1923-10-18 — Page 4

JOBN

THORNYCROFT

AND CO. LTD.

GHIPBUILDERS AND

ENGINEERA

Landon, Southampton sna Basingstoke

THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER (18TE, 1973.

ASSENGER" AND CARGO VESSELS OF ALL TYPES UP TO 6,000 TONH

OCEAN-GOING TUGS, MOTOR BOATS (SEA OR RIVER) (UP TO 50 ENOTS.

TURBINES AND RECIPROCATING MACHINERY AND PROPELLERE. MARINE AND STATIONARY OIL ENGINES

8 TO 90 BHP.

MOTOR VEHICLES 2 TO 6 TONE. WATER-TUBE BOILERS:

QUOTATION," APPLY***

ROBERT DOLLAL BUILDING,

SHANGHAI,

EXCEPTIONAL VALUE IN MEN'S PYJAMAS

་ ༞༞་

Medium weight Ceylon Flannel is smart patterns. Cut very full and roomy to manre perfect comfort in wear. Wash splendidly.

Per suit $8.00. 3., suits for $22.50.

Other qualities 38.50. $11.50 per suit.

- A PLEASING" ASSORTMENT OF BATH ROBES.

Mackintosh

CO., LTD.,

Men's Wear Specialists.

Alexandra Building.

WHITE PINE

Des Yaux Boad.

COUGH SYRUP

WILL

STOP YOUR COUGH

It contains Soothing Balsams and Astringent Principles

GOOD FOR YOUNG AND OLD.

THE CHINA DISPENSARY

82, QUEEN'S ROAD Central.

YEE SANG FAT CO.

JUST RECEIVED

A Large Assortment of

WARDROBE and CABIN TRUNKS

BUIT CASES and TRAVELLING RUGS

All at Reasonable Prices.

Latest Styles

WATER PROOF

RAINCOATS

TOR

Gents Ladies and Children)

YEE SANG FAT CO.

WING

ON'S SALE ON.

Reductions

for 20 DAYS only

From

18th October to 6th November.

LESSONS OF THE JAPAN EARTHQUAKE DISASTER. VIEWS OF THE HEAD OF SHANG

HAI FIRE BRIGADE.

THE JAPAN CHRONICLE"}

THE OPIUM TRAFFIC

PETITION PRESENTED TO THE

AFTER FRAME BUILDINGB, RGET.

THE SMALL LAND-DWNEIL" FRONTEN, But the fire is an accomplished fact, In discussing they questions of town-

F.MS. GOVERNMENT. and, while lessons are useful, including planning, the Chiot of the Shanghal Fir the might have beens in regard to extian Department acknowledged the difficulties

The following is my copy of a petition, tion, the more immediately practical that stood in the way created by the ind question was that of the planning of the tercats that vest in various plots of land bearing about 2,0m. signatures, which was new city. The big stoet-frame buildings, but this, not being within his own line presented to the Chief Secretary to Coveru One of the thoughts confronting those said air. Pett, had stood the strain hest of study, he did not pronounce any ment, at Kuala Lumpur, on the 5th inst." whose task it is to rebuild Tokeo is, in quaks area it seemed to be a mis opinion upon as to how it shoukt bob the following delegate:-Mr. Cheah How shall we rebuild it so us to pre-e to drive the pilas down to the rock accomplished, though he mentioned: the Cheang Lim, Mr. Foo Wha Cheng and vent or at least minimize the chances of in default of rack, tu "resistance." tears that he had heard of small, owners ev. Wes Horley, for Peraki Messra, another such disaster?" There are .com This ensured the splitting of the building expressing lest they should find their pric/ Leko. Chow, Thyn Yap Ti Chi and Au paratively few people who have any ex when a serious thrust came from under portion turned into roadways or public ag Sufang for Selangor Mr. Chea pert knowledge on such a subject as this, ground. It was better to have a good parks and no proper compensation forth. Son Moh. and Mr. Wang Yick Tong, for so it was more than usually interesting bed and plenty of comparatively shortcomings That, of course, is a problem Negri Sembilan; and Mr. Tam Lyo Huat, to have a talk with Mr. M. W. Pett, the piles. Spine buildings so contrasted had by itself, and one of the most difficult for Pahang. The Hon. Mr. Choo Kia head of the Shanghar Fire Brigade, who rocked, but had returned to about an where the reconstruction of a city on new Peng introduced the delegates to the

came over to make an deniaination of the devastated area, and who sailed by the President Jackson on his way back to Shanghai. On the whole, Mr. Pett said, the experiences of Tokyo had only proved. on a gigantle seale, various previously accepted theories; but it seemed that this terrible lesson had been useded be- tore people would take the necessary precautions. Fire prevention, he con- tinued, is the chief thing, which should be looked to all the time. Its extinction |

is the emergency measure which comes Locensionally in spite of precautions. As Chief of the Shanghai Fire Brigade and

of

Chief Secretary,

To the Hou, the Chief Secretary to Government, Kuala Lumpur, F.M.S...

