The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-05-23
AROUND THE WORLD.
Probability That the Journey VIII Soon he
Made In Forty Days.
Especial Correspondence.l

remarkable, as it was certainly unprec-
edented- Not many years later, how
ever, two young American women beat
Phineas Fogg's imaginary record by
almost 10 days, and the play founded
upon Verne's romance now calls itself
"Around the World In Sixty Days. "
As matter of fact, nobody has yet made
the journey in so short time, but Grit
fiths, the English traveller, has done it
in about s. days, and the prospect is
that before the close of the century the
trip may be made by ordinary means of
transportation in less than 40 days.
The journey round the world east
ward from London is now made easily
in from 60 to 6715 days. This means that
in the ordinary course of travel a man
may leave London on the 1st of July,
and journeying eastward eat his dinner
at London about the 18th or 9Th of Sep
TENDER. From London to Colombo, Cey-
Ion, is 10 days; from Colombo to Hong
Kong is Il days; thence, with a proba-
bic delay of one day, to Victoria, B. c.,
is 81 days; across the continent to New
York is seven days, and across the At
lantic, with a possible half days delay,
by the swiftest ships, is six days. This
foots up 81 Is days, and, if the possible
% days delay be eliminated sc days.
There is always the possibility of some
gain in crossing the Pacific, as the ships
are Oftener early than late, SO that an or
dinarily lucky voyage might be made as
low as 60 days. All this presupposes
that the traveller takes ordinary means
of transportation and asks no special IA
vors. Should steamship companies and
governments cooperate to forward him
he might accomplish the journey in two
or three days less The best known
tourist company sends travellers round
the world in from IS to 20 days at an
expense of about 5000. This means ex-
actly $666 for the round the world
ticket, $25 extra for sleeping car berths
and So per day for food and trifing ex-
tras. The trip is thus made luxuriously.
It might be cheapened by an economical
traveller.
When the Transsiberian railway
shall have been completed to Vladivos-
tok, there will be an all rail route
across Europe and Asia. In connection
with this will be run swift steamships
to the western coast of the American
continent The greater part of the jour-
ney round the world can then be made
by rail instead of by water, and the
time may easily be reduced to less than
40 days. The journey from London to
ST. Petersburg is now made in go hours.
The journey by rail across the Russian
empire to Vladivostok can be made in
not more than Il days, and the sea trip
from Vladivostoz to the shores of
America ought to be made in eight or
ten days, while the trip across the Amer
lean continent and the Atlantic need not
consume more than 3 or ii days. This
foots up almost 4O15 days, and, taking
the shorter alternatives in two instances,
371 days. Special cooperation of gov
ernments and transportation companies
could probably reduce it as low as 35
days.
All this presuppOses no improvement
in the speed of steamships and locomo-
tive engines between this and the close
of the century, but should the speed Of
each be bettered by some fraction of a
mile per hour the traveller of six years
hence may girdle the globe in less than
calendar month. With the Transsibe-
rian railway in first rate running order
and its attendant line of steamships do
ing good service, it is safe to say that
some adventurous traveller will under
take to dine in London on the first day
in any month between May and Novem-
Der, girdle the globe and dine again in
London on the last day of the same
month.
Inc TOunQ lQ0 WOTlQ Is SD111
perhaps a serious undertaking, but is
no longer an uncommon one. All sorts
of persons are making it, and many
have gone round the world three or
four times. Englishmen employed in
China and Japan frequently make their
visits home to England by way of the
United States and return eastward from
England to their posts. Americans are
gradually becoming the great travellers
that an American IS first trip abroad is a
tour of the world. In making such
journey at leisure the traveller encoun-
tiers fewer sudden and violent changes
of climate than one might suppose.
American travellers seem to prefer the
westward journey round the world
Leaving home in early autumn, they
pass through Japan before the cold
weather sets in, see India in December
and January. Egypt in February, south
ern Europe in the early spring, and
England or France in the late spring
and early summer. The traveller east
ward from London ordinarily starts in
late autumn, passes the winter in the
tropics of Africa and Asia, reaches Japan
in the spring, crosses the American con-
tinent before the heats of midsummer
have come and reaches London in the
midst of the season.
WILLIAM c. DERwENT.
Chicago Press Clubs.
In no city probably are newspaper