LONDON'S "WOODEN WALLS."

Evening Star, Issue 14634, 2 August 1911, Page 4

LONDON'S "WOODEN WALLS."

For the Coronation Ixindon is once again to be a walled city. For the first time since Lud Gate and Bishops Gate crumbled into ruins with the walls of London, a large part of Central London is being circled about with barriers of wood, brick, and stone. Wooden ramparts with heavy gate-a are being erected to ensure the safety of the crowds at almost every street leading- to the routee of the two processions, and when the work is complete there wiil be a chain of wooden walls and houses enclosing the entire district through which the Royal processions will pa-ss. Seventy barriers iu all are being erected, and they will be closed by tho police at any point whenever it may bo neecpary to prevent "overcrowding or any sudden rush.

"Carpenters are busy day and night completing'these barricades, the gate's of which are 12ft high, the whole being made of stout new timber, the posts (sunk feet into ■the roadway) being of Bin to lOin pine," the cross-bars of 3ih x 9in, and the boaiding ljin to 2in stuff. These preventive harriers, which ,'ixe strong enough, to withstand any assault from a crowd unprovided with artillery or battering ram. have been built up regardless of cost. If they had been designed for permanent struct urcs they could scarcely have been more solidly and soundly constructed. And so it is with, al! the temporary Coronation erection. Tho. elands erected along the lines of route'are built up in a manner that precludes anv fear of accident save by lire. It is said that not one of the 1,400 stands already licen.-ed by tho various authorities is capable of bearing le.sd thaji three, or four times the weight of humanity that will be placed upon them. Many of have been subjected to the severest, possible tests in the riiapo of scores of policemen and oolriicns jumping from tier to tier i:i unison, or trotting up and down each row of seats. It- is estimated that £150,000 has already been expended in. wood and labor on these temporary structures, and tho demand for timber has sent' up tho price of wood fully £2 per standard of 165 cubic feet.

.Statistics of these wooden stands supplied show the provision being made for tho expected legions of spectators : Number of stands, 1,800: cubic feet of timber used. 1.650,000; number of seats provided, 900,000. It is estimated that theie will be room in the streets, apart, from csc-ai.-hoklers on stands, for 1.000.000 persons to view the pioccssion on Coronation Day, whilst oil the morrow many times that number will be able to view t.he r Royal progi-css through London in comparative comfort from the pavements. That there will be big crushes at certain points along the line of route may be taken for granted, but a<s a. general rule the street viewers will suffer no discomfort beyond having to get up with the lark, isUtnd for several hours, and find their way home by unaccustomed routes. The vciy precautious tho police are taking against, the anticipated crowds have determined thousands of Londoners, to spend Coronation Day and its successor out of town. It wa-s the same at the Diamond Jubilee time arid on the occasion of King Edward's Coionation. The high prices demanded for "seals to view,'' and the fear of the street ciowds. drove thousands upon thousands of Londoner out of town, and prevented the incursion of legions of provincials. The same tale will be told again, livery other man you meet is going away for Coronation Day and the uncaring week-end, and speculators'ill "seat,; U> view" ate biting their nails. At first there was quite a rush, for them, and fancy prices were ieadily paid for anything like a decent position, but to-day" there are signs in plenty to show that the early bird,-, paid dearly for treii worms, and that the cry on the day ih-el>' will be " >Sea.ls are cheap to-day." This, of course, applies to the progress through Loudon, not to Coronation Day itself. 'Unrestricted area over which the actual C,i'-i>-nation procession passes naturally greatly enhances the value of scabs therein, and no doubt the muster of pavement spectators will'be unpleusantlv thick everywhere 'along the line of route where the public are pel milled to congregate. —London cevrosoondent, Juno 16.