Albert Ballin

anization of the Ha

slike of onesidedness induced him to encourage to the best of his capacity a healthy competition among the various shipyards, and to avail himself of the experiences gained not only by the German yards but by their British rivals also. At an early stage of his career close business relations were established between himself and Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast; and a personal friendship connected him with the owner of that firm, Mr. (now Lord) Pirrie. Acting upon the example set by the White Star Line, Ballin made an agreement with Messrs. Harland and Wolff as early as 1898, by which the latter bound themselves always to keep a slip at the disposal of the Packetfahrt. The reason which prompted Ballin to make this arrangement was, as he explained to the Board of Trustees, that the company's orders for new construction and repairs had nowhere been carried out more satisfactorily and more chea

ngs beautiful, and raising no less high demands as regards the beauty and the comfort of all his surroundings, Ballin constantly endeavoured to make use of all the results of his own observations and of his own experience for the greater comfort of the passengers. Those who saw the finished products of his imagination, the beautifully appointed "floating hotels," hardly realized how many apparently insignificant details-which, after all, in their entirety make what we call comfort-owe their origin to his own personal suggestions. Each

engers' lists-state cabin on board Kaiser Friedrich: key, latch, drawer; no room for portmanteaux and trunks; towels too small-Deutschland: soiled linen cupboard too small-stewards Oceanic white jackets-cele

im the unbroken spell of leisure he so badly needed. Indeed, the longer it lasted the more chances did it provide for thoroughly inspecting the practical working of the steamer. Many other reports are in my possession, bu

onditions with which he was personally quite unacquainted-he unfailingly discovere

h the only exception that the North German Lloyd had already, before Ballin joined the Packetfahrt, established its services of fast steamers which were far ahead of those maintained by other shipping companies owing to their pun

o different types, viz., those used in the North Atlantic service (principa

y of the cargo boats, and the size and the speed of the passenger steamers, as well as to improve and to modernize the passenger accommodation on board the latter. All this, of course, considerably added to the cost price of the vessels, so that, as a further consequence, the facil

hree leading ideas governing their construction were safety, speed, and comfort; and progress was made to keep abreast of competing lines, until it culminated in the vessels of the "Imperator" class. The Imperator was built in

nd therefore providing a high standard of comfort for passe

way that a part of their space could be utilized for the

amers without any pa

14 to nearly 25 knots; the height of the decks from 6? to 8 feet in the lower decks, whilst that of the upper ones, as far as the social rooms were concerned, amounted to as much as 20 feet. Large portions of the upper decks were reserved for the social rooms, the finest of which-the ball-room-could challenge comparison with almost any similar room in any hotel ashore with respect to its size and to the magnificence of its furnishings and of its decoration. Fr

in the social room, and vice versa. The superficial area at the disposal of each passenger was gradually increased from 43 square feet in the double cabins to 172 square feet in the cabins of

es for whose comfort the company catered. The other classes progressed proportion

of the passengers and with their safety whilst on board ship. Instead of single bottoms, double bottoms were used, and the additional safety resulting therefrom was still further enhanced by dividing the space between the two by means of a whole network of partitions. The vessels of the "Imperator" class, indeed, possessed practically a double shell, which formed an effective protection against the danger of collision. The lifeboats increased in size and in number, and their shape and equipment were improved. Emergency lighting stations were arranged which could generate a sufficient amount of electric current if the ordinary supply should break down at any time. The whole vessels were divided into self-contained compartments by water-tight bulkheads, the doors of which could be automatically closed. This division into many compartments pr

supplied with all manner of supplementary devices. The huge store rooms were divided into sections for those provisions that were of a perishable nature and for

ich were due to their size, their shape, and the loading facilities with which they were equipped. Ballin immediately recognized the good points of this type, and he improved it until the vessels reached a size of 13,000 G.R.T., which still enabled them to travel at a speed of 13 knots. They were twin-screw steamers, and were provided with every safety device known at the time. A still further improvement of this type was represented by the Amerika and the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, bui

t increase in the amount of goods exchanged between the nations. To a certain extent development was limited by the dimensions of the Suez Canal. Stil

should always meet the growing needs of sea-borne trade, and in some instances even anticipating them, until, when the war brok

rn and Mediterranean cruises were soon followed by others, e.g. those to the West Indies and the pleasure trips round the globe. Two special steamers, the Prinzessin Victoria Luise, and the somewhat smaller and less sumptuous Meteor, both of them equipped after the style of pleasure yachts, were built when it was found advisable to make this service independent of the fast steamers and the big passenger boats which had also been employed for this purpose. After the loss of the Prinzessin Victoria Luise she was replaced first by a

ress made by its competitors. This applies to the Packetfahrt and its management also; but in their case they have given infinitely more than they have received, and