Page
THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS,
Foamite Firefoam
THE MOST EFFECTIVE FIRE
EXTINGUISHER.
BOLE AGENTS FOR HONGKONG AND SOUTH CHINA:
THE UNİTED ASBESTOS ORIENTAL AGENCY, LTD.
Tel. Dentral 238,
2, Queen's Baüldings.
ANCHOR BRAND.
"THE CORDAGE YOU CAN TRUST."
PURE MANILA
MARINE ROPE
TRANSMISSION
OF POWER ROPE
CABLE LAID
HAWSERS
WELL DRILLING
CABLES
ROPE.
ESTABLISHED 1854
ROPES OF ALL SIZES FOR ALL PURPOSES -
YNCHAUST
ROPE
FACTORY
MANILA
"
MADE FROM" PURE MANILA
HEMP
MANUFACTURE
BY THE MOST
MODERN
MACHINERY.
STOCKS ON HAND OF ALL SIZES: ENQUIRIES SOLICITED.
HONGKONG - OFFICE:
FACTORIES-MANILA, P.I. ·
KING'S BUILDING. TELEPHONE CENTRAL 3165.
HONGKONG HOTEL.
A CHINESE
NEW YEAR EVE
AFTER-DINNER
CARNIVAL DANCE
WILL BE HELD IN THE
ROOF GARDEN
UN
Friday, 12th February, 1926,
From 9 p.m. to Midnight."
"FANCY OR EVENING DRESS OPTIONAL.
DINNER.
#
(Including Admission to Carnival "Dance).
$4 Per Head.
7.30 p.m. to 9.00p.m.
TABLE RESERVATIONS SHOULD NOW BE MADE.
THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI HOTELS, LTD.
After the Bathe
Drink a cup of Bovril on coming out of the water after a good swim. ?
It will All you with a delightfal warm satisfied feeling. It will stimulate the circulation, and "diminish the risk of a chill, : It will also give you more strength -and energy for your next swiza.
BOVRIL
LESSONS OF THE HOTEL FIRE. ONE POSSIBLE CAUSE OF THE OUTBREAK.
[EY AN ECOINEERING CORRESPONDENT.] When everything is taken into con sideration it must be coalessed that the residents in the Hongkong Hotel were fortunate to have escaped with the loss only of personal property. If the fire had conumented at about 2 am, and if there had been a high wind blowing they would have been subjected to far greater perils than those which no doubt tried them sorely on New Year's Day.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 1926
HONGKONG STOCK EXCHANGE.
CLOSING QUOTATIONS.
JANUARY 6T2, 1926. Hongkong Bank ..............$1,060 buy,, 1,070 sa.. Do.. London... £129 com. Chartered Bank.
£al com...
Mercantile Bank, A. & B..... nom.
Do
O......£18) nom.
P. & O. Bank East Asia, Bank
Taramince Canton
China Underwritora ".............
台濕
nom.
$590 buy..
North China Insurance ......Th. 145 not Union Insurance. ་་་་་་་་་ $258 buy, 153, 481. Tangtao Insurance ར****་ས་་*་འབྱ
$35. bay. China Fire Insurance........$185 buy. Hongkong Fire Insurance. $800 sel. $5 buy. Douglases...$35 H.K C. & M. Steamboats...$21 buy.. Hongkong Tuga.......................... .. now. Indo-Chinas (Pre) $38 no As far as can be ascertained there is
Da (Def.). London...365 sel, Do.
Hongkong365 › cul.. only one theory about the origin of the
Sheil Transports fire. It is that an electric wire used in
Star Ferrias... connection with the electric lift became Waterbosta.......
Oriental Navigations overheated and caused the first conflágra.
China Sugars.... tian. In the lift itself there were three Malabon Sugars..
Bengnoted. aids to the demoa that we all dread.
