WORK OF ROTARY

Hokitika Guardian, 10 September 1931, Page 6

WORK OF ROTARY

VIENNA CONFERENCE. MR H. GUTHRIE’S RETURN. WELLINGTON, September 8. Describing the recent Rotary Conference at Vienna as a remarkable success, Mr H. Guthrie, governor of the New Zealand movement, who has returned to New Zealand, said that sixty-four of the sixty-eight countries in which Rotary was established were represented at the conference. They had met in the House of Friendship, a beautiful building furnished from the old baronial castles of Austria-Hun-gary. English was much more spoken than at the previous conferences, where half of the delegates could not speak English. America had the greatest representation, while Great Britain came next. All the speeches had been printed in English, French and German. The two main points discussed were international peace arid economic problems. Mr Guthrie was firmly convinced that Rotary conferences such as that at Vienna had been responsible for creating international friendships of a binding nature. For the first time in Rotary history, an Englishman had Iwen elected as the international president, Mr Samuel Pascal!, of London, having been elected unanimously. All the previous presidents had come from North America, although two of them were Canadians. The new president had mtiinated his intention of visiting Australia and New Zealand shortly. Mr Guthrie is accompanied by Mr F. R. Burlcv, governor for Queensland and New South Wales, and they visited an English Rotary assembly in London. Later they had paid a visit to the headquarters of the movement at Chicago, where they stayed at the home of Mr Paul Harris, the found r of Rotary. Mr Harris, they said, was an exceedingly interesting personality, and his interest in the movement was still keen.