DR THACKER

Hokitika Guardian, 23 December 1925, Page 4

DR THACKER

VIEWS AND i.MI’RESKIOXs

WELLINGTON. Dec. 2i

“The food in England and also in America,'’ said Dr Thacker on Iti.s return from ;i tour ol Britain and the ('piled States “is c-hiell.v a camouflaged version of a French restaurant. There in disgui-c il everything, even 01. tinned Stulls, by spices and made-up dishes, an it is dillicull to get plain, imaditltcraU I feed in it- : natural flavours. The meals on the Tahiti would lie a lesson to most ot the Northern Hemisphere.’’ T he difficulty of obtaining New Zealand inducts in England in their original condition and under tltcir own name lie found remarkable. In a shop he entered in one provincial centre, with the sign “British and Argentine .Meat Company," lie made some inquiries. In response to an inquiry for Canterbury lamb lie was assured that they stocked all available meats. The first thing offered him a. s Canterbury lamb was a thin, “skinny" carcase, palpably Argentine in character. and though in response to his objections lie "its litter olfered the genuine Canterbury product in that same shop, lie is convinced that Britain has so many millions invested in hath the railway and the meat industry in the Argentine that its products will be pushed first by a very large section of the meathandling trade. ITe has brought hack some samples of material sold as New Zealand greenstone, manufactured from milk casein, a substanre that is non-inflammable and transparent, and is taking the place of celluloid in many directions, for piano keys, ornaments, etc. The price for a large oval ornament which

Dr Thacker lias brought as a sample was l.s fid, Imt. il was not in the least like greenstone, though English people to whom Dr Thacker showed the sham thought the substitute “prettier.” BUTT HR TX BURK, lie was '"cniivineed of the mistake of sending our hatter Home in bulk, as most of it reaches the consumer in an adulterated condition, and he was rather surprised at the readiness of the British consumer to accept camouflaged articles of food in other ways. “I am sure that 70 or 80 per cent, of our hotter does not roach the people in first-hand condition,'' lie said. In all pan.-, of IVnghvnil. Soot tain! an*l Ti eTaml people told him they would rather have iXew Zealand butter if they c"idd got it. “It is not only well-to-do people who want our hut Lor.” lie slid. “Hi West Ham and in all the shops down Barking Road, where the really poor do their shopping, in Whitechapel and elosewhere, the people have to pay :)s a pound for hut tor made in England, and they buy a lot of on butter, which we saw on sale.” TREATED AS FOREIGNERS.

“AVo objected to being treated as foreigner. ll in England.” said Dr Thacker, “but sometimes had difficulty in making people realise that we did not intend to he treated as such. One hank wished to send me to its office for foreign business, hut cashed my requirements at its ordinary office after what I had to say.”

He had the unenviable experience of being shown to Australia House after asking for New Zealand House, :ml complained that it was next to impossible to buy a New Zealand newspaper at New Zealand House, the front of which he considered was not sufficiently distinctive. As a buyer he was chagrined to find himself treated as a “foreigner.” and strongly objected to the general presence of agents for all commodities, through whose hands they must pass at a commission before a purchase could he made. ROADS AND AiOTHnS

“AVo saw the latest English ronding,” he said. “A bed is dug and heavy tared metal put down. Alongside are put concrete blocks. with spaces left for ordinary bricks to absorb moisture and stop the concrete cracking. A coat of smaller material is put on and the whole topped off

with a bitumen mixture, which is acknowledged as the best thing in roads. AA'c saw the very latest thing In garages, the Bell Ramp Garage in San Francisco, seven storeys high, which will accommodate about seventy or eighty ears. AVe drove a Franklin air-cooled car up the ramp to the top on the high. On each floor there is a most wonderful system of oiling tho car. and it ran he run out on a beam platform, under which the mechanic may walk about erect and in comfort. All overhauls and minor repairs can lie carried out in this garage. Each owner is given a key to his little compartment and can leave his car there for an afternoon for thirty cents, or have it brought round to his hotel by a, man in uniform by ringing up. AA'hite lines on the ramp give safety in going ill ami out, and Hie ramp can he seen well ahead, while a mirror shows the street at the exit. They have a most wonderful system of on- | suring safety at the intersection of j lanes of traffic in the main thorough- \ fares. AVith broad paint lines for the guidance of motorists they have also j islands | laced -n that a car rail only iu.si squeeze through without touching and must slow down ai those intersections. and the nearness of a main thoroughfare is shown by a big white disc, diminishing ill size as the street is approached, with big metal studs which require careful steering to avoid and which might- wi-oek a car if struck at anything like speed.”