ARGOSIES AND ARGONAUTS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3135, 18 September 1922, Page 7

ARGOSIES AND ARGONAUTS.

Picture a great modern argosy of giant steel steamships racing across the Atlantic with tremendous cascades of foaming green water splashing down on tlieir decks as they grimly fight a midsummer storm, burning oil and coal as if they were "free air" on 3000mile voyages from Mediterranean ports and England and France. And having the same objective—this United States dedicated by its founders to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'' Every ship is crammed to the liimit of its steerage or third-class accommodation with modern argonauts in search of a second chance in this world, seeking in the new what is unattainable in the old. The Tower of Babel was a resthouse compared with the multitude of tongues spoken by these travellers. The commander of each ship is striving by superior speed, seamanship of shrewd maritime manoeuvre, to make New York before his competitors that his motley steerage folk may obtain admission to the State under the law which limits the inrush of nationals of any overseas country to 3 per cent. of the number of this nationality who were resident in the U.S.A. in 1919, the last census year. Navigation authorities have notified that ships must come by the southern route, which means that they traverse the Atlantic at a sharp slant, which places them 1000 miles almost direct east of New York when they straighten up for the final dash home. Icebergs drifting down the American coast imperil shipping which does not stand far out, for with the prodigious masses of ice arc fogs, and collision means fearful disaster. Yet there is still margin for daring and adventure and superman seamanship in cutting corners to shorten the distance. And chief engineers (mostly Scotsman) toil at their blue omits and slave in their engine-rooms to srpieeze the last possible bit of speed pj.it of their ships. That strange factor called "slip" can make them first or Inst The Mauretania is the grey!,„uikl of the Atlantic because she only loses 5 per cent, by "slip" when at her top, while the Aquitania when under pressure loses 13 per cent. The urge to this great transatlantic race is that every ship which carries immigrants in excess of the quota allowed admission is fined C4O per imnn--rrant. has to refund all passage money naid bv these unlucky people, and has t« earrv them hack to Europe without

Small wonder that it is a, stern cop-te«.-t And 1 to the ships which win through there is good profit. For each misriMrt pays from £27 to .CM2 p«W monev. an nonownt equal to ftrst-dro* luxnr'v fares before the war. They live rmmh'h* but healthily, with sound food ■uid cabins, which have to be kept spotlessly clean. There arc 7000 of them on these raeinf shins, and fully 50 per cent are at Jewish origin. Already New York is known as the Now Jerusalem. Two decades hence Zionism will he impossible outside the United States. On the \<mitania there are 40/ migrants of whom 242 are .lews, and a viKorniw. virile, dark-haired chinisily-huilt. silent eolonv thev are. Amongst thorn they «neak seventeen different languages. On the other six ships there is multiplied confusion of speech But all 1 dream the same dream—a

dream of boundless promise where' there are no persecutions and no pogroms, and where industry and frugality will bring an affluence known only to the aristocracy in Europe. So the elders sit immobile, staring seerlike into the •future, and the youngsters romp, fight, and sing and dance strange barbaric steps to quaint primitive tunes. All are excited: all are expectant. Moses never had such a happy family. So they come past Nantucket with only a few miles to cover before they reach the citv where the buildings soar up to the sky and the streets surpass the cinema. ' And at the moment of their higher hopes a dark impenetrable log descends upon them even as they can faintly hear the sweet melodious note of the bell-buoys. The wide generous beckoning mouth of the Hudson becomes a ghostly tantalising terror. The desire to win beyond the Statue of Liberty overnight collides with the instructive impulse of safety first. The fog throbs with eager wireless messages from seven frantic commanders. Shore agents stampede to harbor officials for authority to ignore ordinary water traffic inhibitions. They storm, cajole, plead. All the time the seven ships creep stealthily, literally foot by foot to anchorage in the outer harbor, whence they can dash' at dawn to quarantine waters, where chronological arrival finally determines the fate of the migrants. The President Wilson, filled witlr. Greeks, and the Argentina with Italians, make a dead-beat, their anchor chains rattling at the same moment, though each claims priority. Out of the fog follow the Latvia, the Conte Rosso, and the King Alexander, with the Vasari crowding behind, and the Acropolis groaning in and trying to snesik a front position so she may have a start in the morning which will compensate for her lack of speed. Last the Aquitania crawls through the argonauts, and with the privileged mail flag at her foremast, gentlv shoves ahead of them all. The fog is loaded with outcries and lamentations that would have given Herod or Nero supreme joy. On the King Alexander are 93 Russians drawn from seven Soviets, 71 Turks drawn from five .different provinces, 88 Roumanians, 1 Syrian, 16 Asiatics, 3 Persians, 1 Hollander, 1 Italian, 25 Albanians, 2 Bulgarians, 54 Armenians, and 2 Africans. All wail their own fearful wails, and through the murk ship denounces ship, while foghorns roar and sirens shriek and ferry steamers hoot. Dawn brings no daylight, only thicker fog. But at 11 o'clock the grey curtain is thinner. Suddenly a foghorn thunders close to the Aquitania. A ghost ship springs into sight. . The Argentina is chancing it. She misses the colossal Cunarder by only ten feet. The Conte Rosso, scenting mischief, lugs up her anchor in screaming anger, and a minute later the whole six charge desperately through the gloom towards Ellis Island, where 447 offieiails aire waiting to put the 7000 migrants through the third des;ree. The Aquitania —"the liner, she's a lady"— gracefully saunters to her spacious pier.