JUNIOR CHAMBER WORK IN NORTH AMERICA

Chronicle (Levin), 26 August 1946, Page 8

JUNIOR CHAMBER WORK IN NORTH AMERICA

MR. A. E. TARRANT'S TALK TO CONVENTION y e An insight into the work of the d Junior Chamber of Commerce s movement in North America and _ living conditions generally was _ given by Mr. A. E. Tarrant, presi- _ dent of the New Zealand Junior _ Chambers, on Satu.rday night at 1 the district convention in Levin, s Mr. Tarrant was the New Zealand 1 representative at the international ! convention held in Milwaukee early 3 this year. I Mr. Tarrant said that when he . arrived in San Francisco he was f immediately contacted by Junior 1 Chamber units and taken anyr where he liked. He said that the 3 Americans were very hospitable j and often generous to the point of embarrassment. In America the , New Zealand pound did not go very . far, and the prices of food were very j high. A room would cost 18s a : night, breakfast 6s, lunch 12s 6d [ and dinner would cost between 15s L and £1. Cigarettes were cheap, as . ,also was petrol or gasoline. The average American income was ; three or four times as great as a • New Zealander's, but the costs were also four times as great as in New Zealand. The Americahs, said Mr. Tarrant, now realised that more exporting was needed than before the war and that they were interested greatly in their standing overseas. He said many things were unobtainable in the U.S. at present, such as women's wear, white shirts, suits, cameras, and shoes, which, if procurable, would cost nearly £6 a pair. In referring to the senior chamwork in the U.S., Mr. Tarrant said there was quite a different attitude altogether to the New chamber work. The memwere- more communal and civic minded than the N^w Zealanders, ancl were quite prepared to work against their fellow members help the community. At the convention in the U.S. there were* 2000 delegates representing 21 different nations and the whole meeting "oozed" internationalism. The convention lasted for five days, and during that time the assembly covered an enormous amount of The delegates wore the national costumes - of the place they represented, and it was not unusual to see Brazilians in their multi-coloured shifts, Texans wearing chaps and revolvers, which they fired during the breaks, and the men from Utah dressed as Red Indians. A feature of the convention was the hiring of 20 professional musicians, who sang the National Anthem of every country represented. During the playing of the anthems a party of small girls would come forward and unfurl the flag of that particular nation, and then as a grand finale they would all interweave and make up a huge Union Jack. This form of entertainment cost the convention approximately 15,000 dollars. There were 150,000 Junior Chamber members in the U.S. representing 1500 different units. The headquarters were in Chicago and the movement had an annual income of £50,000. . In Canada there was a totally different outlook and system, but 1 they reached the same results, he continued. There were 700 delegates present at the convention, which lasted four days, and it was well run with the standard on a high plane. The Canadian Junior Chamber had 25,000 members and the bi-lingual problem seemed to be the main trouble, as there were approximately 3,500,000 Frenchmen in a total population of 12,000,000. New Zealanders were held in high esteem by the Canadians, and the hospitality and generosity was something to be marvelled at. Mr. Tarrant concluded by saying that the U.S. and Canadian Junior Chambers would help the N.Z.J.C. in any way, and that they were looking tp New Zealand to lead the smaller c.ountries ih-J.uniot Chahiber work. / " "uj A hearty vote of thanks Was then accorded the speaker for his instructive and helpful talk.