NEWS FROM THE CAPITAL

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1926, Page 13

NEWS FROM THE CAPITAL

WELLINGTON TOPICS PROHIBITION IN AMERICA. A VISITOR’S STORY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Nov. 26. Mr. Ultan McCabe has returned to Wellington from a visit to the United States and Mexico fully convinced that prohibition in the States is a farcical failure. “The law is simply not enforced.” he told a representative of the New Zealand Times on the day of his arrival. “Boot-leggers are common, hip Basks are general and nowadays a party without liquor is unknown, and to go to a party without getting drunk is to waste the evening. I met many people. and they all said the same thing. One man told me that before the Act came into force his sons would scarcely look at the drink which he kept in the house. Now they all carry hip-flasks. It has been like indicating a tree in an apple-orchard to a boy and telling him that he must not touch it.” To all this Mr. McCabe adds many picturesque touches. The boy who does not carry a bottle on his hip’, he says, is considered a “molly-coddle,” and is “out of luck with the girls,” and there is drinking in the public schools, in the dance balls, and even in the churches. His easily is the most lurid representation of Ameriean debauchery yet printed. incredulity.. The representative of the United .States here is so scrupulously careful to avoid discussing anything savouring of the party politics of his own country, or of the country to which he is accredited, that a visit to the Consulate this morning did not seem likely to be rewarded by any authoritative statement concerning Mr. McCabe’s story. Nor was it, unless a half repressed smile by the Consul-General as he read the report of the traveller’s words could be taken as an expression of incredulity. The custodian of the dignity of his country was courtesy itself, as he always is, but he could not discuss, he explained, the impressions every tmv eller received from a visit to the States. There were reports and statistics, however. that would throw light upon the subject Mr. McCabe had discussed, and these were available to anyone -who was really interested. The perusal of bulky looking reports and statistics seemed a somewhat formidable undertaking, and the names of two travellers recently returned from the States offered a prospect of more direct information. Both of these authorities, who were not prohibitionists and had travelled extensively in the States, utterly discredited Mr. McCabe s tales of adventure. Both as the guests of business friends had been given what liquor they, required in the ordinary way, but neither of them had seen as much evidence of excessive drinking in America as they had in the average New Zealand city. THAT TARIFF WALL. Though neither the United States Consul-General nor the members of his staff would discuss the prohibition or ite effects upon the habits of the community, the young gentleman at the counter, with the most delightful American accent, was ready to “guess” that the folk who wanted to place an embargo upon the importation of American grapes on account of the tariff wall the States had erected against New Zealand apples was “a bit above the odds.” He was referring, of course, to the request made to the Minister of Agriculture by a deputation of Auckland fruit-growers the other day to the effect that American grapes should be kept out of the country for the benefit of the local growers and to the argument by which the request was supported. The young gentleman’s point was that while the New Zealand import duty on apples, frankly intended to keep all other apples out of the Dominion, is iy a d per lb, the American duty is only one farthing a pound. As a matter of fact, no tariff at all is needed to keep New Zealand apples out of the States. They are too "mushy” for the American palate, which favours the firmer, more tasty fruit, and consequently the laugh in this instance remains with our friends ou the other side of the Pacific. THE TWO NATIONS. The mention of tariff walls reminds one that America still keeps the balanco of trade between New Zealand and itself largely on its own side. The fact that motor cars contribute largely towards the tip* of the beam does not make the position any more acceptable to the Dominion. It apparently has been suggested to the Minister of Finance, however, that a further revision of the Customs tariff might do something towards equalising the trade between the two countries, and stimulating manufacturing enterprise at this end. The Americans themselves have been antici paring some such move, and correspond cnee received by this week’s mail indicated that they had prepared to make a great effort to retain and even extend their trade with New Zealand. They have looked long towards this country as a not insignificant consumer of then products, and during the last two or three decades have not looked in vain, tint when the Dominion really begins to taka itself seriously the American will find that in the exchange of products so large a balance will not remain to their credit. Meanwhile the relations between the two countries are entirely friendly, thanks largely to the tact and integrity of the American consular service here, and New Zealand's efforts to make itself less dependent upon ite big neighbour need in rio way disturb these relations.