1959-06-23 — Page 4

THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1959.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Story

When Her Majesty, The Queen, officially opens the St. Lawrence Seaway on June 26, 1959, a project of unsur-', passed grandeur, an undertaking which is a fitting tribute, to the engineering skills of the 20th Century, and a dream which has fascinated men of bold vision for 3 centuries, will have come to triungphant fulfilment. The mighty, rapids-ridden St. Lawrence, which 325 years ago halted the intrepid explorer, Cartier, on his daring voyage into the heartland of North America, has, at last, been tamed. Today, almost 5 years of feverish activity are coming to

an end; the armies of construction workers are preparing to depart. The Seaway, to the casual observer, appears deceptively simple, for it is like an iceberg with the great- er part of its intricate physical components and compli cated machinery hidden underwater. But what is visible is still enough to inspire wonder and deep respect for the men who conceived and carried out the project and for the river which taxed the skills and daring of so many to keep her in check. Above, the lock at Iroquois, Ont., most westerly of 7 new locks constructed for the Seaway.

The work went on summer and winter, often in the face of staggering obstacles, and sometimes with crews engaged on "crash" programmes calling for herculean efforts on a 24-hour a day basis. Hundreds of huge and ingenious pieces of machinery elawed at the bed of the great river, changing its ancient course, and reshaping it to the needs

and design of man. Ahove, first steel is laid for the superstructure of the Mercier Bridge, one of 4 bridges in the Montreal area which had to be partly rebuilt to provide. 120 foot clearance for the giant ocean freighters which can now sull 2,300 miles inland to the heart of one of the great Industrial regions of the world.

SWEDISH AMERICAN LINE

The Seaway opens the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes area to 80% of the world's salt water fleet. Everything except the largest liners and great naval ships can now move up it. The St. Lawrence waterway is become, in effect, Canada's fourth seaboard; a brisk new main street of com- merce has been added to the nation's economy, Large ore

1. LART SUPERIOR

-9 SAULT STE MARIE

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carriers from northern Quebec and Labrador can now pass upstream to the roaring mills which dot the inland lakes; the rich harvest of Canada's prairies will move swiftly, economically, down to the Atlantic, and great lakes ships can now stean unimpeded down to Montreal and other lower St. Lawrence ports.

A vast armada of men and machinery converged on the St. Lawrence in the autumn of 1954 to begin the task of digging the big ditch - a 27 foot channel – which would bypass treacherous rapids and carve the St. Lawrence into, a navigable passage, to link old world trade routes with the growing inland cities of the new world.

THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

A young engineer checks his sights along the seaway route.. and throughout Canada and other countries around the world, industrialists, shippers, farmers and manufacturers' are raising their particular sights to participate in the vast economic upsurge which the opening of the Seaway will set in motion."

National Film Board of Canada Photos |

NEWAL

QUEBEC

TORONTO

KINGSTO

CANAL

THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF HONG KONG

Published by Oxford Universlty Preas, for Royal Institute of International Affaire. Price HK$26.00. By. Eoward 82czepanik, Benior Lecturer In Economics, University of Hong Kong.

"Mr. · Szczepanik . has successfully described the interlocking, complementury stimuli which, bused on the social and economic overheads required by the entrepot truda, hive caused that take-off tu self-sustained growth which has eluded the underdeveloped nations of the world. It is an exciting story, and he has told it clearly" (The Economist, Landlum),

Mr. Fargo had

a bright idea

ONE

Available at SWINDON BOOK CO., Kowloon,

PRACTICAL BOOK CO., Họngkongnew

ANY FIRM USING THE NAME APPLIED TO OUR

“ZORIC”

DRYCLEANING SYSTEM HAS NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER WITH THE. UNDERMENTIONED, CO.

•

PLEASE TELEPHONE DIRECT TO

59195

FOR COLLECTIONS AND DELIVERIES

THE STEAM LAUNDRY CO.

No. 1, Kwong Wa Street, Kowloon.

