EX-DUNEDINITE ABROAD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18763, 17 January 1923, Page 6

EX-DUNEDINITE ABROAD

EXPERIENCES OF CHIEF DETECTIVE HERBERT. SOME INTERESTING OBSERBATIONS. We have been permitted to make some extracts from a very interesting letter written by ex-Chicf Detective Herbert, who is living on superannuation in Ban Francisco, to a Dunedin resident. Ex-Chief Detective Herbert was always recognised ns a very close observer, and he makes some pointed comment, on the things he saw during his trip through America, anc! Germany. SOUTH AND EAST. You will see by this that we are en route to Europe. On October 23, at 5 p-m., wo lo!t San Francisco by rail for New Orleans (2479 miles), which wo put behind ns in three days four hours—a non-stop trip. First day wo travelled south, and then east for the rest of the distance to the Atlantic coast through' absolutely desert country for more than 1000 miles. It seems desert, only because of alkali (salt). Not a bird, rabbit, or insect did we see on the whole of that distance, nor a tree nor a blade of gra.ss —no vegetation of any sort unless sage-bush can be called such. Wo travelled through what appeared an endless valley, quite flat, averaging about 10 miles wide, between two rows of wna-s appeared interminable hills of rotten rock having no vegetation of any sort. In. appearance the soil is like' the Canterbury Plains (so like and yet so unlike)—not a house or human being did we see for hundreds of miles and when at last we dill see houses their character was such as indicated the poverty of the people. It is a most woo-bogotteii country, yet in appearance looks much better than Central Otago. This applies to the Arizona, New Mexico, anti West Texas State in so far as wo could see from the train, and that is how Archibald Forbes saw Australia when he wrote a book about it. EASTERN TEXAS. It was only on reaching Eastern Texas that we saw any improvement, and then it was only in the land. There were no decent-looking homes with lawns or trees or gardens. We saw large ranches with not many bullocks (Herefords), and they seemed to thrive on very coarse native grasses. Since coming to this country I have heard extravagant stories of Texas as a cattleraising stale, but I saw nothing to corroborate them, from a trip through in a railway train. Texas is larger than-—I for-

get how many nations in Europe. Texas is larger than—and yet its population shows how backward it is. Millions of acres through which we passed are not worth a farthing per acre. These are some of the things Americans do not tell ns about when boosting their country. Oh, New Zealand 1 Why don’t you boost? In Texas we saw largo number of Mexicans living in worse shacks and apparently under worse conditions than any you are familiar with in New Zealand. When we were beginning to think we should never get out of Texas we found we were in Louisiana, where the land appears good, but badly cultivated or not. cultivated at all, by a people who appear as much behind the times as are those in Texas. They grow cotton, rice, sugar, etc., in a primitive fashion apparently, and they do not permit the negro to ride in the'same railway carriages with them. Negroes are very numerous here, and very poor, but the soil (immense plains) seems “real good.” lam satisfied the Southerner is a very backward person. When wo got within a few hundred miles of New Orleans we passed a few good towns, and at lose we found ourselves at New Orleans, on the old Mississippi, on the third night of our journey. DOWN THE OLD MISSISSIPPI. We saw but little of New' Orleans as wo left next morning at 10. Its population is about 450,000, and the only thing I can say about it is that it is typically American. And now we are drifting down the old Mississippi over its 100 and odd rrtiles to the Gulf of Mexico. I was somewhat disappointed with this river, which I expected to find much w'ider. AH the same it is a fine river, whoso length (if not ito -width) entitles it to respect. Perhaps it is half a mile -wide. It is a sluggish old stream with very low banks and numerous graceful bends, and with small pine trees all along its banks. It took us eight hours to get out of the river and into the gulf, when we steered south to get round Florida to the Atlantic Coast, and thence north to Now York. The Creole, an American ship, is nothing to boast about, ns we subsequently found when we got our German sliip at New' York. The river is full of graceful bends over the whole of the 100 miles to its mouth. The whole trip—through the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic coast —was just lovely—calm sea. mild weather, and good company, and we were sorry whet; the end of our time arrived (five and a-half days). NEW YORK. Fog prevented our seeing the Statue of Liberty! And so at 8 a.m. on November 6 've are in New York, that great hub of the universe—l don’t think. It took us three years and two months to get this far. The weather, after ’Frisco, is rotten—

