NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 121, 24 May 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Car and Tram Collide

A small crowd quickly gathered at the Intersection of Commerce and Customs Streets shortly before nine o'clock this morning, when a car and a tram collided. Curiosity was soon satisfied, however, for the only damage was a slightly dented mudguard of the car. No one was hurt, and as the car drove away under its own power one onlooker remarked, "Even the car didn't have to be taken to hospital." Birds Of A Feather "When J arrived at the lake the day before the shooting season opened, it was covered with mallard * and black swan. »My hopes of a successful shoot were, hign until the j arrival of the R.N.ZA.F.. Back and forth, from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., bombers, trailing targets, with fighters in pursuit, kept up a ceaseless vigil over the area. After four days I had had enough." This was the woeful tale related by a gun enthusiast at a meeting in the South. Suggested the president: "It is just the old case of birds of a feather." , ; • / Living in Stirring Times ■'Boys and girls of the Empire, you are living in stirring times,'* says Lord Bledisloe in an Empire Day message. "Many changes will take place both in your own country and in the -wide world beyond. Air transport and radio communication will bring the earth's scattered territories ever nearer to you. Develop a well-informed interest in world affairs and especially in those of the British Empire which is your own special heritage, and will become one of the greatest responsibilities in the adventure of life upon which you are embarking." Message to Germans Leaflets dropped by Allied planes over German troops at Cassino in March have found their way to Auck- ■ land. They are slips of white paper about 3in by 6in in size, with the ! words "Safe Conduct" printed in ; large letters near the top. Under- I neath is the following message in i English: "The German soldier who ] carries this safe-conduct is using it t as a sign of his genuine wish to give j himself up. He is to be disarmed. < to be well looked after, to receive ] food and medical attention as re- \ quired, and is to be removed from t the danger zone as soon as possible, f Headquarters Fifth Army." This f message is an order to the Allied c soldier to whom a German sur- li renders. The rest of the leaflet is printed in German, exhorting enemy i soldiers to give themselves up. The Speed of News [ Mr. F. Evans, manager in New s Zealand for Reuters, in speaking to A the Wellington Jewish Club, re- c counted the colourful story of how t a humble pigeon-post service grew a into one of the biggest and most c influential Press organisations in the I world. Mr. Evans recalled that before t the last war, news was distributed tl in two classes, "run." messages and c "walk" messages—if it was urgent " news the messenger had to run and \ received an extra threepence for the s additional exertion. The news had r to be almost "world-erfding" to be o marked "cyclist." To-day the high 3 •speed teleprinter worked at 12C J wprds a minute. In another system o news was sent in Morse at a speed "e of 150 words a minute and was auto w matically translated as received To-day items were flashed across the u .Atlantic in 13 seconds. t<

Inconvenient Hours On the grounds that his wife's working hours were inconvenient, a member of the Navy appealed to the Auckland Industrial Appeal Board yesterday for her transfer from the Westfield Freezing Co., Ltd., to other essential work nearer the city. The appellant stated that his wife had to get up at 5.30 each morning and did not arrive back home until. 5.30, when she had to attend to her domestic duties. The committee dismissed the appeal. Benefits For "Children" "Some of these 'children' are 35 years of age, and the parents are doing good business," said a member at a meeting of the Piako County Council when referring to allegations that some Maoris were deriving sufficient' income from child, benefits under the Social Security Act to make it unnecessary for them to work for more than a few days each week. ' The council was discussing the possibility of native workers being made available for ragwort eradication, and the clerk, Mr.,F. I. Clarke, was instructed to communicate with the manpower authorities. Barmaids in Navy "Years ago" provision was made by legislation to put an end to women serving liquor in hotel bars, but the war has created a new barmaid," states a General Assembly temperance committee article in the latest issue of the Presbyterian journal Outlook.- "Some of the girls serving in the women's branch of the Navy are being compelled against their will to serve liquor in wardrooms," adds the article. "Parents of such girls are surely entitled to protest? against stich war service. A much better use could be found for the girls than serving as barmaids."

South Island View "It is a remarkable thing, but seven Ministers of the Crown are all South Island representatives, and yet when they get to the North Island they forget about the South Island," said the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr. E. H. Andrews, on Wednesday. "The South Island is treated as the Cinderella of New Zealand, or perhaps I might say has been the milch cow to the North Island," he added. Mr. Andrews was referring to the steps taken by him to form the South Island Local Bodies' Association, which was aimed at getting something for the South Island. It was felt that the South Island had to fight for its rights, and be was encouraged by the attendances from local bodies at the conferences. A Cricket Story Just at the moment, whilst recommendations are being made to revert to the six-ball over, the following story, told at a public meeting in Wellington, is well timed. At a country social match in Queensland there was a dearth of umpires, and a frantic search was made for someone to act in that official capacity. Finally a well-known "local" agreed to act. The wicketkeeper, noticing that the overs were rather long checked up on the umpire, and said "Your counting is not too good, sir. \ou are giving nine balls instead of sight to the over." "I must be right," the "local" replied, "I have only eightpence in my pocket." To support his statement he produced .he coins. A check showed seven pennies and two half-pennies. Amidst aughter, the teller added that it was learned subsequently that the mpire was the town's dentist and was given sometimes to forgetting to draw stumps.