OUR SHOP WINDOWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 738, 10 August 1929, Page 7

OUR SHOP WINDOWS

FREE ADVERTISING FOR OUTSIDERS NOT FOR N.Z. GOODS

A PROTEST FROM FRANCE One of our recent French visitors of an inquiring and observant turn of mind, took the opportunity of strolling up Main Street, Auckland, with a casual local acquaintance whose French was a mixture of “Fourth Form Grammar School” and the Etaples “bullring" of 1917. But in spite of lingual obstacles the Tourville tourist made it very clear that he wished to know why our shopkeepers boycott our local goods and give so much value and free advertising space to those of outsiders. r p l HB visitor sought in main tor some patriotic shopkeeper who took a pride in showing the world what we can produce tor ourselves. Almost every window told the same tale, driving the observer to a natural but incorrect conclusion that either we are a prosperous but helpless pastoral race, not yet sufficiently civilised or developed to provide ourselves with the refinements of life by our own craft and workmanship, or that our retailers were anxious to hide our home-made wares under the counter or in mysterious places at the back of the shop, as things to be produced only under pressure and then with profuse apologies.

BOOSTING OUR RIVALS' GOODS No matter which display came under the keen scrutiny of our guest the same front window dressing for the boosting of our rivals’ goods was to be seen in endless variety. The outsiders’ wares had all the spotlight and limelight that was going, while the products of our own workers remained, Cinderella-like, in some diugv kitchen at the back. In the grocer’s window were goods from Chicago to Kamchatka and Sweden to Svdnev, but precious little from Auckland to Invercargill. The tempting confectioner’s window gave a gorgeous display of sweetmeats—mostly imported. Even a fine display of New Zealand meat and delicatessen wares was tastefully bordered with delicacies cauued in Pittsburgh, of all places! The jeweller's shop was a 0 per cent, “wash-out” for New Zealand-made goods; even the greenstone mementos having been fashioned in Bavaria or Birmingham. A draper’s window redeemed a display of the latest hats from Paris, with some 100 per cent. New Zealand rugs, and the guide glowed with a rare thrill of patriotism as the visitor expressed his rapturous admiration of our workmanship, but local pride crashed again when the boot department showed with artistic settings the newest models from the United States and Czecho-Slovakia. A LESSON FROM FRANCE Our French visitor mentioned with pride that while France had bled more and suffered more through the war than any other country, it has far outstripped other countries in her rate of recuperation and trade revival. lie produced a clipping from a recent issue of the Manchester “Guardian” stating authoritatively that: “With her total exports in weight roughly doubled since 1913, with the great bulk of her factories entirely rebuilt, and all the machinery in them new; with the volume of production greatly increased, with her tax burden, per head of the community, measured in gold values, only half that of Great Britain’s, and with no unemployment, France now occupies a position of economic strength and prosperity that is unique in Europe.”

Commerce Commissioner Cahill, of the British Embassy at Paris, tells England how France has increased her cotton-printing machinery by 100 per cent., woollen and worsted by 20 per cent. In spite of fickle fashion “shortening” the ladies’ supplies, the silk output of France has doubled and that of artificial silk increased sixfold. She now produces more pig iron than Britain (whereas in 1913 Britain’s output was more than four times that of France). The production of c-okc has doubled and electricity trebled. The motor and engineering trade is booming; her engineering exports alone rose from 313,000 tons in 1913 to 1,469,000 tons in 1927. La Belle France “radiates with the magic of prosperity!” declares our visitor with an eloquent sweep of his hands. Safeguarded and sheltered by a scientific tariff her production of wealth haa gone ahead by leaps and bounds. Farmers and factory workers, mill hands and shopkeepers, commercial and professional men all enjoy the benefits of a policy of self-help and self-reliance. The lesson to us niU3t be very obvious. France flourishes and prospers. Why not New Zealand? Produce for ourselves and buy our own products. Then prosperity is assured.