NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 49, 27 February 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Community Lighting. The newly-formed Symonds Street Business Association, at a meeting on Thursday Uirht. d-'iirlcd upon a community lighting s-ae-ne fur tile .Symonds Street shopping area. The fr.l!.>wiTilt officer- w.-re elected: —President. Mr. (Tutt; vice-president. Mr. T. Mr-Nab; honorary -ccretary. Mr. <";. R. Tutt; honorary treasurer. Mr. Richardson: committee, Messrs. Niciiol. Craw-haw. A. Bishop. Wilkinson, W. S. Miil»-r. Wise. Garner and McFarlane. Hen Power! When a Labour Department otii.-er was reading out a statute on which to l>a-e a charge of ;t breach of the factories Act again-t a poultry producer in the ( hristchurch Magistrate".- Court, he descrilietl a factory as a ouildiiiir which employed .-team or mechanical power. Coiui-el for the defence, Mr. W. R. kusse!l. interrupted to ask how a poultry farmer oould be charged under the section, as he n.-ed no -team or mechanical power. The ma iri.-trat'-. Mr. K. ('. Levvey. S.M.: "Surely mechanical power is necessary in laying egg«-."' Christchurch Building Foundations. The difficulty builders have in constructing foundations in Christchurch was clearly demonstrated by Mr. R. A. Campbell at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Society of Civil Kngineers. 'T went to see a place in Hereford Street where a shop was to he built." he said. "For some reason Christchurch people want to copy Sydney's 'bargain basements.' although Sydney is built on sandstone and ( hristchurch on mud. An excavation oft or «;11 deep had been made, and there was water in the hot om of it. I took an 18ft rod, and was able to push it right down.'' A Draughty Journey. Vigorously waving good-bye to a friend oil the Timaru railway station the other evening, an elderly man succeeded in waving his umbrella through the carriage window. There was a crash of broken plass, and the man was the embarrassed object of amused scrutiny by those standing on the platform. Passengers in the carriage had a draughty journey to Christchurch. This was not the only damage done to railway property on the journey. Another passenger, running for the train at Asliburton. tripped over a pile of cups and saucers awaiting removal to the refreshment room. Broken cups went rolling in all directions, but the running man did not stop to assess the damage. He sprang on the train and hid his confusion in a remote corner of the carriage. Rifle Under Mattress. The finding of a .22 calibre rifle and a box of cartridges concealed under the mattress of a bed in a Wellington hotel caused the Wellington police to think that a serious crime was in process of development. The whole matter was cleared up, however, when a girl made a confession to the police later in the day. Apparently she had had a disagreement with her young man, and, wishing to shock him into coming back to her, *he decided <>n the purchase of a rifle. She found, however, that a permit could not he obtained, so she stole a rifle from the shop of a local sports dealer. The rifle, which she hid under her mattress labelled "Danger, do not touch," was not necessary to settle the argument, however. The girl appeared before Mr. J. O. L. Hewitt in the Magistrate's Court, charged with the theft of the firearm, and was convicted and discharged. Building Boom Predicted. "There is a pretty substantial boom coming, and building artisans are going to be in keen demand." said the Under-Secretary in charge of the State housing scheme, Mr. J. A. Lee, M.P., in Napier yesterday at an address of welcome accorded him by the Mayor, Mr.

C. O. Morse. Mr. Lee said the houses erected by the Government under the scheme would be of satisfactory quality, and nothing cheap 1 would be tolerated. Mr. Lee added: ' The houses we build are not going to be shoddy." The mere fact that the building subsidy had stopped did not mean there would be a shortage of work for building artisans, said Mr. Lee. "Personally, I am convinced that before we know where we are there will be a shortage of artisans for housing construction. Ihe scheme is now under way all over New Zealand. and I anticipate a building boom shortly." Easy Money. Money often conies easily to tho<e who walk with a wary eye along a i>opiilar beach after a high tide or a storm. A tripper shakes the sand out of his clothes on a lazy holiday afternoon, and a coin or two drops out into the soft, dry sand of the bea<ji. There is a prolonged but often vain process of sifting and searching, until finally the money is left unrecovered. Later a spring tide washes and sluices the sand. Its ebb may reveal the lost coins and many more, with brooches and trinkets as well. It is quite profitable for the permanent residents of the place to stroll now along the beach. At one island in the gulf one man has found this season 30/ in this way, of which 16/ was contained in a purse. The money included corroded pennies and dulled silver coins. His finds have been a gauge to the holiday business, too, for had it not been for the purse his beach "takings" would Tiave been considerably less than last year's. The wet weather had seriously affected picnicking and yachting business at the summer resort.

