River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-11-14
A RACE AGAINST TIME.
Breaking Journey of the Aus
traIinn-London Mail

perity m every department of
commerce; without transportation
commerce would be impossible; those
states and nations are rich, powerful
and enlightened whose transportation
facilities are the best and most com
prehensive; the dying nations are
those with little or no transportation
facilities"
Then the speaker uttered these two
memorable sentences:
"Trade follows the flag"
Trade follows the mail"
If 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
Mr.. Charles Barnard gives a graphic
account in the -Four Track Series"
At the post office of Sydney, n. S.
W., there lay, early in the morning of
August 10, 1901, 367 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 is prac-
tically an all-American route, by way
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 is
the older one and also the shorter,
being 1880 miles, while the distance
the other away around is 1857,
difference of over thousand miles.
That morning, the 18th of August,
the American flag was flying on
new ship, fresh from the American
ship 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 18th. Taking on freight,
mails and passengers she again set
sail, making for the beautiful and po-
etc islands of Samoa, thence for Ha-
wall and San Francisco. At seven p.
M, September 2, she anchored at
quarantine in San Francisco harbor,
having made the voyage in 90 days
and hours. Had the Ventura been
urged it is possible she could have ar
rived few hours earlier and landed
those precious mail bags that day.
AS it happened they could not be
landed till $50 on the morning of the
Sd. They were at once transferred
by teams to the Market street station
of the Southern Pacific (Ogdenroute),
and at ten o'clock they began their
eventful journey across the continent
to New York, 3,3Ss miles away. The
officers of the Oceanic Steamship COM
pany and of the Southern Pacific were
naturally anxious that the mail
should make good progress and were
kept informed by telegraph of the
progress of the train during that day
and evening
Suddenly the unexpected happened.
The train arrived at Ogden, Utah,
two dreadful hours late.
The mail was transferred to the
mail car of train No. 2 of the Union
Pacific. 1t was still late when
1t reached Omaha. The Chicago.
Burlington & Quincy put the single
mail car containing his maiesty's
mail behind a special fast engine. 1t
was night run against time for No.
1886. On and on, 60 miles an hour
steady. The train entered Union sta
ton, Chicago, at 9:0S a. m, on the
9th. Five hundred and eight miles in
555 minutes.
No. is the Lake Shore-New York
Central ''fast mail"-the heaviest fast
mail train in America. She had left
at $40. That train had to be over
taken. A new special, two cars and
No. 566, would try if it had to chase
it all the way into Buffalo. At pre-
cisely 9:59:3o a. m. she pulled out
from the Lake Shore station-and
No. one hour and 29b minutes
ahead. AS the special ate up the
miles, it became evident that she was
making up the lost time. She would
overhaul No. 6 at Toledo. Two hun
dred and forty-four miles in 2651h
minutes. The thing had been done.
The two hours lost 1000 miles away
had been made up.
At Buffalo, the precaution was
taken to make up the New York Gem
| trails No. 6-the fast mail-into two
sections, sending on those mail bags
from Australia, together with Uncle
Sans mail, in the first section. This
was the fifth and last of the railroad
lines forming the route across the
United States. The train pulled into
! the Grand Central station the morn
ing of the 9TH at 9:57--three minutes
ahead of time.
The Campania sailed at noon, with
his majesty's mail on board, 25 days
and hours out of Sydney. At seven
o'clock Saturday morning, September
IA, the Australian mail was deliv-
cred at the post Office in London, as
| sorted and ready for the carriers.