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Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 171, 21 July 1924, Page 4

Commercial travellers are generally ' supposed to have 'a few good stories on hand, and naturally there wore some gning about on Saturday night at the association's annual dinner. One of the entertainers was telling about a gentleman who had been doing- himself rather well. Going along the ">oad he met a I couple of commercial travellers who had I also been dining out. They could not agree as to which of the two could walk the straigliter, so they appealed j to the reveller. "Sherfcainly, gen'lemcn, I walk upsh, walk upsh," and "he waved j them in an upstreet direction. The ' unsteady pair started out, but aftei I they had wabbled a few yards they were ' frantically hailed by the " judge." I "Shorry," he cried in a pained voice, " \S no use, gen'lemen, 'm mus' asksh third ! gcn'lemen t' stan' 'side!" After this the j reveller boarded a tramcar with didi- ' culty, and as luck would have it the man he sat alongside had also been I dining well. Suddenly the reveller ' turned and said, " \Skuse mc, but cou' i you tell mc th' time?" The other man ! looked at him blankly for a moment [ and tlien said "Saturday." "Thanks, ! oP f'la," said tlio reveller," "thash where ! I ™ct ofl": croo' ni'!" I It is reported that an Australian com- ' party is making arrangements to visit the huge timber forest at Waitaanga, near Oliura. The claim comprises, according to the Government estimate, CO,OOO acres of heavy bush, containing rimu, white pine, totara, and birch. The settlers in the district alone own 50,000,000 feet of mixed timber. A wood and iron shed, in Harddrick Avenue, Grey Lynn, owned by the Efficient Builders, Limited, was gutted by fire at 4.35 a.m. to-day. The buildinn- was situated on a section where the builders were about to commence the erection of a new house. A number of workmen's tools and' a quantity of paint were destroyed in the fire. There are no insurances on the shed and the cause of the outbreak, which wa., ;\ttciicW l.y the City Fire Brigade, is unknown.

I The proposal for the provision of eleo- ' trie power for the North Shore boroughs by the Kaipara Electric Power Board will be discussed by the interested parties on Thursday evening, at the Employers' Association's offices. The full terms of the negotiations between the Minister of Public Works and the local body authorities will then be made public. At the present time Devonport has its own plant, which it has systematically developed since inquiring it from the Municipal Supply Corporation at a cost of £25,000. The Dcvonpori ratepayers authorised a loan of £40,000 for the acquisition and alterations. Last November a further sum of £20.000 was authorised to permit of the electrification of the water pumping station, at Takapuna, and other improvements, but this authorisation has not vet been availed of. ! The easo with which a hundred or so 'of people can be found in any part of the city at any time almost of the day or night to stop in their stride for anything from about five minutes upwards for any little matter tliat promises a spectacle was illustrated this morning. A dray engaged in the present quaggy hollow that is a part of Auckland's future civic square became bogged. One wheel subsided to , ibe nxle, and the horse decided that the line of least resistance was to lie down. As it lay with its head down hill, a : pretty task was presented to the driver and those assisting him to get the outfit back into commission. The job resolved itself into one of taking practically the dray to pieces and of dismantling the recumbent steed of its entire harness, and the footpath above made an ideal grandstand for the interested onlookers. The throng increased till the back view reminded one of the 1 terrace at Carlaw Park with a match on between City and Newton. In a minute or two there was only a craning chance left to witness the engrossing drama in real mud below, and even after the tangle had been straightened out many watchers were obviously loth' to get off asain into the step of their lawful occasions. When he was telling the commercial travellers on Saturday night something about the activities of the city, Mr. George Baildon, the deputy-Mayor, said he hoped they would not be like the American visitor who was being shown round Auckland by a Maori. When they got to the municipal buildings the American asked how long it took to build. "Three year, I think," said Hone. J "Absurd," said the Yankee, "why in the States we would run her up in a year at the most." Then when they got down to the Insurance Company's tall building in Queen Street, the American put the same question. Hone didn't know, hut he said he thought '"about (wo year." Again the American snorted and said six months was all they would allow for the job in the States. Then they got as far as the post office. "Wai, how long did she take?" asked the stranger. By this time Hone had begun to size up his guest. Looking up at the building with a puzzled air. Hone said, "By korry. I not know; he not I there last night!" I What is known as "morbid curiosity," is always much in , evidence when a person has the misfortune to meet with an accident in a public place. Jt is not only the more curiosity of the gathering crowds which calls for censure. It is the hindrance that they cause to first aid work. This happens time and again and was demonstrated in Upper Queen Strict on Saturday evening, when a yjoung married woman collapsed and a man who endeavoured to give help had j his attempts made practically impos- i sible by the crowd which pressed in on | the sufferer. "Give them air," is the j u.Mial cry, but it seems to act simply as a" signal for a little additional pres- • sure on the part of those so very interested in another's.plight. ' While trying to save his hat from blowing into the harbour on Saturday, an elderly resident of Takapuna, who is stated to have landed on the Bayswater wharf, from the Pupuke at 1 p.m., overbalanced and fell into the water. Fortunately, he managed to grasp a pile, and there he remained for half an hour or more, until the Pupuke returned again from Auckland. He was then seen by the captain, rescued in a practically exhausted condition by the mate | and some passengers, and taken to his | home in a motor car. j I "It seems a pity that New Zealand will I not have an opportunity of listening to . the wonderful opera company that is at i present visiting Australia," is the lament jof those who have the best interests of opera at heart. The reason is the enormous expense of bringing a company jof this kind to New Zealand; "but," is j the rejoinder, "it is even now not too ' late, if a guarantee were given by the I New Zealand people, to arrange for a visit.' . When the opinion of an Auckland man was being sought on this question, ho was very emphatic that people over here did not seem to know what they were missing, and he went on to ' point out the tremendous popularity of first-class opera in England at the present time. "Galli Curci," he said, "will visit London next October, and for her first three concerts in the Royal Albert j Hall every seat was sold by last Febru- j ary, nine months before the concerts are being given. The New Zealand people surely cannot realise what they are missing in letting a big opera company disband in Australia without visiting I this country." I A successful dairy farming venture is being carried out by two young ladies at Motumaoho (says the Taranaki "News"). They commenced farming in the dried milk district at Waitoa five years ago, , and after a couple of years' hard work 1 sold their small holding at a considerable profit. They then purchased a dairy farm at Motumaoho, arid may be I seen at any time, attired in overalls, ! carrj'ing out the manifold tasks atten- I ' dant upon dairy fanning. The ladies i bought in at peak prices, and although I they have had their share of trouble in endeavouring to meet the demands of their mortgagee, they l\ave done well. j One of them now wishes to visit Engj land, and as her partner is unable to i carry on the farm alone it has been I decided to lease or sell the place. I The ■Drown peopre east of the "date ! line" never use bows and arrows in war, j but only slinga, while they have lost I the art of making pottery, whereas the black people west of the "date line" universally employ bows and arrows in their battles, and moreover are clever pottery makers, stated Mr. F. \V. Christian in the course of a lecture on the islands of the Pacific at Palmerston North. "Our virtues have been referred to often," said Mr. A. Dome, manager of the Chinese Soccer team, at a civic reception at Masterton, "but while we do not drink, and smoke but little, you must forgive us for having one vice* if you can call it sueh —we dearly love a game of Mali Jhong, the Chinese national game." Owing to the l>.<te arrival of the Vancouver mailboat, the Auckland Training College reception to Professor Adams', I-, noted educationist, had to bo cancelled, and it will take place to-morrow, iat the same hour.