ROTARY CONFERENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1939, Page 2

ROTARY CONFERENCE

IMPRESSIONS OF VISIT,

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND. July 24

After taking, part in the conference of Rotary International in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr D. A. Ewen, of Wellington, District Governor of Rotary in New Zealand, arrived at Auckland from Vancouver by the Niagara. More than 10,000 representatives were registered for the conference,” said Mr Ewen. “They came from every country in the world, except Germany. Italy and Spain, where Rotary is a banned organisation. There were seven New Zealand Rotarians present beside myself. So many subjects were discussed that it would take quite a long while to summarise them, but the central topic was "International Service.”

While in Washington Mr Ewen saw King George and Queen Elizabeth welcomed by President Roosevelt on the steps of the Capitol. "There is no doubt,” he said, “that the visit has had an enormous influence in increasing American goodwill for Britain . I saw signs of it everywhere. It i$ hard to imagine how the King and Queen could have made a better impression.” Throughout his tour Mr Ewen found the American he met had a strong and apparently well-rooted aversion to Nazism and Communism, and an equally strong regard for Britain. Their sympathy with Britain in her stand against aggression, however, did not noticeably extend to France, which was hardly ever mentioned.