THE PASSING SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1937, Page 6

THE PASSING SHOW.

(By THE MSN ABOUT TOWN.)

LOST IN A FOG. Will someone who really knows be kind enousrh to edit _ The news we get from time to time about this Social Credit? The rough idea, it seems. Is you print more money, so that everyone has plenty. But tlx it .so that ten pounds will still do the of ten. if not of twenty. | The problem, then, is how to set this money circulating—You pay. they say, a dividend all round; but stili Alberta's waiting. Which brings us to the war between those two financial jugglers. For Mr. Aberhart. we're told, has fallen out with Major "Dugtrlers." The military pent at first was rather keen To lend a hand at starting- the machine; But now considers Albie helpless, wetik and quite inert —a I Disgrace to Social Credit in Alberta; While Aberhart says Douglas doesn't keep his promises. And charges him. in fact, with being the most doubting of a lot of doubting Thomases. Now maybe some New Zealand Social Crediter can to'l me—though I must admit I doubt it— How do thev know enough about each other's policy to fight about it? —SINBAD. "Touchstone" writes: Pedagogue rhymes with log. The word means an instructor of young jK'ople. but usually it is used disparagingly to indicate a CATCHY WORDS, conceited, narrow-minded tearlier. Tu variations of the word one must walk warily in the matter of pronunciation, and the correspondent who asks for a note oil the word should remember that in pedagogic the "gog" sound clianges to "goj," rhyming with "lodge." although in pedagogy the "o"' sound is long, as in "dough." In pedagogism. however, and in pedagogist and pedagoguerv there is a return to the "gog" sound. Another difficult word with a "g" in it is regurgitation, meaning throwing tip or back, as of food already swallowed. The stressed syllable rhymes with surge, and does not have the second "g" of gurgle. Our humble apologies to Captain Horace Leslie Morgan, C.M.G.. D.S.O. —that Captain Morgan who, as "owner" of H.M.S. Veronica. earned the gratitude of NAVAL the people of Xapier and NICKNAME. Port Ahtirirl and the formal thanks of the NewZealand Government for the way he and his ship's company "rallied round" when the earthquake shook up those parts in 1031. Our informant on the subject of traditional naval nicknames (he has been mentioned once or twice in this column as "Totnjiin") forgot the nauie of "Morgan," to which the Xavy invariably attaches the nickname "Rattler." "Our own" famous Captain Morgan was known (behind his back, of course) as "Rattler." as is every rating who happens to inherit the same patronymic. Why? Goodness only knows. Just an old Xavy custom, as far as we can discover.—l.M. T am informed on second-hand authority (and therefore shall not vouch for the truth of the report) that one young man in Auckland took very sourlv the WRONG little par. in this column DIAGNOSIS. oil errors in dia-gnosis. It seems that when he came down to the office the other day he whispered in the ear of- two or three of his intimates (under pledge of strict secrecy, of course) that he was looking forward to a very happy event in the family some time later in the year. It was only suspicion. «o far, he confessed, and unconfirmed by the other party to the event, but still, "he had his reasons."' Xext day his usually cheerful face—for he is normally the most buoyant of optimists—was glum. The friends to whom he had the previous day confided his secret came round him to inquire the reason. "Bah!" he snarled. "She was only knitting herself a bathing suit."—l.M. The son and heir is again bitten with the double curse of a vivid imagination and a truly noble capacity for hero-worship. I have watched it creeping upon CRICKET-ITIS. him for some weeks—ever since the MX'.C. team arrived in Australia, in fact., T had my first suspicions when I saw him accomplish several kangaroo lxiunds across the front lawn in the dusk, whirl his arm and project an ilnaginary cricket ball through the air with a horrible whistling sound. This performance was followed, bv low cries of "Atta Boy." "Well Bowled. Sir." "What a Swerve." His mdther informs me that his sisters have alreadv tired of watching him swing a bat and show the exact twist of the wrist Bradman employs and the nasty smirk he wears in executing his favourite late cut. Missed i meals and the excuse that he had bee# "down the road listening to Fleetwood-Smith 'skittling 'em' on the short wave" resulted in family arguments. Yesterday came the disaster I I had been dreading. Several times I had seen |hi in l>owlin<r stones at the telerraph posts; returning from a swim he decided to send down a few to Hammond, whom lie evidently saw defending the next post. The stone slipped and hit the child next door. The wound bled, the doctor was called, and two stitches were inserted. The ten and sixpence fee shall be drawn from Percival William's savings account. —John. Armed with my confession, that, albeit under special circumstances. I actually sat in a tramcar while women stood, dear old Aunt Agatha came down last SOCIAL JUSTICE night "like a wolf on the OR . . . ? fold." or. in colonialese. "like a ton of bricks." i Having in a 3.i-miuute speech allocated me to i my proper place in Nature, somewhere amimi'st ; the lower invertebrates, she produced a new | grievance—that young men sit while elderly I women stand, but leap to their feet tinani- : mously when something voting and pretty j gets in. She. 1 gathered, was the one who j stood only a couple of niuhts ago. Sympathetic inquiry brought to light the fact that • Aunt Agatha and Mrs. Muggins, the lady next door, went to town the other afternoon, tried ,on some hats in "Ye (tide Fthiopianne Hatte 1 Shoppe"' (without buying any). examined and "priced" some materials in well-known city emporiums (without buying any), had afternoon tea at the Flatuleneia Tea Shoppe. tried on some shoes at Hobnail's (without buying any), looked at some stockings in "Ye Olde | Xipponese Socke Shoppe" (without buying jHiiy). |H>p|ted into a plain, ordinary "shop" ! for some fried fish and chips for tea. and fought their way into the smoking compartment of the 5..'!0 tram home. The ungallant menfolk. Aunt Agatha complained, let her ami Mrs. Muggins stand, but gave seats to a couple of young shop girls who got ill at the next stop. As trently as I could T pointed out to Aunt Agatha that the shop girls had l>een on their feet from probably 8.30 a m. to 5.30 p.m. unwinding thousands of yards of material and unboxing thousands of hats for the amusement of thousands of Aunt Agathas and Mrs. Mugginses, knowing all the time that their work would not be recorded in their sales books. Perhaps. T suggested, in mv best bedside manner, social justice gives tired vvorkin" i girls a stronger claim to seats in trainears I than elderly ladies out on pleasure h*ve. It , nii tht have been a sense of social justice, rather than a desire to win a smile and a ' Thank you" from a pretty face that brought the young men to their feet for the young ladies. But Aunt Agatha won't accept that theory at all—and. candidly, much as r want to defend my sex. I'm not quite sure mvselt that it is the right one.—l.M.