wet. We are at an ordinary hotel—very ordinary—and arc cheated out of five dollars a day just for a room. Of course we saw the great Woolworth building (fifty-seven storeys) in which every New Yorker thinks he has a proprietary "interest and thinks we from the Antipodes should be astounded. T refused to bo astounded at a high narrowgutted tiling that is half chimney or tower, and I suppose I was “a brute” for saying so. TRAM FARES. We crossed the great Brooklyn bridge in an overhead ear and went on for 15 miles for one faro of 5 cents and thereby discovered that San Franciscans are not truthful, for they claimed to give the longest 5-wnt ride on earth—eight miles. The underground cars are really splendid., Very fast, and the overhead is good, but they have a surface-car (cable) that is a positive disgrace, worse than Dunedin’s old discarded horse cars. Having only three days here, we cannot judge Now Vork finally, but we are not burning with anxiety to see it. again. Perhaps we expected too much. Well, if we did, America by its "boost” taught us to expect it. It seems to bo packed with foreigners. The American hates a Jew as much as a Belfast man hates the Pope. One thing we do take off our hats to — Pennsylvania railway station. It is huge and magnificent, but we were glad when November 9 arrived and we hoarded the Norddoutscher Lloyd steamer Seydlitz for Germany. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

And now we are en route and have had a view of the Statue of Liberty and half a hundred of us agreed, when wc got three miles past if. that onr liberty increased as we got farther away. So much for the

“land of tlie free and the home of the slave.” Don't, listen to the ■ exaggerated tales you may hear of .America. Of course, it is a largo country, but Rod did that—not America, and so things have to be hig to tit one hundred and ten million people. And so good-bye to U.f'.A. for the present. Wo arc now three and a half-days on the Atlantic, with pood weather, a splendid ship, the best: table we ever sat down to,

good company. Nearly all German and real good beer for the first time in more than three years. We have a ship’s band —plenty of the best music, and the trip so far is a picnic. 'IHE LAST DAY AT SEA.

We have passed through the English Channel, and to-night some time we roach Bremerhaven and will wake up_ in Germany at 6 a.m. to-morrow. We passed Dover, etc., at night, so there is nothing to report. We have to train about 40 miles to reach Bremen. Never before have I tinned stewards so liberally as on the Seydlilz. and they deserved it. We felt it not being able to spruker der deutsch, but we are sorry the trip is at an end. We are sort of curios, being from New Zealand, and had to answer all sorts of questions, which made me remember the States and boost old New Zealand and exaggerate like anything about the quantity of butter, etc. “we” export. IN GERMANY.

