U.S. transport "Leviathan" formerly the "Vaterland" largest ship afloat

Half a dozen or more sturdy tugs are needed to nose this great steamship in and out of her berth alongside a pier because of her huge size. Those ropes running from her bow lead to other tugs besides those that you can see at her side, all necessary to keep the huge bulk of the steamer from crashing into the piers or drifting around in shallow water. Before the United States entered the war, the "Leviathan" was known as the "Vaterland." It is the largest steamship in the world and was in New York harbor at the time that war between Great Britain and Germany was declared in 1914. She remained there safe from the British Navy, until the United States declared war against Germany, whereupon she was seized and converted into a troop transport. Her length is 920 feet, almost as great as the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Her huge stacks are large enough to accommodate railway trains, and she is capable of carrying more than 14,000 soldiers and officers. The spars which you see slung from the masts are used to raise and lower the cargoes into the holds. On the last trip which the "Leviathan" made as a U. S. Transport she carried General John J. Pershing and his staff to the United States after their absence of two and one-half years