i AMERICAN NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 11

i AMERICAN NEWS.

Q. . The great new railroad terminal at Washington,, "which is a part, of the development cf_"- the national capital into " '" the most beautiful city in the, world, is already 'completed. It has cost 15,000.000 - dollars,- and is a monumental structure " of" white marble facing .an especially ,created^plaza'~in which more"' than 100,000 troops can be mobilised if necessary — a ] plaza which, in "the course of time and full architectural development, will rival the Place de la Concorde, in Paris. The terminal station has a main frontage , of j 800 ft ," and rivals the Capitol in size. Its j ■ great concourse, or waiting-room, will " accommodate 25,000 persons. • Special ' entrances and waiting-rooms are provided for the President and distinguished guests <of the- nation. . Forty passenger- tracks side by side in the great ' station provide for a tremendous train ojjeration should j the occasion demand. , r ' • The 1 completion of this -great -terminal,' together with the expenditure on the part of the Pennsylvania railroad of 40 million dollars and the New York Central railToad of 50 million dollars on terminal facilities in this city, marks this as an era ' of terminal 'development in the railroad history of the country. The Pennsylvania is further "planning the expenditure of more than 23 million dollars on- a new station in Chicago, ■ and - ev«ry smaller city and town is now demanding that its railroad stations be fine monumental structures wtih parklike * settings. - - i Much of the energy ' that the railroad managers of 20 years ago spent on the^ development, and extension of their lines is now beans spent on the physical betterment "of these great transportation properties, particularly in terminal improvements in the great cities, both freight and passenger. The period' between 1870 and 1880 was one of mileage expansion. -.„ IJew- lines were projected and the weet'and south covered -with -a grill of rails. The following decade ' witnessed the race through the "grain i. States. Since 1890 managers ,have con- " cerned themselves • less with gaining new ; lines than_ with strengthening their hold- j ings.. Roadbeds, have been repaired, short ! -curves and heavy grades reduced, and roll- " ing^ stock enlarged and improved. During the past 10 or 12 years the St. Louis Union | Station, the North Station, and the ! 'South Station in Boston, the Pennsylvania Terminal at • Jersey City," the Lackawanna Terminal, at Hoboken. have been erected, and jthe Grand Central Station in this city greatly enlarged and improved.All -American railroad -properties are now being developed with a view to permanence as well as a great! increase, of facilities over existing lines. „, .. f Apropos of the development of our rail- . roads, recent experimental —trials by the railroad 'of the respective "^merits of steam and heavy electric locomotives are interesting. So far steam has triumphed. .Two electric locomotives were ' taken' to a 1 stretch' of - heavily ballasted double track on the level reaches of South Jersey, and against these new products of "the machine shops two of the great finest steam locomotives were - pitted. The racecourse was a line of. heavy summer travel, but at this time of year all but deserted, so both tracks were clear for side-by-side racing. The smaller of the ■electric locomotives, weighing 194,0001b, and developing 1200 horse-power, mad© 69 miles an hour on its' best tests $ wh'ile-the other, slightly larger, succeeded in making nearly 85 ' miles an hour. The smaller of the steam locomotives made 81- and 83 miles -an hour in two trials, while the larger even surpassed ' that record. . There was a sharp curve on the trial track, and" although the great locomotive has the finest record of all the Pennsylvania's engines no one thought that it could take the sharp curve at a speed nearly as great as the electric engine, ,as its centre of gravity is much higher, making it very much more Uiable to leave the rails at high speed. But,, to the astonishment of engineers and laymen alike, • the great locomotive made a leap once I its throttle was pulled, apd in an incred- < iblv short time only a streak of- steam was j visible. As the. engine struck the curve it ! seemed to balance itself on its outer wheels ! and sail arbund like a balloon in the air, '. while the time docks registered the fact that it -had not slackened its speed below 90 miles an hour for a. moment." It was a veritable triumph for the old motive power over the new. Aside from political moves, President j Roosevelt is apt to find his ideas constantly ! applauded by the great mass of citizens throughout the nation. He is fond -of stating his views of literature, social oustoms. animal habits, hunting, and all manner of outdoor sports at frequent opportunities, and his position as the national Executive gives a certain careful deference tohi# opinion. As a rule," in all these things he strikes a popular keynote: He is a brilliant and versatile man, and the most of his "ideas have worth. Not go with one of the last of these -which has stirred up # tempest throughout -the -country', arid which may yet seriously affeofhis political, future. ' For a goojd" many years past American coins have born the motto "In God We Trust,"i and it has been a motto of which j-fihe American -people have been extremely | proud. In having designs prepared for a new issue of coins, President Roosevelt ordered the designer, the late Augustus St. I Gaudens, the sculptor, to leave off this time-honoured phrase-. The' omission was instantly noted as the coins ■vfrent into 1 circulation, and a storm of protest arose. Church bodies and gatherings of every denomination have arisen against the President's order, and every editor in the 1 country has " been deluged -by indignant 'writers.. The President . finally responded to the critioism by preparing a statement, in which he ' said that he had given the order for removing 1 ' fhe> motto because [ " such a motto on coins ,• . . does no ■ good,, but does positive harm, ana i«,-.w I effect, irreverence, which cornea dangerous^ close to sacrilege.". It is probable that tbij matter will- be 'brought to the attention of Congress,- which, convenes to-morrow, ana '■Siat the- President's ruling 1 ' will be overridden by our American Parliament. President Roosevelt has written fo $!§ Governor of- each of the States requesting h|s; attendance at c .conference at thd lio'use, in May next, at <o> oonferenoo w conservation of the national resources of the TJnited Stages. The .subjects then W be taken undei* consideration j^plude uft use and conservation of the jnineral tf» sources, the rejouecet ot ite land, an 4tM

