WHERE GOLD IS KING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 936, 1 October 1910, Page 10

WHERE GOLD IS KING.

AMERICA TO NEW ZEALAND EYES. TWO SEA VOYAGES. AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE. An alien! AVo look upon an Asiatic or an Oriental, a'ml wo say ho is alien. Wo speak of him;as "an alien." .. That " is 0110 of our phases of the great human . question—while ;■ we .are ; at -'home. 'Abroad, our inevitably less; .'parochial . vision permits us to see that wo, too, ' .arc alien. Wo are alien to a vast ; number of nationalities, any one' of . . whom could absorb our entire populace without anyone but ourselves being aware of it. Yes, and by enacted law we are "aliens" before wo have crossed • the .-Pacific to the country :of a nation ; which /employs i-lio samo language as i- we do, and through which fact wo are ■; both proud to be known as portions of • tho English-speaking world. ; 'Writing aboard the Mariposa on Juno 12, Mr. G. H. Scales, of "Wellington, observed, "For a little over six days I "'(have 'beenah alien, carrying | of my alienhood. . There is nothing ;in- > vigorating. in the idea .attached' to the, i -fact of being an alien. ;; The. curt, sharp ■ questions —na'tno? Ago?- Height? Colour of hair ?. i'- Eyes ? Size ?—must i be answered- . 'Sigu here, please—usual H 'signsiture/ , says' the interrogating j offii ; eer. 'Here you are! Keep this! You r -can get back your money (four dollars) v ' if you' leave the "UnitcdStateswitliin • thirty days.' " . • :vr-;-/--|(;,v, Mr. Scale's,. who has just: returned 11.. from a trip to; tho United States, and i -to England 4 provided a Dominion ieI porter with an. interesting story of his y- four-months' journey. All of his notes ; aro .'.interesting,,: and many ; are really eduoativo.

Neglected Tahiti. Tahiti was reached ion Juno/5,\ a

■ Sunday. The weather was hot,, and'in. : tho afternoon Mr. Scales and a coms panion proposed to bo drivenfifteen - miles ; see' the/remains ;of /ii; r^

. oontly-erected fortification;:: Theyen- . Raged 'ai conveyance which. Mr.'i.Soales s describes ■as a kind of doubtaseated - There; were'.'two; 'toys' drive !.'■ two. mules, -and "mules" tho latter word.. They only got .seven or eight' miles; tho last two of; which-were'sjjeiit ; in. "jumping:■ in and/out of : the .Vehicle, shoving/hitting.; : cursing/.-.:kio]iing T i'&'0 i ;: • mules' to shift. ■ Mr. Scales saw no-

i .'thing., enticing ' ashore. • Ho was not ';. enamoured' of., the , natives, "and -said; that tho place looks dirtv and has no romantic/cnannv';' though': it; made delightful; F:. place : and 'vie.with'Columbo,.. Singapore, : • or Hong-Kong. Naturevhas. endowed t• it with'all the necessary . "qualificar i tions," but, man has neglectcd tho OPS' .'V- portunity. .' A belt of' flat land richly covered with every kind. of . tropical £' -\growtb'-'. skirts'; the ; sea for some disfctance;6n/..eithers side of;/the:;twYny;ris-: ..ingtclosebehind. it -to'la'. able; height .id a .rango-of. hills in which feity .rpea3ts;;_.-.33ierQi :;r. is one <gdod: road andv;a few .good-look-, • : ing: private houseslinterspersed 'with., /dweUihg^-i. : all:;bf;-which5ar6; ■■■" modern' in type and. material and. are fiienclos«fd; ; byrbafb'ed-mr'e'fences fastened • •to trees. The, soil on: the flat is ;good, ■ ; . but!-tho hills aro scoria, much.liko some •of Auckland■ vlaindv; : i;The :fiarbour ; is; fair'.' and there is:'a wharf' at which ?,:itwb|boats',(x>uld':.just;;:beith;;.end on to !(k eaclf other. To ilio west is another is-' ; „ lajid|-Mowera. ' .' , l::'\'lr'l-'"-' :^V y ■ C- xl'y; s t j. "• iOII Fuel for Steamers and Trains.

