The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1901-12-14

1raphfc Account Of the Record
nreaksng Journey Of the Ans
tralian-L0mdon NAIL

transportation" said . speake
recently before the information
al commercial congress at Phi
adelphia, ''underlies material pros
perity in every department q
commerce.; without transportation
commerce would be Impossible; thos
states and nations are rich, powerful
and enlightened whose transportation
facilities are the best and most com
prehensiye; the dying nations ar,
those with little or no transportation
facilities"
Then the speaker uttered these two
memorable sentences:
Trade follows the flag"
Trade follows the mail"
II these statements be true, too
great Importance can hardly be
placed upon the recent achievement
OF an American Pacific liner and OF
the five great railroads making up the
transcontinental system between San
francisco and New York, of which
MI. Charles Barnard gives q graphic
account in the -Four Track Series
At the post Office of Sydney, N. s.
W., there lay, early in the morning Of
August -, 1901, 3s7 sacks of the most
important mail matter ever sent from
Australia to England. There are two
routes by which such mail could go.
One is an all-British route by way OF
the Suez canal. The other il nrac.
tically an all-American route. by wav
OF Samoa, Hawaii, San Francisco. New
York and thence to London. OF
course, under the present arrange
ment, the last lap, on the bosom OF
the broad Atlantic. is sailed under
the British flag. The British route il
the older one and also the shorter.
being 1880 miles, while the distance
the other away around is 1857. a
o1nerence OF over thousand miles.
That morning, the 18th of August.
the American flag was flying on
new ship, fresh from the American
snip yards on the Delaware. She was
the best available ship that day in the
South Pacific. The only thing to do
Was to place the important mail ON
board the new American. twin-screw
steamer "Ventura," Of the Oceanic
Steamship company. which was done |
At ten o'clock In the morning. From
sydney the Ventura steered straight |
for Auckland, and entered that har-
Dor on the nth. Taking on freight.
mails and passengers she aqsin set
sail, making for the beautiful and po- |
rtic islands of Samoa, thence for Ha.
vail and San Francisco. At seven n.
M September 2, she anchored at
quarantine in San Francisco harbor.
having made the voyage in 20 DAYS
IND hours. Had the Ventura been
Urged it is possible she could have ar
'ived Few hours earlier and landed
nose precious mail bags that day.
IS II happened they could not be
anded till $3.50 on the morning of the
a. they were at once transferred
y teams to the Market street station
4 the Southern Pacific Ogden routel.
nd at ten o'clock they began their
ventful journey across the continent
Q New York, 1855 miles away. The
n1cers OF the Oceanic Steamship COM
any and of the Southern Pacific were
aturaliy anxious that the mail
Mould make good progress and were | .
ePt informed by telegraph of the ,
rogress OF the train during that -dav ,
nd evening.
suddenly the unexpected happened. j
ne train arrived at Ogden, Utah.
vo dreadful hours late.
The mail was transferred to the :
all car of train No. 2 of the Union :
acific. It was still late when :
reached Omaha. The Chicaco !.
arlington 4 Quincy put the single :
all car containing his majesty's :
all behind special fast engine. It I
as night run against time for No. :
SO. On and on, 60 miles an hour !;
eady. The train entered Union sta =
IN, Chicago, at 0:0s a. M. on the :
3. Five hundred and eight miles in E
minutes. :,
No. is the Lake Shore-New York :.
ntral fast mail"-the heaviest fast -
al train in America. She had left !,
$3.50. That train had to be over .
ken. A new special, two cars and =
}. sos, would try IL IL had to chase = =
all the way into Buffalo. At pre- -
ely 9:50:30 q. m. she pulled out ~
I'M the Lake Shore station--and !.
!. 8 one hour and 20H minutes 8
Fad. As the special ate up the =
les, it became evident that she was -
king up the lost time. She would :.
Irhar1 NJ 4 - T<1~a< n - Ia