Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-11-24

O. IL -
- YDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES,
AUSTRALIA.-It has been said that
- the development of a cOuntry's trans
pOrtation is the measure of its progress.
If that is the case then Australia surely
has progressed in the few years OF its
history. Yet it is still only at the be-
ginning Of things. With its 2,9T4,5S1
square miles, a bare half. million less
than continental United States, in 1918 II
had 25,S0S miles of railroad, less than
one-tenth the mileage in this country.
If we deduct the area of our Great Lakes,
Australia has 4 larger land surface than
the United States.
One might jump to the hasty conclu
sion that this meant that in the matter
of railroads the United States was ten
tines as progressive as Australia. How
ever. when you bear in mind that the
population of Aust alia is only five
million, you might easily decide that.
man for man, the commonwealth was
twice as progressive.
The fact of the matter is that Aus
tralian railways have been developed
under the greatest Of handicaps Long
distances, sparse population, great
stretches of waterless desert, coastal
mountain ranges which shut off the in
terior-these. coupled with the early
self sufficient character of each Of the
states. have worked against transporta-
ton Development.
Each state, as you have read in other
issues Of the Times, has acted independ
emily to solve its railroad problems in
its own way. The first railroads, built
by private enterprise, were planned TO
fit only local conditions. As the states
took over these first lines they carried
on the plans as they had been begun.
The result is that while the railways of
New South Wales are Of standard gauge,
I feet 81 inches. Victoria has a gauge
s0f . feet 3 inches; Queensland and West
australia, feet inches; South Austria
liza, feet 3 inches, 1 feet So inches and
3 feet inches. 4 passenger landing at
Brisbane, on the northeast coast, must
change to a different type of car five
times in riding to Perth, 3,476 miles TO
the southwest corner OF Australia, and
even between the two largest cities, Sgd
ney to Melbourne, $50 miles, no through
cars can be operated.
The commonwealth has now undertaken
the tremendous task Of linking together
the different elements of this transpor-
tation system. The first step obviously
is to standardize the gauge, but this is
no easy matter, as it entails an expense
IN nowise warranted by the earnings OF
the roads. At the present time prac-
ideally all the railroads are state-owned
Up to June. 1920. 1892 miles OF standard
gauge railroad had been built and was
being operated by the commonwealth, at
a loss. Of course
JEALOUSY OF STATES
GREATEST HANDICAP.
The greatest handicap of all has been
the jealousy OF the states When the
commonwealth was formed, many years
OF rivalry lore fruit in 4 pact which gave
full recognition to the doctrine of state
rights. In the few years which have
elapsed the feeling of solidarity and
union has been growing, and there is
hope that before long the selfish inter
asts of the individual states will give
way before the urgent needs Of the whole
country for a unified transportation sys-
TEN.
The Great Desert Of Australia divides
the country into two distinct parts, and
West Australia is as completely isolated
as If it were a separate island. Until
the building Of the Trans-Australian rail
road there was no land Communication be-
tween this state and its nearest neigh
sbor except by telegraph. The boat jour
ney from Sidney to Perth requires twice
the time from Australia to New Zealand.
The Trans-Australian railway, from
Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, 1,051 miles
standard gauge, is the important link in
the CONNIE nwealth railways.
The building OF the Trans-Australian
was unique in the history OF railroading.
LTD h
are no tunnels, no steep grades, and a
few bridges and culverts were required.
In all its stretch no permanent body of
water is crossed. There is one length of
500 miles without curve-a worlds rec
ord, without doubt, in straight" track.
The most remarkable feature of the rail
way, however, is its location in 4 region
Uninhabited even by aborigires and where
the ordinary engineering tasks Of grad
ing and tracklayiDg were secondary to
the need of providing water. The prelimi-
nary surveys were conducted by means of
camel transport; then well-bOripg outfits
were dragged by camel trains Of fourteen
or sixteen. Catchment basins and shallow
wells were dug, but in the actual con-
structiOn work chief reliance was placed
upon tank cars hauled hundreds of miles
over the new track. At certain points
water was sold at s. gallon.
For a long time at Past there can be
no hope that the comm .awealth railways
will pay a dividend. There Is no doubs,
however, that increasingly they will play
4 big part in the industrial Development
Of the country And in time of war, as
Lord Kitchener pointed out, the strategic
value Of through by-rail transport can
hArdIy be calculated. But for neither
military nor pastoral purposes can the
project hope for any great measure Of
success until it is possible to ship from
coast to coast without relOading, as the
change in gauge now makes necessary.
DOT only is the cost of such shipping made
prohibitive, but much valuable time is
lost. 1t is practically impossible to ship
stock and perishable goods under pres
ent conditions.
AAIERICAN-TRAINED
RAILROAD EXECUTIVE
The attitude toward the railroads, both
state and federal, is slowly changing.
In Melbourne, for instance, 1 found in
Harold w. CIapp, newly appointed chair
man of the railway commissioners Of Vic
toria, a broad gauge executive who had
very distinct ideas Of the value of uni
ficatiOn.
Mr. C1app's father and mother moved
from California TO Australia about fifty
years ago, and his father established a
stage coach line TO the new gold fields
reached through Melbourne Afterward
he owned the first street railway line in
Melbourne.
Although born in Australia, Mr.. Clapp
has resolved the better part Of his rail-
road training in the United States. hav-