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Starts New U.S. Line to Europe American Operator Places First of Shipping Board's Com- bination Liners in Service--Accommodations Are Unexcelled NDER the auspices of the United U States Mail line, the shipping board has inaugurated a passen- ger and freight service between New York and London with the newl} con- structed ship PANHANDLE State, This is one of the passenger vessels built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N. J., for the shipping board. Originally she was designed as a troop ship; but. -after. the armistice . was turned into a combination boat for com- mercial services. This type of vessel was described fully in Tur Marine Review of July, 1919, and August, 1920. The vessel, as 'completed, measures 502 feet in length, and has passenger ac- commodations for less than 100 per- sons. But all the public rooms and staterooms are luxuriously appointed, and only one class of passengers is carried. The vessel measures over 10,- (00 tons net and, therefore, has ample space for a prosperous cargo business. Two other sister ships, the Otp Nortu STATE, to be delivered in October, and the Creole STATE, will be allocated to the United States Mail for operation in the London run. ~This run is a new service the government is hopeful of developing. While the line of ships is to be operated by the United States Mail, it is for all practical purposes distinct and separate from other business of this company. The United States Mail has acquired on contract from the shipping board many of the ex-enemy passenger vessels, which it will use in its own operations. The London services be- long solely to the shipping board, the United States Mail line merely being the agerit for the government. Moxon. Salt & Co. the London agents for the United States Mail, will act as London agents for the shipping board line as well. Although these ships probably will make their largest return from freight, the passenger accommodations are made most attractive. It is understood to be the intention of the operators to have these ships known as the "bridge-table" vessels, inasmuch as their limited capac- ity and their more leisurely passage of the Atlantic will offer an inducement to small parties desiring a crossing in comfort and exclusive company. It is in the interior decoration and modern improvements that the new liners have their charm. The decora- tive features are from the designs of American architects and follow closely the colonial period. Mahogany and "Terrors" of Trip on Panhandle State NEW transatlantic passenger mail and cargo service is shortly to be established between New York. Queenstown, Boulogne and London. The first steamer the PANHANDLE STATE (so called after an unorgan- ised tract of land in Texas) has not yet been to sea. A 10,000 tons vessel of about' 14 knots, she was laid down as an army transport; but after the arm- istice her plans were changed ta those of a passenger liner. With her sisters, she is among the ugliest boats 'now afloat, having five "stunt' masts and an enormous funnel. She is built on absolutely straight lines from stem to stern. Against the popularity of the new service are the facts that the new ships which will fly the American flag are "dry." Also, to crowd a greater number of passengers on board, the majori- ty of the berths are "across" the ship instead of fore and aft, with the result that the rolling of the vessel produces a most unhappy motion for the traveler who takes to his bunk to avoid sea-sickness. Instead of rolling from side to side, the passenger's head is flung up and down with every wave. British designers abandoned this system over 50 years ago. The American government built 17 of this class of boat, and most of them are to be run on the Pacific trade--Daily News, London, Eng- land. white compose the main color scheme in dining saloon, library, lounge and other public saloons, while the smoking room is finished in fumed oak. The chief interest of the voyager, however, is in the stateroom. While some are larger than others, none is small and all are identical in design and furnishing. There are no berths in any of the rooms. In their place beds of steel, finished mahogany color, have been substituted. The appoint- ments of all the staterooms, in fact, are not surpassed on any ship afloat or any hotel' ashore. Many of the rooms have private baths and all have hot and cold * ger running water. Cunard is building some so-called "intermediate" vessels. Many foreign shipping authorities have prophe- sied that "intermediate" vessels will be the carriers of the future. Their plans, however, are all in the future. The shipping board is the first agency actu- ally to make a start with this kind of vessel and to attempt to develop a service on a new run. Shipping men therefore, are watching the outcome of this experiment with considerable inter- est. Success for the venture, natural- ly, depends upon whether the idea is one that appeals to the traveling public. The PANHANDLE State was able to make 16 knots on her trials, although this is a speed greater than called for of the contractors. (The operators are hopeful of making a record run across the Atlantic with her, although it is not anticipated she will make her best time on the first trip over. Normally the run over from New York to London on these vessels will be of either eight or nine days duration. The operators had but a few weeks to advertise her before she left on her first trip "in September, and consequently only 15 passengers were booked out of New York. This list would have been in- creased considerably had not the British government refused permission to all ships. to stop at Queenstown on the eastbound voyage. It is the plan of the shipping board to have these ves- sels make stops at Queenstown, when permitted, and at Boulogne as_ well as London. The run therefore is de- signed to appeal to Irish and French travelers as well as those going to London. ; The small booking on the first east- bound run is no measure of what may be expected, as this movement is today at its lowest ebb, and the PANHANDLE Srate was inadequately advertised. The percentage of accommodations booked, however, was comparable to the per- centage booked on the average steam- ship leaving New York during the same week. When leaving New York, the PAn- HANDLE STATE was in command of Capt. Clarence M. Stone, a veteran skipper, who, like 'most of the other officers aboard, served in the United States navy during the' war. C. H. Marshall, who has been mana- of the operating department at New Orleans, has been made shipping board agent at Galveston, Tex.