£'■ : : In • -New: Zealand to-day . .the , subject :; ;-of oil as fuel is an interestnig aud ini- ■•' porta'ut topic, 'Whilo - afloat' on this '■■■-J side-of i'J?risoo,--Mr.:>Scales.wrote:v"l r«have■ been-down in:tho engine-room and <■ • found 0110 man in: eliargo of six (I ;Ath,iiik)';fMnaces;.. : ' ; There'.were no'stokers; ' ; trimmers. Tlio oil \is just pumped ;; up from the main tanks to one aJcaigside', the furnaces,, .thcnce through ■: a : '-small nozzlo'-into ?tlio."furnaces; -with compressed air. at . about'.: eighteen il: pounds; pressure. . On'tho; furnaces are ■■ .;a few '[bricks . which get saturated and fiSthe ;piqmetit T ,tfteudil^a^ >'• heated furriaces'the v oil becomes alight - and puts tho . juniaces into a white i. lieat. ' Tho - chief , engineer ..just. turned : - on a tap and I was: able to.seo over feYne^lyVthe 1 "whole :;of the insido of the; ' furnace. For about 13} knots they ! . use 6000 barrels of' oil for tho run of 7230 miles: Every .barrel: contains. .320 gallons. Of coal they used to: burn 55 tons daily. They employ; sis men beet; low, instead' of. 24, '< and ' they .can do; (■; with less men oh ■■ .deck as absence of . coal-dust means less dirt."

i4;v'■ As to oil fuel for' railway trains, Mr, Is-» Scales says later tliat 'i ho .travelled via' 1 a train which-.was-taken up a long -.•'/incline :by.two great'oil.engines. / / Education In the States, { tried .to learn- something: $ ; tional system, in. iho States/ but says V'that; fccess.rAV Thereare' State' 'schools fori chil/ ' dren from 5 years to 14' and'-15 : : years';.. / .grammar and high''schools for-pupils ■ between the ages of 15 and-20 years, / and .then universities'.. Jii tho Stato ; schools there were; iiine ' standards,-.and' 1: •'all schools'-were free of charge,' but h' > the books had to bo, bought' from tho I': i what 'New, Zealanders paid..- sixpence. or jy/a; shillmg^they^paid;i',;donar.:;V':'iOpin- 1 ions fceora to be divided as to the effii/: ;ciency/pf the' system, but there, seemed B;.;,np;irpomtot doubt, tho early- stages' is 'of a'.tdo local cliarj;-/ actqr. 'r- Geography':and ; history} .'were /. oonfined almost entirely to/tlie XJiiited few State's',. and -but little;attempt ,'vras made; «V' regarding writing, composition, ~ i-V. lish,'and mathematics.'. Whilst there fct'ris. a/consensus; "of '.bpjnion/tkat7:/ptiier; //things/being': equal/ the /-mail/ i - . got - through .his examinations well vaj ij%the university ,'wilnprobably" be Vbetiej- .. .in' his line than the man with only- a |/pnmarj/education,'>there is.an enormous i; / -of' energy, in '.attempting •to 'cul-;i'/'tivate-those- who should have taken to manual: labour'-after leaving tho prim.'.'ary school." •//':/ ; };"/',• /;'I • . Enormous Private Wealth. Mr.. Scales quotes from an article ho came across which purports to show thij, ■ enormous financial interests, of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. : Against;, . his /ppE ' companies which Morgan controls is set' / 6,133,487,000 dollars,'' Morgan's .affiliated companies 2,752,995,000 dollars, . Morgan's, ;biinking interest 1,000,000,000' dollars,.. Morgan's partners 500;000,000' : dollars: total,. 10,386,482,000/ dollars; '-.which is equal to £2,000,000,000. Accord- /-'• ing to tho article, the' total ..wealth of ;■■••'- the United States is £24,000,000,000, so i. Morgan-controls a twelfth of. the wealth !/ of the continent.'. "But," remarks Mr. / Scales, "those figures do not necessarily ; ' represent Morgan's-.wealth; Kb may con- ■ trol billions and be worth nothing," .. ■' From another article he gathered that L; Carnegie's income was £5,000,000 a ■V- year, and llcckfellcr's ;'£8,000,000.