NE of the greatest s to a trouble-free-holiday is undoubtedly the

traveller's cheque,

| M. F、 -Berry, that letters of for their use and the unqualified'

credit,' except

that in big cities, guarantee "were no more use than

no one who

All checked

COTE STE CATHERINE

LOCK

LAMBERT LOC

MAINE

U.S.A

NEW

A

MONTREAL

TO LIVERPOOL =>

2760 MILES

The victim

The world's first traveller's cheque, “Date: 1891.

Surprisingly, it is not a very purchaser signs each cheque, In With such a vast business in had been returned from the bad not. Eventually arrests ning; and commercial banking

inventlan.

Express the presence of the person issu- travellers' cheques. It became American

office in were made, and the forger was faellities. Its Introduction resulted from ing them, then in the presence necessary for American Express Parle.

found to be an engraver in the Last October o further Inno- trip which Mr J. C. Fargo, of the person cashing them. to form its own international

Vice-President John Living- Map Institute, at the French vallon wus Introduced: the the then president of American

delective force, to track down ston was sent to France to help Army. He led to the gang's American Express Credit Card, Express, made to Europe in 1890. When the cheques were firat forgers. Known as the Inspec- Maurice Soederlund, the Parle leader. Despite excellent letters of launched, American Express lors Department, it works in Inspector, track down tho

On credit credit, he found he had endless undertook a world-wide cam- close co-operation with both forgers. It took three years to There were 80 defendants' at trouble raising cash when he paign to ensure their acceptance. Scotland Yard and the French do it, not so much because of the mass trial. Forty-nine of It was preceded by five years was away from large towns, Samples were sent to banks, Surete Nationale.

the quality of the counterfeiting them were convicted,

thie On his return to America, he shipping and railway companies

but because

of study and analysis of the method of It was American Express, in

buying told one of his associates, Mr and hotels,

habits of Americans-s with Instructions

was be 1038, who trupper the infamous and the conclusion reached was passing the cheques wilderingly-complicated, Bugs Moran,-one-time Chicago that the Anterican public needed

The search involved 22 coun- rival of Al Capone, These inspectors are unarmed,

credit Moran decided there would be a single comprehensive wet cashed one of their travellera and have no power of arrest, tries. Cheques would have been wrapping paper." He said that cheques in good faith would but they are so respected by the cashed in, say, Algiers by some easy money in. issuing about card covering as many services 03 possible, including hotels, merchant who would take them £75,000 worth of fake travel restaurants, night clubs, the company must invent come- suffer loss.

local authorities, and are 20 thing to make it easier for

to a friend in Milan. He would lers'

shops, Even though a cheque, had persistent in tracking down even

cheques but American travellers to obtain money. been stolen, and the pame a small forger, that it is rare hand them over to a jobber in Express contacta were so good car rental, car repair and petrol

stations, and travel agents. that one of their detectives was forged, the firm sald that it for misuse,

travellers: Marseilles.

There are now more than stood (and still slands) "rendy cheque go unpunished,

pteront when the first of the

000,000 card holders, and the was to redeem it.

forgeries The firm will spend thousands

presented) for cards aro accepted by over cashing. In that first year less than of pounds to recover the value Berry's problem was basically £3,000 worth of cheques, were of one small cheque-simply to

The company is concerned090 establishments throughout

the world. simple; to orente a piece of sold. By 1900, however, the prove their Inviolablity:

Finally, they arrived in Paris with more than travellers' negotiable' paper algost as new "figure had risen :: la ?; about In New York they havo' a and the two inspectors had cheques, however. Its services ceptable as currency, yet safe £1,500,000, and by 1913 to some clearinghouse, where every the incredibly difficult tack of inclvity oprusigements for travel against theft.

£6,500,000. The company will cashed cheque passes through "back-tracking" them.

throughinit the world rail, air, Finally, after months of study, not revea; its present sales, but chemical, and other testa, One It was almost impossible to steamer and coach tickets; hotel he, evolved the two-algnature they total "BOverul billion day in 1947 these tests revealed prove who had scoopted the reservations, escorted system wo know today the dollars."

a batch of forged cheques that cheques in good faith, and who cruises; individual travel plan

Safe from theft

Trapped gangster

Loura:

Hugh Riley

--(London Express Service)» ^)