appointed room in which one may enjoy all the comfort in the world and practically every accommodation essential to his happiness, and the other showing a view of the second class lobby, which presents the same majestic beauty and the same stately elegance that characterize the rooms for first class passengers.

On the trip from Newport News, Virginia, to Boston, Massachusetts, it was in the second cabin dining room that meals were served to the guests who went round in her, including some of the leading officers of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, which had the contract for the reconditioning of the ship, as well as a large number of men trained in the handling of big ships, half a dozen bar pilots, and leading officers and high class representatives of corporations whose appurtenances were in use on the reconditioned ship. It was the writer's privilege to be a guest of the Shipping Board on that trip. Everybody but the crew of the Leviathan ate in that cabin, including the Messrs. Gibbs Brothers, who had complete charge of her, as well as all of the officers of the ship. It was learned that the meals served were such as would have been provided had those who ate them been second cabin passengers on the regular run of the great American liner. These meals were such as one would obtain in any first class restaurant, the service was flawless, the food abundant, varied and wholesome, and everybody was delighted.

Important Facts Concerning the Leviathan When in commission the United States Shipping Board's crack liner Leviathan will be under the management of the United States Lines, directly operated by the United States Government. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss, of Germany, in 1914, at which time she was named Vaterland, having been changed to Leviathan by the United States Government. She is 950 feet long, over all, 100 feet wide, and her moulded depth to D deck is 70 feet 44inches. The height from keel to bridge is 124 feet, and standing on the "monkey island", nautical term for the bridge, one could look across the tops of the smokestacks of the world's largest battleship, the West Virginia, which was under construction alongside the Leviathan in the yard of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, at Newport News, Virginia. This will convey an idea of her immense height above the water, a height further emphasized by the distance from keel to top of smokestack, which is 180 feet. When in service condition her ordinary draft is 40 feet, and her maximum horsepower is 100,000.

There are 46 water tube boilers in the Leviathan in which 230 furnaces for oil burning have been installed. She has 8 turbines on the main shaft, 4 propeller shafts and 9 steel decks which have an area of 72 acres. She has accommodations for 973 first class passengers, 548 second class, 944 third class and 1334 fourth class passengers. In addition, her officers and crew number 1100, bringing the total ship's company up to 4,889. Compared to battleships, the superdreadnaughts of the United States Navy have displacement of from 28,000 to 30,000, while the Leviathan displaces upwards of 62,000 tons. The length of the superdreadnaught West Viriginia is 584 feet and that of the Leviathan 950 feet. As an aid to the Navy in time of war the Leviathan has demonstrated her incomparable value, her war service having proved beyond all question her efficiency in this capacity. Every one conversant with the record of the Leviathan during the world war knows that she acted as the world's greatest troop ship. She carried 110,591 United States troops across the Atlantic in 10 trips, on one trip carrying 11,470 soldiers, breaking the world's troop transportation rec

ord. She was seized in 1917 by the United States Government and converted from the Hamburg-American passenger liner Vaterland to the United States Naval transport Leviathan. When the Leviathan carried her record-breaking contingent of soldiers she also carried officers and crew to the total of 2,078, making a grand total of 13,558 souls on board, the greatest number carried across any ocean by any ship on any single trip.

The Safest Large Ship in the World Admiral Benson, U. S. Navy, retired, and a member of the United States Shipping Board, as well as its former chairman, who, as representing the Board, has given the Leviathan his special attention and personal inspection, is reported to have declared that she is the safest large ship in the world. Navy standards have been used throughout the refitting, and they call for the best material of every sort. "When ready for service," was Admiral Benson's finding after his last inspection of her, "the Leviathan will be by far the finest vessel afloat of her class, and as nearly perfect as it is possible to have a vessel of her size and type."

Highest Class in American Bureau of Shipping

The ordinary reader may not know that, in the building of a ship, not only must the designer see to it that the factor of safety everywhere is ample for the most extraordinary conditions such a ship is ever likely to be placed in, but a wholly independent and most useful institution exists in this country-the American Bureau of Shipping which formulates rules for the construction and repair of ships in which the factor of safety is the chief consideration. When ships are built to conform to the rules of that bureau, as those built in this country inis carefully specified, having due regard for those parvariably are, the thickness and weight of material used ticular places where the strain is greatest, as well as where it is least. The Leviathan was reconditioned under the direct observation of surveyors representing the American Bureau of Shipping, although in many instances the thicknesses and weights exceed the specificathe highest classification issued by the bureau, classifications of that organization. Of course, she has received tion being one of the bases upon which insurance of hulls and cargoes is fixed by the underwriters.

