MR WILKIE ABROAD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 5

MR WILKIE ABROAD.

HARBOUR BOARD’S ENGINEER. POME INTERESTING IMPRESSIONS. Mr J. M'Gregor Willtie, engineer to the Otago Harbour Board, who has been on a trip to America and Britain to obtain first-hand information regarding the latest types of returned to Dunedin on Tuesday afternoon. The board has decided that it will secure a self-propelled dredge, at a cost of about £lOO,OOO, and Mr Wilkie-has seen many of this type during his tour, abroad. His conclusions will in due course be reported to the board/- and cannot, of course, be made public in the meantime. Of other incidents in the tour Mr Wilkie, however, speaks enthusiastically. - He has had a wonderfully interesting trip, but it is very pleasing to hear him say that he is glad to be back, and that he has nd desire to live in any other town than Dunedin.

Mr Wilkie left Dunedin, outward bound, on May 7of last year. His first stay was in the Panama Canal zone, where he spent 10 days, and examined the rock-boring and dredging plants and other appliances relating to the working of the port of Balboa. He sailed for New Orleans in one of the Standard-Fruit Company’s steamers, and here the most notable feature was the finely-equipped cotton warehouses. A tour of the Mississippi Valley followed, and Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago were visited in turn. Chicago is a wonderful city, and its population is increasing very quickly. The Eucharistic Conference was being held in Chicago, and it was estimated that about 1,000,000 visitors were in the city in connection with this important event. Warnings were issued by-the police to the public to take every precaution to protect their property, as it was anticipated that many undesirables would take the opportunity to visit Chicago. There is a tremendous amount of traffic Chicago, and it is regulated in a most efficient manner. _ A system of, red and green traffic signals has been introduced ’ —danger and green permitting the traffic to move on. There are also coloured lights at the intersections of the streets for night traffic, and in: addition at the busy corners there are four or t ? P°li eeiu . en - Chicago is situated on Lake Superior, and if the mooted canal is built through to the St. Laivrence River it will become even a much greater city than it is now. Whether New York would like to see the canal constructed is open to doubt.

.^’a^, ar a was of course included- in Mr Wilkie s itinerary, and here three days were spent. He says he can only describe Niagara by saying it is an awe-inspiring eight. At night time beautiful colour enects are obtained on the falls—projectoi’y plants throwing lights on the water Both America and Canada have water rights for the generation of electric power, which is an inestimable asset, to the industrial life of Americans and Canadians

f°y°wed in due course, and Mr ilkie says it has the largest, harbour he saw. on his travels. There is deep water right up to the wharves; fine piers, and at Stolen Island a splendid coaling plant. Many of the wharves have a timber decking, covered with concrete slabs. This style of workmanship appears' to’ have been successful as it is still being followed. One cquld-jiot but be struck by the magnificent night sky-signs ip. the modern Gotham and also by the wonderful panoramic view from the top of the famous Woolworth building.

New York is finding it difficult to accommodate all the motor cars, and in A n effort to meet the position special buildings are being built for parking the cars in the city’:* - “The first morning we arrived in New York,” said Mr Wilkie, who was accompanied on hie .tour by his wife, we found that a tube railway strike was . being carried on. . The men were striking for higher wages. The whole passenger service became congested. We desired to go from the Pennsylvania ■ Hotel to the bank, a distance of about two miles, and it took us three hours and affialf to get there and back, the "motor traffic was so great.”

rr't? lle J lec Montreal were then visited. The beautiful residences and buildings in the French-Canadian town greatly impressed the travellers, many of the buildings being in the old French style. The Chateau Fontenac, a very fine hotel, hr splendidly situated on the Mont Calm Heights.' Mr Wilkie showed the newspaper man a photograph of the Chateau, and in answer to a question he' said he had taken most of the splendid series or photographs of scenes viewed ofi his journey himself. He had had no difficulties placed in the wav when he had focussed his camera on sights and scenes, except at the Port of London. Photographs are not allowed to be taken tjiere. unless under particularly .special circumstances. The docks and wharves at Quebec v were inspected. They have to.be specially built to stand the ice-pressure in the winter season. For at. least four months of the year there is no traffic as the river -between Quebec and Montreal is frozen The journey across the Atlantic to Liverpool was taken in the Montrose—a vessel of about 10,000 tons—one of the Mont Line. The docks at London proved a great attraction to Mr the amount of- shipping on the Thames was like the •'’amount in New York, an eyeopener The Surrey docks have a fine system- of handling imported timber with ample provision for its storage. At Glasgow Mr Wilkie said that the 'effects of the coal strike, which was in full swing when he was at Home, made a visitor from overseas feel very depressed. All along the River Clyde were to. be seen vessels moored and lying idle, with a man or two in charge to safeguard the property, and in Glasgow -itself the men looked most forlorn and destitute. Idle ships were also ' lying in the Mersey. The feeling of depression was not so noticeable in London. In all places, however, the public at'that time (August) were daily growing more impatient, wishing the industrial trouble to end. In .Glasgow, went on. Mr Wilkie, he received a wonderful insight into dredge building. There he saw more dredgebuilding than in any other place, and he

was given every opportunity by all the managers to see the works. He was also made most welcome by tliWieads of large firms in America, where one of the first questions asked the visitor in making another appointment was, “Well, now, how early can you see me? Say 7 o’clock." This was another eye-opener to Mr Wilkie. A rush visit to Hull and Neweastte-on-Tyne followed, and in the letter place especially the effects of the coal strike were very apparent. Then back to London, and On to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. At both these Continental ports there was a wonderful amount of shipping, vessels from all parts of the world lying there. . The Rhine barges were inspected. These range up to 3000 tons, arid sail far into the interior of Germany. They are long, flat-topped vessels, arid some 'are tdwed along the Rhine by: steam tugs while others -again are driven by crude oil engines. - The quantity of cargo they carry in a year is something enormous. Mr Wilkie returned via the ;Suez Canal Colombo, .and Australia. They have, he said, a fine breakwater harbour at Colombo. Mr Wilkie was much-interested in the port.of Fremantle, as he had lived for 10 years' in West Australia. At Fremantle much, of the wharf accommodation is being reconstructed and commodious sheds are. being erected. - . t '