Let's take a forthnight's World tour

Title

Language

English

Source

The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume 9 (Issue No. 9) September 1929

Year

1929

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

September, 1929 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 11 Let’s Take a Fortnight’s World Tour Heroic comparisons: Commanded by Magellan until he was killed at Mactan, Philippines, April 26, 1521, the first voyage around the world began in six ships putting off from Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain, August 10, 1519, and ended at that port September 7, 1522, with the arrival there of the Victoria, the one ship left of the six making up the original royal fleet of His Ma jesty Charles I, commanded by Juan Sebastian del Cano and manned by the nineteen men, ragged and nearly starved, who were the sole survivors among the hundreds who composed the original crews. That was man’s conquest of the world’s seas, a voyage of three years and twenty-eight days. Spiritual fortitude bore the men up, with solemn rites the voyages began and ended. In this year’s August, the ,17th day thereof, at 11:39 p. m., to the 29th day thereof, at 1:13 a. m., a crazy bouyant craft known as the Graf Zeppelin, a balloon with steering and propelling equipment—a balloon as big as a steamship and lighter than a feather that large!—circled the world in a voyage of some 19,000 miles from Lake hurst, N. J., back to port in that town again at the average speed of 66 miles an hour—lapsed time being 21 days, 7 hours and 33 minutes and actual voyaging time 11 days, 23 hours and 14 minutes. Thus in three centuries three years and seven days have, been cut off the time it takes to go around the world by 'he fastest feasible transportation known to eiti. v age, that of Magellan or this of our times anu that of Commander Eckener. Magellan was out of touch with land the moment he was out at sea, but Eckener was always in instant communication with the world by means of the radio telegraph: a thousand inventions and discoveries, most of them dating with our own times, aided Eckener; and Magel lan, with the aid of the compass, charted his route as he traversed it, only guessing wildly at latitude reckonings. The world cheered on Eckener, and the German people, whose sub scriptions defrayed the cost of the Graf Zep pelin, sent through the ethereal waves their messages of confidence; and presidents popularly elected, with kings but tolerated on their thrones, as constitutional monarchs, joined their hosan nahs with the rest. Daily and hourly, in an audience far-flung as all the inhabited lands of earth, the peoples of the world had the news by Via the Graf Zeppelin to Japan, thence steamer to Manila: August, 1929. The insert shows the blimp at 800 feet over Yokohama. Some folks insinuate that the Luna bill to amend the banking law is mostly moonshine. Because many still believe the higher-ups in the posts bureau will be caught, a wag remarks there’s a lot of fish that never saw the sea that will bite at anything. Anay have eaten four million pesos in the vaults of the treasury, but a quick-witted parti san explains that they probably began gnawing during the Wood administration when there wasn’t cooperation! facilities of dirigible flight to be extended here within five years; the writer, at least, expects nothing less. The world-flight of the Graf Zeppelin is the biggest job man ever got through with successful ly, and is capped with the bigger job of the flight from Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen, the home port in Germany, under command of Captain Ernest Lehman, who took the big blimp through I KNOW A GIRL She’s so dumb she thinks Graf is a dirty dig at the post office, and Zeppelin is a new kind of fabric—maybe Zebra skin, they’re going in so much nowadays for queer leathers. She thinks it must be precious, too, since a dirigible is hurrying around the world with it. She hopes the passengers won’t suffer too much from meteorological conditions; she had something like that once and it was very painful and annoying; and she supposes that’s why Captain Eckener is a doctor. She hears there’s a woman aboard, but personally she disapproves of such high fliers. Also, she couldn’t understand why anyone would wish to hangar round Japan so long. With all that wine aboard, she thinks it may be a new bootlegging scheme; she wanted the U. S. coastguard service to overhaul the dirigible when it reached the ten-mile limit and search it. She doubts that the thing ever went 65 miles an hour, and she doesn’t see how they know—there isn’t any water to trail the little string in with the dingus on the end! She hopes they chose a light log, and won’t have trouble with knots. She doesn’t quite understand the gas bag the papers talk about, but thinks it may have something to do with ether at high altitudes, which probably is unhealthful when breathed directly; and she supposes passengers and crew use the gas bag in common—a kind of improved gas mask exemplifying Teutonic economy. She be lieves fuel must be very scarce in Japan. Since the dirigible floats of itself, the fuel would be for the kitchen stove only, and just think how long it took to get even that muchl JACOB LEVY PHILIPPINE HATS Buntals Bamboos Calasiaos Balibuntals Correspondence Solicited 227 Calle David Manila, P. I. Cable Address: “TEXTILES” the time of the flight around the world is briefer than from Lakehurst; it is only 20 days, 4 hours and 18 minutes. Such are the marvels of our age, remarkable in its practical adaptation of scien tific knowledge to the abiding problem of man kind, that of existence—how to energize more energy. The Graf Zeppelin makes the world but little more than a neighborhood. With admiration we contemplate such deeds, right eagerly we scan the progress of such novel arts; and dismal ly we turn to the realm of politics, to find that men plodding wretchedly along there have learned nothing and forgotten little since Magel lan’s age, and that the maximum benefits of the inventive age will not be available until better statesmen fill the chanceries of the nations. Still, Briand speaks of a United States of Europe, respecting commerce. While theiL is science there’s hope, even in politics. —W. R. My Cocinero Oh, thou, who dost the tater pare, Who breaks my choicest chinaware, Who weights the flaky crust of pies And fills the kitchen up with flies; Oh thou, who makest Number Two Do all the work that thou shouldst do, Who late dost come and early leave With food and silver up thy sleeve, Oh thou—I do not mean to salve thee, Cook—but how I’d love to halve thee! —A. R. E. Governor Davis has found out what is wanted in Mindanao. Now if it can be found that the Legislature wants it too, all should be well. microphone and the printed page in their several languages—there being a universal telegraph code. No hostility, on the contrary the most spon taneous aid was encountered by Eckener, who remains in America to assist the GoodyearZeppelin company at Akron, Ohio, in the build ing of Zeppelins for new passenger-express routes over that country and between that country and others beyond the oceans. When there is a hangar, zeppelins will come to Manila on scheduled voyages—just as steam ships come here now; and we may expect the two bow-on 50-mile gales. Not a passenger or member of the crew was lost or injured during this world voyage; there was no scurvy, no want, but only abundance, comfort and security—all this in and above the clouds, and over frigid and temperate seas and lands alike! The crew num bered forty, passengers twenty, the latter each paying a fare of $9,000. Letters from the United States were carried at $2.05 each; much express was carried, at high rates for quick de spatch and delivery, and the voyage is reported to have netted $500,000. Reckoning from Friedrichshafen and back, General Dorey and Datu Piang embraced in Cotabato. In what outlandish fashion is that? Stimson thinks 2,500 tracts for farming are enough, but it is said Davis believes this might be stretched a bit for rubber. Senator Broussard wants duties on Philippines products sold in America, and a' concord of nations guaranteeing independence—which smacks of going some ambitious chap’s security. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL

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