The humble petition of the anti-op3μm societies, merchants, -uminors, -, planters, financiers, engineers, clerks and other residents of the FM.S. who have aumously approved of

petition

even keel After all, a ship was bigger lines is concerned, than almost any building, und stood YOKOHAMA'S DESTRUCTION UNAVOIDABLE. worse buffetings daily, and a good steel- |- As regards Yokohama, Mr. Pott said frams building endured by its resiliency, that this was a calamity that wont be The deep-thrust steel pile, however, was yond human power to faresec or provide almost like a rock to the ship.

against Where everything is utterly In forro-concrete, Mr. Pett thoughts, smashed in a moment, it is impossible to respectively showeth

the general consensus of opinion solidity might be carried too far. When to anything. As for the destruction of among employers and ethicated wage a building went beyond a certain point the Bluff houses, Mr. Pett said he could earners in the F. S. is that abolition of solidity, a heavy shock simply brought hardly imagine it possible even now after toplum is this country could not fail to prove beneficial to both the States- it down by its own weight. And there having seen the ashes. He has never in and to the public gepernily--

as the quality of the concrete to con- his experience kapwa of a fire leaping That the traffic in opium which has been denounced by every civilised "nationa sider. He had never seen so much cor-

across such large spaces as it was evident in the world has been consulered, by the ruption as there WAS in 1 large

it had done in many cases on the Bluff, Council of the League of Nations with tha contracts in Tokyo, There were

somewhere houses which had been left stand Tesult that this nations constituting the

Lingue have resolved to abolish it. S

3: That the British Empire, the Riuteo scen to it that the concrete was all that tinguished the fires set alight by flying tor of the F.M.S., is a member of the it should be, but there were any wherebers from other houses at a great dis. League of Nations with greater repro- the concrete was very poor. One great

tance. Down on the Settlement, alentation upon its Council than any other

vintion, patien building wider contraction collapsed act, the case was hopeles. Hylly That the opium habit is still sapping any kind of building could sustain such the vitality of its votaries in British shocks as had levelled Yamashita-cho in fow escontin. Yet even here it would have heca better had streets heen wider, though only from the point of view of affording avenues of escape. With fnzies raging so fiercely that they melted steel girders, and with a gale of wind dlaw

- meinber of the British and Americanbuildings where good supervision bading and in which the, occupants had 'ox: 1

Fire Prevention Societies, Mr. Pett said that he devoted a good den! inore time to the prevention of bra than to the mere putting of it out when it had-start- ed up. Concerning Tokyo, he had seldom scen a great city where mare has been completely, burying the architect under the ruins his final squeeze. The ton done to encourage fire and loss to excrete used in this structure crumbled in tinguish it. The great buildings, instead the hand, and was quite nalt for such a of standing clear, had wooden shacks of the most inflammable possible kind elus. tering right up to them. This was the "condition all along the Ginza and Nihon- bashi, and it made for fire as nothing else.

could

· LACK OF PRECAUTION" IS "TOKYO, "

building

WIDE SPACES ESSENTIAL

Malaya

5. That, without injury to a single in- dividual to whom the sudden drastic HLOD of access to the drug would mean serious illness, and in many cases death. the traffic enn le put an end to in the course of a single generation by prohibit in the sale of chandy to and the con sumption thereof by any person other than these duly licensed to purchase and a

persons actually using the drug for their own consumption at the present time, M. That: ton cffcct the abolition of the plun habit all that would be necessary would be for Government to ordain total. prohibition excepting to those now using the drug, who, upon application, would itionally from year to year (in order to ha granted free permit renewable uncou keep a census of the licensees) for the remainder of their lives, such applications to be led within a certain time ofter which no further applications would be considered,

As a measure of fire prevention, Mr. Pett recommended a strict system of town planning. Wide spaces to preventing, conditions existed that made fire-sume it such licences to be limited to the fire spreading are important, and the fighting an impossibility. There was an saving of the northern half of Tokyo was important subject, however, which, had But do you think that, with the fire dus more to the large estates prevent heen emphasized by the experiences of breaking out in scores of places at once, ing the spread of the fire than to any Yokohama that of oil storage. The and the water mains broken up. anything thing else. It is not the least use having proper storage of oil is an expensive a wide thoroughfare like the Ginza with matter, but it is not impossible, though could have heen done to save the city 1

