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TULUM LULU ILUR UU Log of the Prusa BY V. G. IDEN QULUUMTUIUUUUTULLUU AUC UCH of the criticism of war- built American ships has been prompted by the jealousy of foreign interests. Passengers crossing the Atlantic today are not unacquainted with the freedom of speech of some of the skippers who fly some other flag than the stars and stripes over theii taffrail. This kind of talk was heard during the fall of 1918 immediately fol- lowing the armistice. Then, as now, some of these mariners of other nations prophesied that the ocean will be strewn with abandoned American ships. Their prophecies proved false during the severe storms of last winter, and their forecasts of what the coming winter will do to American shipping may be accepted with skepticism. | War-built vessels may not be as good as ships built with more care in times of peace, but American war-built vessels are no worse than the war-built vessels of other nations, In some respects the United States struck out along new lines of construc- tion in order to put afloat a huge mer- chant fleet in a short time. It was a radical departure in ship construction to manufacture ships on the fabricated: principle. The building of the Hog Island shipyard was a stupendous task, and Tue Martne Review has described the engineering task involved, detailed the method of building those ships, and published the first detailed account of a trial trip. A completed record of the fabricated ship experiment is offered herewith: how these vessels perform in commercial use. Probably the severest test of endurance for this type of ship was encountered by the Prusa when she sailed from Philadelphia in the early spring for Gothenburg, te Getting ready for her maiden voyage--The Sweden, with a cargo of packing house products. Upon this voyage, the Prusa was commanded by Capt. R. Svane under the banner of the Moore & McCormack Co., a shipping firm of New York. That the ship did not meet with ill for- tune may be attributed to the fact that she was in good hands, for she cer- tainly experienced one of: the roughest Atlantic voyages on record. If the good performance of the Prusa is to be at- tributed to the skill of Captain Svane, then the skipper's opinions in themselves should carry the more weight. "I am proud to be master of one of the Hog Island ships," said Captain Svane, Cas the Prusa is the best ship I ever went to sea in (loaded or in ballast), and I have followed the sea for 27 years, sailing in Danish, German, British and American ships." The Prusa was tied up at a dock at Port Richmond and on March 3 loading was begun. Ten winches were put to work, but the stevedores were stopped 575 Prusa at the fitting out docks, Hog Island frequently, once for a whole day, by rain squalls. She was not ready for sea before March 11, at that time hav- ing, a draft forward of 22 feet 9 inches, and aft of 23 feet' 7 inches. . At 9:50 a. m., March 12, when starting to sea, it was discovered the steering gear was not working properly, the port side steering engine being slow. Further- more, a leak was discovered in the oil line. Sailing via New York, she passed quarantine on March 14. She _ pro- ceeded to sea with her engines turning 80 revolutions per minute. Two days later bad weather began. First there was a strong wind, accom- | panied by a rough sea. The sky was cloudy and overcast. The next: day, March 17, there was snow and rain squalls with a rough head sea. The wind continued strong from the north- east, lashing up a rough head sea. The ship was spraying heavily forward, and she shipped tons of water both fore and aft. The wind increased to a strong gale and it was necessary to