, 1901-10-11
AMERICAN VICTORY
IN THE TRANSPORTATION OF
MAILS FROM AUSTRALIA
TO LONDON.
Some Wonderful Bursts of Speed on
the Burlington Route from Coun-
Gil Bluffs to Chicago In Recent
Trial to Demonstrate Shortest
Mail Route-A Mile d Minute.

American mail trains and steam
have just established the supremacy of
Americas transportation systems by
demonstrating that the route between
London and Australia via San Fran
cisco and New York is quicker and
better than the routes via the SucZ
Canal or Vancouver.
When the steamships Campania
sailed from New York, september /.
she had aboard important Australian
mail intended for the British Colonial
Office which has now becn delivered in
London several days earlier than ever
done before
The steamship Ventura, Of he Ocean
ic line. had carried the 3i7 sacks Of
mail from Sidney, New South Wales,
Australia, to San Francisco in twenty.
one days. the formcr time for tn" trip
being twenty-siX days.
Special mail trains. racing $3.50
miles across the continent over the
tracks of the Burlington route and the
other mail carrying roads, delivered
the mail in New York barely in time,
and the mail sacks were hustled aboard
the Campania only a short time before
she sailed.
Officials of the railroads carrying the
,,nfl n4rnpE tho nlltEiEl, :, ,uAntirlnht
were clated. for their claim that thu"
shortest route between London and
Australia was via New York and San
Francisco had been substantiated.
The Burlington and its connections
with the fast steamships of the Oceanic
Steamship Company, have cut down
the journey from Australia to London
to about %thirty-one days. This is a gain
of several days over the other routes.
Mail has heretofore been carried from
Australia to England on p. x O. line
steamships via the Suez Canal. At
tempts have been made to shorten the
journey. and only two years ago the
routefrom Vancouver via the Canadian
Pacific line to New York was tried.
The American railroads have beaten
the record made then.
Trade from Australia and the Orient
belongs to this country, and it is only
a question of time when we will get it. 90
said the official of one of the American
roads that carry the mail.
When the Oceanic Steamship line
was opened John d. Spreckols went to
| Australia. where he had a talk with the
government officials. to whom he oX-
planned that Australian mail could b"
carried more quickly via the steam
| ship line to San Francisco and thence
to New York, and now his statement
has been abundantly proved"
Through delay west of Ogden, the at
tempt at breaking the record was
nearly frustrated. The lost time was
regained, however, by means of a
special train over the Burlington
Route from Council Bluffs to Chicago
and another special over the Lake
| Shore railroad from Chicago to Toledo.
The Burlington special left Council
Bluffs at 1885 p. IN. September 5,
and reached Chicago at 800 a. m,
| September G. the 500 miles being GOV
cred in Glib minutes. an average speed
of AS. 81 miles per hour. Deducting 81
minutes for delays. the actual running
time was 562 minutes. a rate of 53.3S
miles per hour. The fastest time on
the run was made form Galesburg to
Buda, ILL.,, the ass miles between those
points being covered in A. minutes. an
average speed of 61.O9 miles per hour.
The run from Burlington to GalesDurg,
43.l miles. was made at a speed of
$500 miles per hour, that form Mendo-
ia to Aurora, Asa miles. at a speed of
57.96 miles per hour.
Fast as this run is, it is but a few
minutes faster than that made every
day in the week by the three exclusive
fast mail trains of the Burlington be-
tween Council Bluffs and Chicago.
Between these points the Burlington
has handled the trans-continental mail
for nearly eighteen years. and it is
rare indeed that the Fast Mail in either
direction is late.