“GERMANS WANT PEACE”

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 223, 17 June 1936, Page 11

“GERMANS WANT PEACE”

New Zealander Found Them

Friendly Hosts

impressions of tour

“Germany does not. appear to me to want trouble.” Mr. L. S. Stohr, Wellington, manager of Snow Rainger, Ltd., who has just returned from a five-month tour in which he England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, said in an interview with “The Dominion. ■ Mr Stohr said that he found Germany busy, with considerable activity in the factories, and there seemed to be a general atmosphere conveying the impression that the population was more anxious to work than to fight. The latest silk mill in Europe was comparatively close to the French border, and a German had asked him if it would have been built there if the Germans wanted war or anticipated war. The French he found bitterly prejudiced against the Germans, even those who had lived for years in England, where it might have been expected that their antipathy would have been toned down as a result of the increasingly friendly feeling toward the Germans evident in England. A vast proportion of the English feeling seemed now to be pro-German. The general impression seemed to be that Heir Adolf Hitler was sincere in his regard for peace, and there was at least a readiness to give him a chance to prove bis sincerity. The'German feeling toward England was also markedly friendly. Mr. Stohi was in Germany at the time of the reoccupation of the Rhineland, and went to a German beer garden with a German host, who let it be known that he was entertaining two Englishmen. The band immediately played “God Save the King,” and followed this with the only other British tune the band leader knew, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperr* The Germans took the occupation of the Rhineland calmly, hut the French were hysterical about it. All military leave was stopped, and it seemed to the casual observer that the French would have been quite ready to “have a. go” at the Germans. German textile factories were working three shifts a day to fill orders tor both internal and external trade, but French industry was at present practically confined to internal trade. German external trade, however, was to some extent impeded by the policy of not allowing imports of greater volume than the exports. English Conditions. In England he found considerable optimism and evidence of returning prosperity in increased factory activity. There was still much unemployment, ,n both Great Britain and the United States, but it was not evident in the streets, because the number of unemployed was such a small proportion of the total population. Mr. Stohr commented on the. popularity of air conditioning in buildings in England and the United States. Buildings, instead of having windows for ventilation, had only panes of glass for lighting, and mechanical insttu.ations kept up a constant supply of treated air, maintained at the right degree of temperature and humidity for comfort whatever the weather. The pure air was most comforting and the system operated with complete success, and be found that even in a cafe t |ie air was clear and sweet, though it was warmed for comfort and many in the room were smoking. Many new buildings in England were being equipped with air-conditioning plants, this fact being prominently advertised with placards on the front o the premises. He thought it would not be loug before the system became fairlv common in Australia and New Zealand, as on the ship by which he travelled four Australian engineers were going to the United States especially to study air-conditioning practice. Mr. Stohr said he found New Zealand fairly well advertised iu England, but many people had only fl hazy idea of where it was or what it was. one educated woman asking him if New Zealand was a British possession. It seemed that the process of education was slow, but among those who knew of it New Zealand was most favourably regarded, New Zealanders could be discovered in all sorts of places, either touring or living abroad. Jammed in a dense crowd on the banks of the Thames to watch the university boat race he noticed two Maoris nenrbv and began to talk to them, discovering that they were George Nepin and George Harrison. He encountered other New Zealanders in similar chance circumstances in many parts of England.