The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-04-07
COAL STRIKE TO
AFFECT RAILWAY
TRANSPORTATION
Waterways Again Come Into Gen
eral Use With Lack
of Fuel

London, April 6--One OF the on.
timiztic features during the coal
strike was the resumption of ac-
tiyity ON the inland waterways Of
England The kingdom IS covered
with a network of natural and an
tifcial canals. 1t Is now believed
| by transportation experts that these
canals can be profitahly operated By
the use of oil in the power plants
If the canal boats
With freight trains STANDING
empty on the sidings for lack Of
fuel. shippers had their attention
called to the long neglected water
ways, and the railways viii now find
powerful rival in the canals Al
aady large Midland firm of car
riers has started a motor barge ser-
vice between London and Birming-
nam. The boats are fitted with en-
zines using fuel oil. One firm, which
has had two barges in service on the
annals for some time, has placed an
order for ten new vessels and rusA
riders have been given for their
quipment. These new carriers will
cover the distance between London
md Birmingham in As hours, or
half the time usually taken by the
ordinary canal craft. Using crude
iii, the cost of power in the boats
will be about one cent a mile
Experiments have shown that the
ost OF the ordinary drawn
md staam-driyen barges averages
roughly twenty five cents a mile,
which gives some idea of the econ
)my Of the new system.
Should Take Children,
Replying to Parliamentary critics
If his administration Of the Poor
Law schools, John Burns, president
# thu Local Government Board, de-
Jared that every old man in Eng
land who owns more than two cats
or more than one dog should be
compelled to take a child from the
0oor house. He maintained that
! his policy of removing the children
from the poor house to the care Of
private families had proven marked
W successful
Referring to the children who
have been boarded out Burns said:
increasingly both rich and poor are
adopting poor law children. If |
had my way / would make it compul-
sorry for all women who keep more
than two cats and one dog to have
4 poor law child on which to divert
some of the cash and a good deal
Of the wasted sentiment which
many people put upon animals to an
extent which is absurd
Improving English Navy.
The Board of Admiralty is at
present paying great deal of at
tention to the Improvement of the
smaller units of the British fleet,
the submarines and torpedo boat de
stroyers, vessels which many ex-
perts believe would be of greater use
in case of a war than even the big
modern battlaships and battleaip
cruisers.
| This country has at present a fleet
Of over so submarines, some Of the
latest even mounting small guns to
repeI attacks, and improvement is
still being effected The men Of Az,
lost off Portsmouth in February,
were engaged in carrying out tests
of new appliances, the secrets Of
which are known only to the Ad-
mirality, one Of the reasons that so
little was heard of the cause Of the
accident and such pains were taken
to prevent prying eyes from eXamin
ing the hull after it was raised A
foreign salvage company was first
given the contract to raise the sub
marine. but as soon as 1t had at
| lached the necessary chains to her,
the admiralty took over the work
The dock in which the vessel was
placed after being raised was sur
rounded by canvas screen, and no.
body was allowed aboard. AS all
the crew lost their lives the public
will not be let into the secrets Of the
test which the A3 went out on her
fatal mission.
Submarines Growing Better.
While great advance is being
made in the submarine branch, even
greater improvements are being
made In the destroyers, and al
though nothing has become known
to the public, 1t is believed that the
experts of the Admiralty have dis
| gtovprnd som of hing that will piVp