resources of the water. It is a recognised fact that the United States have been most profligate and extravagant in the' use> -of. their natural resources, and the Washington Conference of next Ma-jr., to jvh'ich 'all mem.-' bers of Congress will "also, tievinyited^rw^ll " seek to open up a public opinion -thja-t will result in care being taken in such use. The scoffers say, that the fact- that?,' <thej President has called such a conference ■on " the eve_ of- J the Republican national' convention is significant,- but th^ irvith 1 .remains r t.hat the- nation has-been' profligate- 'and ex--travagant, and now needs to -be awakened to- the tremendous need of planning to" preserve its resources for coming generations. A most remarkable" -w,alk 'is that just finished' by Edward Payson, I " Westom '.Away., back in 1867 Weston, ' then a yotfng" n&an" of - £9, walked from Portland (Me.) to Chicago (111.), a distance of 1299 miles, in 25 days.,i •■That was, a .tremendous 'thing, to' do, iand'| tbe feat - has not -been- equalled since by another walker. If gave Weston a real measure of fame which lasted ,for a term" of years. >- A -ago/ Weston conceived •„

the idea of repeating his walk on the fortieth anniversary of that triumph. The fact that he was 69 years^ old— nine years -""older than the time at , which Dr Osier 'says men- have outlived their' usefulness -and should be "chlovoformed—was.-no- deterrent. ■ 'Accompanied 'by x a retinue -of attendants, he 6et forth from Portland -on l --she'--fortieth -anniversary 'of his --previous start, ( and walked the 1300 miles in- 24 hours betfir'-'tirr.^ than on his 'earlier effort.,, In a single day's walk he crossed; .tliej entire StateT of 'Indiana, 95 miles, and'tirfed and .exhausted 'his attendants, who" trayelled " n "ah automobile. He arrived in Chicago in splondlfl phyi'-aL condition, having lost just lJ7lb "d,uring;;his'\entire ,walk: Westoh^'attri--b^es > his^successful^ feat;- "which has been a7^nat|e%>s-of .^tiational 'conjgratulation him,-'-to' godd living"- and --absolute abstinence from liquors of every sort. ( i -*-„, i ' ' , r ~~ \ ** r K 't - In another letter I may delve deeper into the -ng-niticance of that last remark of Weston's."Prohibition is becoming a tremendous ;thr,oj}gh£ut' the^entire-

country.^ New York has not clearly realised the situation, for ii has been a temperance campaign that has conquered steadily and!, quietly for two years past, entirely wit&outf the great cities and in "the rural districts of' the nation.' For a while this temper.■ance' .war was" waged as a personal fighfr -with the souls 'of man, but lately its suc■■'cess there- has beep reflected- in the poli.tioal situation, whole counties of southern States absolutely prohibiting the 6ale or use - of liquor, -in one case a great southern State— Georgia — making such a prohibitions caver its entire confines. i _ mmmr __ _^ ! A reflex of hard times is shown -in the • great <n.umber^ of steerage passengers now* returning --across the, Atlantic, Ordinarily the steerage is well filled' at this season of the year l^y'the sclienH r«sfcut>iiinß_for Christ. I ma's in their natfve'Tands."" Tfiig-year-iiacn'-j a is^'trebled by the foreigners -who 'Wjem-to- 6e©:hard time? right ahead in tho, . Uniled States. More than 60,000 steerage passengers sailed from" Tihis city " for Euro— , .pean . ports -in the week that" closed yester* day. ,- „ - - ~ , j