POWER OF ROTARY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 207, 17 September 1937, Page 10

POWER OF ROTARY

Sinking of a National Animosities TALK TO NAPIER CLUB A brief review of his impressions of couutvies he had visited during his trip to the last International Rotary Convention in Nice, together' with general remarks npon the conference and the Rotary movement generally was given by the district Governor, Rotarian F. Hall-Jones, who visited the Napier Rotary Club for yesterday' s luncheon. There was a Iarge.attendance of members. A tense atmosphere prevailed in France at the time. of tlie visit of Rotarian Hall-Jones to Paris, and riots wero antioipated and guarded againsfc by the authorities. A dangerous situation died away with tlie posting of units of the Guard Mobile around the city. A few weeks latcr hotel workers staged a series of strikes. but ihe trouble did not spread. In Germany there was noticeable a gveat deal of building worlt in progress. iu the way of commereial buildings, but the speaker had gained tho imprcssion that th© noticeable movement in this country was not prosperity but rather progress. Special bats for working people were also being constructed in'Jarge numbers, tlie impression being gained that Germany treated her working people as well as wo did. Sinco Herr Hitler assumed the reins, Germaiiy's huge total of six millions of unemployed had been absorbed into industrv, and in niahy skilled trades there was a shortage of workers, partlcularly as tho sckeme whereby certain of them must be released i'or harvesting each year reduced the working number at times. "Germans aro vcry grateful to Herr Hitler for saving them from the menace of Bolshevism," commented tho speaker. The powcr of the Rotary movement iu the making of friends and the sinking of national animosities among iudividuals was cxemplified, he continucd, by the enthusiastic reception accprded two Gernian llotarians at a French Rotary gathering. 1'residiiig at. the gathering was the, new world president of llotary, Rotarian Morris Doperry. The District Governor described him as a man of brilliant accomplish-ment-j, culture, and charm — the first world president of Rotary who was not Britis'h or American-born. -At Montreaux, before the confereuce at Nme", Rotarian Hall-Jones met another interesting personality, last year's president, Rotarian Will Mauier, of Tennessee.