OBITER DICTA.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17430, 15 April 1922, Page 10

OBITER DICTA.

(By K.)

Professor /Wall—"a simple Prof.," ho pleaded—must havo felt rewarded far beyond hie deserts by th© effect upon, tlie Prohibitionists of his article on "Beer" in last Saturday's paper. The special merit of hi 3 article derives from, tho fact, which ho. mentioned, that iio does not 'hiinself drink beer at all. "Video meiiora proboque," he might say, "deteriora sequor." In this case, a moro admirable position than that of tho tail-loss foxes who axe fighting for compulsory cocoa- It is all very well, some Prohibitionists rose Tip to say, to write about beer, but beer ia responsible for C9.C5 per cent, of tho world's crime. "In reply to Professor Wall, let m© say that" —and so on. Let the Professor writ© an article on cocoa, and nobody will say a word, barring Mr Chesterton. The opponents of compulsory cocoa, will think only, "What n pity!" But Prohibitionist passion ia fatal to a sense of humour. If I were to quote Keats: 0 for a beakor full of the warm South, Pull of tho true, tic blushful Hippocren*, With beaded bubbles—if I were to dare thi6, tho post next day would b© full of letters beginning, "In reply to Mr Keats, let in© point out that 92.5 per cent, of the crime—" I hare just mentioned Chesterton, a hearty hater of 0000 a, optional or compulsory, and a lover of beer. In tho latest English papers I find him engaged in a duel with Mr Shaw concerning beer. Mr Shaw is ready "to maike it as easy for a poor man to be sober, if he wants to, a« it is forhis dog." Mr Shaw has what the ordinary Prohibitionist rather lacks, a good brain, but. all the brains in the world cannot moke a case for Prohibition. G.B.S. implies that it ia not easy for a poor man to be sober unless it is impossible to get drunk. Mjr Cherterton did not deal! with this ppint, 'but he mad© some observations worthy to bo recorded here (cocoa, you will note, receives a passing thwack, as oocoa deeeares): It is very muoh easier to look at tie symptoms that at the cause. People eay that if wo abolish the public house a. lot of enla would' not occur; Just as when the evil has become' so bad that people go out, as they soon may, with bricks and stones and kill othor .people, it may be said that if we were to abolish bricks and stones there would be no riots. It would be easy enough to repreeent that the capitalist is not *ll on the srie of beer. There are, equally vested, interests on the other aide, like cocoa manufacturers/ It is perfectly indefensible that they should be in judicial positions, at all in the matter of licensing hours.

Sick and tmsd of it though he be, Lloyd George is still easily riding the storm, and rery much at home at, Genoa, where there appears to be [some, prospect of an English peace. A master amongst cats and doga—-French dogs, and Bolshevik cats, with the cats making a better showing than the dogs. The Bolshevik; claws are (smoothly sheathed—M.; Tchitcheria is all fur ft&d purr; and yet, or therefore, the voice of TVance is that "canine clamour" which Mr Lloyd George rebuked. One need not'expect too much of Genoa-* the past three years have seeii too many high hopes ruined. But if Mr Lloyd George goes home content, we may be content • too; and J should put; my 1 money on his going home content with not lees confidence than I feel when* I share a ticket on Gloaming. The Frenchmen have their money on Poincare may as well tear up their tickets. They have not yet realised what Clemenceau realised some time since, if one may believe a Story in Colonel Repington's new book. After "The TigerV' operation, for appendicitis .he was asked how he felt. ''Quit* well," he replied. "There are only two perfectly useless things in the world. One is an appendix and the other is Poincare." There. is also the New Zealand Liberal Party, but Clemenceau forgot it for. the moment.

Those who read Ool<m@ war diary will perhaffijß to find him turned Here is one striking ***|| Dined at the Kits )i«etatnalj| Durham, Lady Agnes, and old pre-war throng «j|J| wa.nl. Lt'Jy A. and I for some time. The ladieaUffl and aonc on their baaks. >jj| whole proceedings undtgnifi*® vu'gar. Wo felt sick of ihwl which belongs to a deidjifi Kothaokild and Lady X. two-year-olds. The band w*»|i the new world seemed to bJg in .much the same way as-i|s after tho other great AVo felt very old-fashioned ttkg The modern post-war publish moei blatantly vulgar, tod'lS cent performance gesiive 'stage dancing ia pr«rsl Ono can bear almost aaythla of taste. Th? war seems to*® every one except the' vulgtigj New Zealand women oleoiH to learn, As yet their 1 within the bounds set by *| a frock should be like a til short enough to be long enough to cover the As for dancing, a prettyri presented this week by jj Y.M.C.A. One can undert|) who believes that left bower (his right bm| and I need hardly eay is not lemonade), and J gives his nights and days J against it. One can him sympathise with the ngjl dancing and dances as tttra But the Y.M.C.A. tw| course. At the annufs| the Board, of Y.M.C.A., Dunedin, apm wan brought forward, that the pleader dancing was either b6m|| th£it it could not be bt&| Y.M.C.A. did notcondeßmj idly by." Whatever ratijl me concerning the dirooijm of dancing as un-Ghristim the directors. For the; JJ and in an age in whi«| doing his highest daty<Mg duty of telling others thro! one who stands idly fy/f||

'Finally a personal, been passed on to Ate "F.T.," whose frequentjj ise "The Press." || "Se*ted besides a atanftftj] ing at tbe picture (what *m§ preached to the world l) tro| n»m«, he said 'You. who the writer of made sura it vrta brilliant contributor PMC®* of 'Th* Presa" «botfi|| This stranger wee a red hP partly lazor suppressed who could truly bwiida,'" , •' J -''''v r '™jj This, communication gii|l first time in my which we have all kdijH feolingg. ■ Scintillation word, with a handraH is something to soinwH phrase is "used to boMm to," but now nowjHH Or worse—a r stanH to have fallen, bjaß fiuousP Tbuswhisperaffl Devil Doabt, but , ™ helm, and said: yda are a "devil, and'there: Wfiat was meant—fjurd, these notes might havel though perhaps on a da| or nor'-wester, -by ; thfi old time. As aTOofisba™ with the progress, or,« that I see around thing better than ever he may have; bee»| ha ve said so too, for in his case tha, mafc ajio" would have been.sl the meantime, the sd)tts| notes are the. worltM pxaeterea"— cording to the measureJe