The San Francisco call., 1905-08-19
Private Car Brings
Sir Charles and
Lady Smith.
On Their Way Home
From Trip to
Mexico.
Enjoy Trolley Ride
With Railroad
Officials.

Colonel Sir Charles Euan Smith. one Of
the foremost of Great Britain's tramway
masnates, and a man who has been prom
country as a soldier and diplomat, and
Lady Smith, after whom the city OF
Ladysmith in South Africa famous for
it's siege, was named, are registered at
the Palace Hotel The distinguished
visitors arrived here yesterday from Los
Angeles on their way home from Mexico.
They will remain here several days and
then proceed to Portland. From there
they go to Vancouver, and then by way
Of Montreal to London.
Sir Charles came to this country TO
attend the international Railway Con-
gress in Washington and from there he
went to the City of Mexico, where a COM
pany OF which he is the head is in con-
troll OF the street railroad system. He
has spent two months in Mexico. part of
which time he was the guest Of Presi-
dent Diaz.
OWNS MANY RAILWAYS.
AS a street railway magnate, Sir
Charles figures prominently the presi-
dent of the London board Of directors of
the Mexico City Tramways Company, and
eighteen other lines, most of them cleo
trio, among them the systems of Lisbon,
Capetown and Santiago de Chile. He is
also president of the Marconi Wireless
Telegraph Company. and is a leading
factor in many other important CONNER
cial concerns of England and her prov
inces II is his first visit to the extreme
western section of the United States and
he frankly admitted yesterday that its
development had proved a great surprise
to him
In no place in the world" said he,
"have 1 found such a perfect system Of
street railways as in Los Angeles, and l
must claim that 1 am interested In
several roads on the other side of the
world that are regarded as being very
fine. To me the Huntington system of
roads was a marvel and ii would be Of
much benefit to the managers of systems
in other parts of the world if they would
send their engineers TO California to study
the methods of operation and the general
conditions Of the street railways here"
SOLDIER AND DIPLOMAT.
Yesterday afternoon Sir Charles and
Lady Smith were the guests of Patrick
Calhoun, President Holland and other
representatives of the United Railroads
on q tour Of this city. which was made
in one OF the company's private cars.
What most interested Sir Charles on the
trip was the convenience of the service
and the method Of transferring Of pas
sengers on single fare.
For many years Sir Charles Smith was
a member of the diplomatic corps Of
Great Britain and at one time he was
chief of the diplomatic corps with Lord
Roberts in Afghanistan. He served
throughout the Afghan campaign, was
with Lord Napier on his trip to Magdala,
and has earned distinction in campaigns
in Abyssinia, in Persia and other
places familiar in British history. With
Sir Charles on his present trip is Mar
shall Miller, consulting engineer of the
Mexico City Tramways Company, who
came north with a view of studying San
Francisco's street railway system. The
distinguished visitors are travelling in a
private car of the Mexican Central road,
which will carry them northward on
their visit to the Portland exposition.