PATRIOTIC AMERICA

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3177, 30 August 1917, Page 6

PATRIOTIC AMERICA

PRO-GERMANISM STAMPED OUT

HAWAII AS IT IS

Among the recent arrivals from the Uriied States and Canada was llr. H. J. H. Blow, late Under-tjL'creUiry for Public Works in New Zealand. Ho has been travelling. to avoid the severity of tlie winter months in Wellington, and returns thoroughly rejuvenated in health. Hβ loi't New Zealand in March last, and was fortunate enough to be in America dunn<: ono of tho most interesting periods in tho history of the country—the period following the declaration of .war against Germany. "I found tho feeling on the war highly satisfactory everywhere I went on the Pacific, and 1 visited, besides Vancouver and Victoria, such centres as Seattle, Poi-tland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I was in San Francisco eighteen months ago, when tho pro-Ger-man feeling surprisingly noticeable— indeed, to me it seemed a !iot-bedol'pro-Gurniaaism. But now alj*that: is changed, and the feeling is simply splendid. Tho Conscription Bill was carried whilst I was there. President 'Wilson'.; war message had a great deal to do with the national change in sentiment. It was a very powerful, masterful, and convincing deliverance, which swayed the nation, and seemed to disarm all opposition. All pro-Germanism seemed to dio out. Either the pro-Germans are interned or they are keeping t'-eir mouths fihut. Tho National Eegi;£ration took place in May or June, and there was a Ijallot for 600,000 men in July. There was a great rush for commissions in every State. Hundreds of young with volunteering experience in their college and schools immediately ap.plied. I met several of them in my (ravels, and their great fear was that they might not be successful. The result was thai three or four times as many as werft wanted applied. There is no mistaking the genuineness of America in this war, judging by tho feeling on the Pacific yiope, which should l>o a good criterion, as it was there that pro-Gehuanisiirwas at ono time chieiiy rampant.

Lively Shipbuilding. "I found all the Slope ports fcverieuly active in shipbuilding. I suppose not less than a thousand ships wore in course of construction at I'riuce Rupert'e, Vancouver, Seattle, and San i Francisco. They are building wooden ships of about 2000 lons, constructed according to standard, and so urgent is the demand for lumber on that account that there was a very pronounced shortage of lumber for export, and precious few vessels available for its transport wero it available. These vessels are four, fiye, and >ixmasted schooners, fitted with auxiliary oil-engines, and I believe they are being made for use in the Atlantic to carry food and munitions for the ariines of th» Allies. As they are turning tlieni out even in greater numbers on the western coast of Canada and the United States, tlieie should bo a regular armada of them afloat very soon. I had tlic pleasure of seeing one of them launched, and a very fine eight it was. Tho war has made a noticeable increase in. the price of provisions in America already. Orientalisation of Hawaii, "On the way back I spent some five weeks in Hawaii—one week on the far srdo of the island, where I lived with the natives. The thing that impressed me most in Hawaii was the extent to which the islands are being Orientalised. A year ago the population of the group was officially given as 228,771. Of that number 97,000 wero Japanese, 23,770 were Hawaiian, 22,000 were Chinese, 15,300 ■ were Filipinos, whilst the '■ American, British, German, and Eussian population together only totalled 16,000, and the Portuguese 23,755. The births among the European population axe very small, whilst with the Japanese and Chinese the very reverse is the case. The Japanese are particularly active in colonising the islands. Whilst I was there a paper announced tho arrival in port of fifty 'picture brides' from Japan. These wero placed in quarantine for a timo on an island, and the Japanese settlers were allowed to go off and select wives from among them. It is quite the accepted thing, and none of the girls fail to find husbands. There are four Japanese papers published daily in Honolulu and two Chinese, whilst there are several weeklies and semi-weeklies also published in Japanese and Chinese. The heart : of Honolulu is like an American city, but outside the centro in any direction the aspect is Oriental. The islands are extremely prosperous at present, on account of the high price o! sugar, which is one of the staple products.

"The registration of tho Americans in Hawaii for warl purposes'took place on July 31, but the first ballot was not to take place there until August 14, which would further deplete the American population of the group. The climate was delightful, and the open-air life of Hie islands is very attractive all the year round." During • his visit to America Mr. Blow took in the Grand Canyon (in Arizona), and also made the Rocky Mountains trip from Vancouver, visiting Howe Sound, the Kamloops Glacier, Field, Lake Louise, and Banff. y