SAN FRANCISCO.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 700, 9 May 1916, Page 6

SAN FRANCISCO.

A GAY AND BUSY CITY. IMPRESSIONS OF A NEW ZEALANDER. |Mr J. M. Qnanr, well known in Christehureh. and now resident of San | Francisco, writes hia impressions to a friend in Christchorch-I "Well, (his is certainly a gay city. I would not go back to New Zealand ; now; everyone is gay and happy—j all men are Frank, Jack, etc., to one | another—the millionaire banker or | oil-man dines at the same lunch table , \ as an oltiee junior—very often at a ! stand-up lunch counter. The president of the bank is always accessiblc, and mixes with all his clients, rich and poor alike. It is all surprising to one who has been used to English customs so long, and very I hard to drop into. The courtesy one 'meets with, and the trouble (in our opinion) that people go to to oblige a stranger could not be understood ! unless experienced. The typist is equal to her employer, and the store ! boy to the president—and they all talk to one another as equals. Astounding Business. "The volume of business going through San Francisco is astounding :—the greater portion is trans-conti-nental, by railroad, but the seaborne trallic is increasing rapidlyeven since we came, the waterfront has been practically rebuilt, and now looks well. " Everything is hustle and bustle, get through, and on to the next business in hand. ■ Business itself moves so quickly that the business man is often accused of not being thorough, but they don't get time to catch up; the business is ahead of them all the time. "If you have had no experience j of the typical American, you could not believe the pressure he is living , under all the time. Some are get--1 ting a little time to systematise their : business, and they all know it is | needed, but when they are making i lots of money, why worry about the j little that may be lost in between j times. "It is only just recently that the cent has come into use in San.Fran- ; cisco, the nickel (5 cents, or 2^d) being the smallest coin used. StreetI car rides are 5 cents, no more or j less, and by taking transfers on dif- , ferent lines you can go on riding until you are tired—you can go 12 miles on this side of the Bay for j 5 cents. "I catch the Southern Pacific train | (electric); it takes me to the Ferry j on this side of the Bay, where we catch the Ferry boat to San Francisco; the trip takes 45 mimics—2s jminutes train and 20 minutes boat; : coming home, the proceeding is, of course, reversed. A monthly ticket 'costs me 3dol, or 1(1 cents (sd) per day. Surely that is cheap enough. Up-to-date Banking. "The banking system here is ! thoroughly up-to-date—everything done to cut out any suggestion of I red tape—the business that goes through some of the banks is enormous, yet* with it all, they have I plenty of time to give you courtesy ] and attention. Statements, together with cancelled checks, are ready on i the first of each month at 9 a.m. for I every customer of the bank. The | president can tell you at an hour's I notice just how his bank stands financially. One cannot help but 'admire the banking system as it is I here—no delays whatever, and no | bustle, so far as customers, at any j rate, are concerned; only in very few cases are checks marked before | being paid by paying teller. Should the bank be very busy, more windows for paying and receiving are ; opened until the rush is disposed : of. Everyone has his own business : to attend to, and is boss in his own ; special department. "The bank buildings are very tine | from an architectural point of view, I the inside furnishings and fittings are elaborate and very good and quite | in keeping with the institution. In j most of the banks, marble is chiefly used inside, and a great many have i no woodwork at all, beautiful brass or copper fittings taking the place of j wood. Telephones Everywhere. | "Coming lo telephones this again i is an eye-opener in the way of the , completeness of the system and | splendid service rendered. Pracj tically every house has a telephone j and of course all the business places. | In our building (the Mills Building, j which by the way is considered the i finest in San Francisco) there are ; more than 5(1(1 telephones. If one I wants, say, Los Angeles, you call | for 'long distance' tell the operator | whom you want to speak to and j within a few minutes you get conI nected with your party or are informed that he or she is not in. The j basis cost varies according to the j amount of use you make of the j 'phone—our house telephone costs K) per month—there arc cheaper i connections, when two parties are j on the same line $2.50, or a threeparty line 5'2.00. "Office buildings here are very j fine. Mills Building, 10 storeys jwith about COO rooms: Standard Oil Building, 12 storeys; Flood Building, j 12 storeys; Ilobart Building. 21 slurleys; Monadnock Building, 10 storeys; : Crocker Bank Building. 12 storeys, j | etc.. etc. The Flood Building houses' I 3500 people, employees of the South-! ern Pacific Railway Company. The Railway System. "Railway matters here are about (perfection, it takes five and a-halfi days express travelling to reach New j York, yet there are about 12 trains! a day leaving for New York—of; course 1 refer to passenger trains—the freight trains are tremendous'

and you would be surprised to se«f the great length of some of them* "San Francsco is noted for Hi hotels and apartment houses. There] are, I think, over 2500 in the city. The theatres are also splendid buildings and the entertainments provided are very good and yet not expensive. You can see the finest picture plays in the world here for 3d. The like of these films arc not seen in New Zealand. By the way, many people in New Zealand think that America is pro-German, but such is not the case by any means. They have been here and think the San Francisco "Examiner" and "Call" reflect the feeling of the people, but those pa* pers it is reported are subsidised by the Germans and consequently the headings and many articles are in* spired. c "We are just now entering upon our nine months summer—only a few evening showers during April and then no more rain until December. The streets are all paved, s<J there is no dust here."