GOOD WAGES BUT HIGH COSTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 34, 3 November 1937, Page 7

GOOD WAGES BUT HIGH COSTS

New Zealander's Visit To America AN AMAZING COUNTRY Interesting sidelights on his recent trip.to the Unqted States and Canada, in the course .of a five months3 tour, in which he travelled nearly i0,C00 'miles, were related ifl an interview yesterday by Mr E. Davies, of Auckland, who is now on a visit to Hastings. New York was an amazing city,_ as well as« very beautifui, said Mr Davies. On Broadway,', tbe "Great White Way,33 the last theatre session camC out at 4 a.m, Many shops "and eating houses were open 24 hours a day, and the speaker and a party of friends spent §unday- afternoon going - round furniture shops, all open'. Where the Amoricans cdhcentrated on mass production, their systems were mar'vellous, but the ordinary' business . methods adopted ' in • Ainerica would fail here. Their 'Sfilesmaiiship appeared to be a "take it oi 'leave it33 attitude. By large scale production they were able to make many articles very cheaply. American women for instance, were smartly turned- out and reany w^U dressed in factory-made frocks bought. for about 4/- in our currency, while a beautifui garment could be purchased for 8/-. Cotton, silks, and other like materials were very cheap, and this also applied to shoes, the speaker pur-1 chasing a- pair in Chicago for 9/6, worth probably 35/- in New Zealand. For a worsted box suit costing about £8 8/- here, the American would pay £20. All the hest woollens and cloths came from England. Wool went from New Zealand to the • .Old Country, where it was spun and woven, and was then cxported to the United States, thus helping to restore the trade balance between the Dominion and that country. Labour costs were very higb, however, was a high. cost of living. and a £4 a day, and in. San Francisco a" leading architect, wlio had been engaged on a great hridge, had shown Mr Davies the plans and estimates for a new building, with £3 10/- a day allowed for plasterei's. The final estimates were held up, h.owever, . aa it was ekpected that the men would demand the New York rates of pay. ' As against these high wages, low©v©r WRR 2, lixgh. cost of iiving, &nd sl man drawing £500 a year in New Zea--land would require about £2000 a jyear to live. on a similar level in the United States, where they thought nothing of', paying - 12/- to . 15/- for a grilled '.sfeak,,;Many of the hotel bars had a c'over charge, generally 6/*, -to go in, and all drinks were 2/6. This was an attempt to make The' hostelries1 eXclusiveJ'%nd . liquor could be bought more reasonably at publio bars or saloons. Most of the hotels were crowded day and night. One did not live at one3s hotel >— one merely had a room there and went out for meals. The room might cost £2 a day, and this did not inciude a cup of tea at 7 a.m., which would be charged as .an. extra if ordered. The hotels Vere spacious and well designed, nearly all the bedrooms having, one window ^xposed to the fresh air and fitted with a private bath and telephone. At the same time, Mr J)avies missed the home-like' atmosphere of the Dominion lotels, and the persoflal welcome which a guest always received from a host with whom he had previously stayed.