A STRIKING CONTRAST.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5071, 5 January 1927, Page 2

A STRIKING CONTRAST.

TRADE CONDITIONS COMPARED. BETTER OUTLOOK FOR ENGLAND. A contrast between the conditions existing in tne Old World as compared with those in the United States was drawn by Mr J. E. Schloss, who has just returned to Wellington from an extensive tour overseas. “When I lejft England things were just as. bad as they could possibly be, but now that the strike is over I am of the opinion that conditions will be made -much bettef.” (One of the reasons for his optimism in this connection was that engineering firms had secured large contracts for the supply of material from South Africa, India, and many other places, and this was bound to improve matters considerably. "The trouble in England,” he added, “is, the heavy taxation—the people are so heavily taxed th'ikt it takes them all their time to- make ends meet.” Mr. Schloss also commehte.d upon the big bid that the Mother Country is preparing to make to capture the overseas motor trade by a clos.e study of colonial conditions. Evidence of the increasing popularity o'f English cars was had on thei opening day of thq great OlympWd, when the one firm catering 'for mass production placed orders for 79,000 vehicles.

Passing on, he said he found conditions in the mining centres, where large numbers were unemployed consequent upon the strike, in a pretty bad way. In Manchester he learned that a friend of his was providing provisions 'for sixty children daily—mostly the children of unemployed cotton mill workers others nere performing similar acts of charity.

Business in Germany was no more satisfactory, and there was a general complaint that tb.Q Scandinavian countries were purchasing dress materials in Paris, where the franc was very low, in preference to Berlin, where, they were much more, expensive. A subsequent visit, however, revealed that with the improvement of the franc so had Germany’s trade position improved. French and Belgian factories were, particularly busy whe.n the franc was at a low ebb-, but conditions were stabilising themselves <Mice more. “Generally speaking, conditions- in Europe are anything but brilliant, and it will take, them a, long time yet to recover. In America, however, things are totally different, I assure you. Everyone appears to have plenty of money, and they are, spending a terrible lot, while things are very expensive.”