VISIT TO AMERICA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 286, 2 December 1937, Page 6

VISIT TO AMERICA

WANGANUI MAN’S VIEWS LETTERS FROM MR. D. SNELLING STUDY' OF COMMERCIAL ART. J-otters received by Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Snelling, of Jones Street, from their son, Mr. Doug. Snelling, who left recently for the United States to further his studies in commercial art, indicate that he had an enjoyable trip via Suva and Honolulu. Mr. Snelling left Auckland on the R.M.S. Aorangi on October 5 last. The day spent in Suva was one of the most pleasant he had ever spent and included a comprehensive tour around Suva and its environs. His experiences on the island included the tasting of the native drink, kava, which he states tasted like dish water, lunch in a Chinese restaurant which was similar to those seen in “tough” pictures and a view of a Fijian funeral, the body of the dead man being cremated in a carved box. The natives did all the work in Fiji and a white man lost caste if he was seen working. The boat left Suva for Honolulu on Friday, but the following day was Friday again. On the following Sunday, the Aorangi called in at Canton Island to drop mail in a tin can for the two whites and a native who are the sole inhabitants of the island. Honolulu’s Charm. Mr. Snelling’s first thrill on arrival at Honolulu was to see the Customs officials all wearing revolvers at their waists. “After passing them,” he states, “we reached the outside of the wharf and again I was thunderstruck. All the traffic was goin£ in Ihe wrong direction and everyone seemed to be going to have a serious accident.” The roads on the island were very good as the islands constituted a military bas

for the United States. Big guns wertj rushed about at up to 60 miles an hour and it was thus necessary that th°v should be well constructed. After a moonlight drive around the island, Mr. Snelling was taken to a barbeque for coffee and doughnuts. These barbaques were found along all the highways. The motorist drove his car in and a patent tray was fitted to the door of the car. The famous Waikiki Beach he considered to be most beautiful, although it was only about 400 yards in length. The foyer of the Moana Hotel was a huge affair which opened on to an open-air courtyard, the end of which was on the Waikiki Beach. The Royal Hawiian Hotel was <?ven more wonderful. Arrival in Canada. ; Mr. Snelling states that Vancouver, ! B.C, is a city of 350,000 people and was a very live centre, almost every i second shop being a cafe. All the picture theatres had continuous programmes and the price of admission was 10 cents, or fivepence, to any part of the building. Suits ranged in price from ]7i dollars to 25 dollars and some of them were genuine Harris , t weeds and naturally everyone wore good clothes. These prices, from £3 i 10s to £5 10s, included pin-head Eng- ; lish dinner suits, too. Mr. Snelling left Vancouver by train on November 10 and travelled two whole days to Los Angeles, with stops of four hours in Seattle and two hours in Portland, Oregon. He saw a lot of interesting country during his 2000mile train journey through the States I of Washington, Oregon and California. , “Remember the pictures in western iyarns of beautiful sandstone hills in Ireds-and purples; well, I've seen them, cactus and all,” he writes. Californian Experiences. i The number of cars in Los Angeles, writes Mr. Snelling, was greater in proportion to the population than in any other city in the world. After leaving down-town Los Angeles, the cars travelled along a six-lane highway where the insidp traffic travelled at about 60 miles an hour. Gasolene cost only from 15 to 20 cents a gallon. Along the highways there were groves of thousands of orange trees and in the winter, which corresponded to the New Zealand summer, the trees had to be artificially warmed. Thh was done by burning pots of crude oil. something like 2,000.000 gallons being used each day.

Mr. Snelling was driven down Wiltshire Boulevard to Beverley Hills through to Westwood and the Bel Air Estate and back through Hollywood. On this trip he saw the homes of Wallace Beery and Mae West, Charles Laughton’s Hotel, Graman’s Chinese Theatre, the Trocadero Cafe. Clara Bow’s and Rex Bell’s “It” Cafe and Eddie Cantor’s shop. He dined with the hostess at the famous AmbassaIdore Hotel, noted for its Coconut Grove, and heard Rudee Valee and his Connecticut t Yankees playing. A.t the next table, Mr. and Mrs. Aloph Zukor, the head man of Paramount Pictures, and met Mrs. Lasky, mother of the film producer, Jesse Lasky, to whom he was to be introduced the following day. Among the famous cafes which he had seen were the Brown Derby, which was shaped like a hat, the Trocadero, the Windmill and the Coffee Cup.

Travelling on the train from Sacra mento with Mr. Snelling was the well known film star, Ronald Colman.

Mr. Snelling, who was a well-known figure in Wanganui sporting circles, was in business in the city as a signwriter before he departed for America to further his studies in commercial art.