Evening star., 1948-10-03

son coming up, the Greater Miami
Area Is fastening to assure prospec-
tive visitors that damage from the
recent headline making hurricane
was slight there and is being
cleared up promptly.
According to the schedule, prac-
tically all traces Of minor damage
caused by the storm which passed
so miles West of Miami Beach
September %" was to have been re-
paired by late last week. City Man
ager Claude A. Renshaw also re-
ported a survey by city departments
shows the Miami Beach loss con-
fined almost entirely to trees and
shrubbery. Some sand was washed
into oceanside parks and drives, and
possibly a score of coconut palms
were leveled.
The fleet of sports fishing and
sightseeing boats escaped without
casualty" while municipal golf
courses, tennis courts, Fairgrounds
and parks are in use again.
Acting City Manager A. H Patten
Of Miami has a similar story. He
said the resort city's damage con-
sisted mostly Of uprooted palm trees
and shrubbery. City departments re-
ported regular maintenance crews
could take the cleanup In stride;
that streets are in good condition
and that there was no building
damage. q
Also, that Bayfront Park, which
has NOR. than 100000 in tropical
foliage, came through with only two
uprooted palm trees; that the
Orange Bowl Stadium suffered a
couple Of twisted public address
system horns; that the Hialeah
Tropical and Gulfstream racing
plants were unharmed.
So it looks like the hurricane will
be water over the dam" when
tourists begin their annual trek to
Florida. Even the threat of damage
will be gone, for-according to a
twell-accepted theory-the hurricane
danger definitely ends the first week
in November.
Thousands of train riders can
agree with the observations of R
Oakley Kennedy. businessman and
director of the Boston and Albany
Railroad, who finds the railroads
missing several bets in their rela-
tions with passengers.
Writing a brief critique in the
fpocket-size magazine Of the Fedora
ton Of Railroad Progress, he builds
up the idea that travellers should
not be expected to ride hour after
nour without exhibiting some in
terest in their surroundings" The
less mollselike passengers are prone
to ask questions. They want to
know something of the scenes
through which they are passing, the
name of the flag stop the train
whizzes through, the cause Of stop
ping and waiting interninably at
some out-of- -the-way place.
Where are we?" How late are
we?" What happened?" Such
questions as these, Mr.. Kennedy
notes. too often receive vague, un-
satisfying answers. Somebody must
know the answer" he observes
why not tell passengers before
they ask?"
He continues:
1.-THE traveller peers out Of the
window. Every station seems to be
named Railway Express For whom
are the signs tucked under the
caves? Why can't we have signs
well back from the tracks-well In
advance Of the station at both ends,
as well as at the station? Why
can't we have them lighted at night?
Simple brochures describing the
route and giving few pertinent
facts about the countryside, the
towns and villages are welcomed by
travellers on some lines already
Why not extend the practice?"
In conclusion, he says: Railroad
travel can be fun-if you know
where you are, If you know some
interesting things about where you
are, why you are late and what
happened when something hap
pened. Yes, railroad travel can be
fun-but is it?"
4 4
If Mr.. Kennedy were writing about
airlines, he might see fit to make
the same observations. Several
months ago, this column brought ur
the subject in commenting on a
flight map" issued passengers by
United Airlines for a particularly
scenic leg of its trancontinental
route. The map shows a line
representing the planes course and
names the peaks, towns and valleys
directly below and to the horizon
on both sides.
It was pointed out that almost
every American is familiar with q
certain know how" Of automobile
travel, and they have become used
to knowing exactly where they are
to be guided on certain routes, of