GERMANY TO-DAY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 77, 1 April 1930, Page 10

GERMANY TO-DAY

NEW ZEALANDER’S VISIT MR WILL APPLETON DESCRIBES CONDITIONS Advertising expert, accountant, economist and businessman, is Mr Will Appleton. He is a trained observer, and not given to hasty conclusions, therefore his conclusions of Germany carries more weight than do those of the casual tourist. The following is an exclusive interview granted to the “Chronicle” during Mr Appleton ' s recent visit to Wanganui. Realising that Germany is one of the Dominion’s best customers, last year she imported directly and indir ectly wool, frozen meat, butter, flax and other New Zealand products to the tune of about three million pounds. 1 deemed it advisable to include this j great country in the scope of the itinerary of my recent tour,” said Air Appleton. “1 am glad that 1 did so. I have nothing but praise for the way I was received by the German people, business men. Government officials, hotel servants and members of the general public In company with Mr A. E. Baxter, the water-colour artist of Christchurch, I paid a somewhat hurried visit to Germany, but got good insight into present-day conditions in that country. MilitiVism First and foremost I must sav that I the old military spirit is a thing of the past. In point of fact. I saw less display of militarism than 1 did in England. The people themselves seem to be rather glad that they have thrown off the yoke of military rule. Voluntarily, and, 1 think, quite gen-1 uinely, they voice in no uncertain manner that they are glad that the Kaiser has lost his power. But we must not forget that while the old country ij' groaning under the burden of war debts. Germany is even more badly; placed. My candid opinion is that the repaint ion payments are a very heavy burden. When the financial collapse came in Germany all paper-wealth vanished overnight. and thousands of families, who in the old days were comparatively well off, were left without a penny piece. Such a disaster cannot be quick ly overcome. I found a profound admiration for English goods and English people. The admirable conduct of our army of occuption has largely contri bated to this. English quality is the. standard either in goods or men and British firms to-day receive a wonderful reception. Discounting the conduct of those who wish to encourage the' tourist trade I believe that the average German is anxious and willing to bury, the hatchet and let bygones be bygones. I certainly found no evidence, of any prejudice against us, rather the reverse. The people talk frankly and freely, and they make no bones about the futility of the war. I found the people kindly hospitable ami scrupu lously honest, rather a contrast to the! Belgians and the French. A railway porter on the Berlin station, to whom I gave a two-mark piec« for quite a long carry with my bag gage, ran after me ami returned a mark. Can you imagine that any where else. The hotel in another city: refunded 3 marks that we had paid a I taxi for the conveyance of out luggage, j remarking that their man should have been there to meet us. Hamburg From the point of view of business, Hamburg is really the heart of commercial Germany I journeyed to Hamburg from Rotterdam, which is almost a twelve-houTs trip. The trains are quite comfortable, ana good meals are served en route. Second-class travelling in Germany is about equivalent to our first-class. It is quite good enough for ordinary purposes. A point I noticed in Germany is that they do not use blankets or quilts, but just a sort of eiderdown. There is another one handy if you need it, but a* most of the hotels have central heating, the one eiderdown suffices. They are light and aify, and really I.tore comfortable than blankets. In Hamburg I had the pleasure of looking up Henry Joosten. who is well-known to many New Zealanders. He is running an agentv business in Germany, and seems to be doing pretty well. I »lso visited the Art Gallery in Hamburg, and Hagenbeck’s famous zoo. The art gallery contains some very Ane pictures. The zoo. which is situated some distance out of the town, was somewhat disappointing. It covers many acres, and it is really from the ideas of the Hagenbeck’s Zoo that the Sydney one was planned. 1 must say, however, that the Sydney Zoo surpasses it. There are innumerable animals and birds in the Hagenberk Zoo. but the conditions under which they are kept are not altogether pleasant. Hamburg is a very fine city with splendid buildings, many of which have beer, erected since the war. The railway station is one of the best 1 have seen. It compares very favourably with that of York in England. Hamburg lias some wonderful shops and 1 was surprised to see the extent of them. The city itself is about the size of Sydney, only more compact. Barges and lighters bring goods to it by rivers and canals from all parts of Germany, Austria. Russia, Finland, (Denmark. Sweden and so on. The shipping facilities are modern and up todate, so it naturally follows that Hani burg is one of the greatest ports in the Berlin The run from Hamburg to Berlin, which is 180 mile.-, takes just -U hours, so that the express, which does not stop en route, goes at a fair speed. A German friend motored us round Berlin, and I nv.-t say that it is a magnificent city. The streets are fine and wide, and there are some splendid parks. Under den Linden is one of the finest thoroughfares in the world While in Berlin my friend and 1 visited Potsdam and there saw the Kais-*r’s palace When the party as aeiubted i.t the jwe were put in divisions —F.ngi’.-h. French, German, and so on. Of course, we wen- put in of a girde who understood There were only two othei in the party, and it seemed that the other two should be E dA Little and his wife from Paeroa. J Zealand. It did seem curious JKfthe only English people present should be fr< m our own little country. The Royal palaces have been kept in gplen<iid condition, and from an in

