THIS EMPIRE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 726, 29 December 1933, Page 7

THIS EMPIRE

THE WAR DIDN'T ALTER THE MAP SO f.lUCH AS SOME SHOPKEEPERS DO. A contributor to a London journal makes some comments: — I have been round the shops looking for Empire goods, and have made some remarkable discoveries. It was the charwoman who started mo on rny tour of investigation. T always buy Empire rneat," she infornicd me, proudly. "Best Argentine." "But the Argentine isn't British," I rotested. She looked at me pityingiy. . "Ho," she said, "wasn't the Prmce there that time? 'Course it's the Empire." Feelihg duly chastened, I went out —and pursued my studies in the new geography at the greengrocei's. "Then Jamica bananas," he said, "aren't selling weh nowadays — people will have Empire stuff." Teaching by Fines. I gasped — I had alv/ays been taught bhat Jamica was in the Empire. But [ gasped still more when he tried to sell me Canary Islands produce' as genuine British. "But the Canaries are Spanish," I said. "May have been once," the greengrocer conceded, "but they all say the war changed the maps a lot." At my next place of call I asked for British tinned fruit, and was >ffered California peaches. "They're Empire," I was told brightly. Unfortunately, my experience ioesn't seem to be unique. Other Deople are finding the same sort of ffiing all over the country. Only the rther day, for instance, a retailer vas found making a big display of ipples and using Empire Marketing Board advertisements to push their sale. Quite legitimate, of course — or it would have been if the apples iiadn't all come from the United 3tates. • In this case and a number of others

there have been prosectitions and fines. But while this may prove, in the long run, an effective method of teaching geography, it's a pity the schools haven't done their job better.