AN AMERICAN VISITOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 246, 10 July 1908, Page 4

AN AMERICAN VISITOR.

FINANCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS. ■INTERVIEW WITH MR. E. T. EDMONDS. To all intents and purposes.Mr. E. T. Edmonds is an American visitor, for though he hails originally from Duuedin, he has lived in the United States for twenty-nine years. He has come now to New Zealand to seo his father, ■ to extend the influence of the National Christian Womon's Board of Missions, as an honorary commissioner of the Alaska-Yukon Exposition to be held at Seattle, Washington, in 1909, and as" a contributor to the Now York " Outlook," and othor papers, of. impressions of New Zealand 'labour laws and economic conditions. - Tho National Christian Women's Board of Missions, Mr. Edmonds informed a Dominion roprcsentativo, is conceded to bo one of tho best-conceived and best-managed missionary associations in the world. Its work is world-wide, it has Bible chairs in tho chief university centres of- America, and is at present planning a large University Biblo school in Calcutta. The Board has asked Mr. Edmonds to discharge a mission for it by' visiting all the Churches of Christ in New Zealand, and. speaking •on the increasing work of women in tho Churches on educational and'other lines.

Financial Panic. The Alaska-Yukon Exposition is intended to mako known the great resources of Alaska, which lias proved itself one of .the most valuable assets which the United States has in recent years secured. Apropos of his. legislative and economic studies in this country, Mr. Edmonds stated that the' American pooplo are on the eve of great economic changes, and very advanced laws will soon be passed in connection with labour and ; economic affairs, which causes them to be greatly interested iu the legislative experiments, of NeWi Zealand apd Australia.. The financial panic in _ the . States, he thinks, has not yet reached its full realisation, although it occurred in October last. The weaker financial institutions are still feeling tho effects of the panic,, and many of them will undoubtedly go into liquida T tion, and perhaps' bankruptcy. A great deal of paper made under the pressure ot tho high'tide of, prosperity is only, now- beginning to mature, and tho real effect of the pamo has not been felt yet, though tho cities are filled with unemployed. At tho same time , the conditions for recovery are better, Mr. Edmonds thinks, than _ they have over been before. All the circumstances favourable to an early revival of business existj and it is probable that the panic will be-shortlived compared with panics of previous years. "I think you will.feel it further here," Mr. Edmonds said, "because under panic conditions the demand for .commodities always declines. That will necessarily afreet the market here. The decreased prico of wool is undoubtedly one of the eohoe3 of the financial panic in America. " A Strikeloss Land." "New Zealand has. been exploited as a land without strikes : and \ without poorhouses, hut I find both here," said Mr. Edmonds. " Only you call your poorhouses by other names." _ He thought that tho principle of- the Arbitration Act was so good^that tho measure ought to be retained. ' Tho idea of, wiping it off, the statute book was foolish; , Amendments;should be made whereover they were needed, and the Act. should, be.inade equally binding upon both employes andiomployed. The fact; that it was not equally binding upon both sides now seemed to bo its greatest defect. If there was any tendency, in America it was to make such taws as .the,New.Zealand Arbitration Act. Prohibition in America. i~-'-

-, Mr. Edmonds- will'.spend •a -'month' in Welduring which 'he will-fill vthe pulpit of Mr. A. F. Turner, at the South Wellington Church of Christ, and also speak in the Church of Christ, Yivian Street. . He will give several temperance addresses dur/ng his stay. half the population of America, he says, is undor /.prohibition or local option. Not only havo' magazines and religious, papers refused to receive advertisements of whisky, but some of the daily papers haro taken up the same stand.