Page:EB1911 - Volume 25.djvu/881

 White Star Line.—Though perhaps chiefly known in the New York trade, the White Star flag was first hoisted in the middle of last century over a fleet of clippers which sailed to Australia. In 1867 Mr Thomas Henry Ismay took it over, and two years later the great revolution in the constitution of the company took place. It was in 1869 that Mr Ismay formed the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company to run a line of steamers between Liverpool and New York. Immediately on its formation the company entered into arrangements with Messrs Harland & Wolff of Belfast for the construction of a fleet of high-class passenger ships, and it is worthy of notice that the terms upon which Messrs Harland & Wolff built the White Star ships were peculiar. No definite price was agreed upon, but the actual cost plus a percentage for builders’ profit was charged. Fleets of Various Important Steamship Companies in 1891, 1901 and 1910. The first “Oceanic,” pioneer steamship of the line, was launched on the 27th of August 1870, and sailed for New York on the 2nd of March 1871. Her advent opened a new era in Atlantic travel. She introduced the midship saloon, which extended the whole width of the ship, thus giving increased light and improved ventilation, and reducing to a minimum the sensation of the vessel's motion. The arrangement thus introduced is now almost universally adopted in the construction of ocean liners. The “Oceanic” was also narrower in proportion to her length than the vessels previously designed for the transatlantic mail service. In 1877 the “Britannic” reduced the passage to 7 days 10 hours and