THE UNITED STATES.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 May 1921, Page 11

THE UNITED STATES.

SOME OF ITS MARVELS. Sir Auckland Geddes’ visit to America and the jmany outstanding questions between Great Britain and America*, make the modern development of the United States a matter of special interest at the present time. One of the latest innovations is a motor road, 3,500 miles long, between San Francisco and New ‘iork. The road, which is well on the way to completion, is constructed of concrete, with an asphalt surface, so that the motorist can drive at any pace he pleases—-70 miles an hour if he likes —from one end of America to the other. Just think of it!

Then Chicago will, before long, be a great seaport, owing to the construction of canals joining up the great lakes. From there will be shipped, straight to the ports of Europe, the produce of the vast agricultural country which lies behind Lake Michigan. Nothing is more remarkable than the development of architectural taste in the United States, mainly due to the importation of French architects. America is now full of beautiful houses and palaces. Washington itself is unique— < the only city in the world de\ oted exclusively to government and diplomacy. Its .population of 300,000 is entirely taken up with the business of Government. The place is full of Ambassadors and their suites, Washington, too, has its palaces. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Maclean, the proprietors of the Washington Post, and very close friends of the President-elect and Mrs. Harding, own a re-production of an Italian palace, which contains priceless treasures, including famous Medici tapestries and the wonderful Hope diamond. The extension of America’s educational system is a remarkable feature of modern times. For example, in a far and away agricultural district where the visitor sees little else but thousands of square miles of waving corn, a wellequipped university has been established, which has not less than 10,000 students. What is the future of this great country? In 1880 the population was 80 millions. At the last census it had increased to 118 millions. A little more than half are of British descent or British born. The remainder is made up of Italians, Scandinavians, Poles, Germans, and almost every other nationality under the sun. Millions of Americans speak either no English or a lingo which would be imperfectly understood by the Britisher; a new English with all sorts of new words and new meanings for old ones. In some parts of America for example a town is called a “burgh.” In the United States there is great poverty as well as great riches. Today unemployment is rife and prices enormous. America’s natural wealth in iron, coal, oil, and agriculture produce is immense, but machinery is used for its development far more than in Europe. In making the great road alluded to, huge steam navvies are made which make the excavations, fill in the concrete, and put down the asphalt, with comparative little human assistance. The American flour mills and steel works i are huge affairs.

In fact, most things in America are on a huge scale, including strikes, of which we hear little in this country. In the past, many strikes have taken the shape of pitched battles between employers and employed, in which both sides have used considerable force.

The negro question is one of America’s great difficulties. Last year there was nearly 100 lynchings of blacks—most of them carried out quite openly. In some cases the black men were burned alive and the proceedings photographed. There are 12 million blacks in America. Although they have votes, they are not allowed to travel in the same railway carriages as the whites. They have separate schools and other institutions, and live their lives quite apart, but they are busy agitating for more freedom. Americans say the blacks must be kept in their place because of their immoral tendencies. The negroes allege that they are not more immoral than the white men, and that if the statistics were fairly taken it would be found that assaults upon women by white men are just as frequent as those by negroes.