A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1919, Page 9

A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

IMPRESSIONS* OP AMERICA. AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT. Mr A. E. Sykes, who" recently returned to New Plymouth Sifter having made a somewhat extensive tour of America and England, gave a Daily News' representative some account of the impressions made upon him during his travels abroad. While he went primarily on a business trip,'Mr Sykes.managed to extract a good deal of enjoyment out of it, and took the opportunity of seeing most of the show places that lay within easy reach of his route. Of the nine months he was absent from New Zealand M( Sykes spent over two in the United States and Canada, and while "acknowledging the intensely commercial spirit of the population of both countries, and particularly the former, saw much that impressed him in the tremendous amount of enterprise and originality displayed in every direction. He beliefes New Zealand could learn much from the municipalities of America and from private undertakings in the matter, of catering for visitors. The enthusiasm shown in-ensuring that visitors to towns and tourist resorts are enabled to see the sights of the different places is in striking contrast to the mariner in which tourists in New Zealand are permitted to grope their way about in many places Without any definite attempt being made to cater for their enjoyment. A VISIT TO HONOLULU. Mr Sykes' first impression of the American systeta of "doing things" was received at the port.of Honolulu, en route from Auckland to Vancouver. He was much struck with the natural beauties of the place and also with the line physique of the Hawiian Islanders. The town is beautifully situated and well laid out, and, in the opinion of Mr Sykes, the cleanest place he has ever seen. The most striking feature to a New Zealauder was the openness of the grounds around both public and private buildings. The old idea of surrounding places with unsightly and forbiddinglooking fences, for the purpose of keeping people outside, has been entirely discarded, and every facility for access to such places is given. The civic authorities and private citizens, too, make a point of attracting visitors to see the principal public buildings and the private residences of prominent citizens. Drives and walks are laid out through the grounds surrounding such places, and special tours lire arranged for visitors, a guide accompanying the party to explain the principal places of interest along the. route. In this way the tourist is enabled to see not only public buildings and private residences, but also churches, echools, colleges, monuments, parks, and all historic sites in the town, the car routes being laid out 1 around and through them all, and the people take a pride in the fact that these are all accessible to visitors. The danger of (tamage to property by the adoption of such a scheme is said to be now infinitesimal. As a matter of fact, the public spirit is so well developed that the people everywhere regard these places and institutions as belonging to the community, and they would no more think of damaging any part of them than their own private property. This spirit is inculcated in the children while at school, and they grow up to respect that which belongs to the community. ] One of the most wonderful sights of < Honolulu, and indeed of all the places which Mr Sykes saw in -the course of his travels, was the aquarium. This is said to be one of the finest collections of the world. The coloration of some of the different specimens is nothing short of magnificent, and the cases, placed so that the sunlight strikes upon them, display their piscatorial contents to the very best, advantage. One of the Honolulu industries which Mr Sykes was privileged to see was a big 'pine apple canning factory- The scale 1 on which the work is carried out is colossal atld hundreds of tons of pineapples are handled daily, though, aa a matter of fact, the actual amount of handling is reduced to d minimum, laborsaving devices being used at every 3tage of the process. No part of the fruit is wasted, and after'that which is to be tinned is dealt with the peeing and the cores are used for jam and, jellymaking. *' VANCOUVER. Mr Sykes reached Vancouver and passed over the Rocky Mountains in the depth of winter, when the whole landscape was mantled in s»oir. Mere, again, the same enterprise in the intereats of tourists was in evidence, and no stone is left unturned to acquaint the visitor with what he "ought" to see, and ready means are at hand for accomplishing that "obligation." Economy is written large across the management of most pf the big «ndertakings. The railway companies make every provision for the comfort of those who trave,l by their trains, by establishing large' hotels in connection 'with all the chief railway stations, and this, of course, greatly facilitates.the process of a long journey. Moreover, in America the authorities see to -it that no opportunity of sight-seeing is missed, and instead of travelling by day most rail journeys are undertaken at night, and with the splendid arrangements for Sleeping berths travellers may arrive in a town early in the morning and be fresh and ready for a day's visitation of places of interest, BEAUTIFYING THE TOWNS. In many of the American towns, especially in California, Mr Sykes was much struck with the efforts at beautifying the cities, many of the streets being laid out and planted as avenues, the central portion being devoted to wheel traffic and asphalted right $0 the kcrbing, with no channelling, then a strip i'own in grass and planted with ornamental trees and then the footways. It should be mentioned here that in laying out such a street no pipes are allowed to be laid under the roadway, so that once it is put down there is no cutting ii]) for drainage and such like purposes, I all these pipes being laid binder the footpaths, which are flagged, to facilitate access for repairs or connections. There are no fences in front of the residences, and the grass plots and flower beds are all open to the public, and each resident is responsible for the proper upkeep, of -the ground in front of his hmise. All the open spaces of the town ■are similarly beautified, and the effect is most pleasing to the senses and restful to the eyes. Sports receive a due meed of municipal support, there being public tennis courts, etc., and for a small fee one may en.jtoy a full afternoon's pleasure in tne particular direction in which his fancy lies. Mr Sykes visited a good number of American towns, including Chicago, New York, Log Angelas,, Halifax, San Fran"cisco, and, others, in all of which there

