Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-09-09
TRAVEL IN LONDON.
rho Ease with Which It IL Directed by
Two nly-Clad Boobies.


Here two policemen direct conflict
ing tides OF travel with ease and GER
tainty. All vehicles must keep to the
left in driving. No one ever sees an
attempt to defy this law. No heavy
truck comes numbering along the
wrong side Of the street The result
is that the policeman in Wellington
street simply walks out before the
column of advancing vehicles and
spreads out his arms Like a regi-
ment of well-trained cavalry, the ad-
vancing column hats. Then the
column in the Strand moves forward.
When the policeman in the Strand
sees that his street is tolerably clear,
and that Wellington street is becoming
choked up, he halts his column, and
tue Wellington street policeman al
lows his TO move. There is no attempt
on the part Of any driver to break
through the lines. There is no shout
ing, no swearing. no clubbing and no
arre5ting The whole business is
smoothly and safely directed by two
misunderstanding ''peelcrs." who
would be knocked down and run over
in half a sec0nd if their. silent direc-
tions were disobcved.
The secret of this order in chaos is
not difficult to find. The laws here
are living force and eve"v driver in
this great city knows it. II IL driver is
arrested for transgre sing the laws
made for his government he is pun
ished. The law definitely prescribes
the peha,ty for each often Sc, and fines
OF forty shillings or fourteen days i'm
prisonment stare tn, offenders in the
face. And they know they will not bs
discharged ut the police court That
is the grand secret NJ alderman
will come down and use his '.in-
fluence" in behalf of the prisoner, and
the sitting justice has NO option about
enforcing the law. He must do it.
Politics does not enter into these mat
ters here at oil. Hence thess humble
and suppliant policemen have much
less trouble in managing the daily
traffic of this vast city tn IN our far
finer body of mon have in handling
the daily business of the streets OF New
York.
There is one other thing which adds
to tho ease with which the poi
handle the traffic OF the streets here,
and that is the superb pavements.
They are worth a weeks study in
themselves. There are three kinds of
pavement In use in the London streets.
The least used at present is that Of
stone. Where it does exist, however,
it IL much better than ours in
New York. The stones are long and
are set on end, the upper surface being
much smaller than our Belgian blocks.
Under. these stones is heavy bed Of
gravel and stone, the whole pavement
being about eighteen inches in thick
ness The wooden pavements are also
formed Of much smaller blocks than
those tried in New York. But the most
tenstvely used pavement in London
is that Of concrete / saw ono torn up
for repairs q day or two ago. and
had an opportunity to discover how it
was built First a foundation of stone
Is laid down In good, substantial
blocks That is covered with tar and
gravel, and upon this Gre set blocks of
wood on end tightly pressed together.
Over these, cementing them together,
and when rolled smooth forming the
surface OF the street. is put on the
concrete. The entire pavement is over
two feet thick, and Is as solid rs natur-
al rock. It Is as smooth as billiard
table, and over It the heavy vehicles
Of NIL kinds used in London roll
smoothly and easily. One never sees
q team OF horses vainly struggling to
pull heavy load out Of n hole in these
streets. The stream OF vehicles moves
always smoothly and steadily onward.
save when checked by the silent majes-
ty Of the inexorable English law, rcp-
resented by the extended arras OF an
Insignificant London .bobby. Cor.