'Frisco: Expensive and Dirty. Mr; Scale's arrived at San Francisco ; on Juno 18. ■ "This," lie; .says in his •; notes made at the time,, "is a dirty, untidy place, and _ there are one or two handsome buildings," many largo ones (that' is, high structures), but mostly scrubby-looking places, with just .odd ■,sky-scrapers -here:- ana there poking their long, narrow shapes up like, tall is-, pillars into the heavens. The streets are cobbled. The Yankee rush, or f -. hustle,' is 'absent, and 'the. people dress i. ; abominably. You can't smoke' in .. tho : tram-cars. My brother (who lives here) smd I' had lunch at tho Palace Hotel

'Grill,' and just a steak, potatoes, and a whisky cost about 7it. 6u. for tho two of us.. Railway faros are cheap—from hero to New York £15 for 3000_ miles, which is equal'to. 10s. per 100 miles. A 'sleeper' costs £4 extra. "A decent house in a good street is worth about £150 per "annum, and anything like, a largo nouso about £300 to £400, with ho ground.' Land in such a part is worth £40 to £50 a foot frontage, and in the aristocratic part it goes up to a fabulous figure. ■'.-,- "Wages l for ordinary pick and shovel men are Bs. a day, carpontcre 20s. j stevedore hands 205., plumbers 205. ; t0 ■255., bricklayers 255.,. plasterers 80s., a fair, cook 20s. a week, housemaids about 20s.?'a;"w<Sek, but 'generals' '30s. ' ; '.'Butter costs ; Is. ;6d. a lb., really good tea 4s. a lb., beef and mutton •about Is. per lb.-: Yet I see In, the market reports (live stock), fat bulloqksy prime' .quality, 20s. a cwt., : fat wethers, : 2-Jd. a lb, Then ill the quotations for meat, which are wholesale, these prices are doubled,'and the retailer doubles ; them again. Coal is unprocurable under 40s, :a (ton wholesale. "Oil for fuel, per barrel of 50 gallons, costs about 4s. a barrel. ; Tliey oil a, lot of their railway tracks, and many of their ,roads. _ Their station platforms,; none of which are raised at ; all, .like ours, but kept' the level of'the road, aro all just. oiled, though they .look like'; asphalt; The -oil ;on the road stands lall , ordinary' light - aiid 'heavy :dray; traffic, ..'inthout 'cutting,; but the 'motor-car traffic cuts it . up. All '.trains are. one. class,'; except through. longdistance trains. . ■ . •ai "There 'are vast, areas of rich agricultural landslip to' within 100 ; miles (by rail) from 'Frisco, for sale at. 40s, per! acre, " plus the cost.'.-of irrigating, water forwliich' is,?a'vailahle.lt seems al 'though.' there, should .be moneyj'iA. it; The ;, taxes "''are vlittle;. oSg! nothing—pos-? sibly ] I.' per cent. all. told, .. including locali'rates.,'; The' land,is perfectly.'level, and of splendid .soil, but ..without 'irrigating . nothing - will grow in the'; s'um- : mor as there is no rain. ' "Taxi cabs cost 4s. 2d. a mile. .Other cabs 'cost the same,^but,(from the look; of (them.'l-'should' not think that they 'oftery."g6tytliere.'^/■'•^•johly. sa\v ; one cab yesterday, a-'two^horse 5 four-wheeler; haßspmsi^i ; : For ;'photos they Charge 4s; i a ; 'dozen for' developing them and • : printing"; ' one : copy. American boots that you buy in 'Wellington: for. 18s.; or; 205.,-cost 30s. to 4os. here. ; An Extensive City.

