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June, 1921 U. S. Mail line embraces the following ships : Gross _ tons GeorGE WASHINGTON ...6......,, 25,570 America, ex-Amerika ....... 0 <see,0ek Mt. VERNON, ex-Kronprinzessin Gecilie 008 2.2 ee 19,503 AGAMEMNON, ex-Kaiser Wil- helm~ JT © ocvevitn i 19,361 PRESIDENT. GRANT 43. 0.505 18,072 NANSEMOND, ex-Pennsylvania. ....13,333 AgoLus, ex-Grosser Kurfurst..... 13,102 Princess. MAToIKA, ex-Prinzess Alice. 8.0 ssase 5 10,981 PocAHONTAS, ex-Prinzess Irene...10,893 Huron, ex-Friedrich der Grosse..10,771 SUSQUEHANNA, ex-Rhein ........ 10,058 PoromaAc, ex-Antigone, ex-Neckar. 9835 MapAawaskKa, --_ ex-Koenig _Wil- helm Tl' oo ea 9410 FREEDOM, ex-Wittekind .......... 7500 AMPHION, ex-Koln* <.25.2.<.. : 7409 Of these vessels, the AEoLUS and the Huron were under allocation to the Munson line for the South American service and naturally it has been im- possible to turn them over to the U. S. Mail line until substitute vessels can be found for the Munson Steamship Co. To date, only the PocAHontTaAs, Sus- QUEHANNA, Princess MAaToIKA and the Poromac have been taken over. These vessels have second and third class passenger accommodations. The Prin- cess MATOIKA and the PocAHONTAS have been operated out of New York for Naples and Genoa. It is the intention of the U. S. Mail line to make Boston the home port for these vessels in the future. The SusQueEHANNA and_ the PoroMac are being operated out of New York for Bremen and Danzig. To this run, has recently been added the Hup- SON, ex-NEW ROocHELLE, formerly the German Hampurc, a_ vessel originally allocated the Baltic Steamship Co. The U. S. Mail line has not chartered the Hupson but has merely accepted the vessel on allocation from the shipping board. On June 22 and July 30, respec- tively, the company will place in commis- sion the AMERICA and the GEorGE WASH- INGTON, which are now being recondi- tioned and redecorated in such a manner as to make them compare favorably with the best on the Atlantic. Aims to Popularize Ships The shipping board has allocated the U.S. Mail line two of its new passenger Steamers. These are the PANHANDLE STATE and the Otp Norru Srate. With these two ships, the U. S. Mail line has entered into the first cabin business be- tween New York and Queenstown, Boulogne and London. Captain Mayer is not unmindful of the reputations gained by ships in fixed trades. To the traveling public, a ves- sel gains a reputation for a particular class of passengers and that largely de- termines its popularity. The Princess Marorxa carried the. American athletes MARINE REVIEW to the Olympic games in Antwerp last year. The PANHANDLE STATE brought Anna Pavlowa and her Russian ballet from London to the United States for their recent theatrical tour. Furthermore this ship had the honor of transporting 80 polo ponies and their owners last December to the international meet in Europe. Upon that occasion, Captain Mayer gave a special "polo" dinner aboard the PANHANDLE Srate. It is such features as these that classify a ship in the mind of the traveling public. "We are forced to overcome many difficulties in the operation of the ex- enemy passenger vessels,' remarked Captain Mayer. "The conditions that 263 run her, and if you keep all the fires going she will virtually eat up money. Some economy might be effected by turning her into an oil-burner, but even then I question whether anyone could make much money out of. her. Big Ships Expensive "The transatlantic trade is seasonable. We have a maximum eastbound move- ment in the spring and a maximum westbound movement in the fall. It is possible to make money on the ships during the summer, but the bookings during the winter are too small. Yet on these big ships, the expenses go along just the same. We must have AMERICAN STEAMER POCAHONTAS WHICH IS YORK-ITALY RUN prevailed in the liner service of the Atlantic before the war, the time when these ships were built, are not the con- ditions of today. In those days, every- thing was cheaper and a_ steamship company spent considerable money for speed. It was speed that the public de- manded. But today it is schedule, not necessarily speed, that is wanted. "Should an operator fire up all the boilers and put up a maximum pressure of steam on a transatlantic greyhound today@I am afraid it would break any company. The large ship steamed to maximum speed is a losing proposition. That is what makes it questionable whether or not the giant LEVIATHAN would be a welcome addition to any private merchant fleet. The LEvIATHAN has turbine engines and at present burns coal. You cannot well put out the fires under a few of her boilers and OPERATED IN THE NEW just as large a crew and buy the same fuel and naval stores. On the small passenger vessel, these items do not amount to so much, but it requires great courage to face the expenses of a large passenger vessel during the winter months. That we might tie her up during the off season is true, but then we must pay dock-fees and keep an adequate guard on board. Furthermore, the interest on the investment would be going ahead and deterioration sets in fast when a vessel is not in use." At the time the original contract was entered into with the shipping board, freight rates were high and there was no indication of a restriction, of immi- gration. Captain Mayer said Commis- sioner Stevens was especially anxious that the contract should be signed early, as congress was about to adjourn and the status of the shipping board would