Travels Abroad

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 208, 18 September 1937, Page 12

Travels Abroad

ROTARY ADDRESS Peace Can Be Founded Only On Goodwill

ITALY AND GERMANY

"Kings and rulers in Europe have failod to bring about friendly relations, and diplomats and statesmen have fiailed also. Now as a last resort the plain business and' professional men are seeking to inculcate goodwill," said Eotarian T. Hall-Jones, of Invercargill, district governor of Eotary for New Zealand, in an address at the weekly luncheon yesterday of the Hastings Eotary Club, on his recent tour abroad to attend the annual World Eotary Convention at Nice. "But remember that that alone cannot stop another war,'» he added, "although it is the only sound basis for peace; and it may be possible for statesuien to build on this basis something more substantial. The Americans, who have long held aloof from European affairs, have at last, through Eotary, interested themselves in the potential storm centre of the world. This will help materially toward peace. ' '

Eotarian Hall-Jones referred to his visit to the Palace of Peace at The Hague, for which the furnishings were donated by every country in the world, The palace was completed in 1913 — in time for the Great War. This brought home to him, he said, that peace was founded not on palaces, pacts and treaties, but on understanding and goodwill in the hearts of men. Ia Paris he had seen two German Eotarians welconied enthusiastically at a gathering of Erench Eotarians. Herr Hitler in the last few years had made unsuccessful overtures to end the feud with Erance, but Eotary in this instanee had done something which rulers could not do. Erom Erance he went tc Montreaus to an international assembly of di«triet governors from all over the world. A great personality at this gathering was Eotarian Will Manier, of Tennessee, a past president of Eotary International, and a lilceable and lovable man. Being a lawyer, his legal mind had analysed Eotary, and his ready tongue had diseussed it. Eotarian Manier was a big man in statue, loose-jointed, and with a keen sense oi' humour.

Battle of Plowers at Nice. The celebrated battle of flowers was one of the many entertainments which were met with in Nice, where the World Eotary Convention was held. This "battle" was described by Eotarian Hall-Jones as the most colourful thing he had ever seen. Over a hundred vehicles passed up and down the street and from them young men and girls pelted the spectators with flowers. The spectators had their own supplies, and returned the fire until the street was covered to a depth of several inches with coloured petals. The presence at the Convention of President Le Brun, a charming and colourful orator, attained for the niovement valuable publicity. The distxict governor spoke of the formation of small committees in European Eotary clubs, the aim of wrhich was to bring about better -understanding and goodwill ainong the nations. It would be arranged for a spealcer oi .qne nationality to give"a series of addresses followed by discussion to clubs in another country. The spealiers made no attempt to convince' their listeners, but sought only to give them their nation 7s point of view. Eotary did ndt strive to turn a Gei-man into a Erenchman; it aimed to make him a better German.

In the discussions which followed tho speukers would gain some idea of tho club's viewpoint to talie baclc to their own eountries. These Eotarians were men not without influence, because European clubs wero rather exelusive. They set a high standard and attraeted the Tealiy big men. They were not demoeratic as in New Zealand. Thus, though their numbers were eomparatively small in so large a population, they could do something worthwhile. Passing through northern Italy Eotarian Hall-Jones was impressed by the up-to-date trains, their punctual running, and the orderly charaeter of the stations. A motor-car horn was never heard in Eome either by day or by night. Speaking of improvements carried out under the regime of Signor Mussolini, the speaker said that beggars had disappeared from the streets and were loolced after by the State. Italy appeared to be thriving and prosperous. Mussolini, himself an ardent supporter of Eotary, had remade the Italian nation. Eotary thrived there, and was the only institution in Italy with the right to select its oivn members. The Papal ba.: against Eotary had been lifted 10 years ago, and the matter was now left entirely with the cardinals

or archbishops iit each country to decide whether they would support it. •The Pope remained neutral. Ausrria's jiopeiess rosition Eotarian Hall-Jones also visited Austria, Hungary and Czecho-Slovakia. Austria was in a hopeless economic position, and he did not see how it could manag-e to continue as a separate entity for any length of time. Czecho-Slovakia was a fine, demoeratic country — an oasig of democracy in Europe with an enormous export trade, no labour troubles and a wellbalanced budget. But that country was appr-ehensive, all the same, of Ger>many's possible expansion for, if Austria fell, Czecho-Slovakia would be left very weak. In Germany he saw the home of Hitlerism. In Dresd-en a street was pointed out to him where, a few years ago, shopkeepers were obliged to close their doors and barricade the windows half a dozen times in a day against revolutionaries; to-day everything there was peaceful. xne ixermans were inrenseiy grateful to Herr Hitler for saving thean from the menace of Bolshev. 1cm. u-ermany • snowen signs ot progress Dy ner aosence oi tmempioyea aua xne large numDer oi commercial buildings and workers' flats in course of erection. There was no doubt that the working men were as careiuny iookea after in the dictatorship eountries as in the d.emocracies„

He felt that the Nazi ban on Eotary would not affeet it seriously. In conclusion, Eotarian Hall-Jones cpioted the vision of the goal of Eotary expressed by Eotarian "Will Manier. This was threefold. There was first the cxtension of Eotary to every commtraity that could be expeeted to maintain a club, there was the neecl for filling all elassifieations so as to represent every business which had in-it a man of Eotary temperament and charaeter, and the educating of every member so that he became a true Eotarian. There was often confusion, he said, between the Eotary m-Otto, "service above self," and the phrase, "service t)efore self." Self did not mean seliishness, but proper regard* for oneself. "While Eotary idealised service as something above self, it did not advocato neglect of self. Its members regarded their businesses as a service to the community rather than a means for their own advantage, but they did not neglect their own interests. It was many years smce a new club had been formed in New Zealand but, as a result of a survey to be made duting the commg year, it was hoped soon to provide a club in every town with a population of over 2000 people. Eotarian Manier had visuali^ed & great increase in the number of ciubs in the world. China and Japan were both equally keen on Eotary, and there were tremendous possibilities in „ the East, ' ' He sees the day when there will be, not 4000 elubs in the world, but 14,000. Surely this is a vision to draw xnen's eyes up to the mountain-tops,*' concluded Eotarian Hall-Jones.