'Jriscb;; city/contains '♦ about; '20,000 'acrqsj'-andiihas aVp'bpulatibn; of '400,000: ThC';p6piilatioit acre l seems Jarge,: but-' is ,--probably. accounted . for: by ;.tho. "rooming" or "tenement .; houses" (otherwise 'flats'), by which,', four':', or livo .families live in', one.; house, ;:.this' is the common mode of dwelliiig,. oiily; : tlie";: niore. wealthy/.^haying'their' - own houses. The tramways,.' telephone, lightihg,».<!vei^ v thing;here is private n^rhbth^gii^'Sta^e';:but all these Dig: the hands of;: ;'cprj)oratioiiSi r '; which : develop into 'trtsts.: .: The 'jwhole /meat supply fof the United States is in, a trust, rurt by 'four or '.five...private ..firms, -or cornorations, and the butcher- dare not' buy' liis' meat : :outside : of . 'trust.:!., "Tho Government seem to . be abl'o to keep pdme , check : on' the railways, is>i by<« ? rather low : rates/ibf pETssenger^ares. oTe^sv'walatfd\ -pays .;575.:, per.;.imn feetj'iand' ,22 cases of;'apples ' ; ; v "The harbour is large, 60 miles long. The . wharves' , are 15; t-o 20 miles from: ; tbe entrance, and; the water 'then-: form's a kind of' huge : .bay, .'and. ( runsaway past town . for,; a^'di^ta'nce.^of■'■ , ■ftbbut'. 40 miles. It's ■ qi)iti' ! lahd-lockpdj'.iand. jiist;.opposite;'' |, j;Sorry ,;itc'amers ! cross'every' 'are three large and : separate; though'adjoining towns, the .chief •; of which is •Oaklands. Tho chief street in 'Frisco is Market Street-, ; which runs up from Ferry Wharf for: aboiit three miles,'' in a, straight line, through . 'nearly-. tho. centre of the city..' : 1 fancy tliere:is more "hustle" in Sydney, though,, of' course, tho streets in 'Frisco are :wider. Tho people don't look English. .. There are a-few good shops, ; but-tho town does not impress you as being- hvellshopppd.':The .pronunciation, is peculiar. . : ::

] Los Angeles. "Los Angeles is all riglit—very biisy, l ■ good streets, and good, shops. , Trams. .•c6st';; : s';cents T(2jd.); but. yoii,^?can ~g'o: miles: and "miles; -and-, get'; a '.transfer -to : another, car. aiid go more miles. V i-.: ''As to trains, in Siberia \ye: had compartments, but. here/it is just a long open car, tho two seats facing''one an-, oiher,' : inadei iip intb>:<jne'; berthj'- and the' rooMets: down;', to' 'make .the top berth", and .then- a-curtain/-I,- Bad lobster salad for luiich,. 40 cents■j';.a)id-::.a'n-..ico'> cream/ 15 cents; 'and a tip- to the ; nigger,'):, 10i cents; equalling 2s. BJd. / '// •.,/ ,''Thb: country after leaving Lps.;Angeles • for,;fortvvOr; : "fifty .milest' Tho road follows! a valley several miles ■ wide,-.- and ; cultivation', is more or less, continuous.-. Barley'appears, to'be the .chief 1 crop,, but there,are.large, areas of. fruit plantations. The trees ' in. these; are .'planted; 30 to 40 feet apart. : The :Califomian orange is pipless, the .result of : a", Special oultivation/jand.the'; skin is thick,, with plenty; of :white fluffy frilly'. kin'd'. of:stuff,;- ; whioh'. : as v you: peel takes with it the. little kind .of white plug in tho centre,/disclosing;-a small round aperture; with just aionsation of down j)u the outer edge-of it. This leads ■straignt into the heart, whore the . pip should be.