Yes, I am perfectly sure a good part crooked alleyways ramifying_through_im- naturally it is not popular among the oil of the destroyed urea could have been mense areas each side. Every block companies. The terrific scenes on Yoke saved. In the first place, there were no should consist of two rows of building hama barbour with the blazing oil were auch conditions as made the case of back to back, so that everybody could among the things that could have been Yokohama so terrible. There was no come out of his front door on to a road avoided, his Pett, was under the in wind. Several who I have asked testi-at least sixty feet wide. And every quar-pression that hundreds or thousands of fiod to this The Manager of the Im-ter of a mile there should be a small lives had been lost as a direct result of porial Hotel was very positive about it, park. Such open spaces were desirable this harbour fre. We had not heard preity with the Government regulations and and he had a fire very close to him, of in themselves for hygienic reasons, and viously of that, but we may digress here torrific heat, but ascending straight up it would be a good idea if, in addition, from the conversation with Mr. Pett to into the air. It seems extraordinary that every little park had a good swimming confess that none of the descriptions that this should be the case when a tphoon pool. Such pools would furnish a sup- we have published of the fire on the her was blowing at Yokohama, so near by, ply of water, at known and readily acces-hour have done anything like justice to hut the condition of some half-burnt posts that I saw henrs it out They were sible locations should there be any break this frightful blaze. The case of the in the FM.S. and your petitioners as burnt quite evenly instead of the topsing of the water mains on any future Andre Lebon as lately described to us being cut down by the flames as they would have been in a wind.

"Of course, it was had luck the water mains breaking, but the risks of water being eat off would be minimized if there were a special service of pipes for fire But a much more serious lock was the utter absence of any apparatus for using the abundant water in moats, canals, rivers, and the se. There was not a single floating fire engine, and no equip ment for pumping the water from the waterways. The most devastated region has an arm of the ses running through it, and was burnt to the water's edge.

But even if there had been the floats, Mr. Pett was asked, would not the multi- tude of outbreaks prevent anything being Well, when we make comparisons, it is obvious, of course, that the Tokyo fire brigade was bully undermanned. It a pears to have consisted of no more than eight hundred men, while that of New York Fas personnel numbering five thousand. Tokyo seems to be full of policemen and empty of fremen."

done?

"INCENDIARY

oversion.

A CRITIC OF THE JAPANESE HOUSE,

was one of the most remarkable stories of the whole calamity. Helpless because As for the structure of the buildings, of the removal, of essential parts of her the big steel-framed blocks seemed about machinery, for repairs, the great liner was the safcat, but Mr. Pett thought it was tied up at the end of the pier. Down probably out of the question for the each side of the pier from the shore came whole city to be so built, The Japanese immouse rivers of flame. It seemed as could not afford such an outlay. But the though cothing could save the Ibon smaller and more inflammable Japanese- One of the streams, howeyer, parted in

That the anti-plum cities would issue of permits, or entirely relieve, the be pleased to assist in the matter of the

Government of trouble acting in conforme

ping in che touch with the Chinese Protectorates the while

Whereof your petitioners pray that Your Humour many be pleased to direct that the necessary fegnative and departmental steps may be taken to give affect, in this gradual total abolition of the opium traf-

in duty bound will ever pray.

THE TWO SHILLING RUPEE

The Committee of the Indian Mer- chants Chamber, I letter have drawn the attention of the Government of India to the advisability of removing the Belitious ratio of two shillings gold to the rupes from the Coinage and Paper Currency Abts and of reverting to the pre-war gold parity of the rupes. They point out that such fluctuations have a

demoralising effect on Indian aversess favourable influence on the

style houses might form blocks between the middle, the detached island of flame

and therefore exert a most un- the blocks of steel and concrete. Then proceeding at a more rapid pace than the

export trade. if they caught fire, with a decent road stream on the other side. The captain The Committee consider that mort hetween, there would not be much dan therefore had the ship hauled, by a single serious harm is done to Indin's export trade and therefore to Indian producera per of the fire spreading As for the frail cable towards the side where the by retaining on the statute book n ratio Japanese house itself, be found it about unbroken stream approached, facing its which has now been conclusively prared the worst structure in the world from a onact, while the more rapidly moving comomic conditions. The two shilling to be entirely out of line with Indin's fire point of view, and greatly over islet of fire passed out to sea, just clear rate was tantamount to a 50 per cent,

bounty" to English" manufacturers

ADD praised as regards its behaviour in earth- ing the end of the Tehan.