Kailan Mining Une was the woodwork, another was the lift shaft which would act like a chim- Langkats (combined)
(single) ney. The third was the grease or oily substance used to make he lift slide "Shanghai Loans
Shanghai Explorations and down with the minimem of friction. It can be imagined that these three fac- tors crented ideal conditions for a rapid and ferre conflagration.
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE If we assume that all of the above theories are correct, and no doubt an official enquiry will reveal the truth of them, or the reverse, then we are led to consider carefully, why the wire that was overheated came into that condition. Electric wires, like other modern con- trivances, vary in quality. They are not, however, freakish. They do not carry an 'electric current of a certain magnitude for days and then suddenly become red- hot with the same current. In nearly every ense when a wire in active service does become red hot it is because the cur rent has beca suddenly increased. order to avert any possibility of a wire becoming red hot for the above reason fuses are inserted in the various circuits. In a building of the size of the Hongkong Hotel there are probably hundreds of circuits and consequently, hundreds of fuses.
In
These fuses are made of an alloy which if the fuses are properly arranged, should nel: before the electric wires, in the cir cuit so protected have time to become red hot. When the fuses meh the cur- rent is at once cut off from that circuit. In this Colony the ingenious Chinese servant, who treats modern appliances with the contempt that only extrenic by ignorance can explain, is not worried Fuses. If one, that has been delicately adjusted, melts. he seizes any oki piece of wire and uses it as a fuse. Usually it is the wire from a ginger beer bottle which, of course, is utterly useless as a fuse because it will not melt when the melting is needed. Any wire that will not fuse is selected to save replacement There is, apparently, no evidence to show that in this particular case the fuses had been tampered with The Hotel authorities have always been most care- Fa! about the supervision of their elec- trical system, but however careful any supervisor may be it is impossible for him to examine, daily, all the electric fuses in such a large building..
Assuming that it was a fact that the origin of the fire was an overheated elec- tric wire, then one wonders whether the results would have been so disastrous if the wire had been "run inside a metal conduit. Let the writer hasten to add that he has not a cent at stake in any particular system of wiring, and that he has made suggestions in the past that the subject of the local wiring regulations in this Colony should be investigated. In actual fact they were revised in about 1920, but it is possible that this fire ca quiry may lead to further revision..
Raub
Tronch Mines Ural. Campions
FK & K Wharfs.
H
FAK. & W. Docks Hongkowa.. New Engineerings. Shanghai Docks HKS Hotels (ald)...$8b., Hongkong Lands...... Hongkong Realtys (a.p.). F.K. Territorials (f.p.). Humphreys
Estates Prince's Baildings... Rural Lands Ewo Cottons.
Orientals.
Do.
(new)
x. dir. boy.
$16 buy- $250 nom. $51 vel.
$49 nom.
..$1.90 rom.
..45/- nom.
Thɛ, 33, nom. T.
20
Kom.
Ta. 3.45 moTEL.
Ts. 8 nom
.$5.50 sal.
.58-nom
$130.bay.
Tis: 165-bay.
Tis. 7 buy.
2/10
TO-DAY 'TH SATURDAY.
BUSTER KEATON
IN
OUR
HOSPITALITY
A DRAMATIC COMEDY.
QUEEN'S
INVESTMENTS
WE BUY Ek, Banka FRYO' Unions 5000 U. Lights (old) | 500/1,060 Trams
do. (new) 50/100 Botels 5/100 Crawfords
30/200
Hotels
Steamboats
WE 25,200* Lauda
SELL
100/200 Dairy Farms
30100 Moutries
100
Beaitics
SCU 500
Canton Ini. 100/1,000 Un 'writers. 100 Orientala
100
Ewas
500
Cements
at o
Sinceres
25/250 Electrics
140 Lines
8 sel, 8.30/8 B.
TEL 4630.
SMALL INVESTORS, 10. Des Foons Road..
(125
LOCAL SPORT.
Tls. 114 hom
..$697 nom,
35 bay. $6 bay,
$132 buy.
$160 Dom
$7 sel.
