TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 7 January 1931, Page 2

TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS

YOUNG GERMAN WRITER THE MILLIONS OF JAVA DESTINY OF AUSTRALIA Short and sturdy in stature, and revealing by deportment and face the characteristics of a keen observer, Mr Kurt Offenburg, a young German author and journalist, is visiting Auckland in the course of an extensive tour (reports the “Star”). He has been for various periods in Ceylon, Sumatra, Singapore, Java and Australia, and after, two months in New Zealand he will return to Australia, where he found much of interest, not the least being the political developments there. 1 “1 was really amazed with the beauty, fertility and government of the Dutch East Indies,” said Mr Offenburg. “In that wonderful tropic land they do not rule against the natives—there is no suppression. The natives are Government employees, too. Considerable attention is given to education, and there are altogether 20,000 schools. These include secondary institutions and special schools for teaching skilled labour,- engineering, medicine and law. The European population is only 200,000, and the native population quite 50 millions, so the principle of the Dutch Government in making friendship or harmony, a first plank in its policy is not only wise, but a tribute to the rule and diplomacy of the white man.”

ADMIRER OF AUSTRALIA It may be taken for granted that the Fatherland will learn much about Australia from this journalistic scout of the “Frankfurter-Zeitung” and other newspapers of Germany. “It is indeed marvellous, to see wliat has been accomplished in Australia in about five generations, and it shows good colonisation,” said Mr Offenburg. “Only the fringe of the wealth of the Commonwealth has been exploited. First there was the gold boom, then the decade of wool, and next the enormous yields of the wheat fields. In between they have had slumps, but I have no doubt that some kind of new ‘gold’ will come along to arrest the present troubles. Irrespective of hospitality extended to me by Australian journalists and by the Government of New South Wales and at Canberra, I was able to appreciate that Australia has evolved a most courageous and self-reliant people, free, big-minded and patriotic—a new type of white men growing up and beginning to take part in the destiny of the Eastern world.”

‘ A native of Frankhurt, “'a rich city of 700,000 people, situated between the rivers Main and Rhine, Mr Offenburg points with pride not only to industrial and commercial, importance of this centre, but also to its culture, for Frankfurt is the birthplace of Goethe. In addition to a famous art gallerv, there are four large theatres specially devoted to music, drama and opera. CONDITIONS IN GERMANY^

Speaking of Germany, the visitor expressed every confidence in the future progress of the nation. “The people are strongly for the Republic,” he said. “They know that peaceful government is essential to develop the country and to remedy its financial difficulties. They know also the need of a policy of international goodwill—a policy begun in 1922 under Foreign Minister Walter Rathenau and followed up by Stresemann. It will be to the advantage of both. Germany and Europe. The wisdom of this already has been proved by the way the country has built up its economic fabric and has striven to pay-her share of the Great War debts._ The parties in the Government mainly responsible for this reconstruction still are the Centre Party, Labour, and th& Democrats, the oppositionists being the Fascists on the right and the Communists on the left. Strange to say, the leader of the Fascists, Hitler, is a Czecho-Slovakian without qualification to gain admission to any German Parliament. The big increase m the strength of the radicals at the last election for the Reichstag in November was duo to widespread .unemployment, which had reached four millions. Further, a large portion of the radical vote came from young people. The mam and more stable parties, however, have the confidence of the -public. I believe that if the country is able to get relief by the postponement of some of the war debt payments —the heaviest of . winch, go to France—the Government will be able to solve the unemployed problem. When the people are busy, the power of the clamorous radical elements will deCl Mr Offenburg lias published several novels and plays.