leaving Cotton ?(540 : miles, from 'San-Francisco) the;, road .rises • gradually; Two enormous, oil- engines hauled us-;, up., a. long curv.ing inoliiie.S .The soil is ~; lighter, ■. and •; cultivation ■ sparser. Sand to the "right,, sarid;;to -the left— a dazzling .'vista of shimmering- patches ; of sand floating in the air to' the front, . and' to the rear, being' twisted,' rolled, hurlod in overy fantastic -shape after, us. . High 'base,' rugged,; almost ' rawlooking ranges towering into a cloudless" .sky,..with patches, of -snow, dazzling white in the sun; .'Mile;on mile; 1 league after league! Tho,only change a hard but deeply : wooded delta, a mass -of deep -wnsh-outs, ,which"appeai ; to>be iiiterspersed throughout the, entire length '■'of "this .vast ' sandy .. waste, .;,..whioh •stretches, nearly,; 1000. miles;-east and' vwbst,. and about'-' 1600 'north, and south, 'far down into Mexico! ;T)ie 'only growth a few''Stunted palms, ~ . besidbs.''grease-' wood, misky rand sagebrush, which somewhat in appearance resembles the :mi|lle scrub in Australia! v -We' dropped .auxiliary, engine at , Beaumont,. and "thundered- down, great; pace to'a yast plain extending .for many miles. Both m length and width, below sea Ipvel as mtich as 300 feet at times. Tho Railway, construction ' at-this "place Wab it- one -time threatened with a serious difficulty. ' Water, ; more/ or-less. . salt. Broke iinto : this basin, and-; submerged the permanent" way. I ami informed • tho cost exceeded .a million dollars before the. inundation -was stopped. ' l "The * railroad: is fairly good—9olb. the. .sleepers or- ties -look - a little on tjio light, side, and they .-; are"red wood;'-' and cost; at 'Frisco about 2s. Gd. each; > The gauge is 4ft.- Bin. * ''

Ryral. Values and City Sites. "The country about Orange is. flat. Here and thero are belts of trees. There is little, cultivation; all is. ; grazing.(cattle). "'A kind of native grass groiva among the Mosquat bush. Tlio land .is worth-about 10 -to- 12 dollars-an acre, and on. : aivavejage runs one' beast to 8 to 10 acres,, At about four or five years old cattle are reckoned to bo ready for Chicago, and aro' worth about 6 cents per lb. " trucked; Horses,' hacks and..buggy, 'broken -in, aro worth from 20 to 40 dollars!- . "We ran into San Antonio. The town is a large one, and has a gay, Bohemian, half-Oriental tone.- -None of the women.-woar hats, and the'whites appeared'to mo N to be mainly blondes!

