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bu wt AOR passengers besides a crew of about 350. All her first class ac- ~ commodation is amidships. The grand dining saloon, situated on the upper deck, is a very handsome apartment, and ex- tends the full width of the ship, 75 ft. It has seating accom- modation for 370 people, is exceptionally lofty and airy, and with its effective scheme of decoration which unites artistic taste and brightness of aspect, can claim to be one of the most palatial saloons on the Atlantic. The first class smokeroom and library on the upper promenade deck are also luxurious apartments, wherein everything that tends to the comfort of passengers is apparent, whilst the staterooms have been de- vised to meet the wants of the most fastidious traveler. They consist among others of single berth rooms, of which type, it may be noted the White Star Line was the originator, and rooms en suite, these latter consisting of bed, sitting and bath rooms for such as are prepared to pay for the extra privacy enjoyed. Immediately abaft the first class accom- modation is that of the second class, whose interests have been carefully watched. To the voyager of but a decade or two ago, the size and decorations of the dining saloon, smokeroom and library will come as a revelation, and the staterooms in comfort and ventilation are in every way excellent. With the exception of a limited space forward, the third class passengers are provided for abaft the second class. For no section of the travelling public have greater improvements been made on ocean steamships in recent years than for the third-class, whese quarters on the Baltic consist of com- modious dining rooms (fitted with tables and_ revolving chairs) where passengers are waited upon--as in the other steamers of the line--by stewards; comfortable smokerooms, and a large number of two, three and four berth staterooms. The heating and ventilating arrangements of the ship are most complete, and the Baltic having such huge cargo capacity, is fitted with winches and other loading and discharging ar- rangements of the latest and most efficient type. She has large refrigerating chambers for the carriage of chilled beef, the machines for working same being on the C-O' principle. The command of this latest wonder of the seas has been en- trusted to Lieut. E. J. Smith, R. N. R., an officer of ripe ex- perience, who is wel: known to travelers across the Atlantic as having hitherto had charge of the popular Majestic. With the addition of the Baltic, the White Star Line's magnificent fleet now consists of thirty-one steamers--besides tenders-- the aggregate tonnage of which amounts to the huge total of just 360,000 tons. Of these thirty-one steamers, no fewer than twenty-seven are fitted with twin screws whilst twenty- one are each over 10,000 tons, as a result of which latter fact, the average tonnage of the White Star steamers is immeasur- ably greater than that of'any other line, and as been seen, it possesses in the Baltic, Cedric, and Celtic, the three largest vessels afloat. Mention should, too, be made of the well known Oceanic 17,300 tons, than which no more luxurious steamer crosses the Atlantic. It is of further interest to note that the passenger services of the White Star Line are maintained by twin-screw steamers only. SPEED OF KAISER WILHELM II. The North German Lloyd steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II con- structed last year at Stettin has succeeded in maintaining the highest average speed crossing the Atlantic ever placed to the credit of any ship. Her average speed for the entire voyage was 23.58 knots while on the last day of the trip the mean speed was 24.35 knots. She took the southerly course running 3,112 nautical miles, and the time taken up was 5 days 11 hours 58 minutes which is rather longer than in some of the trips when record speeds were obtained, but the speed from an engineering point of view, which is the important point, is the best ever made by an Atlantic vessel. This speed of 23.58 knots compares with the 23.51 knots made by Ro EO ED eM, the Deutschland in June, 1901. A notable feature about the performance of the Kaiser Wilhelm II is that her propellers have been fitted with four new blades of considerably in- creased surface and during the trip these propellers made a mean' of about 79 revolutions per minute, while the average power of her engines was 44,600 I. H. P. The former best average for this ship was 22.9 knots, and there is reason to believe, now that she is finding herself, that she will do even better. Great Britain has no ship at present capable of a higher average than 22 knots, but the Cunard Steamship Co. is under contract to maintain with its two flyers now building an average speed of 25 knots. To maintain this speed, of course, the vessels must be capable of making 26 knots or more. COST OF MOVING FREIGHT PER 100 MILES. At the meeting before the rivers and harbors committee held in Washington to discuss the project of building a ship canal to Tonawanda around the Niagara rapids at the outlet of Lake Erie Mr. J. J. Hill, president of the Great Northerr railway made a striking address in which he practically stated that water transportation was economical only when deep draught could be secured. He stated that within a certain draught the railways were able to haul freight cheaper than waterways, and referred to the decline of the river transporta- tion as a proof of it. Incidentally he mentioned the fact that the average rate paid by the public per ton for moving freight per 100 miles was far lower in the United States than it was in any other country. These figures were not incorporated in the transcript of his remarks, but the Review has now been favored with them from Mr. Hill. They are as follows: Great Britain $2.30 PACE ME Ce ek. 2.00 SER ee ee 2.05 erin wee aah eee 1.88 TRUSS i ae Ss L.75 Uinited States pels ee hal, 0.72 SHIP CONSTRUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. The bureau of navigation reports 1,092 sail and steam vessels of 349,573 gross tons built in the United States and officially numbered during the quarter ended June 30. 1904, as follows: Wood. Steel. ; Total. Sail. Steam. Sail Steam. No.| Gross. | No.| Gross. | No. | Gross No.| Gross. ||No. Gross. Atlantic and Gulf. 318 | 47,868 |282 | 14.795 5 | 15,374 | 47 | 97,981 ||652 | 176.018 Porto Rico.| 7 129 role ele a en road 129 Pacific anare 30 W086) \116: 18.940: | ee 4 1,211 ||150 22,196 Hawallsc a lose: 1 8 Je le eas 1 8 Great L'k's| 4 144 | 48 PeQGON ee ee 41 | 139,898 || 98 | 141,202 Western PRIVENS Scales a. 188 OST ele 1 41 ||189 9,920 Total . |359 | 55,177 \635 | 39.801 | 5 | 15,374 | 98 [239181 108 349,573 During the corresponding quarter ended June 80, TO03, 1,215 sail and steam vessels of 376,502 gross tons were built in the United States and officially numbered, as follows: Wood. Steel. ae . tal. Sail Steam. Sail. | Steam. oa No. Gross. No.| Gross. | No.| Gross. |No. Gross. No.| Gross. ee . 462 Wit G 52,795 |260 | 15,089 {| 7 | 12,541 | 5 5,79 ' Porto Rico.| 10 PP | | cae clcas : saa c ee Pacific. . 0. BJ. | 18,542 /102 | 11,046 {33-3} 27.15) 10,498 t58 | 40,081 Hawaii..... 1 6| 2 eas ae es oD Great L'k's| 16 5,660 | 52 BOG ay el 41 | 131,660 {08 140,114 Western : Rivers.) 10'1 T1140) | 5,985 6 2,956 |/147 8,952 Total... 541 | 77,126 |556 | 34,980 | 7 | 12,541 [111 | 251.905 |l1215) 376.502 Unrigged, June 30, 1904, 216 vessels, 51,844. Unrigged, June 30, 1903, 820 vessels, 79.5 74.