MOTORING IN U.S.

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22908, 3 January 1940, Page 11

MOTORING IN U.S.

CHEAP PETROL AND DEAR REPAIRS (rEOJI OUE OWN COBEEBPONDENT.) LONDON, November 13. An Atlantic crossing, from New York to Southampton, that was full of interest was experienced by Mr J. C. F, Paine (Otahuhu). Two days after leaving New York in the Aquitania, war was declared and when news of the sinking of the Athenia and Bosnia was received, there were many people on board who doubted whether they would ever reach England; Mr Paine/who is paying a business visit, spent several weeks in the United States. Buying a car when he arrived in America from New Zealand, Mr Paine motored across to New York. Motoring, he found, was very cheap because of the low price of petrol, but on the other hand repairs cost about 10s an hour for labour, a fact which evidently influences Americans to buy hew cars periodically. One of the cities visited —the smallest place in America was termed a city—was Reno, famous for its 4000 divorces annually. Gambling appeared to be the chief recreation, and Mr Paine said that there were dozens of gambling clubs in Reno. At 4.30 a.m., when he set out on the next stage of his journey after a night’s rest, the clubs were still in full swing. At Salt Lake City there was a rodeo in progress, and the “turns included a girl standing on her head on a galloping horse, cowboys somersaulting oil galloping horses, and trained horses which answered questions by nodding and tapping ° n the ground, . ■ . Mr Paine was much impressed by the American motor camps. Each has a number of well furnished huts, incjuding a bed sitting room and bathroom, A garage is attached and luggage can be carried from it direct to the living quarters. These camps, he added, were generally much quieter than the hotels. An uninvited visitor at one camp’, however, was a bear. He entered, the cabin during the night and helped himself to some bread and grapefruit. ' ‘ . , The New Zealander was also interested in the popularity of the coast-to-coast buses. They were very well furnished .and most comfortable, air conditioned, and much cheaper than trains. He also observed that trams are obsolete in Amcricsi * ■ At the World Fair in New York, he saw ladies’ stockings made from coal stronger than the finest silk, and able to be washed more than 150 times in a. washing machine. Among other things, he was also interested in the “talking flashlight by which a whisper is “transferred into light,” “carried by a light beam to a distant photo electric cell, and then transferred back to sound, greatly magnified.” Glass cloth was another interesting exhibit, _ glass threads being woven into fabrics resemblingsilkiii _ -—>ii^___ii—-