Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-27
MAN ASSERTS AUTO TOUR
is PROPER MY TO VISIT EUROPE
Canoe and Plane Also
Used by FairchiId
on Trip.
Garage Rent LO,o. Traffic
in London Is Real
Problem.

Seeing England by padding a Ca
madam" canoe, touring Holland in a
canal boat, and more recently, view
ing the continent from the air afford
new thrills-and so did the novel ad-
venture of d Washington man who
drove his own automobile through
London and continental cities.
David Fairchild of Washington, fla
nous plant explorer, writes to the
National Geographic Society of his
experiences amid new traffic condi
lions, ranging from horse dray and
pushcart distractions to a conges-
ton of bicycle riders, as follows:
We'll, should say the way to
have experiences in Europe Is to come
over in your own hand-driven car
leaving every vestige of profess
sional chauffeur behind, and poke
around through the narrow streets
and the beautiful highways of these
remarkable countries.
Forebodings of Friends.
1T was something of an accident
which landed us in Europe with the
14Oth automobile to cross the At
lantic this year. 1t was my stub
born disbelief in the information
got, which varied from the statement
that it was just as expensive to traVel
in Europe as II is in America, to the
discouraging one that II would be
difficult to drive in London because
they drive to the left there and the
streets are so congested that a man
cannot drive for himself at all.
The misinformation about motor
ing in Europe which exists on your
side is colossal. If you can inter
view people and speak a little or the
languages of the land you visit, mo-
toring in Europe is the only way by
which you can compare 1t with Amer
lea on the same plane. If you have
a car at homo and run about every
where and come here and depend on
taxis you will not learn any more
about the country than you would
with taXis in America.
II have found the garages small
and dark affairs, but they cost only
from % cents to so cents a night. i
have left tools in the car continu-
ally and nothing has disappeared.
have been arrested in London and
have a letter from Scotland Yard ex-
cusing me, for really the reasons for
the arrest were technical ones, pure
and simple.
"System" for Driving.
II can find my way all over that
town, and my system Is as simple
as A b c. l get the best map pos
sible and place my son on the. front
scat, and he calls out the streets
Unless we get started wrong we go
right through the narrowest streets
and alleys Of that great jumbled-up
thing called London.
This going around in London il
the most time robbing business, for
the traffic is simply chaotic because
of no broad avenues and because into
the Strand and Piccadilly and oxford
street the pushcart, dray and bus, and
even the baby carriage traffic de-
boucheS from all the side streets I'M
til for miles the traffic moves, in the
late afternoon, at snaiis pace. Al
first l thought 1t was like 1T is In
New York, but it is very different, for
the rate of travel is that of the small
pushcart when the street is crowded
How on earth London can hold her
own in commerce without doing some
thing to speed up the exchange OF IN
formation and the transfer of people
is beyond my comprehension.
I'm respect to this exchange of peo-
pie Paris is far ahead Of London, for
it's avenues are broad and its traffic
instead of being so largely in the
ndnOS the cIo llC puSA
cart, is, so to say, on rubber tires.
felt in London all the time as if the
general public which Jay walked all
over the place rather resented the
idea that ] had a car and was taking
I'D more room than they were on foot
There were not really any who scowleo
at me, but / had an uncomfortable
feeling of riding down people wher-
ever l went.
.Terrible Trahfc Problem"
IT wandered in and out of the tiny
little streets and got an idea OF Lon
don which it is impossible to get
without car of your own. London
has a terrible traffic problem to face
She must either give up the idea OF
speeding up her commerce and get II
up on tires or broaden scores OF
streets anC run through broad ave-
nues somewhere.
I'm Holland there are still so few
automobiles that there is not yet any
problem of traffic. You travel soil
tary and alone over roads which have
cost more than the thoroughfares In
America and which were built GEN.
turtles ago and come, after a while, to
discount every derogatory remark OF
the inhabitan as regards to the bad
roads of his country. mere Simply
are no bad roads, in an American
sense. in this part of Europe.
Years ago Dutch friend of mine
who was in Johns Hopkins as pro-
lessor, predicted that the bicycle
would disappear, because twas onl.
a fad. Imagine my surprise to FIND
bicycles in his country in such guam
titles that, like locust swarms, they
blocked the wheels of traffic. never
saw so many. Every family must
have one for each member of it. And
they never try to get out of your
way at all, but take up as much room
as they want and crowd you off into
the ditch, so to speak. But the streets
are so narrow and so crooked that il
is impossible to go fast, and conse-
..,nntl, Z lie nIiita ac safe driyin 6