TRAVELS ABROAD

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19148, 3 November 1927, Page 4

TRAVELS ABROAD

A BUILDER'S OBSERVATIONS. AEROPLANES AND RAILWAYS. Writing to Mr W. H. Winsor from Manhattan avenue, New York, Mr Alfred Clark gives him tho following news and views of things abroad: — "I have spent many interesting hours watching aeroplane manufacture and flights. The Croydon aerodrome is a marvel. It is situated about ten miles out of London. The offices of the aerodrome are in the midst of a group of unsightly wooden buildings, left over from the war, when Croydon was an important depot of the British Air Forces. On the other side of the aerodrome can be seen a group of new and far better structures which will constitute London's new airport. "Passengers intending to fly over the English Channel enter the waiting room. After each passenger and piece of luggage has been weighed, the total weight to be carried —pilot, engineer, passenger and luggage—is entered upon a load sheet. If tho total on the load sheet goes beyond tho maximum allowed, part of the weight must be loaded into a smaller plane, which leaves the airport at the same time.

"Then passports are examined and passengers are escorted to the aerodrome . proper, a smooth expanse of ground 173 acres in extent, which affords the 'planes an ascending and alighting run of 900 yards. Here the passengers board waiting planes and, at a signal from the nearby control tower, arc whisked away to Paris or Zurich, Amsterdam, or Cologne. "Directly below the control tower is the meteorological station, where pilots can look at a map affixed to the wall, and sec at a glance the visibility and other conditions prevailing on the route to which they have been assigned.

"For nocturnal starts and arrivals there are four powerful searchlights, each of 750,000 candle power. When a plane is expected after dark, these send their rays into the air until the plane is overhead, when tho rays are trained on the ground, flooding it with light, and thus facilitating as much as possible the pilots' landing. Tho most wonderful display of aircraft was at Hendon in the London district. There I saw scores of aircraft, ranging from the tiny moth monbplane to huge troop-car-rying planes—carrying 26 soldiers. The roar of these planes was terrific.

Britain and America. "I have been three weeks in America, and have visited threo States—New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I am just beginning to make comparisons. I travelled on an American boat from London to New.York. The purser was a German American. How he hated tho British Empire. He never tired of telling me that England, was done for, and I smiled.

"I have heard Englishmen.utter the same words. How little they know! I have yet to learn where America beats the British Empire. It. would take mo too long to mako comparisons of the many things I have observed, but I can mako comparisons on one subject—transit.

"Koad transit I will dismiss in a few words. Christchurch beats anything I have seen here in the way of trams. England's long-distance touring-buses are superior in every way to thoße I have seen in the three States I have visited. Tho underground and elevated railways in New York are nightmares of dirt and discomfort, and one finds oneself crowded amongst a motley mob of negroes, Jews, Greeks, Italians, Bussians, and almost every nation under the sun. A babel of tongues greets tho ears. No man offers a woman a seat. Black, white, and yellow are intent on getting to their destination, and they dispense with all form and ceremony. The police carry their truncheons strapped round their wrists. Armoured cars with machine-guns parade the streets, and at railway stations I saw men with loaded guns stuck in their waist-belts.

Railways Compared. "I am going to compare, railways, as far as I can. I sought information regarding railways whilst I was in England, and I garnered quite a lot of interesting information. Here I have sought information, and have observed many things. It is most amusing to find that when the American is making comparisons there is only one country in the world that he wishes to beat, and that country is England. And he is quite convinced that he has her beaten in all things. , "Now, as you know, England was the birthplace of railways, and to England belongs the honour of setting an example of progress which other countries were not slow to follow. The railway industry in little more than a century has grown into the largest private undertaking in England, and is surpassed from the financial point of view by only one or two State operations. Its income in 1925 was £218,000,000, a figure exceeded only by the revenue obtained from income tax. This enormous business, involving over £1,100,000,000 of capital, has been wholly created and developed by private enterprise and without a penny being contributed by the State.

"The track itself would stretch twice round tlje world. The mileage run annually is well over 370,000,000, or equivalent to two journeys to the sun and back. Some 300,000,000 gallons of milk are annually conveyed by rail. The railways employ 700,000 on the permanent staff. Railway docks stretch around the coast. These great docks feed, and are fed by, the railways. The gross tonnage of steamships entering and leaving is pver 60,000,000 tons per annum, while the tonnage of imports and exports aggregates 90,000,000 tons. The number of meals served on restaurant cars in one year totals 7,600,000, and comprises nearly 1000 tons of meat, SOO tons of fish, and 850 .tons of bread.

Virile and Progressive. . "Statistics of the U.S.A. railways I cannot give. It is unnecessary to make comparisons in respect to figures. What I am asking for is the truth of the statement that England is decadent. My travels and inquisitorial nature convince me that England is virile, progressive. She is content to pursue the even tenor of hor way, sure of the solid rock on which she stands. She ad. vances unostentatiously, silently, sure]y' ,? er J are a pattern for the world. Her third-class coaches are well upholstered, clean, and comfortable, and her sleeping cars are the finest in

the world. America must take second place. The English railway tracks reflect the Quality of English engineering skill. Every rail rests on chairs, and every chair has wood wedges; The American rails are held in position by spikes driven into the sleepers—Ford construction as against Eolls-Eoyce, en: gineering. English express engines are diminutive by comparison with the huge American express engines, but the English engines are thoroughbreds. They remind' one of a jewelled watch. In appearance they are clean, polished gems of engineering skill, a pleasure to look upon. The American engines arc burly-looking, coal-consuming, steamproducing power giants—uncouth, dirty. England does the longest nonstop train journey in the world, and broke the world's record for speed whilst I was in London. The following few statistics may be interesting:— Shareholders: Total number, 784,000; number holding shares to amount of £SOO and under, 5:80,000; interest paid per cent, on receipts from capital issued, 4.32; miles of railway, 51,500; number of locomotives, 24,000; passenger carriages, 47,500; number of seats, 2,500,000; freight train wagons, 700,000; holding capacity (tons), 7,500,000; restaurant, cars, 587; private sleeping accommodation, 1849 passengers; weight of train per passenger, 12 cwt; average workmen's fare per mile, 0.53 d; passenger train, miles .'run, 235,500,000; freight trains, miles run, 139,500,600; salaries and wages paid (over) £100,000,000; number of pensioners, 41,000; number of passengers killed in accidents to trains, 1920-1925, 57, an average of less than 10 per annum or one in about every 130,000,000 passengers carried. The railway companies of Great Britain own and control the largest group of hotels in the world. The niwnber of hotels is 83. They also own 56,000 houses. They advertise in over 1000 newspapers in Great Britain. -25,000 railwaymen attend educational classes and lectures arranged by the railway \ companies each week. The railway- companies contribute £8,000,000 to local rates.

Is the Empire "Down and Out"? "The British Empire controls 23 per cent, of the world's lead, 69 per cent, of the gold, 53 per cent, of cattle, 87 per cent of rubber, 51 per cent, of sheep, 77 per cent, of wool, 66 per cent, of rice, 27 per cent, of wheat, 42 per cent, of tin, 88 per cent, of nickel, 15 per. cent, of silver, 30 per cent, of zinc. "I am prouder than ever of being a Britisher, and wherever I go I sing the praises of the glorious little country of New Zealand. I was dining with a party of Americans to-night, and I was asked if the New Zealanders spoke English."