GERMANY TO-DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 119, 15 November 1929, Page 9

GERMANY TO-DAY

A BUSY POPULATION v NEW ZEALANDER IMPRESSED ■ (From "The Post's" Representative.) ' LONDON, 6th September."' Mr. H.. E. Stephens, who has - been" : on a mission to_ South Germany; on. ber: half of the New Zealand 'Fruit Board/ was greatly impressed with ' the -proa-"'.' perity and industry of the country. 1 "; He •'travelled right up. through the Khine Valley and through the . Kuhr.; industrial district. The Hague Conference has. just been completed, and everywhere he. found that the people were greatly satisfied with the result. Hitherto they have had,*to plead.pov-' erty. Now that they know exactly' what they have to pay, they can get on. with their work with undisguised energy and pride, pay their debts, and ■ enter into competition with the markets, of the world. More than anything, however, they are overjoyed at the immediate prospect of getting the foreign troops out of their country. In the country districts harvesting was in full swing, and every member of each family was working hard from 6 o'clock in the morning until late at night. Every piece of land was under cultivation. "We saw very few fields of grain,"., said Mr. Stephens. "Even in parts far removed from towns and villages every square yard was being 'used for cereal crops, cabbages, onions; or maize.: Only in the valleys in the hills, was there pasture, and this was being mown with scythes. We saw hardly, a field with animals grazing. '.Eight up the. Ehine Valley the sides, of the roads were planted with fruit trees. There seemed to be no waste. "Wherever anything would grow, there was something growing that would pay." In the industrial district of the Rbur : everybody seemed to be at work, andevery chimney was smoking.- . Although Mr. Stephens, had. with "him his agent who speaka several languages, he found that most of the men he met spoke English. If he spoke to anyone who was unfamiliar with English, the nearest school child was appealed to as an interpreter. "Imagine an English child being appealed to to interpret German,' 3 said Mr. Stephens.