“SANDS OF GOLD.”

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5315, 20 August 1928, Page 4

“SANDS OF GOLD.”

DISCUSSING THE UNITED STATES. PREFERS HIS OWN COUNTRY. ■ “I have just returned' from the United States, and I am convinced o.f the fact that Grea.t Britain- is, in. every reßpect, to work in ar.l live in, the test country in the woild,” writes Sir Charles Higham in; the “Daily Mi r.nor,” London. “For the first time in my many visits to the United, States I have coine-back disappointed l . I felt last year that children, wlho play in the golden playground-, with diamond toys must ultimately get .tired of them ; that a house that is built on sands of gold is no safer a structure than that which is built on any other kind of sand. ‘My country, 'tis of thee., sweet land of liberty,’ ” no, longer seems to be America’s national slogan. Everybody was finding fa.ult. Finding fault with the- too ni any laws, and too little enforcement of most of them. Everybody seemed to complain that they were losing their, pride of place by having to ihidte the’r liquor 1 AFRAID TO DRINK. “At a dinner-party given me at the 1 Ritz my hast, an American, said : “ ‘What kind of a country is it. ’Higham,, when one has to carry their, liquor in a handbag, and is afraid almost to drin ; k it when it is poured Glut at the table ?’ ” “Both from a statistical and from an observation poin.t of view. America has at least three times as many unemployed! per capita as we have. “I travelled up the East Side and the West Side of New York, and saw more dire poverty in the presumed Wchest city of the world than I have ever seen in similar districts ip my “Frankly, outside of the Middle own country. Western States, where- the people are living on the land, I do not thi’nk the people of the Unjited States arealtogether h.apply with their presentposition. “They are commencing to realise, that to ignore their foreign customer is bad business; that the only way they can maintain their present high wage system is by getting rid of the 1 )’ surplus output, yet a more lamentable lack of knowledge of the markets of ’the world, outside- their owii' country, I could scarcely have believed existed; LIVING IN ADVANCE. “I .thought that after the war, with th,e.ir vast natural resources and. enormous wealth, thely would have progressed remarkably during the last ten years, but I think they a,re standing still, instead of moving forward. “I thought .they were learning how to enjojy life ; to realise how to be quiet and comfortable, but they seem more! erratic in their, pleasures than ever.

“The great spirit of the United Sta.tes of thirty years ago, when every boy thought of success in work as the one aim of life, is rapidly passing, and a desire for hectic pleasure' seems to have taken its place. “There is no leisure in the United States; everyone seems: restless. I 'think I am safe tq say that 75 per cent, of the population qf the United States live every year o.n a three years’ income, and while things are good this naturally tends; to increase consumption- threefold and increase production, but it is not so ( und. “Anyone who spends next year’s, incomer is living in hope rather than certainty. In fact, my observations during my visit have led me to this very definite conclusion—that we-live in the sounde-t. country in the world ; that our finance is by far and away the berst of any nation ; that our people are infinitely better off, in| that they gef a great deal more out of life and for less monev than they do| 'on the: either side of the Atlantic ; that our country is built on rock instead of sanfi, or in other words, it is built on

character and credit ra.ther than; on go,ld. FAITH IN OURSELVES. I owe a great deal to the United States. A great deal that I know 1 learnt there. What I write here' about them 'is not written unkindly, but truly, and I am saying it for a very ddfinte reason. There are a lot of people in rt his country who have- no faith i'n, the British Empire ; we are sfall a nation of grumblers. Fi'an.kly, we do not seem to know what a fine country we have got.

The American business man, in my judgment, does not kn,ow hc(w to live. He- gets to his office tqo early and leaves too late. I-Ie dashes home, jumps into a bath, changes back into another bttsness suit, and starts talking business al over, again.

The common type of conversation in. the United States is the “ Market.” Yojur Amercan gambles seriously, plays golf seriously, and yet with the. keenest sense of humour he seems to lack a sense of values. “The remarkable individuality which so characterises the people of this country both in their manner, their dress, and their conversation, seems lacking in Cic United Statesi,today.

They arc still .the w.oirlcfs sinar-t'est women, but certainly not the world’s mo,st individual women. In fact. America seems to me like one gigantic dynamo, for ever running ami never resting, -and engineers tell me that the greatest machine that was ever made will ultimately wear itself out if it does not stop to be oiled occasionally I PLAY UP I ENGLAND.

Sweet people- of this fair island, yo.ursi is indeed' the -happy land of this world. The gods, I think, have ‘changed their liking; go down, on your knees to them, and thank them for giving you tips England. “We are masters of the world ; kindly, .courteous, slow sometimes, but honest, reliable. slteacJy, moving on, but npit -moving out. The world is at-your feet once more, my countrymen ; take it, grasp your opportunity, praise your country. WOjrk for it, light for it, as you once were willing to elite for it.

“Argue as you will, it is still a land fit for.heroes to, live it. We' have an inheritance, a stability and a Sense /Qf humour, which is the envy of the 'world, and none' knows it more than those who.live in what was. yesterday, God’s :own Country.”

The-cai'-pet i-n, the Waterloo Chamber- at Windsor —the- Royal din.iugroom during Ascot Week and. for big dinners at other times of residence — weighs twto tons. It is 80ft long and 40ft wide,. and took seven years to weave at Agra. Sixty men are needed to carry it down to the lawn, where it is i thoroughly well beaten, and as many to, bring it up again.

“Is smoking injurious ?” Dr. Giotti, the famous Italian nerve specialist, says it entirely depends on the tobacco. He states that many of the wellknown American brands are so rich in nicotine that tney are best avoided, because their constant use is bound to cause nerve trouble. He considers ismoking may be actually beneficial under the proper conditions. His advice to smokers is : “Select a brand that while satisfying your ‘ ‘tobacco hunger’ is yet practically free from nicotine.” But it is not always easy to find such tobaccos. However, we certainly have them right here in New Zealand. They, are grown and the leaf is cured arid manufactured for the market within the Dominion. In fact, tobacco culture and manufacture now constitute one of our most promising industries. Moreover, our New Zealand-grown tobaccos are so pure and relatively so free from nicotine that they quite fulfil the Italian specialist’s conditions. They may be obtained from any tobacconist. Ask for Riverhead Gold, mild; NaVy Cut (Bulldog), medium ; or Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), full strength.*