MARVELLOUS CARPET

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 24, 29 January 1934, Page 13

MARVELLOUS CARPET

TO STAND 40,000,000

WALKERS

Negotiations for obtaining a "carpet which will withstand the tramp of 40,000,000 people —and of British make —tiro-proceeding, stated the "Daily Telegraph," recently... The;two samples which hiivo found favour como out respectively at £18 and £35 a square yard. ■; . This wonder of the weaver's art is required for the foyer of the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square. It is tho . magic carpet across which, during; tho next twenty years, people will pass to ' the realms of cinema fancy. . ': , ■' n The figure 'of forty 'millions js.no niero fantastic guess.; It is based on box-offlce receipts. . ■ Five years'ago the carpet at the entrance was put down. It. was good British workmanship, and there is still a lot of life in it. But it has lost its first, freshness, and the management think it requires renewing. They argue/that the best is the' cheapest in the long run. \ During the last five,years over; ten million people have passed the entrance, It is the wish of the management that the new carpet should last twenty years,' but.the way they expressed it when they invited tenders was that the carpet should resist tho- wear imposed by tho passage of ' 4(1,000,000 people. . . . , In view of the fact that many people not only enter, but also leave by the main doors, the number who.tramp across this .carpet will, at the-lowest computation, equal tho entire population of the United Kingdom. - T^ie area to be covered immediately inside- the entrance doors is 212 square yards. The two staircases and lauding account for 184 square yards more, but this will not require.carpet of the super quality, as it will have approximately only half the wear. Tho best samples from abroad did not bear comparison with the British product. Neither did the machine-made sample compared with those made by hand. The cai'pets are an inch in. thickness, the foundation being about a quarter of an mcli and the pile threes quarters. ' The secret of preserving these valuable carpets, is the nightly cleaning by vacuum. Once a year they. ar*» taken up and the material which is laid boneath them is renewed where necessary. • ■ . At least six months will bo, required tO make the cheaper carpet for this foyer. The quality ,at \S3S a yard would take nine months. In either case the carpet will be hand woTeii and hand Knotted. ; ' The oldest Coiirt of-justice is the "tribunal 'o£ . the waters," held weekly in Valencia, Spain, for 972 years. Ei3ht Judges hear cases concerning the..'vast .water system of the province and quickly render their verbal decisions, which are not subject to argument or appeal.