, is some ISIt. longer, 'lit. broader, and some .-.IIUII toils heavier than the next largest vessel afloat, the Aquitania. which is miiw Htjft longer and lilt luoailer. and some 1.1.1KK) tons heavier than the .\rauretaiiia, which "it seem* only a few months ago we were hailing as the Idlest and fastest palace afloat" The fastest she still remains. Hut the battle of the big ships is not yet at an •end. riven at the present 'time the owners of the Vaterland are preparing to launch a monster considerably longer and broader and of greater tonnage: mid from the Clyde and Tyne, come rumors that engineers there' arc but waiting to see the German's best before laying the keel, for a famous; ISritisli line, of a ship tliat will outclass in dimensions anything \et built. Safety and luxury are happily combined in the Oerman leviathan, and as much ingenuity has been expended on the one Ms die other. Hut tlic outstanding feature of the liner is tile suppression of the old-fashioned funnels, which have taken up so much room between decks. The three gigantic, funnels which you notice on approaching the steamer are no where to be traced when you get on board. In all steam vessels the funnels pass directly through the centre of the decks to folic engineroom. In the Vaterland. the funnels divide at a point beneath the lowest passenger deck, and join again in a single tube which rises considerably above the boat deck. The ell'ect of this unique position has made an enormous dilVerenc to t'lie spaciousness of the interior of the ship, and permits of plan- | ning on lirst-class hotel lines. The din-ing-room, for instance, is the largest | constructed on any ship. It is 13.) feet long, and 1W feet wide, and .10 fc>t fcigh, and has accommodation for SOO persons. The absence of obstruction too. has permitted of spacious corridors > through' the centre of every deck, and j lias allowed of more roomy cabins. ] There is an entrance 'hall 100 feet wide and (50 feet long—figures which give ■ some idfa of the scope tf the planning. ; Among other sources of, this remarkable i skip there are: A I'ompeiin swimming pool. ti,'> ft. long by 10ft. iv'klc, and 'jit. at its deepest part. Turkish, electric and other baths. A huge ballroom littcd with a stage. A winter garden decorated in marble a»d gold. A RiU-C'arlton restaurant under the management of the Kitz-Carlton Hotel, j [/union. I Two complete self-contained flats. I with a verandah, the windows of which j open out to the sea. | A chemist's shop, book shop, and florist's. A hospital with seventy beds. Pictures by famous painters, and statues and other art treasures have been freely Used in the decoration of Germany's' newest iloating palace. As to' the arrangements made for the safety of this Iloating city, it is said tliat.' from whatever direction mishap mav possiidv arise, it will be round thai all"danger 'has been guarded against. The vessel lias been constructed with a double bottom, extending over the whole ship, about Bft. above the bottom plating, and with a double skin running right round, and reaching from the double bottom to the- promenade decK. She ba.s the larsest number of waterlight compartments, both traverse and longitudinal, ever built in ii shin, and if furnished with eighty-three lifeboats, including two motor-launches, capable of accommodating 3IM persons more than her complement of -"iWO passengers and crew. Another feature of the Vaterland is that she is equipped with a regular lire station and lire brigade, the member- of which have nothing else to do except concern themselves with the , piccaiitioii- against lire. Finallv Commander llu-cv. the commodore'oi the llaiiibiirg-Amerika licet, has „,ie acting and three reserve cap(i,i,m under him. and seven ollicer-. all of whom have master manners certir lr ,te- The Vatc-t nautical instruments'are at the di-posal of these oflieei's. among which may he mentioned )he "VH'seopV compass' (which eliminates the po-sibilitv of human fallibility I •i „eaiehli"ht of "I.WXMI candle-power, and one of the most powerful wireless iistallation- put on any slop. In -peel, (he Vaterland. which is driven by qun-i- j mple tnrbin- engines, gives an av«rage , of'twctvthiec and a half knots. , "such i- i"-t the merest outline ol tW main features of the latest 0.-ea..-