Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] WEDNESDAY, 18th JANUARY, 1933. THE WORLD'S PROGRESS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 18 January 1933, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] WEDNESDAY, 18th JANUARY, 1933. THE WORLD'S PROGRESS.

Exactly sixty years ago Jules Verne published ' “Round the World in Eighty Days.” The book was immensely successful because it captured the popular imagination. At that date the feat would have occupied about six months. But the impassive Englishman, ably seconded by an efficient Frenchman, attempted the impossible and won. Jules Verneromance was naturally regarded as sheer fantasy. However, it turned minds to speculate about the future of travel and communications. In 1872 . steam vessels supplemented their mechanical power by sail. The electrical telegraph was in operation, but was not very reliable. A submarine cable—before long to go out of action —had been laid across the bed of the Atlantic. The idea of the telephone was incubating- in the brains of several inventors, of whom Graham Bell must be granted primacy. Who could have foreseen that in less than two generations there would be a revolution in transport and kindred services? The horse bus has disappeared. The hansom cab, “the gondola of London,” has left few survivors. In 1872 “Round the World in Eighty Days” was an agreeable extravaganza. Now it would be a record of a snail’s progress. With improved railway connections and fast liners a New Zealander can go to and from London during the space of a'comparatively short holiday. Aviators laugh at the notion of “Round the World in Eighty Days.” Distance has not been annihilated, but its consequences have been mitigated.