AN ENGINEER'S TOUR.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14840, 18 February 1919, Page 7

AN ENGINEER'S TOUR.

When Mr J. W. Marchbanks, of WelliJigUtol,, arrived m America, the war rtvas at its height and little else .was thought about but the most efficacious method of crushing the Hint-. ■■The air was alive with the electricity of battle, and braiil -and brawn were collaborating vrifch. the one end m view — supplying material for Foch's great drive. Private enterprise was practically at a standstill as far as 'the workshops, factories, and shipyards were concerned. ''Munitions and still more munitions" was the universal cry, and, to use Mr Marchbankfl' own (Words, the men and women of thfc nation were responding splendidly. One of the most amazing features of the war hustle was the shipbuilding fever. Owing .principally to the. ex-: tremely high cost of living, wages were extraordinarily high, and h© had heard pf highly-skilled mechanics m munition factories earning as much as £20 to £30 a week. One very noticeable thing was the great loyalty of the people to the Government. Right or wrong, the Government's decrees were final, and murmurs of discontent iwere seldom heard. During the time Mr Marchbanks was m America an order -was issued that .no gasoline should be used m motor oars on Sundays except m very special cases. Tlie result was that it was impossible to hire & car. on a Sunday. The method of raising war loans struck Mr Marchbanks as extremely novel and effective. Committees of citizens were formed m the various centres, and each; citizen who could afford to pay was required to contribute a certain amount. In the event of any maa declining to contribute, he would be practically .boycotted by the business people of the town. What applied to the United States with regard to munition-making and shipbuilding applied equally to the great cities of Canada. Speaking of harbor matters, Mr. Marchbanks said he visited all the mi portant seaport towns m the United States and Canada. In most places the system of harbor control differed from that operating m this country. Principally the harbors were controlled by commissioners, who had the services of expert officers. Tin's proved effective, and distinctly preferable to the system of private control, which tiended to retard rather than promote progress. However, he did not regard, the system generally m operation as satis factory as coiv tvol by harbor boardß. Mr. Marchbanks was able to gather much valuable data as to the harbor works and wharfage facilities m the big cities. He greatly admired; the harbor works at Toronto, Quebec, aiid Montreal, more particularly the latter, which possessed about the finest equipment he had seen. The floating dock built at Montreal by Vickers and Co. was a huge and wonderful affair. In Halifax very large harbor iworks were being carried out by the Government, the object being to provide an ice-free port m the winter for thei largest type of Atlantic liners. He regai'ded the New York harbor as one of the finest m the world. The city possessed a tremendous amount of wharfage, and. the numerous large piers were a revelation. Mr. Marchbanks paid special attention to the handling of coal, which was carried out m, some ports on a tremendous scale.