The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-31
This is my second day in England


of England in the time it takes to get
here from Queenborough-that is to
say, in two hours-I have seen. I have
seen it as a German would-unbiased
anxious to learn, happy to be in
country admired by every one of our
people as the country of Shakespeare,
if for no other reason. Seen it through
German spectacles and compared it
with home.
Here are the results of the first TWEEN
ty-four hours:
The cigar hunt the Custom House
officials instituted in the trunks Of the
passengers did not take long; we pass
ed out of the building, and [ had my
first glance at England.
Let me say that it was a surprise in
the wrong direction. For the first
glance one gets of things English after
landing at Queenborough is the train
of the S. E. and Chatham ine-I hope
I quote the name correctly-waiting
outside the hall to take the passen-
gers up to London. I beheld number
Of wagons of the type of our old style
fourth-class carriages. Nor did the ex-
terror belle the interior. Dingy, mar
row, low-roofed, they seemed a relic
of days gone by. And then some Off
cial came and actually locked me in.
/ was startled There seemed no way
of opening the door from the inside,
and [ could not help wondering what
would happen if some accident should
neeessitate a quick exit. And another
thing I cannot help thinking What
would happen if such state of things
existed in Germanya For / have since
been told that this special line is the
standing joke of the country; that pro-
test after protest is issued by the
travelling public, and that the patriotic
Englishman returned from abroad
usually feels ashamed at the sight of
those wagons. In Germany the rail
way is owned by the State. I will not
discuss the merits of private or Gov
ernmental ownership. No doubt the
medal has its two sides. But this much
is certain: the German Secretary of
Railways would be 1heckledo in the
Reichstag so continually and success
fully that the obnoxious wagons would
soon be either altered or disappear al
together.
InTee typical 6nguSHmeu.
So much for the first impression I
got of England while entering this
country from Queenborough. The sec
ond impression was a very much better
one. While waiting for the train to
start / saw three young men come out
of III. NJ. Custom House. The first
typical Englishmen. And they were
good to look upon. Lithe, blonde,
trim. Splendid figures; fine, sharp
faces. Young fellows from the age Of
twenty to twenty-five years. They
walked about quickly, with the springy
step of the athlete, in hustling, sharp,
businesslike manner.
Such men are still the exception with
us in Germany. AS I have seen, they
are the rule in England, thanks no
doubt to the Englishman IS love of out
door sport But we are learning. There
, is, believe, as much lawn tennis play
ed now in Berlin as in London. Foot
ball is becoming more popular every
day, and no doubt the other kinds. of
sport will soon follow suit.
Between Queenborongh and London
was struck by the beauty of the coun-
try, the richness of the pasture, the
quantity and-as far as one could judge
from the moving train-the quality Of
the cattle, the factories and the houses
in their neighborhood - presumably
those of working men. All alike, long
rows of them. Neat and-monotonous.
At first they make curious impress
sion; later. after the tenth factory is
passed, they become painful to look at.
I have seen equally bad cases in Lon
don sipoo 1,1f ~ fha% later
Someone has asked me: "Does Lon
don make a prosperous impressionf'
It certainly does round Piccadilly and
Regent streets. It certainly does not
round Shoreditch.
To my German mind prosperity is
Synonymous with progress. One is i'm
possible without the other. Of prog.
ress, however, I seat least at the
first glanee-no sign in Tendon. One
sign, the surest one, of progress is
building. It has become almost a nui-
sance in Berlin. Berlin is progressing
steadily And if you say Berlin is
young, London is old. I answer: We do
not build on new sites only, we tear
old buildings down. IF new enter
prise, a business house, or a hotel
springs up, old houses must be torn
down to make room for the new estab-
lishment. On the other hand, Pail
Mall, Regent street. Piecadilly, and the
Strand do not speak only of prosperity
but of superfuity. I have never seen
so many wen-dressed people, especially
men. so many smart carriages and
motor cars, such evident heaping of
capital together in one section of any
city as I have seen round here. But
this seems to me to denote only the
affluence of the upper, the splendid
prosperity of the better middle class;
and the question arises-How about the
others7 Or may one still speak of the
prosperity of a town that "boasts -
of ragged children in front of soup
kitchens, squares like Hoxton market,
and living rooms that we would hest
tate to use as a pigsty? That sounds
hard, but I have seen such rooms in
Shorediteh. I have seen them, with
out especially hunting for them, the
first day in London. So they cannot be
hard to find. But one must look deep
er to determine the question, no doubt.
I shall have more to say on this in
a day or two.
English Manners.
1T was not London so much as the
Londoner that took me by surprise.
Like a good many-too many--of my