Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE TUESDAY MARCH 26th 1907. AMERICANS IN ENGLAND.

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 March 1907, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE TUESDAY MARCH 26th 1907. AMERICANS IN ENGLAND.

The American invasion of England last summer was enormous. In June alone 22,450 people arrived from the States, and 62,875 in the first half of the year. Tourists agents stated in the middle of August that the traffic was abnormal, and that it. was expected that the September sailings would surpass all records. It was not a question of what boat a tourist would go back by—he was thankful if ho could get a berth in any, for every line was fully booked until the beginning of October. The Cunarders have a tonnage of 40,000 greater than last year, and the North German Lloyd have increased by 55,000 tons, yet the pressure on their accommodation had never been equalled. Throughout the summer the great London hotels have been almost monopolised by Amerijnns and Continentals, the farmer pro-

dominating, this bearing out Sir John FoiTest’s observation that living in a London hotel is like living in a foreign country. Londoners says that about Russell Square more “American” is spoken than English. As wo pointed out some time ago, the American tourist is never so much of a “hustler” as when he (or she) is'lra-\ veiling. The London guides unanimously agree that they are overworked by the Americans. “They expect us to show them the entire city in a day,” one tired courier remarked. “Yesterday, if I could have attached a pedometer to myself it would have registered fifty miles, and that is not counting the distance covered by omnibus. I took two American women t> Westminster Abbey, the Temple, St. Paul’s, the Bank, the Tower, the National Gallery, the British Museum all before six o’clock; to Kew Gardens for the sunset, and, after that, I took them to the Alhambra, and—would you believe it?—they still had the strength and the desire to see a little of London slums by night,” This guide had so strenuous a time that we hope it was not to him that a practical American girl expressed a desire to turn the British Museum into a boardinghouse. The steady flow of saloon and second-class (which is relatively luxurious) passengers to America is also remarkable. The saloon passengers going into New York have increased in seven years by 40 per cent., and the second-class passengers by more than 100 per cent. There has been a slightly greater number of saloon passengers going to New York than coming away since 1899, amounting in all, including that year, to 6000. In the second cabin there has been a pretty steady increase, and a very large growth in the excess of passengers going over, varying from 2000 in 1899 to 47,000 in 1905, amounting in all to 201,000 in seven years. “If we added to our population each year ar average of 30,000 persons who can afford to come to us in the relatively luxurious second cabin of the great liners,” says an American, “it is by no means a negligible fact.”