A TRAVELLER’S EXPERIENCE

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2710, 14 January 1910, Page 2

A TRAVELLER’S EXPERIENCE

DEAR AMERICA

One of the things which particularly struck Mr. A. M. Lewis, of Wellington, during his trip round the world was the exoensiveness of living in America. Narrating his experiences to a “New Zealand Times” reporter just after liig return, (he declared that the United States was the dearest country to travel in he had ever come across. Everything was dear; food, drink, lodging, and all else. For instance, a single bedroom at an hotel cost tin eo dollars a day, equal to about l’2s 6d in our money, and this quite irrespective of meals. An ordinary steak cost 85 cents, which is -about 3s 6(1, whilst what one might call a proper dinner would cost anything from eight to ten dollars. One result of this expensiveness of living was that w bile tbe American workman earned bigger wages than were paid in New Zealand, lie was unable to save anything like what was possible here. Mr. Lewis also mentioned that-he had heard a good deal about the exodus of United States farmers to Canada. They went because land could be taken up on very easy tennis, and the returns were large and sure. >He knew of one New Zealand farmer even who, after a trial of Lne in Canada, was so pleased with it that lie was returning to New Zealand in order to sell right out here and put all his -money in the older Dominion. Mr. Lewis said he was not at all taken with American life, and he certainly would never ,go there again on a (holiday. There was far'too much rush and striving for dollars about it-. In fact, the dollar seemed to be everything.