November 22. We are now at Bremen, and about to test the truth «if the tales we have heard of what can be bought for a dollar and a £• Wo are put ui> at the. Hotel Europe at. 9000 marks a day for bed and breakfast. Sounds a lot, does it not? Well, it is just six bob for tlie two of us. in a room 21ft by 25ft, a bed 7ft Sin wide. No blankets, but what i» better: eiderdown covers. When we paid 3300 marks for dinner wo saw bankruptcy staring us in the face, but when we sneaked away and worked some figures we found we had had a splendid dinner for each at less than 2s 3d. The large roll of paper marks we carry would amuse you. I changed 20dol (£4) into marks, getting 121.000 marks for my four “quid.” Oh, I tell you it’s great. I •■•ill enclose a list of prices, which will make you pity the poor German people. BREMEN. Bremen is the quaintest old town you could imagine. Motor cars are as scarce hero as they are plentiful in San F. The streets are extremely narrow, and running “all over the shoo,” shaped like the letter S; beautiful houses and magnificent public buildings. No slums, no “drunks,” and drinking houses everywhere. If it costs us £2 a week to live here it will be because we are being robbed. When I think of the “quid” a night I paid for a bed in “Noo Yark” it rexes me. It is very cold here, and wet mostly, but we must expect- that in winter. In ’Frisco we felt how unlucky we were in having only English money. Here our luck is reversed by the fact that our money is English and Yank. Both are of equal value here, and so ? .think you will see the wisdom of our decision to come here. I don’t know how many hundred miles it is from Bremen to V ienna, Austria, but you can go there by rail, first class, for £1 Is fid; third class 7s fid. It is really astounding. Where will it stop? Fancy, 62C0 marks for a dollar. \ve are only going to stay here a few days, then to Hamburg (100 miles by train, taking two hours to do it). Population of Bremen 250,000. Hamburg, 1,000,000. There seems a lot of very poor people here, but very clean and very decent looking. f>f course we are lost for the language. ARRIVAL IN HAMBURG. Friday, November 24.—Now we are in Hamburg, having arrived 3.30 p.m. Very cold and wet. I hope I can stand it after v.an Francisco. I think they raise the prices here to John Bull and Uncle Sam ivhens they can. I don’t blame them. So far I like the people very much. Last night wo registered at a middle-class hotel, and had to neclare our nationality (British) It is against the law to lie about it. This mornmg I wanted to know what it cost, and I found I owed them 16,000 marks just for (ho room. Don’t be shocked; it ‘is only about 10s fid. A porter confided to me that if I were a German it would have cost me only 7000 marks. So you see they are “tumbling” to the foreigner. FLUCTUATIONS IN THE MARK. Tiie fluctuation of the mark is their great* est trouble. Totday we saw a poor woman with a hand-cart collecting waste paper. She looked so poor, so emaciated, and so edd (it is a very cold day) that we were seized with a fit of generosity and gave her several pieces of paper money. I am quite ashamed to say how little it was in our money, but am pleased to say that the loota of gratitude she gave us was the best money s worth we over had in our lives. She was a young and not bad-looking' woman, but looked consumptive. This is jl really magnificent city. The City Hall ii{ simply wonderful. I cannot describe it. I;j is the City Hall and Parliament combined. NO TIME FOR THE PRUSSIANS. This city is a State or Republic in itself, and has “no lime” for the Prussian who is just next door. The streets are splendid, and are paved with granite blocks. The streets run at all sorts of angles and curves, which add considerably to making (he city attractivc looking. It is really a beautiful city, not like any of the cities we have ever seen before. Little knots of people are always looking at the goods exposed for sale in provision stores. The reason is that they may get more (perhaps less) for their mark: to-day than to-morrow, owing to fluctuation. GERMAN WOMEN. No American women here. No powder, no paint, no “lip stick,” no short skirts—alt natural women. The railway trains are really good, The country between here and Bremen is poor, level, and not much suited for cultivation, bat the farm houses put Scuth United States to shame. They ar« large, and nearly all roofed with red tiles. BEER DRINKERS. What beer drinkers they are! And yet no drunks. The country is filled with Americans (aking advantage of the economic conditions. This is especially so in Berlin, where we may go soon, liow I pine tc hear someone call out from behind me: “Sir Tenakoo.” or “Ekoa Hapita,” or “All aboard tor Ogg's Corner and the Beach,” or anything else in English. BROTHER DETECTIVES. I should have said that on leaving New York I omitted to get my passport vised by the German Consul at a cost of £2. and ■was afraid of what would happen us at Bremerhaven on arrival there. However, the “joint” who handled us was a police officer, and when he saw who I was—or, rather, had been—he acted as a brother and talked Melbourne to me till "'the cows came home.” He had been there. I paid 1000 marks, less than a bob, and so we saved £1 19s by our blunder. The chief of the detective force was particularly nice to us when we called.