NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 281, 26 November 1937, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Eighty-Mile-An-Hour Drivers.

"fun we cater for tlio ftO-milc-aii-hour driver?" asked >Ir. F. Amoorc at an Automobile Association (Taranaki) meeting nt Xew Plymouth, when signs were being discussed. "We have endeavoured to assist and help the driver who <;oo« at. a reasonable speed, and that in itself entails enough work." "If we had signs every Hve yards they would be useless to certain types of drivers," commented Mr. ("!. Oibson. Oaks for Otago. The parcel of .'tO arums sent to the Otago Automobile Association In April by the Automobile Association of Great Britain, in conjunction with the Roads Beautifying Association of England, will be ready for planting out next autumn. These acorns, with others sent to other associations in Xew Zealand, were taken, by permission of the King, from Windsor Park. The Dunedin consignment was given tb Mr. D. Tannock, superintendent of reserves, for germination. The Otago Associntion has not yet decided where the trees will be planted, but as they were allotted to the whole of Otago district it is probable that they will be widely distributed throughout the province. Heavy Bookings. The bookings by the inter-inland steamers for the Christmas holiday period were stated by an official of the Union Steam Ship Com-i pany in Cbristchurch to be the heaviest fori I many years. More people seem to be going [south than there will be goin<r north before Christmas, judged by the berths already' booked, the official stating that the whole of the accommodation on the nipht trips from Wellington on December 23 and 24 had been taken up, but there were still a few berths available by the daylight trips. Most of the accommodation on the trips from Lyttelton to Wellington ha« also been booked up already, and the few berths still available will be taken up in the next day or two. Pedestrians' Rights. The cocker spaniel who asserted his rights on a pedestrian crowning in Devon Street, Xew Plymouth, on a recent morning, taught a motorist a lesson as he was driving to town to business, says an exchange. The cocker seemed to understand perfectly the regulation nnd his privileges under it. He commenced to make his crossinp of the street at one of the authorised crossing places, and the motorist, seeing him, naturally thought he would get out of the way. Xot so. however, and he momentarily hesitated, stood still on the crossing for the motorist to pull up. and then, with quiet dignity, but looking pleased with himself, walked across the street, and the motorist proceeded, realising that he could not take liberties even with a dog.

Rosicrucians' Pyramid. A pyramid following the Egyptian example, and hollaing modern scientific apparatus. is to be erectcd in America by the Rosicrucian Order. Emulating the great pyramid of Cheo]>s, built 5000 years ago, the structure will be a temple of learning, its stone chambers numbered to correspond to the degrees of advancement of the students who will occupy it. It will be windowlesw, with a subterranean entrance, and indirect lighting will illuminate the passageways. To commemorate the ideal of learning held by the ancient pyramid builders, it will contain a hall of illumination, housing models, photographs and diagrams of modern contributions of science, creating an atmosphere, it is hoped, which will inspire member* of the order to nlay their part in the advancement of knowledge. " The Last Stronghold." "The last stronghold of millable indigenous forest, the timber in the far south of the West Coast, extending down to Jackson's Bay, is now to be delivered, over to the axe and *aw," says the November issue of "Forest and Bird" in an editorial. "Those timber supplies on the West Coast, north and south of the Haast River, particularly the white pine, have lieen described in vague terms as practically inexhaustible. One timber man's opinion was that they would last for a century. Other authorities are lens optimistic. It is stated that the dairy industry requires the huge quantity of 35,000.000 feet of white pine per annum. At the present rate of consumption the forests of the south, large as they are. are not likely to last anything like a century, or even a quarter of a century. Now. is that forest in the south simply to be exhausted in the wasteful old way, or is the worked area to be protected and regenerated ? The young forest growth will undoubtedly provide a new timber forest in time, if it is conserved and guarded for the future." "Ware Whistling Ice-Axes. "What we considered an interesting alpine phenomenon on Mount Egmont was, in fact, a narrow escape from death," said an experienced mountaineer, referring to the occasion on which 13 Taranaki Alpine Club members who were near the summit of Mount Egmont, on the approach of a thunderstorm, had held their ice-axes in the air, intrigued by the shrill whistling noise emitted by the metal. "Experienced mountaineers in similar circumstances would have risked everything to rid themselves of their axes," said the speaker. "The members of the party apparently did not realise that the phenomenon was a menace and that they were in imminent danger of being struck by lightning. They were most fortunate that they escaped injury and even death." Some years ago a party was found dead on Mount Cook, and no cause could at first be advanced, as the members were well clothed and well provided with food. It was not until it was remembered that a severe thunderstorm bad occurred on the mountain that the probable cause was realised. The suspicions were confirmed upon inquiries sent to alpine resorts throughout the world, and advice was received in connection with thunderstorms oil mountains should ice-axes whistle. Climbers should tie tlie.ni to ropes and drag them so that they were as far away as possible. This action should be taken even if it meant a certain amount of risk on ice I slopes. |