„Tla. 10 nei.
Tis. 82 nom. Tla. 62 vel. Tis. 31 sel. $103
10 bay, 37+ nom.
SIS‡ buy.
5184 nom.
..$15.10 nom.
Shanghai Cottona (old)
Do. Amusements Canton Ices... Clements (combined)
Do.(old) Da
(new)....... $3 ΠΟΣ. Chin Виден
Tia, 10) buy. China Lights (combined) ...$19 sel.
Da. (old) .....
(new)....10.85 nom. China Providents (comb)...832) nom.
Do. (old) ... nom. Do.
*(new)........... 881 pom. Constructions Dairy Farms Dur A Wing (Lp.) Hongkong Electrics Macao Electrics H.K. Developments HK. Ropes (combined) Do. (ad) Do. (Dow) Hongkong Tramways Lane Crawfords... Mackintonhy. Peak Trams (old)
Do. Sinceros.
(new) (c.p.)..
United. Asbestoơ.
Watsons (old)
Do. (new) W. Powells
י
321 buy. $173 nom. $10 nom. $55 85.
$40 com ..30 ets, buy.
$40sel. $13; nom.
.8244 nom. 8127 nom. it nom.
"TEDT-
$18
buy!
8
..$12 al 4 sel.
80 DOTA.
812) bay. *$124 buy. ....$13 sel. buy-buyers; aclcilers; -sales;
nom.nominal
SINGAPORE RUBBER QUOTATIONS.
"Messra Benjamin & Potts have received the following Rubber quotations (all middle prices) from their Singapore Agent:
Alor Gajahs Ayer Moleks Ayer Panas Balgownies Brosetts
Straits. $3.50
3.50
16.00
5.80
1.77.
C. Serdargs
10.50
Glenenlice
3.40
Jerams
1.80
It
Perak Rivers, x.d
3,00
Bandycrofts
5.00
Teluk 'Ansons
17.25
Jimah's
9.80
1.65
10.78
3.77
Malakoffe
3.40
Sorendabs
3.50
Pajams
18.00
1.85
12.00
Fifteen years ago a common practice in Hongkong was to carry electric wires inside inflamable wooden casings. was a most dangerous system and should never have been allowed. It may be prohibited now, although there may be old houses with the system still in use.
One rather interesting case is recorded of a fire that originated in such a wooden easing. White ants were attracted to the wood and, in their thousands, "attacked the rubber covering of the wires. Finally their tiny holes, heaped together, caused a short circuit between two adjacent wires and immediately the casing was on fire. The white ants, of course, paid the ex- treme penalty. They were considerate enough to cause the ignition in the day time or the results might have been most serious. Other causes of short circuits inside wood casing have been noticed.
Electricity has been blamed for many fires that were caused by the careless dropping of a match or a cigarette. One may hazard the suggestion that in this case it is not altogether certain that a match or cigarette was not the real origin of the fire. If a lighted match came into contact with the grease used for the lift it would have a very good chance of giving a good, or bad, account of self. It is not absolutely certain yet that it was a red hot wire that caused the trouble.
Householders naturally enough become alarmed when they bear about" fires caused by electric wires fusing or over. henting. If the wiring in a house is dono properly, and if the house-boy does not use substitute" fuses, there is no danger whatever.
One of the most enterprising engineers in the history of this Colony was the late Mr. Carter, for many years manager of the Hongkong Telephone system: He was a great advocate of lead covered wire system for interior lighting, but he had very little support from the more con servative circles in this Colony. Incident ally it may be said that he was given the credit for introducing the electric clock system in this Colony, which, of course, should be more universal than it is. Carter was a candid critic of the wood-covered wiring.
Kedahs
Kempas Piadas
Punggors Radellas Tapahs
Ulu Benuts
93 cts.
the lady of the house is often inconsider ate. Art effects can be obtained at too great a risk of fire.
CRICKET.
H.K.CC. ad II. CIVIL SERVICE
2nd XI.
