Seen in Germany . ast, a dwarfof a man blew a whistle, and the piston was heavedinto the air, swung out over the water and low-ered into the dark chasm of the Deutschlands hold. And this is the way all of the heavy interiorfittings — the engines, pumps, boilers, stacks, masts,and so on — are placed in the ship. For a clear reali-zation of the perfect supremacy of man over matter,one has only to watch the splendid power and docilityof this great crane. It might have taken fifty men aweek to do what the shear-legs did easily in ten min-utes— if men alone could have done it at all. With Captain A
Seen in Germany . ast, a dwarfof a man blew a whistle, and the piston was heavedinto the air, swung out over the water and low-ered into the dark chasm of the Deutschlands hold. And this is the way all of the heavy interiorfittings — the engines, pumps, boilers, stacks, masts,and so on — are placed in the ship. For a clear reali-zation of the perfect supremacy of man over matter,one has only to watch the splendid power and docilityof this great crane. It might have taken fifty men aweek to do what the shear-legs did easily in ten min-utes— if men alone could have done it at all. With Captain Alberr : whom fell the honor oftaking the Deutschlana on her first voyage, and I went up the broad plank gangway whichled from the river bank to the promenade deck of thevessel. Fifteen hundred men were there at work How the Germans build Ships 261 on her, hammering, sawing, planing, fitting; and yetso huge was she that the force seemed small, andthere were whole areas where not a man was to Captain Alhers of the ?? Deutschland These men of the Vulcan works possess their ownpeculiar interest to the American visitor. They arenot quite so foreign as he expects : he sees the strongcousinship of sweat and grime and strength. But 262 Seen in Germany for a little more, perhaps, of stoop and stolidity, alittle more of patience in their faces, these might be themen of an American shop. There is work done hereby strength of shoulder — heaving and hammeringand lifting, that in America would be done by steamor electricity, and yet as long as man-muscle is cheaperthan steam so long will it be employed. In dress,the German workmen strongly resemble the Ameri-can, except in the shoes, many of which are heellesswith thick wooden soles. There is also the unfa-miliar German blue blouse falling from a yoke at theshoulders and hanging loose around the waist, whichsome of the workmen wear. The German workslonger hours and earns much less money than theAmerican ; but while
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectgermany, bookyear1902
