STOPPING POINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 236, 5 October 1936, Page 5

STOPPING POINTS.

AIRWAYS IN PACIFIC! PAN-AMERICAN ISLANDS. PASSENGER SERVICE SOON. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SAN FRANCISCO, September 15. Desolate, sun-seared coral atolls—-Pan-American Airways 1 stepping stones or clipper stopping points in the vast Pacific —are speedily being converted into tropical paradises, in preparation for regular passenger and mail schedules. Mr. K. A. Kennedy, division traffic manager at the San Francisco terminus of the Trans-Pacific service, told of the construction work; of how the lonely islands of Midway and Wake, heretofore nesting grounds for penguinlike birds, are being made beautiful with miniature forests of imported palm, cypresses, and ironwood trees. For centuries the crash of surf pounding against the islands, and the raucous cries of sea-birds was the only sound, before the United States established a cable station on Midway some years ago, while Wake remained uninhabited until the advent of the air service. Now the buzz of saws, the banging of hammers and other building activities are heard. And offering a bizarre accompaniment are the bewildered chirpings of scores of imported canaries. Five hundred of them have been released to lend colour and to sing. Where once whalers paused and passing natives rigged up scant shelters, luxurious structures are rapidly taking form. To accommodate the Clipper passengers, modern 24-room hotels are being, constructed, said Mr. Kennedy. Wells have been dug. Tliey provide a brackish water, unfit for drinking, but suitable for irrigation and bathing. Storage* tanks, with 150,000-gallon capacity, have been built to retain rain water for drinking and cooking. Emer-

gency plants ha|vc been installed to make briny sea water fresh and drinkable. Larders, stocked with a fourmonths' food supply, will be supplemented by stores brought every six months by a chartered freighter, according to Mr; Kennedy. Cows, sheep and mules have also been placed on these tiny islands. Some minor alterations have been suggested by the Washington Federal authorities after an inspection of the airway stopping points. These are being made and a formal license to carry passengers across the Pacific will shortly be issued to the Pan-American Airways system, so that the passenger service may be inaugurated within a month or six weeks. There are more than a thousand prospective passengers entered on the waiting list, with scores being added daily to the list. A weekly airnial service lias been running for the past two months. Cabled information stated recently that Pan-American Airways announced that the regular passenger air service from San Francisco to Manila would start on October 21. The six-day journey is made in five stages, intermediary stops being made at Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island and Guam. The longest of these is about 2200 miles, and their average about 1000. The return passenger journey from Manila will start on October 29. Mails have been flown regularly on the route since last November, without a single mishap, minor or serious. The 'planes used are Glenn Martin "Clipper" machines, huge flving-boats with a cruising speed of 180 m.p.h. and passenger accommodation for 48.