NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 272, 16 November 1936, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

"Money in It." Recommending the committee of the Burwood Public Library to conduct a small ari union in aid of its funds, tlie Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, said at Christehurch: "We have had balance-sheets come in showing £400 and £500 from £5 art unions. There is money in it all right if you are prepared to work." No House-warming. It is the custom in Southland to have a house-WiM'ming when a new dwelling is occupied for the first time, but this pleasant ceremony was overlooked when the new police building at the rear of the present station had its first boarder. However, lie was only spending the night there, and moved on next day. Turtle as Pet. The unusual pet of a recent visitor to New Plymouth was a small Californian turtle an inch and three-quarters long. When shown to a friend it was just emerging from a four months' sleep, spent for the greater part of the time ill its owner's pocket. Its shell is almost a half-sphere and coloured green and yellow, and it has seal-like flippers, with which it can move quite well on a dry surface and with great rapidity in the water. " Voice of the Tasman. The radio operators on the Awatea have received several hundreds of letters from short-wave listeners in New Zealand, Australia and America. The letters report reception of th_> Awatea short-wave' station ZMBJ, "The Ears and Voice of the Tasman," and ask for verification. All of the letters are answ cied. Yesterday the radio operators, while carrying out short-wave teste, broadcast the _ ship s service, and many of the letters awaiting the wireless operators this morning repoited excellent reception of the service. The address on one of the envelopes included the striking slogan, "The Ears and Voice of the Tasman.' Harbour Bridge. "At last we have a definite proposal, and it is going to be very difficult for someone to knock it down, or to find a hole in it," commented the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates when speaking of the prospects of the Auckland harbour biidge at thn Albany Coronation Hall function on Satui'dav night, "perhaps Mr. Alison considers I ought not to talk like this, but we must go ahead." He said the user was pieparad to pay, and it looked as if it was going to pay the user to use the bridge. He believed the proposal now made ought to commend itself to the whole country, and particularly those who had the responsibility for the development of the North of Auckland. Hospital Visiting Regulation. Since the new visiting hours at the Auckland Hospital came into operation two weeks ago, when every day is a visiting day, efforts have been made by the sisters in the wards to enforce the by-law to allow only two visitors at a bedside at one time, because of the extra privileges allowed in regard to visiting, which may prove very trying to very sick patients, who cannot stand the strain of too many visitors. Very often as many as six visitors formerly stood at many of the beds for too long a* period. Resentment was often shown when the by-law was explained to them, but now visitors will be expected to respect a rule which is undoubtedly in the interests of the majority of patients. Air Service From Invercargill. If either or two applications now before the Minister of Transport, the Hon. R. Semple, is granted, there will soon be a daily air service between Invercargill and Dunedin, connecting with the present Palmerston NorthDunedin service run by Union Airways, Ltd. One of the applicants is Union Airways, Ltd. The other application has been made over the name of Southland Airways. Both time-tables provide for an aeroplane to leave Invercartrill in the morning in time to connect with Union Airways service at Taieri. and the return trip from Dunedin to Invercargill would be made a few minutes after the arrival of the south-bound aeroplane from Palmerston North. It is not known yet when the applications for the service will be considered and a decision announced. It is thought that the hearing may possibly be held in Dunedin. Messages from the Deep. How valuable information is being collected by the hydrographic department of the United States Government by means of bottle messages from the sea was mentioned in Auckland on Saturday by Captain E. R. Johansen, of the Matson liner Monterey. The printing oflice at Washington issues to all masters of ocean-going vessels a supply of printed forms to be enclosed and sealed in bottles, and dropped overboard at any spot on the map of the world which is far distant from land. The form is in two parts, the first to be filled in bv the person who throws the bottle overboard, and the second by the person who finds it. Ihe first part lias blaiijv lines headed, "Master, Officer, Vessel, Date, Latitude, Longitude," and instructions to the finder arc printed in seven languages, requesting liini to forward the form to the Hydrographic Office. Washington, or to any United States Consul, after filling in the lines. "Finder, Date, Locality, Address of Finder." The form also explains that the information thus sent is valuable in assisting in the verification of the circulation of ocean currents. Captain Johansen said this systematisation of marine messages had already resulted in a great increase in the amount of liydrographical information received.