The following will represent the Hong- kong Cricket Club in the above League fixture to be played at Happy Valley on Saturday next, January 9th, nt 2 p.m.; D. E. G. Nicholson (capt.). C. L. R. Becher, H. Grifin, P. Jacks, A. K. Mar- kenzie, T. D., E. Pendered. J. A. H. Plummer, O. Skinner, H. J. Stevenson, G. R. Vallack, M. M. Watson..
C.8.0.0. 1st XI, ». H.K.C.C. 2nd. XI-
The following will represent Civil Service Club on the Civil Service ground at 9.15 p.m., on Saturday next:-W. II. Edmonds (capt.). F. F. Harper, H. E. Strange, C. H Beardall, B. C. K. Hawkins, F. E. Booker, T. Carr, E. A. Bastin, A. W. Grimmett, R. F. West- lake. C. Sara. Reserves: G. E. Ursall, G. G. Edwards, R. Smith.
PAYING ITALY'S WAR DEBT. SUCCESS OF CONTRIBUTION SCHEME.
A Rome corresponden; writing a month ago said;
The collection of a national voluntary subscription for 83,000,000 to pay the war. debt to America in the next five years is going on apace. Since. Signor Mussolini gave his approval to the scheme in the Chamber, declaring he would be satisfied if only $1,000,000 wore forthcoming by December 1st this year, propaganda in favour of contributions has assumed vaat proportions throughout the country. The Fascist newspapers appear with bold headlines suggesting all sorts of means of persuasion The walls in the towns nré placarded with exhortations, and pictures appear with crowds standing in a queue before Le counters of the banks and Government offices anxious to pay in their dollar.
In the town of Turin, where patriotism has always been foremost, more than 2,000,000 fire has been already contributed. The Fiat, the Snia, and the Italian
gas companies have each paid
.8.C.C. 1st XI. CRAIGENGOWER: 200,000 lire, making by themselves alone of 750,000 lire. The conimune of The following will represent the Civilian has contributed 250.000 lire, and Servier C.C. on the Craigongower ground it is not yet known how much the general at 2 p.m.. on Saturday next:-F. I. de subscription was in the last three days, de Rome (capt), G. E. Sayer, E. B. Road, but it is believed to be over 3,000,000 fire.. A. E. Wood, E. C. Fincher. B. D. Evans, H.. Wallington, F. Baker, E. W. Hamilton, F. E. Lawrence, F. H. Held man. Reserves: H. F. Harper.
FOOTBALL.
The Government has received thousand
every
of letters and telegrams from private citizens enger to contribute their share. Practically all the public officials have signed sheets of contribution. The" National Association of Widows anda Mothers of the Dead in the War have opened a subscription list, and the sams has been done. by associations description. The National Silk and Cot- ton-Manufacturers, workmen's unions, banking associations, and leading banks such the Banca Commerciale, the Credito Italiano, tae Banco di Roma, the Banco Nazionale di Credito, and innumer- able small once have made evurageous sacrifices, and there seems no doubt now that not only the $1,000,000 asked for by Signor Mussolini, but much more will be forthcoming by December 1st..
HONGKONG RUGBY CLUB.
The Royal Navy will play the Hong: kong Football Club on the Club ground on Saturday. Kick-off, 3 p.m. Teams:
Club-H. G. Armstrong, J. Easter brook, E. F. Stewart, A. S. Hett, C. P. Lammert, J. Morrison, D. O. Ralph, J. Ralston, H. R Forsyth, J. Foster, M. Smith, L. Smith, R. W. Lee, H. Bere ridge, A. Miller. Reserves: O'Connor, Summers, Gordon.