speetion one can get some notion as to how Germany was for pomp and splendour before the war. One cannot help but admire the wonderful ability of Frederick the Great, the man who designed the whole scheme. The collection of furniture, tapestries, and pictures is one of the best in the world, and one went, through the various buildings with a certain amount ol awe. When Frederick the Great designed the palaces and the surrounding gardens, he imported the very best English and French talent, then available, and these influences are rather marked. Generally speaking, German architecture is much more stolid than the French or English, and the man who did so much io make his mark on Grrmen history very wisely brought in some outside talent. Utility, I might remark, seems to be the key word in most things in Germany. Cologne From Berlin w e journeyed down the | Ruhr Valley to Cologne. It is in the Ruhr Valley that all the big iron and steel works are situated, and also the coaj mines, Cologne is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In my opinion it is certainly the most picturesque town iu Germany. Berlin reminded one of Melbourne, and is really a modern city. Cologne, on the other hand, with its famous Cathedral, is much older. The Cathedrral holds 30,000 people and yer it is so excellently proportioned that it does not look like a barn as one would imagine. In this city there is a French touch about it in regard to the design of the buildings, and the lay-out, and then, of course, its situation on the Rhine gives it a commanding position. From Cologne we went up the Rhine Valley and climbed up to the old Castle of Drachenfels. This is a good steep climb of over an hour. The view is superb. One gets a wonderful panorama of the Rhine Valley. AH of the slopes of the hills arc covered with vineyards, and it is from this part that the famous German wine conies. The river is beautiful and clear, so unlike most of the muddy streams one sees in other parts of the Continent. At Cologne the river reminded me very much of the Waikato at Hamilton only, of course, the Rhine is about four times the width. Going from Cologne to Bonn, on the way to Drachenfels, we did the journey by electric train, and at Bonn we saw Beethoven’s birthplace, also the special memorial hall which was erected in his memory there. Later, on the hill climb to Drachenfels, my friend and I visited Wagner’s memorial, where the paint iti”s illustrating his operas are shown. It is like a huge mausoleum. Industrialism I na-1 time to visit a few of the industrial plants in Germany, and was much impressed with the way in which th-v are modernising kheir works. J must say. however, that I did not see quite the same activity that I noticed in the Old Country in this respect. In certain lines the Germans are much ahead of either the English or the Americans. This particularly applies to dyes and chemicals. In ordinary manufactures, however, they seem to me to be rather behindhand. They are an industrious people and in respect to agriculture they make use of every square foot. It was apparent that they are going in for very heavy manuring. 1 am not surprised at the fact that German wheat is being dumped into England to the extent that it is. There is such a contrast to Scotland and Englund, where thousands of acres are now lying idle. Taxation iu Germany is extremely high, and business people have rather Irani time of it. Apart from all the other taxes there is a sales tax of 4 per cent., and this, of course, is a huge burden. I asked one man how a concurn fared when it was unable to pay the tax. His reply was that the Government assumed that a man had to make profits or else get out of business. In respect to overseas trade the Germans are experiencing tremendous opposition in getting back their former position, as the trade has been captured by American, French and Japanese interests. , The people are working very hard, but seem to be very short of ready money. This is reflected in the amusement houses, where the scheme Is to charge a small fee for checking your hat or coat, and then try to make up the revenue by selling drinks and cigarettes. Most of the vaudeville places in Germany charge no fee for admission, but the management rely on what the people spend in extras to get their money back. While in Barlin my friend and I attended ‘‘The Three Musketeers. ” It was wonderfully staged iu a marvellous theatre. The music was beautiful. Although we could not understand the words we followed the plot and both of us sat enchanted for close on four hours. We also attended the National Opera, and while I am not keen on high-brow' stuff. 1 may say that 1 was sorry when the 2 . hours finished. The Germans are a vftry musical people, and in thp cast they had some splendid voices. The -eeuery and settings surpassed anything i saw elsewhere on my trip. The German audiences are very appreciative. and during most of the time you could have ‘heard a pin drop.’ The opera house is a tremendous place and i seats about 400(1 people. In regard to the language difficulty, i there is very little trouble in Germany, I because a goodly percentage of the i people speak English. One need have i no hesitation, therefore, in going to I Germany on that score. ! With respect to cash. Bank of Eng- | land notes are accepted everywhere, ! ami I must say in this connection the ’ German people are extraordinarily ! honest. They always give a fair rate I «>f exchange, even in the smaller ! shops, which is a contrast to what i happens in other parts of the Contin- . itut. 1 found the people willing ami 1 obliging, and anxious to help a I stiranger. i In going over the Somme Battlefields iater on my trip, 1 visited many of the French, British, Canadian. Australian. South African and New Zealand cemeteries. Our guide was a British officer. I sought information as to the graves of the Germans who fell in that area. I found them marked with wooden crosses which were ra- ‘ pidly falling into decay. Expressing ‘ surprise that they had not more worthy memorials I learnt with astonishment that the Germans are not yet permitted to erect more lasting monuments to their dead. 1 was also told that not more than ten German people can visit a cemetery at one time. As a , Britisher, I do think that the time has come when this attitude should be dropped.