A WORLD TOUR

Southland Times, Issue 19393, 6 November 1924, Page 7

A WORLD TOUR

PEEPS INTO MANY LANDS SOME INTERESTING IMPRESSIONS MR SMITH’S EXPERIENCES. Looking the picture of health, and imbued with the same energy and enthusiasm which has hh business career throughout his many years in Southland, Mr J. W. Smith, Managing Director or Messrs H. and J. Smith and Company, of the Progressive Stores, returned to Invercargill on Tuesday night’s express from a tour of the world which extended over a period of seven months. A SEARCH FOR IDEAS. “The sole object of my trip,” said Mr Smith to a Times representative yesterday morning, “was to gain as much information as I possibly could with regard to the handling and distributing of goods and also the latest ideas in the business world which will be of advantage to us and to the public generally. For that purpose I first of all travelled extensively through the United States and there is no doubt about it that the Americans are thoroughly modern and lead the world in distribution methods. Of course the cost of living and production costs are higher in the States than in England, for instance, where more attention is given to the value of the product, and after all that is what the great bulk of the public requires. Whilst in the States I visited some of the largest stores in the world and during a short visit to Detroit I inspected the Ford Motor Works and saw a good deal of the organisation and up-to-date business methods pursued there, as well as enjoying a personal chat with Mr Ford himself, who has a most magnetic personality. Leaving there I crossed the border into Canada and inspected some of the largest manufacturing concerns to be found in that go-ahead Dominion. I then moved down to New York where I spent several very enjoyable days in viewing the sights of the metropolis and making myself acquainted with the organisation methods of many of the large firms there. ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. “Completing my business in the States I took passage by the liner Majestic for England and enjoyed a very pleasant trio across the Atlantic. My arrival there reminded me very much,” continued Mr Smith, ‘ how much alike the climate and the countryside were to our own. Beautiful trees and green fields are to be seen in all directions and they made a very deep impression on my mind. London, of course, is a most wonderful city and it is quite an easy matter for a stranger to lose his way in the busy centres. WEMBLEY EXHIBITION VISITED. “I spent 14 very interesting days at the I Wembley Exhibition, and no one visiting | there and seeing the many fine exhibits, j could help but be impressed by the im- I mensity of the British Empire and the en- i ormous possibilities that it possesses,’’ said i Mr Smith. “They are tremendous and are such as to make you feel doubly proud of I being a Britisher. Unless you saw the ■ splendid exhibits for yourself you would 1 not possibly realise the ramifications of the j Empire and it seems to me that if the re- j sources, which up till now have only been touched on the fringe, were developed to their fullest extent, Britain would not require to depend upon any other nations i for her supplies but could get them within her own borders. “Time will not permit of me giving you | more than a brief account of the Exhibition but of all the exhibits that I saw that : made by Canada was easily the best. That I is not to say that the other exhibits were not inspiring; they were, but the general effect of the Canadian Court was exceptionally tine. One reason for this was that the men in charge were thoroughly experience in such work, and furthermore, | they were much nearer to the world’s I centre than either .Australia or New Zea- > land, who were handicapped in this respect. 1 was a little disappointed with the New Zealand display and to my mind the building itself and the fighting effects could have been improved considerably. Nevertheless it attracted an enormous amount of attention and there is not the slightest doubt but that it has been a splendid advertisement for our little Dominion and in time to come will bring a rich reward for the money expended in its organisation. INTEREST IN NEW ZEALAND. “During my tour through the United Kingdom I found many peofite anxious for information about New Zealand, and I do not think any difficulty is likely to be experienced in regard to selecting the right type of jeraon to make a success of things once they have been brought out,” Mr Smith continued. “In the course of my visits to the High Commissioners Office I saw scores of people there making inquiries about New Zealand and I must say that the officials are very keen to do everything in their power to assist would-be settlers with full particulars as to the general conditions existing here. I was told that sometimes more than 500 letters per day were being received by the High Commissioner from people anxious to emigrate and no difficulty need be expected in securing all the immigrants required. But if a bigger flow of population is desired than is ar present being experienced, the conditions will have to be altered slightly and better methods pursued at this end for absorbing them into the different avenues of employment on arrival. As far as I could ascertain the nominative system is being largely availed of and many settlers and their families are being brought out by this means. “New Zealand I found was held in very high respect by all sections of the British public, and the reason for this was the splendid reputation which the New Zealand troops created during the war period. I met several thousands of people whose sole interest in the Dominion was created during the years of the war, through having met some of our troops, and I very soon found that to mention the fact that one belonged to New Zealand was an open passport anywhere in England or in Scotland. CHANGED CONDITIONS. “During the whole of my stay in the British Isles,” said Mr Smith, “I visited many of the largest manufacturing concerns to be found, and what impressed me very much was the great attention being paid j by the managements to the social well- : being of their employees. The whole aim ; appeared to be to make them happy and contented both in their working hours and in their leisure time, and I must say that the results achieved were very wonderful. For instance, in Belfast, and again in Manchester, I was privileged to spend some time in inspecting the works of some large firms* and also the conditions under which the employees live and one could hardly credit the extent to which their welfare is considered. Not only have up-to-date houses been provided for them at a nominal rental but tennis courts, cricket grounds, etc., have also been constructed to enable each individual employee to take part in some means of recreation. FUTURE TRADE PROSPECTS. “Britain on the whole is very prosperous,” continued the speaker, “and there is every evidence that there is going to be a great expansion in trade in the very near future. Without going into the political aspect of matters at all—you have already seen the results of the recent elections —it is safe to say that the community as a whole is going to have greater confidence in the future than it has had m the immediate past. To | my mind the new state of things will enable trade to be developed in all directions and will mean a better understanding with the British possessions overseas, as the Party now in power will, I believe work whole heartedly with us whereas the last Party showed very little inclination in that direction,

