AMERICAN POLITICS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 362, 25 October 1932, Page 7

AMERICAN POLITICS

the next president ROOSEVELT WILL WIN SAYS WELLINGTON MAN. PROHIBITION ISSUE PROMINENT Next month's presidential election is the big topic in America at the present time, and Mr. H. F. O'Leary, the well-known barrister, who returned to Wellington by the Makura this week has read and heard a good deal about politics during the last month or two in California. Mr. Pranklin D. Roosevelt, the (Democratic nominee, will win, Mr. O'Leary thinks, although the election will be complieated by the prohibition issue. "The big thing at the present time," said -Mr. O'Leary, is the preparation for the presidential election. Th'e impression I got was that Roosevelt will just Win. What he has primarily in his favour is that Hoover has heen in office during the depression.; and I think that while people know that h"ey ean't actually blame Hoover for the depression itself, they think, rightly or wrongly, that he ought to have taken effective steps to meet it. Another big factor will be this: the Democratic party has declared outright for the repeal of the 18th Amendment. Hoover on the other hand has a sort of compromise platform — what they call the 'wet-dry' platform. "Roosevelt seems to be a more magnetic character than Hoover," said Mr. O'Leary. "He seems to be able to attract the people. Depression Still Acute. "The depression, of eourse, is very bad, although California is said not to have suffered as much as the east. From what I could see of statistics, •they had about the same number of unemployed in and around San Fran-

cisco as we have in New Zealand. But i the total populations, and therefore - the percentages, are about the same. I told several people about what was done in-New Zealand in the way of unemployment taxation. They have no such thing in California, and any- | one that I spoke to there thought it ! was the best or only solution for the ! time being. They gave me the impres- ! sion that sooner oi* later something I of the kind would be attempted there. j "Hoover's special reconstruction J board Is lending tremendous amounts ' of money to provide employment. Just after we left San Francisco I noticed , in the news that the board had ap- i proved a loan of 62,000,000 dollars to ' j build a bridge over San Francisco harbour." Fine Country : Hospitable People. Mr. O'Leary had a good deal to say of the beauty of California and its climate, and the great hospitality of j its people. He spent interesting days as the guest of the Standard Oil and Union Oil companies, and also at the ' Fox Film Company's plant, where pre- ! parations were being made for the production of Noel Coward's "Caval- ! cade." In Los Angeles he and Mrs. O'Leary ' saw some of the games in the State j tennis championships between such players as Vines, Gledhill, Van Ryn, | Allison, Perry, Austin, Stefano, Alo- j zo and Satoh. Vines was just 21, Mr. ' O'Leary said, and was a tall, imper- ! curable young man. "It seems to ! me," he remarked, "that Vines, with , his physique and youth and capabilitias at the present time, must go on for some years now as the best tennis player in the world. We will certainly see some magnificent tennis when he and his eompanions arrive."