AMERICAN RECOVERY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21758, 24 March 1934, Page 13

AMERICAN RECOVERY

CONFIDENCE IN PRESIDENT SAN FRANCISCO BRIDGES TWO ENORMOUS UNDERTAKINGS "There is a decidedly better tone in the United States to-day than there was a year ago, but they have still a long way to go in getting back to normal," said Sir John Vicars, a prominent Sydney wool merchant and banker, yesterday. ' Sir John, who is accompanied by Lady Vicars, was a through passenger on the Mariposa, having completed the round tour on that liner. "The American people have undoubtedly great confidence in President Roosevelt," continued Sir John, "and they believe him to be the best man who has been in public life in America for some timo. They recognise that he is playing a very big game, but that he is playing it well. The depression has hit the United States far harder than Australia and New Zealand. "In California there is a great deal of property, vacant, especially of the type that is out of date, and big properties are a load that the owners find it hard to carry. Private residences are about half the price to-day that they were three years ago. Another sign of bad times is the neglect of street repair work, some thoroughfares being in almost a dangerous condition." Describing the two large bridges that are being constructed at San Francisco, Sir John said that the one that will join the two heads of the Golden Gate is at the stage of having the piers partly up. When finished it will open up a holiday resort. It will not carry the traffic of such bridges as Brooklyn and Sydney. Only motor traffic will be catered for. The finished structure will be about 15ft. higher above the water than the Sydney bridge, and so will allow any ship to pass under it comfortably. The total cost will be about £3,000,000, and Sir John stated that it was being built more for political reasons than from necessity. « The other bridge links up San Francisco with the large city of Oakland, and when finished will, with its viaduct approaches, be eight miles long, and thus probably the" longest important bridge in the world. A considerable portion will be over shallow water, but where shipping will go underneath it there will be a series of five suspension bridges. The work to date has been confined to the sinking of the foundations of the piers.