RMS Saxonia Voyage Contract - 21 April 1903

Steerage Passenger Contract for Passage on the Cunard Line Steamer RMS Saxonia, Departing from Liverpool for Boston, Dated 21 April 1903. GGA Image ID # 1567d93a34

Passage Contract Summary

• Date of Purchase / Voyage: 21 April 1903
• Steamship Line: Cunard Line
• Steamship: SS Saxonia
• Route: Frederikshavn to Boston via Liverpool
• Ticket Type: Passage Contract
• Voyage Class: Steerage?
• Name on Contract: Kristian Johannes Janson Sogen
• Etnicity of Passenger(s): Danish
• Contract Terms: Not Stated
• Cost of Ticket: 195 DKK / $1,570.00 USD in 2020

Passage Contract Content

The Cunard Steam Ship Company, Limited,
1, Rumford Street, Liverpool

C. Mogensen, General Agent
27 Nyhavn, Kjøbenhavn

CUNARD LINE

Passenger Contract Nr. 5152 with C. Mogensen in Copenhagen, General Agent for Denmark, and Passengers listed below regarding Carriage from Frederikshavn [Note 1] to West Branch, PA.

Passengers Full Name: Kristian Johannes Janson Sogen, Age 20, Occupation: Laborer, Birthplace: Skagen [Note 2], Last Residence: ?Vroa

I the Undersigned C. Mogensen do hereby engage to forward by Steamship and railroad the above named passenger from the place of departure to the place of destination for the sum of One Hundren Ninety-Five Kroner 80 Ore [Note 3] ... [Note 4]

Note 1: Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand.

Note 2: Skagen, also called The Skaw, city and port, northern Jutland, Denmark, near the northern tip of the peninsula on the Kattegat strait.

Note 3: 195 Danish Krone in 1903 was worth about $51.72 in 1903.

Note 4: The Bottom half of the Passage Contract is missing but contained the terms of the voyage. I suspect the this passenger traveled in Steerage. His passage took him from Frederikshavn to Liverpool by steamship; Liverpool to Boston in the Cunard Steamship Saxonia; and train fare from Boston to West Branch, PA. There was also a 15 Ore Revenue Tax paid indicated by the Danmark Stempelmark Stamp affixed on the top left of the contract.

List or Manifest of Alien Passengers For the Commissioner of Immigration. List No. 11. Required by the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, under Act of Congress, approved 3 March 1893, to be delivered to the Commissioner of Immigration by the Commanding Officer of any vessel having such passengers on board upon arrival at a port in the United States. The SS Saxonia, sailing from Liverpool on 21 April 1903, Arrived at the Port of Boston on 31 April 1903. Note:. Johan Jansen is listed on line 11; Age 21, Laborer, Norwegian, who had $15 on hand. GGA Image ID # 1567deabc7

Relative Cost of Passage Ticket in Today's Currency Value

195.80 kroner from 1903 corresponds to 13818 kroner from 2020. In total over the period 1903 to 2020, inflation was 6957.4%, which corresponds to a constant inflation of 3.7% per year. Based on the PRICE 8 table (consumer price index, annual average) from Statistics Denmark. - Omregn værdien af en krone i forskellige år (1900-2020)

13,818.00 Danish Kroner = about $2,118.92 US Dollars

In 2020, the relative values of $51.72 from 1903 ranges from $1,230.00 to $41,300.00.

A simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the relative value is $1,570.00. This answer is obtained by multiplying $51.72 by the percentage increase in the CPI from 1903 to 2020.

This may not be the best answer.

The best measure of the relative value over time depends on if you are interested in comparing the cost or value of a Commodity, Income or Wealth, or a Project.

If you want to compare the value of a $51.72 Commodity in 1903 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:

• real price of that commodity is $1,570.00
• real value in consumption of that commodity is $3,790.00
• labor value of that commodity is $7,890.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $10,900.00 (using production worker compensation)
• income value of that commodity is $10,100.00
• economic share of that commodity is $41,300.00

If you want to compare the value of a $51.72 Income or Wealth, in 1903 there are five choices. In 2020 the relative:

• real wage or real wealth value of that income or wealth is $1,570.00
• household purchasing power value of that income or wealth is $3,790.00
• relative labor earnings of that commodity are $7,890.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $10,900.00 (using production worker compensation)
• relative income value of that income or wealth is $10,100.00
• relative output value of that income or wealth is $41,300.00

If you want to compare the value of a $51.72 Project in 1903 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:

• real cost of that project is $1,230.00
• household cost of that project is $3,790.00
• labor cost of that project is $7,890.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $10,900.00 (using production worker compensation)
• relative cost of that project is $10,100.00
• economy cost of that project is $41,300.00

Source: www.measuringworth.com Samuel H. Williamson, "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to present," MeasuringWorth, 2022.