AMERICA AND EUROPE

Southland Times, Issue 19457, 22 January 1925, Page 3

AMERICA AND EUROPE

A VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS. “PROHIBITION HAS COME TO STAY.” Captain Sundstrum, who has just returned to Dunedin from a trip to America and Europe, stated in the course of an interview that during his tour across the United States he saw only two men the worse for liquor; one man in San Francisco was slightly mellow and the other was porter in a Detroit hotel. “Prohibition does not trouble the people at all in the Ce. tral States,” Captain Sundstrum said, “and I really believe it has come to stay. Although there is some opposition in the seaport towns the Government is determined to enforce Prohibition, and quite recently there was a big meeting of business men and citizens in Washington to assist the Government in its work. There is not a ghost of a chance of its being repealed, and the people are going to see it through.” Referring to the general living conditions, Captain Sundstrum said that the country was all too prosperous. There were high wages and salaries, but, on the other hand, everything was dear. “At present the States arc confronted with several formidable problems,” said the Captain, “with which they will experience almost unsurmountable difficulties. “The first of these is the negro and the immigration problem. Immigrants are pouring into the country in thousands, and, what is more, these people—Germans, Italians, Greeks and Hungarians—have their own schools, speak their own language and are not compelled to learn English. From a British point of view this appears a serious mistake. “Another peculiar problem is the Ku Klux Klan, which is more or less of an unknown quantity. It is supported by perfectly respectable people, who think it is a valuable factor in the improvement of society. To an Englishman or a colonial their attitude is beyond comprehension, and an organisation of this nature would not be tolerated for a minute in a British country. The American seems to have a code that is unfathomable to us.” After visiting other American cities Captain Sundstrum continued his voyage to Southampton, and visited many places of interest in the Old Country, including the Wembley Exhibition. From a spectacular and advertising point of view, he said, the Canadian Court was decidedly the best, with Australia a close second. The New Zealand Court, he thought, was a little disappointing, but as an exhibition it was all right. There were splendid displays of butter, meat, wool and timber, and the only poor display was the fruit, which was “the poorest of the poor.” They were all Nelson apples, but subsequently shipments arrived from Central Otago, and these had a much better appearance. On the whole, he thought most of the criticism was unjustified. One important fact he noticed in his travels was that New Zealand was far too backward in advertising itself. The country did not get a-quarter of the publicity it should. Never, even in Switzerland, had he seen scenery to equal that of the New Zealand Sounds, and if the facts were only known and one or two improvements were carried out thousands of American visitors would come. However, New Zealand was a young country, only about 75 years old, and had done wonderfully well so far.