Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-15
NOTES OF PROGRESS
Changes That Are Taking
Place in Scotland.
SEEN IN EDINBURGH
DRAMATIC CRITICS DISCUSSED
BY THE OLD PLAYERS CLUB.
Sale of the Goodal Picture-Prepara-
ton for the Christmas Pantomimes
The British Cable Service.
SEEN IN EDINBURGH


Special CORE Sp0ndence Of The Evening Star.
LONDON, November 8, 1902,
Last week l took a flying trip up to
Scotland and was astonished to see the
changes that have been wrought in the past
four years since my last visit there. Since
that time Dundee has instituted an cleo
trio tram system owned by the municipal
lty 1t is trolley System, and it is up-to-
date in every respect, with fine new trans
and an excellent service Of good speed.
They used 10 run horse cars there. The
town has improved greatly in many re
spccts and | particularly noticed the vast
amount Of American goods sold in the
shops especially in the places that sold
food products. The only disappointing
thing about Dundee is that it's commerce
has so sadly fallen off from the old whal-
ing days. | got talking with an old cll-
zen when ! went to look at the docks. ana
he told me, as he offered me his snun box,
that he could remember the days when
forty or fifty big sailing ships would be
tied up in the docks there discharging car
goes from all over the world and he had
seen the whaling fleet go out for its two
or three years voyage, but now, bar one
big vessel lying a considerable distance
down the Tay. which we could see from
where stood, and large Rotterdam
steamer diSCharging at one of the COCKS
the hitherto busy wharves were almost
bCTeft Of ships.
Glasgow iupresses me more and more as
being a combination between an American
ami a continental city, German, for pref
erenCe. s. many of its citizens have been
in America. and after making a moderate
fortune have returned to set up in bust
ness in their native place, that one finds
certain ASPECT of the town quite American.
Its system Of electric trans is excellent,
and | notice that in Glasgow they frequent
ly run two cars together, as you do in
Washington. Building is going on in very
MANY streets and numerous fine big 'front.'
ages are being put up. The River Clyde
even at this season was busy, and the
whole place had a thriving appearance.
Even the quick lunch" system has been
introduced at many of the restaurants and
public houses. and it is possible to find
bars where these lunches are served not
divided by partitions, as they are here in
LOndoh. for different classes of customers
but open and free and gorgeously fitted up.
improvements in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh. though. still remains the fin
est city in Scotland, probably in Great
Britain. and l am almost tempted to say,
in Europe. i is classic and beautiful, and
on the castle side of the town many of the
old buildings fianking the gardens between
that side and Princes street, are being pull
ed down and beautiful shops and offices
erected in their place. There is hardly
street without its buildings faced with Cor
inthian or DOric columns, and the whole
city presents a Chaste and Beautiful APP
pearanCe- Here. too. the system of electric
trans is we'll ordered and efficient. The
greatest change | noticed was the new sta
ton hotel built over the old WaVerley rail-
Wav station. at one end Of the Princes
street gardens. Americans will remember
the low and somewhat shabby station that
used to stand here. but now all this Is
changed. big hotel facing Princes street
rises over the station to a height of five or
six stories. surmounted by a clock tower.
The hotel is really finer, think, than any
thing we have in London. II has only been
open two weeks. but is already a very great
success. 1t has been furnished by a local
merchant and is done in the very best
style. The rooms are spacious, and being
done I'D in white. with great marble fire.
places and high mantels, the whole being
carpeted with Turkey and Persian rugs,
present q rich and elegant appearance The
prices. also. are not high, and the cuisine
is good Elaborate precautions are taken
against fire. several fire stations being
established on each floor, with full direc-
tons for calling aid in case of an out
break In every room is a map of the
whole floor on which II is situated with d.
reCttons as TO stairCases, etc, for use in
case Of fire. Electricity Is used through
out the house and the elevators are run by
the same power.
My business took me to see editors
OF newspapers, and l was greatly inter
ested to find that the same men, or in some
cases their sons. were at the head of af-
fairs on the papers 1 had visited some ten
years ago. That is a beautiful thing about
this country, the tenure of office and the
descent from father to son of the editor
ship and management of these great prop
critics. Only in one case were these men
young and that was a Newcastle where
the proprietor Of a paper died some three
years ago and his son has succeeded him.
and OF the same paper, where the manager
who was a very old man. had retired his
son had taken up his work.
The Railway Service.
The railway service. too, to the north ap-
pears to me to be quite as good as any
thing we have in America. Fast trains,
dining cars. corridor carriages, all comfort
able and good. The great third class has
been looked after, since managers have
realized that 1t Is they who pay the divi-
derds, and not the first class. The price is
not exorbitant. either. For s14 L bought a
return ticket to Dundee, about five hum
dred miles from London, which allowed me
to stop going and coming at nearly any
town, and to make a detour from my route
from Edinburgh over to Glasgow ana back
and was good TO be used any time up to
the end of the year. This works out at
less than a cent and a half a mile with
comfort approaching our very best trains
in America. A four course lunch was
served in the dining car for 80 cents. and
a five course dinner at night for 60 cents
with wines and drinks as cheap as in an
ordinary restaurant. British railways have
way they have applied these lessons of late
years is most gratifying to the travelling
public
The British Round the World Cable.
The new ALFRED" cable, as the practical
ly all British line of wire around the world
is called. gives much satisfaction here The
last link was, of course, the Pacific cable
Just completed. Britishers hope that rates
will be altered in consequence wherever
competition is shown with the old routes.
The only places where Britain does not
control the new route are Madeira and St
Vincent, but as these islands belong to
friendly Portugal II Is almost the same as
British. There are as many anomalies in
cable prices as in the government teIe-
graph service. but the prices are regulated
by the volume of business, l suppose.
Mr.. Henniker Heaton's latest contribution
TO the big library of anomalous telegraphic
charges relates to the cables. According to
the genial postal reformer while the tariff
Is % cents per word TO New York 3IOO
miles, II is 30 cents to Cairo, 1920 miles
and 60 cents to Bermuda. 29T0 miles We
pay cents to Tunis, 1850 miles and IL
cents to Constantinople, 1.S14 miles. but
the moment We enter the Red sea the
charge rises lin sympathy perhaps with the
Thermometer. Mr.. Heaton facetiously sug-
gests) TO 10 cents. The companies find n
cents a word sufficiently profitable to New
Zealand, 10000 miles. but insist on IS cents
10 Cape Town. 5000 miles, or a reduction of
cents only for a difference of 10 aOa r,oilas