AFTER-WAR CONDITIONS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3398, 31 January 1920, Page 6

AFTER-WAR CONDITIONS.

EUROPE AND AMERICA. MR H. D_ ROBERTSON ’s VIEWSMr H. _D. Robertson, v:LO- has 31'“ returned Ito Auckland from -.1 tm.-Ive months’_trip to Canada, AII101'i03«-and Europe, has come back with hiSf'-"li'fh in the Empire strengthened (Says the Auckland Star). Judging from =1 business man’s point of view, his idea is Great Britain still has a strong hold upon t.he trade of the world, in spite of the five years of war. “Goods of B itish manufacture are wanted,” said ;.l.r Robertson; “it is not a question of price, but of getting supplies. Purchasers are prepared topay for the British-made goods whenever they can be got. I learned fhilst I was at Home that the manufacturers are loaded with orders. but the trouble is to supply them at present. As a result ‘of the war, the prestige of the‘ British Empire is greater than ever it was before, and everything points to its contiutance in .the 'l'l'ltul'e. We hear a good deal about the United States being out to capture the trade -of the world, but from what: I saw and learned -while over there, manufacturers are overstocked with orders for home consumption, and win not be able to divert extra. energies to the capture of outside trade.

POSITION IN THE STATES. “They have got tremendous labour difficulties ahead of them in the United States. There were Strikes in p‘.'o~ gressiin every town Mrs Robertson and myself visited. We got quite ac.custornecl to them. It appeared to me that the labour‘ problem !will be more difiicult to settle in the United States than will be the case in Great Britain. One rcasonis, of course, the large :number of Workers who are not Ameri-can-bo:rn citizens. We heard a. lot about _the colossal shipbuilding schemes in the States, but it is one thing to decide_ to build ships, and quite another t-o do it. For one’ thing y-ou cannot createfsan army of shipbuilders in a few months. In fact, that trouble is already recognised. One American gentleman who had a great‘ deal to do ‘With -organising Shipbuilding during the war, told me that one British expert shipwright was worth five of tlfe class of men‘ he hzid under him. As a. matter Ci’ fact, billions of dollars have been wasted on the colossal ship--building ‘programme in .»\_~nleric.a, and now already part of it is being‘ abandoned. Even had all the ships been -built, there would still be the problem of manning. them to be f'3.e('d. You cannot. create {L mercantile }ll'.:.l‘§.':lL‘ in a few months any more than you can eveolve expert’ ship-building op.:i~atlws “We received every emn".—<'.-‘-j.' dux’-mg‘ "Our trip in Ameirca. The A‘.«:ir:d:i-':s.~: of the people helped us over man;-: dliii cult)’, 'l‘here is eno;:::e.i;, pi-cspm-it_y in AnlL‘l‘iC‘d, owing to the \\‘Lll'. .\Z‘=::e_« is very plentitjul. and as. at result 2;--W

