ROTARY CONVENTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23577, 13 August 1938, Page 23

ROTARY CONVENTION

DUNEDIN DELEGATE'S IMPRESSIONS MR HUGH SPEIGHT IN AMERICA MODERN TRAVEL DESCRIBED Over 10,400 Rotarians and members of their families arrived at San Francisco in the middle of June to take part in the twenty-ninth annual convention of Rotary International, which was held there that month, and those who went from New Zealand gained a new conception of the ramifications of the organisation which is called Rotary Mr Hugh T Speight, who one of the representatives of New Zealand Rotary, and who has just returned to Dunedin, told a Daily Times reporter yesterday that the convention had been of outstanding interest to all the visiting delegates. The headquarters of the convention were located in what was called the House of Friendship in the municipal auditorium of San Francisco's civic centre. This was a huge building, and it was laid out on the lines of a formal garden with a large fountain, outdoor furniture, and 3000 rose bushes in full bloom. " It was like being in the heart of a

living redwood forest," he said. There one went for all information one might desire, and the visitor had only to express the wish to see some part of the city or its surroundings and immediate arrangements were made on his behalf. The convention itself was full of interest. It opened on Sunday, June 17, this day being given over to the registration of the delegates. The first plenary session was held the following day in the Fox Theatre, with accommodation for 5000, and early opportunity was taken to express the appreciation of all for the months of organisation and preparatory work done by the host club, Rotary Club. Number 2, of San Francisco. The sessions were continued throughout the week, and the convention came to an end on June 24. The attendance was the second largest in the history of Rotary conventions, and was exceeded only by that of the silver anniversary one, when 11,019 gathered at Chicago in 1930. Travel Impressions Though Mr Speight spent less than six weeks in America he gained a wealth of experience of the tourist attractions of the west and came back to New Zealand strongly impressed by the modes of travel in the United States. He said he had been particularly interested in air travel and the trip by air from Vancouver to Chicago had been an exceptionally enjoyable experience. He had made arrangements in Dunedin through Union Airways, Ltd., in connection with this flight, as a result of which he had been met in San Francisco by the representative of Union Air Lines, who had spared no trouble to see that all arrangements were complete. The Mainliner, the huge Douglas aircraft in which portion of the journey was made, was extremely comfortable to travel in and it was something of a novelty to be served with a meal consisting of hot soup, salad, poultry, ice cream and coffee while travelling at nearly 200 miles an hour 11.000 feet above the earth. From time to time, as the journey went on, each passenger was given a copy of an " air log " showing the altitude, speed of the plane, outside temperature and other items of interest. Brewing Industry Mr Speight spent five days in Chicago, mostly sight-seeing, but he gave over one whole day to a visit to two of the largest breweries in the United States—Pabst's and Schlitz's, at Milwaukee. "I was met with every courtesy by the officials of these concerns," he said, "and was given a trulv amazing amount of information about their methods and experiences in providing the large amount of beer and ale necessary to meet the demand for it, but much of the information was of a confidential nature and cannot be discussed." He added that his tour of the bottling shops had been of great interest to him Scenic Delights Describing his travels from Chicago to Canada, where he visited Banff, Lake Louise and others of the many famous scenic resorts. Mr Speight, admitting that his interest was always most, strongly attracted by bricks and mortar and wheels again referred to the luxury of modern transport, and described the numerous amenities of train travel, such as a club room and a cocktail bar, unknown on the railways of this country. He also briefly touched on his visits to the show places of Vancouver and Victoria, the capita] of British Columbia, and went on to deal with the canyon country which was visited after a brief tour of three days and a-half in Yellowstone National Park, famous for its thermal wonders. At San Francisco, he said, he had had the opportunity of seeing the progress of preparations for the world's Fair of 1939 This is to be held on Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay. from February to December of next year, and some idea of the lay-out of the exhibition was gained from a complete model housed in one of the city's parks. In California His visit to Los Angeles, where he saw pictures in the making at the Paramount studios, and his visit to Boulder Dam and the oil fields near 1 Los Angeles were all described by

Mr Speight. "Everyone knows something of these places," he said, " but there is one place which is far from well known here. It is Forest Lawn. 'Forest Lawn Memorial Park is just outside Los Angeles. In it there are two small churches —one a replica of that at Stoke Poges where Grey wrote his Elegy, and this is known as the Little Church of the Flowers; the other is The Wee Kirk o' The Heather, and it is copied from the Glencairn kirk of Dumfriesshire, in Scotland. There is also in the park a magnificent mausoleum, which has a copy of da Vinci's " Last Supper" in stained glass, and the whole park, with its flowers all the year round and its bright sunshine, provides an atmosphere which would never be associated with an ordinary cemetery. Forest Lawn, and particularly the Last Supper' window." Mr Speight concluded, " has left me memories which will not quickly fade."