was evident the same keenness of interest to display "before visitors tlie attractions of the city. It was somewhat remarkable that in only one town (Toledo) was any evidence found of the activity of the New Zealand Tourist Department in the direction of attracting American tourists to the Dominion. Here Mr'Sykes' lit up a pamphlet entitled, "New Zealand Invites You," which, for reasons of sentiment, he promptly annexed, but that was the only sign of information relating to New Zealand that he saw in America. SCENIC RESORTS. Among the show places visited in the U.S-A. were the Niagara Falls, which Mr Sykes saw in both winter nnd summer; the Grand Canyon of Arizona with the Colorado river at the bottom, and hero he went into raptures at the wonderful elfects of the different colored strata of rocks in the general formation; Mt. Rubidonx, in California, where there is a Spanish Mission conducted on somewhat unconventional lines, and where, at the summit of the mount a sunrise service is held at Serra Cross every Easter mom, to which thousands of people go every year. The orange groves of California were a wonderful sight. 'These plantations are all unfenced, and bear silent and eloquent testimony to the general reEpect paid to public and private property. Unfortunately, remarked Mr Sykes to the News' man, the plantations are controlled to a large extent by Japanese, and some discontent is said to exist amongst other traders on account of the Japanese favoring their own people. BUSINESS MEN'S CONVENTIONS. One thyng which impressed the visitor very much was the manner of conducting conventions of those interested in farming pursuits, in the country, and Mr Sykes showed our representative the programme of a three-days' convention of the Farmers' Grain Dealers' Association of Illinois, held at Peoria in February last. The procedure would at aU events be somewhat novel to a convention of Dominion business men. After the roll call there was an item f markeo "Entertainment" and on looking further down the programme it was found that there was some such provision in connection with each day's sessions, and in some cases provided by the Peoria Board of Trade. On the first day there what was styled on the programme the "Invocation," given by Dr. Hiatt, of the First Congregational Church, followed by the customary welcome address bv the president. The subjects of some of the addresses given were as unconventional (to a visitor) as many other features of the gatheftig. ' "100 PER CENT, EFFICIENCY." In regard to his general impression of America and the Americans Mr Sykes says they are "out after commercial supremacy" without doubt, and their great slogan is "100 per cent efficiency." This, as a matter of fact, expresses their attitude towards most of the great questions of the day. Even such a matter as the liquor question is viewed more from the economic standpoint than that of the moral aspect. In this connection, however, Mr Sykes stated his opinion was that the American was not a drinker in the sense in which we understand the word, firstly because he lives at too fast a pace.'to permit of such a handicap on himself, and secondly because he is so well catered for in the matter of light and non-alcoholic beverages. EAST AND WF.ST. The American, Mr Sykes found in the main friendly, though more in. tent on new business than new friends. The people of the West he found much more" genial than those of the Eastern states, and he related a somewhat amusing episode illustrative of I his characteristic. While travelling in, a railway car two AVesterners entered, and in ii short while struck up a conversation' with others in the compartment after the salutation: ''Well, I guess we must be friendly with our neighbors," and thereafter experiences wore exchanged freely until a typical New Yorker .from .the opposite end of the car shouted out, "I. say, switch off, and put on another record." The result was an oyster-like shutting up of everyone, and, said Mr Sykes, the rest of the, journey was spoiled. 'TRANS-ATLANTIC TRAFFIC. While at New York Mr Sykes saw the troopship Leviathan return home with 10,000 soldiers, on board, and on her next trip she was to bring a contingent of 15.000. He crossed to Liverpool in the Cunard liner Coronia, arriving there about the end of March. Norma! passenger services have now been resumed on the trans-Atlantic I routes, and some faint conception of the enormous scale on which the great Cunard liners are run may be gathered from the following record of the requisites to provide a full complement of passengers on the Mauretania with meat, game and bacon, for one trip across which occupies about five days: 40 oxen, 10 calves, 120 sheep, (10 lambs, 200 chickens, 90 geese, 350 ducks, 180 Turkeys, 130 pigs, 200 pheasants, 400 pigeons, 360 partridges, 250 grouse, 800 quail and. 200 snipe. It may also be mentioned that on one trip across the steamer consumes 6,600 tons of coal. THE MOTHER COUNTRY. Mr Sykes spent nearly three months in England and Scotland, and his impressions and experiences in these places, together-with the record of other incidents of his trip, will form the subject of another article.