which was quakes The wood used was so flimsy immediately hauled the other way, so that it was very great pressure from

exporters and the Committee are

afraid and the tiles on top were so heavy, that that it just cleared the advance of the Home to put the two-shilling rate on the the average Japanese bouse is on the unbroken stream, which passed in turn, statute book that made the Government of India deaf to all appeala fus postpone point of collapse at all times. Places It was about as near a thing as could be mont of any change in the ratio. roofed with corrugated fron had behaved to the ship and the thousands on board committes express the opinion that any remarkably well, however, only collaps being swallowed in the finies. The heat ratie higher than 1 40. is not only un Mr. Pett did not seem much impressed ing when things had been piled on top. on, the deck would have destroyed the wage and prices in this country it

was intense, and a single can of gasoline sound but that in the present state of by the explanation that, among a people Mr. Fett was somewhat severe on the vessel. It was a wonderfully cool and even unthinkable who are spiritual rather than material, incendiary thoughts are considered more Japanese house from every point of view daring piece of work on the captain's dangerous than incendiary buildings except the aesthetic. It was not fit to just as narrow an escape..

part The Empress of Australia bad This diverted the discussion from the fire for a moment. Mr. Pett said that every live in during the winter, and though a Japanese he had met impressed upon him Japanese villa in the summer was plea the conviction that the Gres were not want, the flimsy and crowded places in mich such as the result of a less A now rendezvous is to be built on started by cooking stoves at all, but by which the poor lived had no recommenda- severe earthquake that Mr. Pett regard the land bounded by the Haymarket, incendiaries who took advantage of the opportunity. He agreed that it would be tion whatever. Just as be found cord as an avoidable accident if suitable Jermyn Street and Market Street, for na extraordinary thing if people, how rugated iron from the purely utilitarian oil. The burning of Yokosuka for two and passages of St. James' Market

precautions were taken in the, storing of morly covered with shops, and the courts ever malicious, should do their dirty work pozat view and from that of safety, days, with the still undisclosed damage The scheme, the private "undertaking at such a time, when, like the rest of pozatok the people, they would be scared out of superior to tiles, so too Mr. Fett remark to Japan's naval equipment was another of Sir Walter Gibbons, consists of four their lives. But what he found much on the superiority of whitewash to sible, of insuring against the worst risk offices already completed and let at tho example of the desirability, if it be pos portions the first a block of shops and more extraordinary was that Tokyol should be plintered with palico pleased bare wood. In the trupics, where, as in of oil fired in future. side. A new street, thirty feet wide, is on this Zubject, while its very mention, Singapore, there was compulsory ap-e do fot know how the recent caiam to be constructed between the Haymarket except in the most guarded terms, in plication of a coat of limewash within be that there will he some attempt to site, upon which an imposing building is

Fity will affect futuro însurance. It may and Market Street, leaving an islan Kobe and Osaka, was sternly-prohibited. Equally extraordinary did he and it that no of limewash or distemper without at make insurance against earthquake risks being erected. One portion of this will the sale of photographs of heaps of regular intervals, two or three conta compulsory. We do not know exactly be a restaurant and ball-room with en- corpses should he probibited in Tokyo, male even a wooden house so near fire sure to bring an element of further com- will be 100 feet by 80 feet and, besides sahabat how it will affect building, though it is trances in the new street. The ball-room while in Osaka they seemed to be the proof that it was difficult to set it au pulsion into that as well. But whether the main restaurant, there will be dining most poplilar product of the day,

COMPULBOAT INSURANCE

It was thing as this, which

"NEW EENDEZVOUS.

LARGE LONDON SCHEME TO COST £750,000

Getting back to the subject of the fire, fire-very different in this respect from in Insurance, in building, or in equipment rooms, grill room, palm court and bel- the Shanghai Chief said that even in the the paper and baked laths of which a for the prevention and extinction of fires, room accommodation, biz buildings in Tokyo there was a con- Japanese house is constricted. Whether the earthquake is Aure to result in a The second portion will be devoted to siderable lack of necessary precautions there was any prospect of limewash and demand for the spending of more money shop property on the Haymarket and It seemed all right to have hydrants and corrugated iron superseding the tradi in future. It will all make life a little Jermyn Street frontages. The third por motor pumps, but when the first shock tions of Japanese domestic architecture, harder, but a anything seems better than tion of the building is destined for severed the electric wires the whole con Mr. Fett did not discuss. He was con- to run such risks again. Mr. Pett cer- new theatre with the auditorium entirely trivance was useless. The electric curtent to point out the differences between tainly returns to China, with previous above treet lover both t rent had failed sooner than the water. A the two styles from the point of view of convictions as to the necessity of pre. The cost of the whole scheme is Cx- plant that would develop its own power the professional fire preventer and frecautions hitherto partly theoretical very pected to exceed £750,000. The architect was needed.

fighter

strongly emphasized.

MrAndees Mathur