CONDITIONS IN EUROPE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 October 1924, Page 4

CONDITIONS IN EUROPE.

HAWERA MAN’S IMPRESSIONS. A great deal of general information on present conditions prevailing in Europe has been obtained by Mr. A. Moosman, of Hawera, who, with his two brothers, has just returned from a trip 'abroad. Interviewed, Mr. Moosman gave a Star reporter some interesting impressions gained on his travels, the information he had to give being the more valuable by reason of the fact that his knowledge of ..foreign languages had enabled him to converse freely with the people of the' different countries. Leaving New Zealand in March last. Mr. Moosman and his brothers travelled via Suez to England. Their first move was to see the Empire Exhibition, and this they visited every day for a fortnight. The exhibition as a. whole was not, all that Mr. Moosman had expected it to be. He thought the New Zealand court very fine, but he considered the Canadian exhibit to be absolutely the best. The machinery department he thought was the gem of the whole exhibition, and being an ex-engine driver on the New Zealand railways, he was especially interested in the locomotive engines. There beside the old “Rocket’ was the “Plying Dutchman” with it® Bft driving wheels, while on show close by was a new type of engine worked on the turbine principle. This last-mentioned engine, however, had not yet been tried out, but if it proved a success it was expected to effect a big saving in fufel. Taking seats in one of Cook’s ears at a cost of £1 a day each, the brothers next visited all the principal places of interest in London. They later visited the Smithfield' market, where New Zealand meat w r as being sold. An official whom thev >saw there told them that the New Zealand beef market was practically done, and that our beef could not stand up to the competition it had to meet in the cheaper chilled beef from the Argentine. but he showed them some mutton, which happened to be of the Wanganui brand, and which lie said was one of the best lines they got. and remarked that as far as mutton was concerned New Zealand topped the list. . A few days later the party went across to h ranee and visited-the grave *at Warlencourt of Mr. Moosman’s son. Here, to Mr. Moosman’s surprise, he found a young fellow named •Tanner, with whom he had worked in New Zealand, working as a caretaker w the cemetery. Referring to the battlefields in the vicinity Mr. Moosman said that the marks of war were still plainly visible, although the peasants were rapidly bringing tne wasted areas back into cultivation. ■ Where the Hindenhurg line was once located there was now level and cultivated land, but the line of the old trenches was plainly marked by the long lanes of sub-soil thrown up .at, the time of excavation. The trees still bore grim evidence of the struggle, for thev were studded with shrapnel and bullets, while here a/nd there great unexploded shells with their noses buried in the wood nrojected. On the portion of the battlefields yet unreclaimed there were still many souvenirs lying about, and while out on a short walk Mr. Moosman picked up a German rifle with bayonet attached. They visited the New Zealand monument,’which stands on a. rise overlooking a. portion of the battlefields, and they also visited Albert and saw the ruins of the once beautiful cathedral of that town. Paris whs also included in the tour, but although there were many places of interest to be seen the city contained one drawback in that everything . was so costly. One place which interested the travellers was Napoleon’s castle, situated in a. forest about 60 miles from Paris. In this place alone there was enough to keep the sightseer interested for a couple of days. The ulace where the armistice was signed, Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomph, and the beautiful Opera House were all visited before the brothers left for Switzerland, the land of their birth, and from which country the Hawera. brother had been absent since 1875. They visited their home town, and on making enquiries the landlady at the hotel there said she remembered their father and mother, and asked the Hawera brother if he was the Moosman from New Zealand. The result was that in less than an hour the Mayor and councillors, together with practically the whole of the citizens, were in fron£ of the hotel to welcome them. “Had we each been the Prince of Wales we could not have had a better reception,” said the speaker. While in Switzerland the brother® took pairt in the anniversary celebrations of Aargau. Aargau being the last province to be banded over by Austria. to Switzerland. They ioined in the national shooting matches, and also a huge procession representing the whole of the people of the country. In addition thev witnessed the playing of the national “Fest.” which portrayed the history of Switzerland from the time of William Tell to the present clay—a production in which 1300 people took part. Signs of progress were numerous in Switzerland, the greatest strides having been made in the direction of harnessing the available water power. Electric- power they found to he used everywhere, and it was sold to the neighbouring countries. One big scheme which the brothers vusited will, when completed, provide the power that will complete the electrification of the whole of the Swiss railway system. Tt was interesting to hear Mr. Moosman sav that on the mountains every third person one met was an Englishman, a.nd the English language seemed to he almost universal throughout Switzerland. Germany was also visited, hut before entry could he made into that country a tax of 2s had to. be paid and a declaration as to the amount of money in each person’s possession signed. If a person had more money when he returned than he had when he went into the country he had to hand over the difference to the officials. The cost of living was higher in Germany than in Switzerland, but as far as clothes were concerned the price was, cheaper. However, all clothes were branded, and if they were at all new when one wore them on the trip across the border duty was charged. The German people, said Mr Moosman. were lacking in spirit, it hei?ig a difficult matter to get a smile out of the majority of them. Having English passports the travellers expected if anything a hostile reception, hut this did not tuni out. to ho the case. Thev found that Englishmen were received well, and Germans expressed the opinion that if it hVI not been for England they did not think there would now be anv Germany left. Their feelings towards the French, however, were different.

A good many of the factories in Gerw*ny were idle, and while the Bavarians still hoped for a Kaiser the giea.t mass of working jpeople complamed bitterly of the war and what the Kaiser had done. The working people had very little money and their food was poor, very little butter or sugar being seen, and the stable food being black bread and coffee. After visiting Germany the brothers returned for a short while to Switzerland before journeying to Italy—a place of pleasant rural lands, but insanitary cities. Rome, however, was a beautiful c-ity and Was full of magnificent and interesting places. ( The c^ me l' ei ’y iii Milan, which covered about the same area as the town of Hawera. was a place worth going a long way to see, the countless sculpturings in snow white inanble being simnlv wonderful. The return voyage was commenced from Italy, and the brothers arrived home in New Zealand after having spent vvhat may he described as the most interesting six months of their lives.