"Safety First"

Again, the United States maintains a technical and efficient bureau which annually inspects ships, their engines, boilers, machinery, appurtenances and equipment, all of which must conform to innumerable laws, as well as rules and regulations based upon these laws. Needless to say that branch of the Government service has passed upon and fully approved of all of the details of the Leviathan regarded as conducive to her strength, stability and safety. "Safety first" being a national slogan in dealing with productions to which lives and property are entrusted by persons having no control of such production, of which ships are a part, its observance has been applied to the Leviathan, not because there was fear of evasion of these requirements by those responsible for the ship, but in due conformance with law, the strict letter and spirit of which are adhered to undeviatingly.

Travelers on the Leviathan, therefore, have complete assurance, from the highest sources available, governmental and otherwise, that nothing has been omitted in reconditioning the Leviathan that will contribute to safety and comfort; and as to the safe transportation of

HARBOR AND MARINE REVIEW

DECK OFFICERS OF THE U. S. S. LEVIATHAN

From left to right: 1-H. Manning, 2nd Officer; 2-W. E. Burns, 4th Officer; 3-J. Linder, 1st Officer; 4-H. C. Fish, Staff Commander; 5-G. Danforth, 3rd Officer; 6-Herbert Hartley, Captain; 7-L. M. Sanders, 3rd Officer; 8-J. B. Lowry, Chief Officer; 9-E. W. Higgins, 2nd Officer; 10-J. F. Wilson, Cadet Officer; 11-J. S. Bowen, 3rd Officer.

mails, express and other freight, the Leviathan's construction and reconditioning are guarantees that these may be depended upon as being the best in every respect that human ingenuity and the progress of science can suggest.

Important Features of Her Structure

The Leviathan has nine steel decks, five extending the entire length of the ship below her superstructure, the other four being a part of her superstructure, in addition, to decks in the forward and after holds. There are innumerable oil and water-tight bulkheads throughout the ship, both below and well above the waterline, that will minimize dangers from injury or accident by confining their effects to the particular locality and immediate area in which they may occur. All of these are designed to meet and resist much greater pressure than it is possible for them ordinarily to receive. The number of doors in the bulkheads has been reduced to less than half the number they were fitted with when built, all of which may instantaneously and simultaneously be closed by the simple turn of a single lever, operated not alone from the bridge but in other vital sections of the ship, with indicators to show that they are closed, or to indicate any possible failure of the mechanism to function.

It would be impossible in an article of this character to explain the manner in which everything is proved up and checked up, by unerring automatic registers, indicators and alarms, that command attention until the proper attention is given. There are indicators that instantly show that the mechanical devices of an automatic character used to do this and that unerringly perform the service for which they are desgined; or if perchance they do not, that fact is registered in such a manner as to command insistent attention until they do. That is as applicable to the closing of bulkhead doors, in a great and sudden emergency, as it is to the ringing of a bell from the stateroom of a passenger who desires service, the performance of which, or the non-performance of which, is recorded in telltales under the direct observation of the chief steward and his immediate assistants, the telltales indicating non-service until it is performed, and,if delayed, resulting in direct service from the steward's rooms. These devices, registers, indicators, telltales, what not, are designed to, and they do, leave nothing whatever to chance that human ingenuity and mechanical contrivances can overcome.

An immense and tremendously heavy steel flange, for example, extends beyond the Leviathan's keel and stem, to which may readily be attached an apparatus that, supported by stout outriggers from a deck of the ship, a net may be thrown across her bow which will first "nose" any movable structure or obstruction in her pathway (such as a submerged mine, for example), and deflect it to either side of the hull which harmlessly passes it by in a manner that renders it impossible to function as intended by an enemy who placed it there.

Her Life-Boats

One could consume many words and great space in explaining the system that is operated to see to it, however great the emergency, when it comes to manning the lifeboats, by which each man goes directly to the boat to which he has been assigned, and the place in the boat to which he belongs, without delay and confusion, the result of frequent and thorough drills under varying conditions. The Leviathan has 76 life boats, the vast aggregation of which is capable of accommodating more persons than at the maximum are allowed on board of

her at any one time. Besides, there are other life-saving auxiliaries, including a life preserver, with plenty to spare, for all who make up the entire "ship's company."

Fire Prevention

A thoroughly complete fire system pervades the entire ship, and, at the very inception of a fire, even in the remotest section of her hold, there are connections with indicators and registers, as well as pipes radiating from a central point to every portion of the ship, her cargo holds, fire rooms, engine rooms, steward's and all other departments and services, which bring to the attention of alert observers the incipiency of a fire, with facilities immediately available with the simple turn of a hand, to smother it aborning, or to put it out if it by any chance. should gain the least headway. From an examination of the different mechanisms installed for the purpose of preventing and putting out fires one is forced to the conclusion that such a danger is as far removed from the Leviathan as to become wholly negligable, as a real danger. When the Leviathan was placed in drydock at Boston, for example, one of the very first things installed on her was a fire box, inboard, which connected with the fire department of the city, which thus was immediately available, as a preventative of fire or to put it out should it by any strange chance gain headway despite the complete installation on the ship itself to render it impossible.