industries \vllicr};lQs°.ll*%!§g¥./iimggiirag up 2,11‘: getting :1 great acct"! 0:‘ 1101:1113‘ .~xlg>« port. It is;’_Y}i6Bl}Hl‘l}‘:)\' ‘£l_1:i“~ IlE‘»JV'gl not yet got 11 trade connection in America that al;_e scmiixig our agcntg ‘ and cil'cnlal's to other col_lnti'ies, in‘ order to ollel};llgl_.xj_ 111g1r_ke,‘1_s. _V,_ _. '_ LQEJDQQI ..A,s,,l,';,lls'"go‘-DAY_., “ u\Vo ‘lln_',l_A thrfi ipilgasgurgeggf -.;ttcl_lfEl'ing the Peace Celebration cexfemuny at St. Paul’s..~.l.9ll}§p}l,_,}\;hich fvas ‘an his— ‘ toric event ,;s_ve}l §;:q;t§,il,,};§p;illg at . London ‘.21: -i;ei,_plrg_se_llt time is not 21 very rplea.~;-ant 11_l;s;.cp.;i_;a which U 1; ;‘e§ltl.c_-_.,‘ ,:lT,l§o.§ cost 01' tivuig is cnorincus. ’l"nc:'-.3 2:10 °°ml>la*niS Qfxzilisti ‘§‘H?¥E'§i‘%a ‘—l’s2ln.ééz:“:q land, .but:n»-~;+>l>le we h.*;‘:'m *a*.‘.lz.né.2s%.\.;¢, 110 c<:llccp,t,i.s)ll_of tfic "prices :'u‘lil;g’ill_ England. it i§.:a;:l;_uglyk facz ‘hut profitecring is 1-:1111pa11t, the cost of 1113.11ufacturcd goods being oLit...of,,ull,pl'o-H portion to the pl'icC-s paid for raw matel*'l~::ls. §"]lo[ll{CC[.)'?}‘&[S—[ji.!},""rrlfifillggl must be haviiig 21,, .\)'j-011e‘.;e,;fu;1:,_,,tini0_‘.» peopl¢ ;_gcllclf';xlly I,}‘2lye lo'.s.‘of_rlnlo’n"ey,; and are S[)Clldillg.:ifi-_ ycigy t'l'eQly.H_ ;l":i1,c exclusive trade .o_f,v.thc.West Elld_ establishments is, I was illt‘ol°mud, a thing of tin. ]_;2l;~‘t. Tl_lc-sllup.~“ are now I'rcqucntcal by quite a‘ ilc;\\' type of cu:,s_tomer, whcse only id‘._'.,‘. is to buy, and Who (Ices 110.'gs(§,e111 to Care how much is paid for anything. “Fiinit was at plic-11«5n1c11;11 prices while \\‘c were i.ll.l._i(.)l'ldO{.‘l. ..:P,-Juclivs .“'€'«l”e fetching 3/ and 4/ each, and 1.3110-apples 20s.:1p,iQce,_ 1 . ON THE CONTINENT.

“We had a run across to Scandinavia, ;\ml were naturally delighted witih HM‘ ‘Venice of the A.\'ol'th,’ viz., Stockhulm. While in Denmark I saw a party of .»\usI-1-alian ‘,\-()l(licl'S,T being shown zircuxxd. They ‘ ‘we;-cv {zisifing under the zuxspices of their own Gov. ernnmnt to learn all about ‘the dairying industry. The men. received a

very wzmn welcome,.and were enter‘t'.3.iuc<l by the Queen of Denmark. The feulixlg inTDen,mark. is all for Bri. tain. ha-<-,:ul.<c they had not forgotten Prus.~:ia'_g s<~izure of Schlt.-swig-Hob tein, whi!-.h they hope ‘to ‘ got ‘back again.» Holland, to my mind. is the, most fertile country in the -world. It -was plainl_\j evident that‘ I'loll'and slacured great wealth during the .wal-_ I saw the Peace Palace at The Has_>;ue._ and could not help thinkir-.g ofw_its-

p.‘.L.:.,L.,,1- us(‘l.;:.~‘,llCS-S_. and what might be Qtg future -dvstlny. E;ET.GIL.h-Rf AND FRAN\CE.

uwhat impressd me most-‘in Bel_«::iun1 was the evidence of plenty, \-\'h(‘l‘(‘+ I had expected to see so much poverty, owing to the devastation of [the war. I concluded from my own ‘ obsel'\'ations that Belgium will be tlle first of the belligcrents to get back to normal conditions. For one reason they have their coal mines, which are :»,lrcad_\' aettiiilly pro(lu(:iil{__r up to 80 no“ rent of ‘hr: pro-war f.l_uanlity. That means ‘.‘ll-11' Belgian manufar=tnl' ers will be able to get coal to (2~.ll'l'y on their ill(lustries f“( pric-Cs which will enable them (3 compete \'er_\;' favourably with the.~r~3 of oih-or rzountries. I saw goods being sliippetl from Belgium to London; goods which had been made in Belgimil and not sell‘: across the border f"om (i3e'.'many. Yet ‘a few ‘:‘-Cl‘:‘flls ago si:nJ;‘.l' lines were exported f1'e::1 England to Belgiixm. Tliat is an evidence of how quickly the mmlufacturing industries are recovering in .3:~‘gi‘.:;n. ‘ ‘ "Paris ’\\'z"»hs Very gay. The people seem already to have got baek~to their [)1'0-Will‘ powers of enjoying themselves. In fact, the shadow of the war was more noticeable in England than in either France or Belgium. I suppose it ‘ is a matter of temperament of the dif- ; fcrcnt peoples” 1