Ambulance Station Anniversary. Twenty-five years ago to-dav the foundation stone of the St. John Ambulance station in Rutland Street was laid by Lady Islington. The building was then a small two-storey structure, and the present station is more than double its size. The advance made by the association during that decade can readily l»e seen. When the foundation stone was laid back in 1912 the building was valued at £3000. To-day the imposing structure in Rutland Street is valued at £16,000. Strength Test Causes Injury. How a simple and not uncommon physical contest can cause injury was revealed in Masterton last week, when Mr. 11. Plimmer, cashier fofr Levin and Company, Ltd., suffered a broken arm. With hands gripped and] elbows resting on a table. Mr. Plimmer and another employee of the firm were practising the feat of forcing each other's arm down to the table as a way of gauging the strength of then - arms, when suddenly his arm broke above the elbow. Mr. Plimmer Mas admitted to the Mastcrton Hospital for treatment. The Spoken Drama. Securing fresh material is the problem that theatrical managers are finding hard to solve. This was the opinion of Mr. F. J. Smith, chairman of the recent annual meeting of Messrs. ,T. C. Williamson mul Company, Ltd. Recently, however, he said, the company had been fortunate in acquiring new plays, such as "Balalaika," "'Over She Goes" and "Victoria Regina," all of which were proving successes, and the indications were that they Would continue to be successful for some time to come. One of the most gratifying features, he added, strong revival of interest in' the spoken drama. A Gentleman's Agreement. Reference was made recently by Mr. William Brown to the first agreement ever entered into between employers and workers on the wharves at Wanganui. For many years Mr. Brown represented the employers on the disputes committee, and 1 he was one of two original delegates who conferred to frame the first agreement. "We met in the old Meat Company's offices." Mr. Brown stated, "and it was rather significant that nothing Mas signed between us. The men asked us if Me would take their word on what was agreed on. and we agreed and they wore perfectly willing to take ours. So there it was, purely a gentleman's agreement, nnd it Morked splendidly. '* Literal Obedience.

An amusing situation arose in an action, the hearing of which was commenced in the Supreme Court at New Plymouth on a recent morning. When the Court resumed its sitting at 10 o'clock, the plaintiff in the next action to be heard was placed in a waiting rf>om by his counsel and told to remain there until called. His case was not commenced till after 12 o'clock, but the plaintiff was not required to give his evidence until the afternoon session of the Court opened at 2.15. At that hour counsel went to look for his client, who was still in the waiting room, having obeyed the instruction to the letter, to the extent of waiting right through the luncheon interval. The indulgence of the Court was sought and obtained, Sir John Reed extending the adjournment for a short while to enable the plaintiff to obtain some refreshment before giving his evidence. No Unemployed Available. "It seems an .extraordinary thing that men should be put on sustenance when there is work they can do," said Mr. H. Holland, chairman of the reserves committee of the Waimakariri River Trust, in reporting at a meeting of fhe trust that no men were available from Darfield to do clearing work in the plantation at Courtenay. The engineer, Mr. H. W. Harris, reported that he had seen Mr. M. Ross, District Employment Officer, regarding the matter. Mr. Ross did not, feel dis- | posed to agree to the trust getting subsidised men for the work, as the incidence of seasonal work now appeared to have removed men in the Darfield area from hi« register of unemployed. The engineer expressed the opinion that the only thing to be done meanwhile was to wait for a week or two to see if any men registered.

Beware the Dog. Much tms been said about jay-walkers being a nuisance to motorists in tlie city, but there is another class of nuisance which equally exercises the minds of vehicle drivers —the do;* that makes a practice of rushing from the footpath to bark at passing vehicles, entailing a sudden swerve on the motorist's part in the interest of the clog's safety. Taxi drivers in all parts of the city lwve come to know certain points where they may ex|>ect some such incident, but one dog has achieved notoriety which has made it a marked animal among motorists regularly using Victoria •Street West. A s|Miniel of sort*', inheriting in some way the instinct of an ancestor whose habit was to spring «t the throat of its prey, this dog for two years has waged war on passing motor vehicles by making its first fast rush just ahead of the bonnet, ever avoiding injury by a miracle of tinting rtn its part, combined with the instinctive swerve made by the motorist. In its campaign of "frightfulncss" on* the morale of taxi drivers the dog Imis been cursed in all languages and dialects, and has such an unsurpnssed record of swerves and skids to its discredit that an unofficial D.S.O. is said to await the motorist who lays this particular ftuisance for all time.