The whole place was lit up and festooned with arches over tho streets. Drinking saloons and drug stores all opon on to the.streets, --The drug stores.are mainly used as drinking places, where men and women sit on high stools drinking long tumblerfuls of iced liquid concoctions. Interspersed amongst, tjicso drinking places, ajid. almost even-S-.se,, are peaces of entertainment,, leatres, side-shows, nuisicj-halls,' gramaphonos, moving pictures,- and all branded continuous. Admission is 5 'cents, some charging slightly more for reserved accommodation. Colour is indivisible in tho matter of tramcar riding. ; Where Is New Zealand? "I havo had some interesting talks, with various people. ■ Several in one party to-ld me: they had been having a heated discussion' as to whore Now Zealand was. : ;.,Tho majority carried tho point on. a vote that it was on ■! tho north-east coast of Canada. The minority were divided as to whether it was! near" China or on, the way' from Honolulu to Australia (this was. only held by one —a girl of nine). All were eithor high-school, or university-educat-ed p?ople. •. \ • "Another man rather amused me by blurting out tho question (without context), '.'What is your procedure for capital punishment for murder?' and on being "told 'hanging'. .prohiptly asked, ■'•'What'Wthe cost of a passage d New Zealand from 'Frisco?' Later it transpired that ho was an automobile manufacturer, and that this fact had prompted his second question. • ~ The Charming Capital. .' "As a beautiful and: picturesque city, Washington exceeds any that I. have visited. It is like one huge; park. Wherever one goes there are ■; trees.. Not a street, whether an official, residential, or commercial quarter, is without its rows of trees. . Facing, a,nd .at a .distance of perhaps half a mile from the . station .is the "Capitol," but tho -station itself should not be passed by without comment, though- in a multitude of many beautiful biiildings, that forming the mere , mean's .of _ access : ;is iikely, to be passed over. It is 'certainly. the handsomest station buildingl know. Externally it resembles.'somewhat the .Siberian'.tenniuus at Moscow, but tlie interior here is what the. outside would warrant the anticipation of—spotlessly clean,- perfect order, and complete arrangements. .; The . centre is a vast 'hall, nearly square,- used merely as a waiting-room in the; centre, whilst parcel's . office, paper, ships, information bureaux,' and similar necessaries occupy the four corners. Til the centre, of ;eacli wall is a .lofty ■argh,..: the tiro side ones leading 'to departmental offices,, the others, one .-.to. the .strcot, the ;other to the main platform.. The whole build-ing-is .white,- and, in fact; white marble plays a conspicuous part in the construction of. all the Federal buildings. The Capitol is a huge square pile, approached; by some fifty or "sixty steps. l ■ It is . in, a : hill, , with , nothing but park surrounding it;': and makes a''magnificent display with . the/ sun. ; shining, on .its gilded doipa' and the .snowy whiteness of its walls.' A couple of miles away, through Kjinsylvariia •■ Avenue,;; is the ~ White jHous^,. situated in artistically-arranged ; grounds—a liandsorhe ; building. . The Congressional; Library," City. Hall/ Treasury; and Army and Navy Department .are.'. all. enormous': piles;' of white stone and marble, and doubtless there- are many others.: : . I; left-with great regret ,at having had . so ■littlo;;'i - time': ;t6 see what so far had been tlie one picturesque ;and artistic Seople.l'i ?.Washington is 226 miles from ew York, and thoro is. an hourly ser-' nce of trains run by, tho. Pennsyivaiiia R.R., besides . many other" trains ,o'n' dif-ferent;-roads. "The - fares. .Iliore,'; -as overywhero i(i the United States, except the West and South, aro 2 cwits .per mile, and there'is .only one class."

In An Ocoan Palaco. Mr. Scales sailed from Now: York'for • England in the palatial Lusitania. - He wrote this on board: "'We are going througli :the, Atlantic .at the: ral;e of a mile; every, ;tW minutes. . It does not seem like ship life at 'all. The environment seems to; be .that of a : gay, festive town. The top deck 'promenade' :is 'A' and the main deck is 'D.' There .aro three decks above; the. main; deck. The ■ height of' the rooms, .saloon, etc;, must' be; somewhere;.; about 1 ' 12ft., not less than 10ft. The'main deck itself is somo feet; above,-the: water, so what hor full. free-board is can be imagined. ;!A' deck-has,only, a few. bedrooms, right forward,: then .'comes: the 'library,'.then the vestibule and -lift- and- companions, tjibn.' the;.,iloung£j : i' thentho - smokingroom/ The.' size, simply,: ; beggars description,: i.e., it is . impossible to bon-' vey? by the mind of tho evo that has' soen to the. mind of the eyo that' lias •ooij seen; . The ordinary idea, of the-api -pearaiKje: of -the'various divisions such' .'as I ihapo; mentioned .of a ship' block, the imagination 'from. picturing the'actual. ITio dining-room of big New Zealand Sotol would look-small and pokey alongside'the first' saloon dining-room here,' rad it must be rembered there are'two of them, .one on 'C! and thfe othor on 'D' deck.;..'. We have 500 in the first saloon, and of the' ship's deck during promenade time is merely like a a street" with a very ; wide pavement; Tho "chair" deck ,is pretty full but not crowded. :