PROSPEROUS AMERICA.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3379, 7 January 1920, Page 7

PROSPEROUS AMERICA.

TRADE POSSIBILITIES. Mn’ Gl§Nb‘oN’S IMPRESSIONS. ’l‘he Mayor of Auckland (Mr J. H. Gunson), who has just returned Lfrum a visit to America, says that e.lolmoll§, expansion of trade iuterests———ehiefly manufacturing concerns n.g.~]_ Shipbuilding——Aas well as the dev;-1-:)pmr-at of land resources, is taking place in the United States. _The growths of many of the cities is remarkable, as instance Detroit, which in 1900 had a population of 285,000, while =to-(]aty the population exceds 1,000,000. Detroit is the hub of the Illot.or-c'eu- trade

of the United States, and the growth is due chiefly to the on-0-rmous cxpauj siou of the nlo‘tor-car business which much exceeds the most sanguine fore. cast. Most faetorios in trucks, tl-ac. tors, and motor-cars are deluged with orders, and quite unable to oVort2lko the business. Prices ‘in all lines are much beyond pre-w'ar levels and wages n0.2-1-cspom]-ingly advanced, strikes of w-eo~l-kmen

lin both East and West in shipbuildiingv and upon the w}\la.rves have been ‘general {1I_l(l pl'otl‘actod._.V” states 'i\<’[r Gunson, but ‘while 2lllVOlVlll'g' ll.e:lvy loss both to workers and employers, they have not stopped the flow of business. When I _left- San Francisco the shipbuilders were returning, and a settlement. of the port dispute was in sight. The latter did not suspend shipping, but it greatly handicapped operations. A much more serious position is that of the 'coa.lnliners, with which crisis the Government is involved. The issue apears to be one of constitutional go\'ernlnent and law and order, as against revolution, and there is no»doubt that the peoples of the States will stand by the Government. as I believe the great body -of workers will do when the issue becomes clear. “The country is very anxious about the futu:-k. of the trade with the resumption of conditions more nearly normal in European countries, and in Great Britain. High prices obtain for grain and produce, "while cattle hogs, and poultry, and in fact, all foodstuffs, have reached record rates. with the result that the cost of living is" the chief problem confronting legislators and only overshadowed for a time by the miners’ dispute and the League of Nkltions tangle.

“In the cities extijavagaiice is apparent, particularly in dress, and while the savings bank deposits show an unprecedented increase, yet the people never spent as much. The spending‘ power act‘ the ~eommun‘i‘ly is very high; they think no more of ‘a dollar than we do of H. shilling. In. the thickly "populated. parts of New York, Chicago, and other large cities, where in 1902 I saw "much poverty and distress. I found, _on this occasion, a =ll'allsfol'mation. Children who have no near playground other than the streets were mostly well dressed, while at ‘evening, in large groups, there was an atmosphere of happiness and contentment. This appears a strange contradiction to the unrest prevailing in leading sections of the big labour unions, and goes to show that, in many cases, there is more than the question of wages at the bottom of the unrest. l “San Francisco is -a changed cityl since my previous visit. Following the fire of 1906 it has ben largely rebuilt, particularly in the commercial larea. San Francisco, like Auckland, lis engaged upon port de-velopmenti California was never so prosperousi Its grea.'t' fruit industry is booming. Prunes, apricots, etc., as well as .walnuts, sold in record crops at liig-11 prices during August and Sepi'Qill]l)el’, returning many millions ‘of dollars to the ‘growers. In. consequence Value_ of fruit lands has risen rapidly, 1' Visi"c'ed :1. fruit orchard which had just changed hands—l6O acres at 1015 do]. lars per acre. That indicates value, in Californian improved orchard land Ofl the best class. V “I Visited three different sum’ fairs, one of which was at Ontario, Canada. These are the same as our agricultural shows. The cattle ‘are wonderful, _pa.rticulal-ly {thc Kimsas stock, but I saw no sheep in America to approach the New Zealand flocks, I often told people that we have more I sheep in Zew Zealand than vt}lm. hm,9 in Anieriea. The dairying, tho/_ ig primitive, and it is impossible to ob. tain good buffer‘ which tlley (pmyt un_ derstand to make.”