AMERICA OF TO-DAY.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1921, Page 3

AMERICA OF TO-DAY.

‘‘GETTING OVER OUR FINANCIAL DRUNK.”

NEW ZEALAND’S ATTRACTIONS

WELLINGTON, .Jan 24. ,\lr \V. I). Boyce (publisher of tin* “Chicago Ledger,” “Saturday Blade,” 'Farming Business,” and “Indiana Daily Times”), who is at present travelling through New Zealand, was interviewed on Saturday by a “'Times” representative. •“My object in coming over here,” said Mr Boyce, “ is to get a story for my readers at home of a country that we in America don’t know enough about. I arrived in Auckland a week or so ago, and I intend to stay here about a month in all, leaving some time, after the middle of February. I have seen a good deal of tlu* North Island on my way down here; and T want to see something of the South Island now. I am going down to Christ church by to-night’s boat, and T have had a letter from the Hon Mark Cohen, of the Dunedin ‘Star’ asking me to go down to Dunedin. THE FRIENDLY HAND. “Your peoplo here are very hospitable. Certainly, they make a person feel at home right away. I can’t see

(he added) why anybody in a country like New Zealand wants to travel or go j to any other country; beoause you have j .got everything here that there is in I any other place in the world. You have | the products and the scenery—snowi capped mountains, active volcanoes, i lakes, forests, geysers and so forth; all kinds of game and fish, and opportunities for sport of all kinds. All any man can see is somethink like what he has,, already got at home.” “Yes,” said Mr Boyce, in answer to a question, “I take a great interest in educational matters in the broad souse both in scholastic education and in that which follows it; because eduction doesn’t finish when you are through with school. The imbibing of information should go on all through life. I have been told that you have an excellent school system here; but, of course, I am not in the position of knowing much about it yet. 1 haven t had the time to look into it. No person can go wrong about New Zealand, I should say, who keeps his ears and-eyes open .and takes a lot of photographs whenever he goes, and then takes your • Year Book’ for the facts and figures. That is what it is for; and with it, there is no reason for anybody to go wrong in regard to your country; unless, of course, lie intentionally wants to do so. 20 per CENT. DROP IN AMERICA. “Industrial conditions in America are I,ad.” states Mr Boyce. “They arc not good at all. According to the cables T have seen since leaving the ( States, about two months ago, the gen- j oral drop in business «Hnd prices over (

there is about *2O per cent., as comparer! with the position about a year ago. Wo are just simply like all other countries after the war, ‘getting over a financial drunk.’ A\o have to pay for that” ‘big head’ now. Employment, of course, has gone with the business. To put it briefly, while we used to have more jobs than men, now we have more men than jobs. That is the only way I can express it. Production has increased, though the number of employers has decreased. The men have .settled back into their working stride

again. I know of cases where firms took off 25 per cent, of their men because they wished to reduce production, and the production hold up, with the result that they had to shut down part of the time, as they could not get rid of the goods they were manufacturing with the reduced number of employees.” ‘‘Then you haven’t got in the States the go-slow system that we have here?” observed our representative. “Well,” replied Mr Boyce, ‘we have

luid it, but we are getting over it. II lias boon very bad with us but we art distinctly getting over it. Go-slow if the national result of the disturbed eonditions the world over; but as we get back into a normal average condition, production will get back into its stride. Prices .however, will never be so low in the world again as they were before the war. We have got to pay for the war, and that means that we have to pay increased prices for*everything.” A VERY INTERESTING RACE.” Mr Boyce said that lie had greatly enjoyed his visit to Rotorua where he stayed two or three days on his way down from Auckland to Wellington. “The .Maoris,” lie said, “seem a very interesting race of people. They arc the only wild race that 1 have ever come in contact with, and I have come in contact with nearly all of them, that seems to take on civilisation well. I heard an explanation of it to-day, which greatly interested me. It is that the Maoris take to civilisation so kindly because they are good sports, because they like the same things as the British like—horse-racing and all kinds of athletic sports.” Mr Boyce added that he was greatly struck with the height and physique of the Maoris and of our own people as well, out here. “In fact,” lie said, ‘everything seems to grow well here. The trout we sent out to New Zealand grew to three or - four times the size of our trout in the States ind it, is the same with imported trees md so on. Such is not usually the ■ase.”