RANDOM SHOTS

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 24, 28 January 1911, Page 16

RANDOM SHOTS

W "-BY,

Some write a neighbour's name to lash,' 60-10 wilte —tain 'thought—for needful cash £»mc write to please the country , clafeji,

Anil raise a din; Tor mCj an aim I- never-fash—■ I write for fun.

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Glancing fn at a sihop ■window in Queen-sfcreot this week, I suddenly realised that I had omitted to make some remarks at Christmas time that the spirit had been urging mc to utter' for

years past. These remarks, refer to -a topic which in the Stress of modem life fe likely, I fear, to be neglected—ttie question ol dolls; and I cannot consent to sustain the responsibility of, keeping oilence about tliis momentous suibjecfc any longer. "Why, I ; ask, ■ are dallsj whether in picture books or in Teal iife, made as ugly as .possible nowadays ? In mj own humble-minded yvny,. I .think that young, ahildreai ought to bo taught to-like-■vtfhat is beautiful, and that they ougihlt not to ihaye ugly and.,repulsive .tilings. thuTstupftntiheir notice.. But unhappily <I .seem to be in a very small minority. Fop ihow else, can- you explain- the existence of such monstrosities as ;the, Golliwogs, and the, Billikens; s wMch, according, to advertisement, are the most popular charBcters -in the. modem doll-world ?

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Just think for a moment how extremely | unbeautif it mildly^— the GoUi-,I wogs'afe!. No doubt, the young ladjj;who wrote the first pictuVe' book abbiit them" deserves scime credit" for her ingenuityj but with" all 'respect to her, they seem to mc the product, of a. highly-diseased imagination,... Uistortea , features, misshapen liribs, hideous countenanoes—they always seem to mc Mc creatures put. of a baby's nightmare rather . than playthings for nice little girls iand, boys. Now; there 13 another fashion , of the same Sort at Home—the "Goblin. Gobblers.," also taken out of a picture book. These horrid creatures are provided with, wide-jointed mouths, with which they gobble up any food presented to .taern. "Ttieir names alone/ , we are assured, "should,win them popularity." They are "Bunkawala, , ' "Festive Froggy," "Hungry Giles," "Dadoowala," and "Greedy Cniiggy.'\ Now, I ask can any , light-minded person expect a child tc associate pleasant "or eves sane, idea* with a - creature called "Grtedy Chuggy"—and apparently the uame i 3 a fair indication'of the thing's disgusting appearance.. Yes, it seems to mc that it ought to.be heavily punishable to warp children's imaginatioct and poison their minds with ugliness of that atrocious sort. And just think of <lhe Billiken doll—the rage of five, Continents, we. are assured—with .his deformed body, grotesquely 'exaggerated 'heady and oblique features "set ill the ghastly \ semblance of a smile." I think th« GoUywog and the Billiken are. the worst signs I have come across of human degeneracy -in modern times, and I pity I;ae'geiieratibn that is passing, through, ifs" early cluldtood under,their maUga-infhienoev - -

I don't know whether it-is quite safe to say anything- about -motor" cars just .now;' because, everybody, seems- to have - one; and I may be 'hurting..the-feelings' of my best friends ■without knowing : it.' "But doesn't anybody eke but Zainiel,' soiriehow fancy that people are getting a; Uttle" reckless about nowadays? . If seems .to mc absurd'fo tellwalk"'round street corners and to let > motors run , "rotind" £t'" practically any , :i speed"' they like: " In "any , case,"' Queen ;; I street is generally , so crowded with traffic that there ouglin't to be-much excuse for letting your "auto" out .of a walk, so to. speak, ~"while"ybu are"threading;your way along." lAncf" when."y'tiii.'geV.'to- the suiburbs—^tfellj , I lave hid one'or 'two unpleasant experiences of the chauffeurs who insist on passing restive . horses, at full speed, and have a constitutional objection, to being left behind by any; sort of machine on wheels, no ma,tter what its ihprse-power As for pedestrians —of course, iiosdnie'extent' tfiey iniist look after themselves;' Jtist 1 as .they do ■when horses aTe about; But I am , .inclined' to think that the motorists are ."getting more reckles3 about the; rule of the road, and the rights' of the wayfarer'than they used- to be. It niay be iniaginaiibn, but' there'seems to ,ine a. shade' of 'arrbgahce'; and insolence .mingled Tvitli the note of warning inthat imperative'"honk,! honk!" . whieli so constantly, bids Mus clear the road for the "bubble wagon,, "

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Federation has had some 'unexpected consequences in Australia, , and one of the latest results has been'the'Starting of a movement in favour- of-re-naming aconeiderable -number -of towns in different parts of the Continent. The trouble , is that the imagination of the early settlers didn't go'very Sax' in-the matter of place names.' Thus, tliorestre four towns nairied Gordon in- Australia,' and if yoil post a letter adorned simply "Gordon, Aus- , ■fcralia," it may, bring up either"in Victoria, or in New South Wales, or in South-Australia, of in Tasmania, according to luck.-- Similarly,, there are tfour Gladstones,: four' "Bidhinonds and three BecueonsHelda, -within'".-Austra-lia's postal limits, and , when you mere duplicates- their name- is--simply legion; anyhow, -there ■ are- nearly -400 past :ma telcgraiplr'sifcaUonß tfhiat might tog in any one out of ttfo bi fhree -States As there are 10,000 .postal towis in 'ttho Commonweallth the margin of ■otrors is lai M y^W i de x-, But ' after all . X iust ed ™U that the settlers the original plrtco namra. lam a great bew™lf n ?^n&te e ,%ut the Australian names' nrdquiteanother mat. ♦% 4-j rp ? r V- iew contributions from