The sun., 1910-05-21
GOOD and BAD IN AUSTRALIA
ON THE WHOLE TOMPKINS PRE-
FERS IT 10 THE 4. =. 4.
HES IN Nrchlteci SiutiS inE New Consiruc-
IiaR m View ef a fssom Australians
Are Happier Than We, bat they
win nRIse These Piaguey sheep.

tian m View ef a Baom Australians
Are Happier Than We, bat Thry
win RRlse Those Plagney sheep.
/ Ia Australia they haven't taken kindy
hitherto 20 steel construction and reen-
forcCd concrete in building. the dreams
and nightmares Of architects in that
continent have had 10 take form in brick
Now, according 10 II " Tompkins.
an architect ot Melbourne. the building
lnws which have heen largely responsible
for curhing architectural fancy are about
/ 10 l." changed, 80 Mr. Tompkins is among
us studying what We have done IN those
lines and taking notes. with an eye to
the approach Of a big building boom
in the towns II tho antipOdeS
Mr Iumpkins Is going around the world.
a pTactico that seems 10 hay" become
suddenly popular with Australians Hc
WIS born m England. but was taken Ia
south Africa when a small hoy and went
, 10 Australia twenty-five years ago
/ I lefr Melbourne on March a.. and
expect ~ b" back home about tho cor.
. IHffAA''AaAA NV NIN ANFNNffIlNH'NF NNNA WI
IompkIns at the Imperial Yesterday
-On our way across the Pacific we stopped
two days az the Fiii Islands I found
/ that an American firm n starting to
develop the hardwood resources Of the
island, and 20 import soft woods from
the American coast There are many
sugar and rice plantations. all the former
h"ing owned hy ona company
/ The native population is now about
o.ooo and M IL will not worl, an the labor
b is performed by Hindu coolies. of whom
there arr about 7OUo These ara kept
I to a great extent in compounds. 4 hlg
/ fJan stands m the middle of the town
II Suva and beats the tomtom at = O'Clock
+ in the morning for people % 60 70 work
The FIians was told. are very orderly.
I nin"-t"nths Of the prisoners IN IN" iails
being Hindus
Honolulu impressed mo as being more
American than any town | have seen
/ in the States When ! landed az Van
Couver ! was struck with evidences that
. it is suffering from a had attack of swol.
len head Half u the Offices in the place
seem 10 be those OF real estate agents.
and everybody is confident Of becoming
millionaire IN short order Seattle,
whore ! stopped few days. seems very
prosperous You are impressed with the
way the town is laid out and the enormous
work that has heen undsrta ken IN regrad-
ing the city liked Portland. Ore though
II ! Intended To settle on this continent
] should choose either Vancouver or
Seattle
In san Francisco I was particularly
Interested TO sce how the architects and
builders had prohted hv the lessons nf
the earthquake in the new class Of build
lngs erected
In Australia the new building laws
will allow more steel and reinforced CON
crete construction One difficulty with
the latter seems to bs IN" question ~ fire.
prpOhuR understand they ara reCun-
sIdering IN Chicago the whole subject 0f
freDroofing concrete columns and hearns
Ouesof my objects in coming to this ooun-
try h to 500 the extent to which reinforced
concrete is being used
In Australia since the federation was
formed seven NJ eight years ago there mas
been enormous heneh' from intsrruluuial
free trade The prtoe - wool. wheat
and other commodities has incrsa z,.i
very considerably ~ late YEAR, aud 10
l3~ brought a large amount " money into
tho country TO" old policy ~ -gua'fars
holding enormous dr,a- ~ land amt TO.
voting % DuUryIr 40 sheep b. gradually
passing away Nu-r u' the States are
bringing 900 immigrants. principally from
England Two years Sgn the victorian
Government impaired from california
tivuoi Mead uu American irrigation
export '1 tai" Dnarr" u' irrigation prof
-gt.
several YEAR ago Victoria built a mum.
beer 81 large storage reservoirs and ouu-
-'rECt"i irrigation channels through
prIFdt" property eNueHt.uE tua' III,
owners would poo In Iur O. proper system
~ IrrtggIiun U.f .H IuE fu fl- Ilrf thar
uu charge vas mad" iur water beyond
What was actually u-,st the result ua-
been that instead uf increasing th. mum
her uf inhabitants tn" contrary has nap
p~ued Irrigation only mad" the land
more valuable Tor carving sheep
Vow th"y are introducing a system uf
taxing uumproy.d lands and under Nlr
Mead- advice land has tu uay water
rdtsr whether Ii u-s-s ha waller provided
pv not and the consequence b. that the
hIg estate, have b-vu very much broken
up Nir Mead .- leaving -uon for Cali
lhIIIIA NN EHN Hf'H.N" fAI I'NINa IAl NNNEdINhIl
rp gu 20 Australia aud take up farmS
Jo shows the people how 90 run them
Then n- will ~ tu Europe tp GET other
-ssttler-
The Australians don't take kindly
% irrigation Nature has been ton good
tp them Sheep fr.d themselves and
Increase ~ r-ar cent Iu wear IN three
or four wears o. -uuattDr viii acquire
forum" without making single improve
man' ON hiz land. bat every siN or seven
years CUme- a drought. and against 10 he
has usually made no provision. Then his
fDcks arr wiped out
Z remember thai while the South
African war was on agents ~ the British
Government bought every hit ui hay and
fDnd that was 100 th" country The next
year there was a drought, and You would
$3.50 druv,.- ~ sheep IN the streets Of Met
bourne loukiug Tor grass One day ! saw
in the mad abput tuO Sheep in one hoCk
The owner -aid h" did not know what 90
do With them young fellow who was
on the train offered him shilling apieo"