Navy. Tel. Mortimer (Ambrose), P.0. Couley (Ambrose), Lt.Cdr. Lyla (H of the war debt without being faced by Line), E.R.A. Tinker (Hermies), E.BA the tax collector. The subscription is Bothwell (Sumbarines), Mid. Rowe (Haw- regarded as an opportunity to offer to
Skinner;
Under Fascist and patriotic incitement the large part of the nation cheerfully volunteers, and is proud to help to pay
i), E.R.A Northwood (Submarines), the world a further proof of Italy's Lt.Cdr. Bower (Hawkins), Lt. Garnon-renewed national spirit. Williams (Hermes), Lt Wendeyer (Am brose), Lt. Sherwood (Submarines), Sub- Lt. Vereker, (Hawkins), ERA M. Taggart (Hermes), AB. Ascott (Sub marines), Sto. Stafford Submarines).
GOLF
EXPECTED VISIT OF MANILA
PLAYERS.
It is expected that a delegation from the Wack Wack Golf Club, Manila, will visit Hongkong sometime in February or March to meet members of the Royal Hongkong Golf Club in
a series of matches. The delegation is likely to comprise six of the best club players.
BOXING.
The full programme has not yet been decided, but the main bout but will be over 15 rounds for the Featherweight
MISS MARIE TEMPEST.
STORY OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN.
Miss Marie. Tempest who was the guest of honour at the first ladies dinner of the season of the Gallery First Nighters'. Club in the Cosmo Hotel, Southampton- row, London, recently, recounted her ex- perience in America when she was enter. tained to dinner by Charlie Chaplin, He told her that when he was a poor lad in London, selling little paper boats of his own make at the foot of Ludgate-bill, be need to go to the gallery at night wher- ever she was appearing and listen" with. great delight to ber singing. She was, as be expressed it, his goddess, and he had determined after he made good abroad that she should be his first distinguished guest at dinner.
WEATHER REPORT..
OFFICIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Tis usual, when there is any catas trophie that endangers Ble to blame the Government. That is often most unfair. In this matter of electric wiring, the Fire Insurance Companies are primarily in- terested. In Great Britain, where the insurance policies aggregate so much more
H.K.B.A.' NEXT TOURNAMENT. than they do out here, the Insurance Companies are much more active on the
The next tournament of the Hongkong subject of fire prevention. The Hongkong Boxing Association is to be held at the Government has now a fully qualified electrical engineef to advise them on all Theatre Royal on January 14th. matters connected with electricity dis- tribution. The ordinary householder very much resents any interference by the Government. He says "an Englishman's Championship of the Colony and belt. It slightly.. A fresh monsoon may be house is his castle and does not see is well known that Dmr. Bowles, of the why he should not use any kind of wiring East Burreys, is the present holder, and he fancies in his own house. He takes his opponent as clever a boxer sa ever
when the another view of the situation insurance company refuses to give him entered the ring in Hongkong, has fire policy. Therefore it would be less figured prominently at recent tourna irritating to the householder if the initia live came from the Insurance Companies. If Stoker Booth, of H.M.S. Hollyhock," During the war some of the Chinese arrives in time he will probably be given contractors were using wire that was not a contest. properly insulated. In engineering work in this Colony it always pays to have tho best European supervision and materials.
A counsel of perfection is to keep:all. No doubt the local fire insurance com, wires away from any woodwork or in-panies will be reused to take an interest fammable decorations. In that matter in these matters. Their shareholders
(Continued on next Column),
suffer,
mente,
According to the contests already ar- ranged some men who have not previously appeared at the Theatre Royal will be
seen in action.
The programme promises to prove an interesting che, and will be published in the next few days. y
The Royal Observatory issued the following report at 6.30 p.m. yesterday: The anti-cyclone over China has weaken- expected along the S.E. coast of China and over the China Sea
Local forecast: N.E. winds; fresh to moderate, cloudy.
HOCKEY,
The Hongkong Hockey Club's 2nd eleven appeared to have considerably. benefited by their last fortnight's rest when they met the 5/2nd Punjab Re- giment's 2nd eleven on the U.B.R.C. ground on Tuesday.
The Club, team won the match by four goals to one, all of which were scored
In the first half of the game.