A Happy Opening. A New Plymouth business man, Mr. R. A. Boon, began a round of golf at the New Plymouth Club's course in brilliant fashion on Saturday by holing his tee shot at the ninth hole, a distance of 170 yards. The ninth hole is a recognised starting point, and Mr. Boon's achievement in holing from his first stroke of the day may be a record. Fathers and Mothers. "The further the children get away from their mothers the better," suggested a male speaker, discussing the location of health camps at a Health Camp Association meeting at Stratford. "What about getting the children away from their fathers?" retorted a woman member. The first speaker, howevei, defied tradition by having the final ™orc ■ "Get them away from their mothers and then fathers will be no trouble," he said. Schooner's Rough Voyage. In contrast to the voyage from Greymouth to Melbourne, when she took 10 days, the auxiliary topsail schooner Huia reached Grevmouth at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, having taken eight days for the voyage from Melbourne. For the first two days the Huia had fine weather, but she then encountered roufli westerly weather for five days. Conditions had improved by the time that Gieymouth was reached. After discharge at Greymouth, the Huia will sail for Westport, Poi tland and Auckland, to complete discharge ol her cargo of explosives. Annual Visit. On his 37th annual visit to New Zealand, Mr E E. D. Clarke, a former grazier, breeder and racehorse owner of Australia, walkec down the gangway from the Monterey o Saturday under skies which by no means had the brilliance of summer about them, but lie was looking forward to a. long stay in Rotorua in real summer weather, the months the fishing season have been for many years those in which Mr.. Clarke makes us annual visit, but he was unwilling to be drawn into any liberal eulogy of the attractions which the Dominion holds for him. However, You rret terrible weather in Melbourne, he saul "Last Derby Day everyone was shiverin 0 JS hS»y overcoats, for the tc»P«r.ta™ had dropped to under 00 degrees. On Oak. | Day it was over 90." The Banker's Policy. The manner in which the Coronation Hall at Albany was financed was told by Mr. I. LPowell at the silver jubilee banquet on Satu - day night. He was not only the secretary, he said, but also the treasurer, the Juties of the latter position mainly being to take round the hat." With the prospects of the Government grant of £250 and m haml a liability of £450 was undertaken by the Albanv Fruitgrowers' Association. When < rthe, Vslrict "snavelled" half the money srranted by the Government, a rather hef debt facecT those responsible. A number o miarantors were obtained for the Bank 01 New Zealand overdraft, which, by really good team work, was paid off within a year. In an informal conversation later, Mr. Powell 1 formed the assistant manager that another oO guarantors for the amount could have been obtained. The bank official's reply was: It does not matter; we always make sure some of them are financial." Revolving Service Station. An entirely new conception in automobile service station design is making hcadway in the United States, where the stations aie often set on highways from which 1t isnot easy to leave or re-enter the stream of highspeed traffic. The design is also ideal foi a city section with narrow frontage It consists of an island containing office, display room and dispensing equipment for oil, w at «» air and petrol, and surrounding it an electrically operated circular turntable nearly 40ft in diameter. In two minutes from the time the car drives on to the turntable to the time it has revolved back to its original position it has been completely serviced. Should work require to be done which takes longer, such as lubricating, crankcase drain, attention to springs or engine, it can run off the turntable "at the half-turn into a service bay at tlie rear, running on again when finished.

From Bank to Restaurant. An interesting instance of American business enterprise was mentioned by a member of the ship's company of the Admiralty tanker Nucula, which recently returned to Auckland after loading oil at San Pedro, California. The latest attraction in the city of San Pedro is a new restaurant known as the Bank Cafe. It is the "last word" in modernistic decoration, but what has made it ultra-fashionable is the fact that it was, until recently, a bank. It was a branch of one of the many minor banking organisations that were "absorbed' and went out of business as a result of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policy. The manager and principal owner of the little concern was a Mr. LOll Johnson. AA hen he lost his job as head of the bank lie not only decided to convert the premises into a restaurant. but also to retain as much of the old building's characteristic furnishing as possible, and himself to attend to the wishes of customers. The long hanking counter is still there, nut is glass-covered, and now serves as the quick-lunch department, brilliantlycoloured leather seats being fixed where clients formerly stood to draw out or pay in money. The restaurant's writing paper is edged with an artistic border of dollar signs, and there are reminders of the old-time banking days everywhere in the building. Mr. Johnson is still to be found under tlie hanging sign of

"manager," but it is now the pay desk, at which customers call 011 their way out. Most of the bank's former clients still make the place their resort, but nowadays it attracts them in their hours of leisive instead of during the "business'' part of tlie day.