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Hokitika Guardian, 23 April 1924, Page 2

A visiting Member of Parliament last week told us the Coast, and particularly the unique attractions of South Westland, wore not advertised sufficiently. That will he agreed to generally. The most of the novel scenery on the Coast, is to the south where the glaciers ale the supreme attraction. Thanks to the improved means of railway communication, more people are coining west, and the Exhibition period helped very considerably to advertise the south. The bridging of the rivers 'is doing its part, and making the route hotter known among motorists, who are not slow to compare notes. Still, there is no Dominion-wide propaganda going forward to help attract visitors to the district. The people here, in proportion to wliat the Government itself has done, excelled themselves in advertising tile district. Bat there is much still to be done. Certainly many privato motor parties arc finding their way west and it is interesting to note that in many cases it is not a first, hut rather repeat visits. That is the best commendation of the attractions of the South Westland tour. Withal, the tide of traffic is now at the flood, and something concrete should he done to push the district more and more to the knowledge of outside visitors. A coloured poster depicting Westland scenery such as the glaciers, lakes, gorges, hush drives etc,, distributed widely would remain a striking advertisement over a long period. Sent to Automobile Clubs, displayed at loading hotels, tourist offices, and on railway platforms, propaganda of that nature would have an arresting attention. Perhaps the Government would subsidise such at. effort, and give free publicity over the railway stations. A £lOl or so spoilt in that way would he a material aid to call the attention of probable holiday makers to one of the most delight fill resorts of the Dominion. It seems to he a. matter for one of the local organisations to take up. To undertake a reasonable advertising scheme, monev will l.e required, hut il £209 vere provided lor the year, and the exfcnditurc spread judiciously, next season's traffic would reveal a remarkable increase in the volume and value of visit ing holiday makers.

It has been only a century or more ago. says an exchange, that old Dr. M. 1 1litis was gloomily predicting the time when the world would heroine so numerously pool led that it would starve to death. This doctrine had many adherents after it had keen put forth. i•'<! tlie .Malthusian theory to-day is often dug out of its tomb for present and future application. The truth is exactly the opposite. The world is in no danger of being over-peopled. Measured in the light of wliat actually may ho produced, and in the light of the current natural production that is going to waste, there are two days’ work instead of one day or no day’s work for every man in existence—-this despite the fact that unemployment is a serious fact in more than one country. The tumble is that mankind has not risen to the opportunity. It is immaterial whether we place the blame on had politics, had leadership, or on the ignorance of the mass of mankind in general. The resultant fact remains. The traveller who starts on a journey from San Francisco to Now York realises that lie lias a long trip before him. If, when the 3,000 miles of railway travelling lias been completed, lie then steps on board a liner at New York and debarks in England, lie will have doubled his journey and completed a trip approximately of more than one quarter of the circumference of the globe. But the traveler who in the past began the trip from Potrogrnd to Yladivostock, faced—for the trip is not now possible —a distance which might lie conipa < > approximately to the journey from San Francisco across the United States, to Europe. He would cross a section of the earth capable of sustaining within itself as many civilised people as inhabit the globe to-day. He would find great rivers, penetrating through unmeasured distances, a land rich in resources, mostly vacant, and only awaiting development. No one knows exactly the extent of the resources that are contained within this" area, which is cited not for any particular reason other than to draw attention to n fact commonly unappreciated when pessimistic utterances of the inability of the earth to furnish sustenance arc preached.