The Onlooker s View. •'I have not much faith in independent witnesses," said Mr. F. H. Levion, S.M., in the hearing of a motor collision case at the Paeroa Magistrate's Court. "Their evidence is mostly given in good faith, hut I don't place much reliance on it. During the depression, when so many men were working around the streets, some of th" things that were supposed to have been seen by independent witnesses were absi.'utely amazing." No Servant Girls. Inquiries at registry offices and from people' interested in placing girl- in employment -1 i;i -how an acute shortage of dome-tic help in the Hay of Plenty, writ'-- a corre-pondcn* from Whakatane. The general opinion i- that 1 girl- are deserting domestic -ervice for en.- ; ploymcnt in industrial occupations. One agency proprietor -tated that for week- he had had on hi- book- opening- for 12 dome-- 1 tics for country houses, with wage- of t'l ."i to £ 1 In/ a week. Commissions and Forgotten Problems. "Koyal Commi--ioii- are largely a via-ti-nt" time." -aid a delegate when the conference of Smith Auckland Chamber- of Commerce wa- di-<li--ing the advi-abiiity of re.pie-tiirj the setting up of a to make inijuirit— into the pre-ent-ilay po-ition of -mall shopkeepers. "I'a-t experience definitely proves the fact. By the time the conimi--ion's report comes to hand, the whole matter is practically forgotten." Not According to Label. There is one hotel licen-ee in Chri-tchurch who has lost a certain amount of faith in human nature, reports a Southern journal. Jt was not until the rather precipitous departure of a barman that he made discoverie- which proved interesting-, if expensive. A customer purchased a small flask of brandy against the day when there might be illness in the hoii-e. It was to his vast surprise that he found he had paid good money for a brandy bottle which contained innocuous finger ale. Thenfollowed a consultation with the licensee, and his inquiries revealed that certain gin bottlehad been filled with water, in an effort, successful for a time, to keep up the stocks of the har. One thing led to another, and it was found even that some of the beer bottles had been filled with very inferior beer. The licensee now knows why his percentage showed a marked decline for a number of weeks. First Aid Treatment. In order to give instruction to all those desirous of obtaining a sound knowledge of first aid treatment, a course of lectures has been arranged by the St. John Ambulance Association, Auckland. These lectures have been held annually, and fulfil a definite need in the community, as is shown by the fact that attendances last year throughout tinAuckland Province totalled almost 2000. The lectures for men will be given by Dr. (.'. Jf. Tewsley, and will commence next Tuesday at the St. John Ambulance Rutland Street, while Dr. H. C. M. Shorn will deliver the lectures for women, starting next Wednesday. Both courses will consist of six lectures, followed by an examination, and a small fee is payable. Members of the Automobile Association have been circularised in connection with the course, and it i- hoped that a largerepresentation from the association will attend. A " Flying Start." It is inevitable that when disengaged men forgather at. a placement office the principal topics of conversation are the prospects of getting private work, the latest placements, and "grapevine" rumour? concerning vacancies. These subjects were under review on a repent morning, and among the flotsam and jetsam of opinion, information and plain gossip, a quiet man on the outward fringe of the group caught up a casual fragment of news from a bystander. It was to the effect that the licensee of a popular hotel was in need of a porter. Slipping away from the crowd, the listener hurried to the hotel referred to,, and. after explaining to the proprietor how he had heard of the vacancy, offered his services. '"Well." said the hotelkeeper, "you seem to be a live wire, and deserve help. The job's vours."

Americans Make Friends. Soon after the arrival of the American destroyers at Auckland yesterday, shore leave wa? "ranted to many ratings, and it was not lon«» before the city was dotted with blue-uniformed and "pork-jiie''-fajijkhl sailors. True to the tradition of the sea. iieer appeared to Im* a major hobby of the visitors, and hotel bars were crowded. The Americans were quick to make friends, and as the day tinned to evening more and more sailm- were >een with mole and more Auckland <m tln-ii arms. Auckland welcomed the visitors with typical warmtli of heart. There was an American atmosphere in the city throughout the day. for besides the scores of ratings from the destroyers, Street wa- filled with many American tourists from the Monterey.

A " Flying Architect." The report that Mr. Harold Kdwards. of Wellington, who has purchased an aeroplane ! for use in his business as a builder, is the first instance in New Zealand of a business man purchasing his own aeroplane with the intention of operating it himself is not correct (states a correspondent). A Bay of Plenty architect. Mr. H. L. D. West, now residing at Tauranga, several years ago purchased an aeroplane and used it for business purposes. Mr. West previously resided in Opotiki and Whakatane, and it was while residing in the latter town that he obtained his flying license in Auckland and flew to Opotiki and other places in the course of his work. It was chiefly owing to lack of suitable landing grounds in the Bay of Plenty that Mr. West j was compelled to giye up this mode of travel, j i