As an Oil Burner

To alter the boilers from coal to oil burners was a stupendous task-really the largest single undertaking connected with her reconditioning the cost of which absorbed a very substantial part of the total paid for the actual work on, equipment and furnishing of, the ship. The Peabody Engineering Company, of New York, furnished the oil-burning system. There are 46 watertube boilers, cach capable of developing 2,000 horsepower under a maximum steam pressure of 248 pounds to the square inch. There are four boiler rooms, all connected. To each boiler five oil-burners are fitted, and one man is able comfortably to look after about ten burners. In the ship's double bottom there are no less than 25 oil tanks, besides which there are 13 deep tanks. and 8 service tanks, all connected, so that oil may be transferred at will from any one tank to other tanks, such transfers admirably lending themselves to the maintenance of the ship on an even keel when entering and leaving ports, drydocks, and the like, indicators at all times showing the amount of fuel in each tank. Incidentally it may be mentioned that it was the very nice adjustment of the oil in the tanks that made it possible for the ship, through elaborate calculations carefully and accuraately worked out, to be so placed in the drydock in Boston on a specially constructed cradle on which the ship settled as the water was pumped out precisely where she was intended to lie, her weight distributed with the greatest evenness throughout the cradle, sc that the Leviathan stands in the drydock just as she would lie in the water, unsupported by shoring timbers such as are ordinarily used to keep a ship upright in drydock.

The Leviathan carries nearly 10,000 tons of crude oil for fuel purposes. The flow of the oil into the burners is controlled by valves and constitutes an immense advance over shovelling coal manually into furnaces with the frequent disarrangement of heat uniformity necessarily incident to the use of coal for fuel. This change, and the uniformity of heat that will steadily be maintained in her boilers, will substantially add to the Leviathan's speed and to the life of the boilers and their tubes. It

is proper to say, though, that if it should become necessary again to make a coal burner of the Leviathan the coal burning furnaces previously in use may be restored in a few weeks, and at a minimum of expense. The Leviathan's machinery, although intact, required careful examination throughout, and repairs costing over half a million dollars resulted therefrom.

Joiner Work

One

With its own joiners the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company performed a splendid job in the restoration of a vast amount of joiner work throughout the superstructure, the difficulty of which was much enhanced because of the necessity of matching material produced in the United States with that "made in Germany", to the extent that the latter was retained. would have to be told where the old joins the new, so carefully has the material been selected and so perfectly does it blend. The workmanship at the Newport News shipyard, however, was much superior to that originally employed in this extensive part of the ship's construction. Heating

The shipbuilding company installed an entirely new steam heating plant throughout the ship, except in that part given over to steerage and crew's quarters in the forward end of the ship.

Ventilation

The ventilating system is one of the notable features of the ship, including, as it does, 124 separate systems, 58 being supply systems, 58 exhaust systems, besides circulating fans in refrigerating rooms and the two propeller fans for the battery-charging rooms. Nowhere in this ship where human beings usually eat, move around and sleep, is it possible for dead or bad air to accumulate, the mere turning of an easily accessible lever setting the ventilators going and thus keeping the air fresh and

sweet, in even the innermost recesses of the ship where the sun never is able to penetrate.

Plumbing

All of the plumbing of the Leviathan is brand new, having been especially designed for her, and is perfect in detail. Wash basins, bath tubs and toilets are of general uniformity, every feature of these frequently used parts. of the cabin equipment having been installed in a way to accommodate and serve the passengers in the most comfortable way possible. There are ten miles of fresh and salt water piping in this ship, and every other detail is, necessarily, upon the same colossal scale. Salt water is pumped into a gravity tank located in the after (or dummy) smoke stack, and holds five tons. The bathing pool is large and in every way attractive. It will be sure to prove to be one of the most popular features of the ship. When it is filled, one-half of it will be of a depth of 9 feet of water for the delight of divers and swimmers, with shoaler depths for those who prefer to linger "nearer the shore."

All of the pipes leading from lavatories and floor drains operate hydraulically with a shut-off valve, so that, even should the outlets be below the water at any time there would be no danger of a backing up of the

waste.

Her Anchors

Among her other important equipment mention should. be made of her colossal anchors, one a stockless anchor of 12 tons and two 10-ton stockless anchors. Respectively, these anchors have chains, as follows: 165 fathoms, 4% in., stud-link; 165 fathoms, 33% in., stud-link; 150 fathoms, 3 3/16 in., stud-link.

Three Separate Electric Systems

All of the electric wiring, fixtures and attachments are of American construction, no less than 15,000 elec