AMERICAN CONDITIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 22, 27 January 1936, Page 10

AMERICAN CONDITIONS.

LIFE OF THE WOMEN. AN AUCKLANDER'S IMPRESSIONS. After an absence of nearly seven months, Mrs. Milne Hovey has returned to Auckland. During that time she has been in America with headquarters in San Francisco. "One of the most interesting experiences I have had," she said this morning, "was a motor tour of 5000 miles through Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. We went through the famous canyons and they are incomparably the finest things I have seen in the world. The colour was superb and at Bryce it seemed that all the sculptors of the world had been turned loose and it was impossible to imagine that it was the work of the elements." The hospitality of the American women, said Mrs. Hovey, was remarkable. Never had she met such openhanded kindness. Nothing was too much trouble and a keynote of their natures lay in the pleasure of seeing the success of others. There was no spite and envy among them, their friendliness being extended among themselves as well as to visitors from abroad. These were two distinct classes of leisured women, Mrs. Hovey noticed. One was what was tound in every large city, a contract bridge playing section, but the other, and by far the larger section, were women who were going in for cultural things. They did this seriously, but not ponderously and the result was a large number of charming companions. It was refreshing to note the numbers of women,from 45 years upwards who did creative things. The majority of them had written poems, articles, stories and music and had had them published. American women who had brought up their families did not believe that then I was the time to sit back muffled in | shawls with their feet on the fender, but used their leisure to find other ways to express themselves. Visit To Hollywood. Having had considerable experience in dramatic work in Auckland, where she was a valued member of the Little Theatre Society, Mrs. Hovey was particularly interested to visit Hollywood. A permanent pass to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios gave her opportunities that are not often open to casual visitors md, said Mrs. Hovey, it was most illuminating to get an insight into the technical side. She met many of the stars and found them charming, simple people. The stories of "high life" that ,vere broadcast among the public were )iily publicity stunts and were done by 'bit" players who were waiting for lotice to be taken of them. The stars liemselves did not need to attract ittention and could not afford to waste heir mental and physical energy on wild iving. "They are," said Mrs. Hovey, 'an extremely human lot." Living in America, continued Mrs. Tovcy was cheap as regards buying hings. Clothes could be got for a commrotSvolTr email ammmf

' paratively email amount and food was 11 also cheap to buy. It was the service a that cost money and that was extremely 8 expensive. Wages were high in America. A gen,v eral servant received as much as £3 a e week and could not cook! Many of the e women did their own work, which, owing to the wonderful domestic conveniences, 0 was quite simple. Everything was run 8 electrically and a meal could be practif cally produced at the table by the use e of beautifully fitted "gadgets." The ; Americans demanded an infinitely r greater standard of comfort, not only in 2 their hotels, but in their homes, than we 1 did in this country. The American housewife did not go in for "slogging" in j the house as we seemed to here. While she was In San Francisco, Mrs. ; Hovey was made an honorary member i of the San Francisco branch of the National League of American Penwomen. She expressed her delight at this honour as there were only three others. Mrs. Hovey intends to remain in Auckland for a couple of months before leaving on a visit to Australia.