COMMERCIAL CONGRESS. “The l(Mh Congress of the Chambers of : Commerce, which took place in London from July 1 to July 4, and at which I at- ■ tended as the delegate of the Invercargill j Chamber, was a very interesting one, and i many fine addresses were delivered by some •of the ablest speakers to be found anyi where in the British Empire. I am cer- • tain that if New Zealand were to send ; forward an invitation for one of the fut- ' ure conferences to take place here that it would be accepted and there is no telling what an immense amount of good it would do. Canada and Australia have already had the privilege of a Conference and next year it is to be held in South Africa so I that it would be an opportune time for New Zealand to set about asking for the 1926 Congress to be held here. AMPLE MARKET FOR PRODUCE. ’There are enormous opportunities for I the development of trade throughout all j parts of Britain and the wonder is that more j attention has not been paid in the past to ! this aspect of everyday affairs. In all i parts there are big populations to be cat- , ered for and the thing which struck me ' most was the high prices which the con- , sumers are asked to pay for meat and dairy ‘ produce. My own opinion is that New ; Zealand could find a ready market for a great deal more of her produce in some of the northern centres, more particularly 1 round Manchester, to take but a single exI ample. Then again there is a fortune to j be made in fruit if the growers could only devise some satisfactory method of packing it without rendering it liable to bruising as is the case at present. In London alone big prices are obtainable for fruit and if one only stops to think of the large centres of population outside the metropolis there is an unlimited field to cater for if proper methods of organisation are pursued AN ENJOYABLE MOTOR TOUR. “One of the most enjoyable experiences during the whole of my tour,” said the traveller, “was a six weeks’ motor tour through England and Scotland. Without a doubt it is a beautiful country and travelling over the many miles of fine roads that they have there is a distinct pleasure. How they build the roads is an education to one from this side of the world and it is a typical example of British thoroughness. We travelled right through England and into Scotland, visiting among the many other attractions to be found in this part of the globe the world famous Lochs. Scotland has. in my opinion, been aptly named Bonnie Scotland. AN IMPRESSION OF EDINBURGH “The concluding stages of my tour in Scotland were spent in Edinburgh,” said Mr Smith,” and to my mind it is a beautiful city, justly entitling it to the honour of being called the Brighton of Scotland, just as Dunedin is the Brighton of New Zealand. Tie people there seem to be as (hard working as ever they were and, in spite of many reverses during the war and afterwards, are still fairly wealthy. NEGLECTED IRELAND. j “I was agreeably surprised with Ireland,” ; remarked Mr Smith, “and it is a pity that i so fertile a country is not utilised to the i extent that it deserves. On every side it has the appearance of being neglected and j this is a great pity, because it can pro- ■ duce the goods, and being so close to the Home markets can command good prices j for any commodities that it cares to export. ON THE CONTINENT. I “I also took the opportunity of visiting France and Belgium, and found the ! people very kindly disposed towards us, ' though it was a trifle disappointing to find i the average citizen in those two countries paying little attention to matters of ini ernational importance and leaving Britain j to carry the burden of the post war problems. I also paid a hurried visit to Germany and thence travelled to Holland where I re-crossed to England and then prepared for the homeward journey by way of Suez. The voyage out on the Mooltan was a very pleasant one and but for the | excessive heat experienced in the tropics ’ one would hardly realise the fact that he was travelling on board ship, there being practically no movement perceptible. The ports called at en route offered a diversity of interest and though the stay in each was necessarily brief one had ample opportunities to view the sights and make comparisons. HOMEWARD BOUND. “We arrived in Melbourne on October 7 and going through to Sydney I met Mrs Smith coming on to Auckland a week later by the Niagara. After seeing all the wonderful sights that other countries have to offer the thought of returning home was a refreshing one, and I am convinced that we have a lovely little country that cannot be surpassed, and the prosperity of which is a credit to the world. As regards climate, too, we have one of which any person may well feel proud, and though many people are inclined to disparage that of Southland, which by the way is a beautiful place to live in. it is interesting to recall the fact that fully 80 per cent, of the citizens of the United States live in colder latitudes than we do. Our climate here in fact is very much like that in Britain, and that being so I believe many new settlers of the future will prefer to come to these parts instead of going further north.”