Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 226, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 September 1911 — BRINGING ENGLAND NEARER TO AMERICA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BRINGING ENGLAND NEARER TO AMERICA

IN MORE senses than one England and America are drawing nearer to each other. The latest phase of this approaching nearness Is foretold In a geographical sense by Sir Edward Morris, premier of Newfoundland. His scheme is geographical because he proposes to cut off a whole day to transit between the two countries. The saving of a day, 24 hours of time, Is the same thing as taking up the United Kingdom by its roots and planting it in the middle of the North Atlantic, at least a thousand miles nearer Canada and the United States. Sir Edward’s proposition would be interesting merely as a theory, but the premier Is In earnest about it. He proposes In brief to construct first a railway from Quebec to a point on Cape Sir Charles across the Strait of Belle Isle at Its narrowest part opposite Newfoundland. This railway will connect with two steamers of the Lusitania and Mauretania type to run between Cape Sir Charles and Liverpool. The sea distance between the two points is only 1,656 miles, running between Ireland and Scotland and through the Irish sea. There will be a ferry across the straits to Newfoundland. “This would be by far the shortest passage across the Atlantic, and with steamers of the Lusitania type the voyage from land to land could be accomplished with only three nights at sea.” said the Newfoundland premier. “The route would be open all the year round —occasionally drift and floating Ice would be met with, but nothing to obstruct properly built and equipped steamers. “From Cape Sir Charles to Quebec Is about 1,000 miles, and with a line of standard gauge this could be covered at sixty miles an hoar, which means that passengers could be landed in lower Canada and in the United States twenty-four hoars earlier than by the Lusitania to New York today. “This can readily be seen when it is explained that the ocean passage would be 1,200 miles shorter and that the 1,000 miles will be covered on land at sixty miles an hour, which is nearly three times as fast as the Lusitania and the Mauretania travel." The Mauretania's best time is about thirty land miles an hoar. The period of self-absorption of American capital in transportation schemes of a domestic nature still continuing, and his partial bridging of the North Atlantic having its terminals respectively in the mother country and her colony, it is British capital, consequently, which proposes to father this project, which sounds and looks so much like a dream.

But Sir Edward, who has never been accused of being a dreamer, said that be had discussed the plan with a syndicate of British capitalists in New York. “There are in New York at the present time," he said, “the representatives of a large and Influential English syndicate who have acquired rights to a railway running out of Quebec and who have a charter to build a railway In the direction of Cape Sir Charles and Newfoundland, the width of the strait at that point being only seven miles.” So far as the steamers themselves are concerned, marine experts say that the only saving would Ue in one day's steamihg coal, an economy of $3,000 or $3,500 a trip. The provisions saved on a three-day trip would not be counted at all. The cost of running a great steamship such as the new White Star liner Olympic, pictured above, is tremendous. To bring the Olympic from Southampton to New York and tie her safely to her pier costs in the neighborhood of SIOO,OOO. This vast sum Is made up principally by the purchase of coal, the wagee of the men on board and the buying of food for the passengers. The value of the coal consumed—-about 800 tons per day—was only a trifle less than the cost of the food eaten by the passengers. This latter item was increased about SIO,OOO on the return voyage because the first and second cabins were filled whan departed rro. . ehtot .tow.*'. Ttewmuu It

Is said the Olympic Is a bad vessel for an economising head of the eating department, because the very steadiness of the vessel helps a passenger to eat three good meals per day, and maybe four, whereas If the chief steward could only rock her a bit, you know —well, quite a number of the hopefuls would be clutching* the rail, gazing at the sea and thinking about a biblical expression that Is quite apropos. The principal items of expense in moving the Olympic from Southampton to New York are: Coal 122,400 Wages of employes 16,000 Laundry 2,000 Meals for first cabin passengers 17,000 Meals for second cabin passengers.. 4,420 Feeding the third cabin passengers.. 3,950 Feeding the employes 6,000 Eighteen tugs for docking 400 Transferring third class cabin to Ellis Island 75 Transferring third oablq baggage.. 71 Here is a part of the list the chief steward made up to restock his larder before sailing again: Three thousand pounds of Philadelphia broilers, 3,000 pounds of Philadelphia roasters, 2,000 pounds of capons, 3,000 -pounds of ducklings, celery fed; 2,000 pounds of fowl, 500 guinea chickens, 100 dozen squabs, 7,000 pounds of fish, 30,000 eggs, 7,000 pounds of butter, 35,000 pounds of beef, 10,000 pounds of mutton, fifty spring lambs, 3,000 pounds of veal, 3,000 pounds of pork, thirty tons of potatoes, 1,500 quarts of ice cream, 100 Virginia hams, 100 dozen sweetbreads, 1,000 sheep kidneys, 500 ox kidneys, 200 corned ox tongues, 1,000 pounds of sausage, thirty barrels of clams, 100 dozen soft shell crabs, 200 barrels of flour, 100 dozen asparagus, 500 dozen lettuce, twentytour boxes apricots, 100 boxes Newton pippin, 100 boxes cooking apples, fifty crates cantaloupe, 100 boxes grape fruit, fifty boxes lemons, 200 boxes oranges, fifty boxes peaches, 200 crates strawberries, fifty boxes peaches, 200 crates strawberries, fifty crates watermellons, twenty dozen crates pineapples. The Olympic is the largest vessel ever constructed. It is 882 ft feet in length, 100 feet more than the world’s tallest building, and has a width of 92 feet 6 inches. Its displacement is 66,000 tons. From the bottom of the keel to the top of the captain’s house is 105 feet and 7 Inches, while from the bottom of the keel to the top of the funnel the hlght Is 175 feet. The*vessel is supplied with electric elevators, Turkish hath and swimming pool, a squash racquet court and hand-ball court, a golf course, palm court and son parlor. It has a diningroom with a capacity of 550 guests and a dance hall accommodating 200 couples. It can darry2,soo passengers and crew of 860. It has 2,000 windows and the number of its floors is 14. The Olympic was built In Belfast, Ireland, and cost approximately $lO,•00,000.