BREEZES

Wairarapa Daily Times, 29 February 1936, Page 4

BREEZES

Safer that Way! A report states that a resident of the Wairarapa has played: a saxophone for thre'e years running.-'' * * * * Police “Adopt” Children. Port of London police, noted for their work for dockland’s poor children, “adopted” forty youngsters for the recent holidays. The children, whose fathers arc unemployed seamen and dockers, lived in the homes of the policemen. They shared the gifts of the children in the house, and were treated as members of the family. Among them were children whose fathers lost their lives in the Blairgowrie disaster. They stayed with the policemen’s families until the schools reopened. * * * * New Sea Route. The northern sea route sought for centuries by explorers and merchants before the opening of the Suez Canal, as the shortest water route between the markets of Europe and the Ear East, has at last been conquered. For the first time in history, four ordinary freighters, bearing commercial cargoes, have successfully accomplished simultaneous east-to-west and west-to-east crossings along the northern coast oi Europe and Asia, through the Polar seae, in one navigation season. The arrival in Vladivostok of two Soviet freight, steamers which left Murmansk in July 7 , and the simultaneous arrival in Murmansk of the two other vessels journeying from Vladivostok have marked, the Russians claim, the opening of a regular route for the transport of passengers and cargoes across the top of the globe. Laden with soft pine wood from Siberia, the s.s. Stalingrad, one. of the two west-bound vessels, reached London recently. After this season’s success, the Russians are not resting on their laurels. With the newly r -opened route now free for navigation for only 7 two months in midsummer, new and stronger iee-brealc-ers are already being constructed to be stationed along the. Arctic coast to maintain an ice-free route for a longer period. * * *■ * Textiles from Glass. Fibres of- glass that look like strands of spun sugar can now be twisted into thread or yarn for textiles wholly of glass. Ground was broken recently in Corning (New York) for the first factory in this new industry. Officials of the Corning Glass Works, where technicians have been carrying on experiments for 11 years, asserted that they little dreamed of the possibilities of spun glass, even should they be successful in ironing out difficulties which beset the early investigators. Today they see the beginning ' of a new industry in which glass as a new type of “dry goods” may become as-impor-tant among textiles as cotton, wool, silk or ray 7 on. ‘ J Industrial possibilities of “spunglass wool,” by which name the product is now known, occupy the focus of present research. The fibres are twisted into thread, and with this manufactured rope, string, insulating pads, fireproof garments, theatre screens, and a host of allied products. , . , < Success in this field, and success is already assured, means branching out into the manufacture of glass awnings, tentage, bed coverings, tapestry, and eventually articles of clothing. Spun glass wool appears very likely to in l vade every field in which, monopolies have been enjoy r ed by 7 other textiles 'for so long. Even the future costuming of Broadway ballets—in glass, seems not an impossible prediction, coming from the resarcliers themselves. The new factory 7 will contain 55,000 feet of floor space, with an initial frontage of 240 feet, according to Mr Al-, fred Vaksdal, plant engineer. A great glass melting furnace, capable of handling 24 tons of raw material each day 7, will be installed. A boiler plant 36 by 40 feet will be built. Observers point out that the speed with which plans for the new plant are being rushed indicates the importance of this new development.