General News

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21807, 12 June 1936, Page 10

General News

“A Place of Importance” . “Christchurch must be a place of importance, or else the wool sales must put it on the map,” remarked Mr A. S. Nicholls, who has returned from a 15 weeks’ trip to South America, in an interview yesterday. “In Santiago on April 1, one of the local papers, ‘EI Mercuric,’ published in its cable news the results of the wool sale held in Christchurch the previous day. It was the only cable I saw of New Zealand news during the five weeks of my visit.” A Telephone-list Problem The popularity of the words “New Zealand” in the titles of organisations and firms creates a little problem in the preparation of telephone directories. Careful thought is given to their arrangement, to cause the minimum amount of difficulty in finding a subscriber’s number. Every entry has to appear in strict alphabetical order, so that the prefatory words “New Zealand” occurring in a large group partly obscure a large number of the entries. The Wellington directory, for instance, has 200 entries beginning “New Zealand”; but the post office is unable to make any rearrangement of this long list for easier reference, as the great majority of the entries are the registered legal titles of companies or incorporated bodies. The telephone service is growing fast, and the time will come when too many “New Zealands” in the list will become embarrassing, particularly to subscribers in a hurry. From a reference point of view, in the opinion of the Post and Telegraph Department, the most suitable title for a firm it that which gives an indication of its business in the first word. Sale of Anzac Stamps The total amount received throughout the Dominion from the sale of Anzac stamps up to June 7 was £ 12,223, according to the local organiser. Mr R. B. Speirs. The amount received in Christchurch for the week ending June 7 was £133, as compared with £BB in the previous week. The campaign will definitely close on June 20. Motor Taxation “The grouping of motor taxation under one heading has been considered in a general way only,” wrote the Minister for Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) to the South Island Motor Union last evening, “but I am satisfied that the arrangement is desirable.” Mr F. W. Johnston remarked that there would have to be an additional tax on heavy traffic vehicles and in this opinion he was supported by the chairman, Mr W. R. Carey, and Mr P, R. Harman. Licensing of Milk Bars To safeguard public health, milk bars and shops selling milk shakes should be inspected, as dairies were inspected, and licensed, Mr A. W. Nicol suggested at a meeting last evening of the Canterbury branch of the Royal Sanitary Institute. He supported his opinion by reference to a recent case in Sydney where a health inspector had found milk shakes supplied by one shop to be unhygienic. Dr. T Fletcher Telford agreed that places with a milk shake bar should be licensed like any other dairy, but thought that it would perhaps be belter if only the larger shops were licensed. Broadcasting Sport A circular concerning the advisability of broadcasting sports fixtures at Lancaster Park will shortly be sent to various sporting bodies by the Lancaster Park Board of Control, it was reported at the board’s meeting last night. Mr A. E. McPhail said it was a pity that the circular had not been sent out before, so "that replies could have been received before the new Broadcasting Bill had made its appearance. He suggested that sports organisations might be reimbursed for allowing the privilege, with some of the revenue from the Government’s broadcast advertising programme. No Advertising Allowed Strong opposition was expressed by Mr H. H. Wauchop at last night’s meeting of the Lancaster Park Board of Control to a proposal that a clock, with advertising wording on it, should be accepted free of charge for use at the park Some members complained that the present* clock at the park had been stopped for two weeks, but others were strenuously opposed to “plastering the ground with advertisements. Statements were made that other forms of advertising had been barred, but on the other hand, it was claimed that the present time service was most unsatisfactory, and there had been complaints in the past that Rugby games had been played short time. One member said that it was not the board’s duty to provide a clock for Rugby games, and it would be as reasonable for the board to buy stop-watches for athletics. It was decided to make enquiries about the possible improvement of the present clock. How Date-stamps ate Made Sample impressions of the date-stamps used in post offices throughout New Zealand were recently obtained by headquarters so that those which are giving indistinct impressions can be replaced. One of the interesting points discovered was that some of these date-stamps have oeen in regular service for 20 years and are still giving clear impressions. They are designed for long life, fdr the letters upon them stand out in high relief deeply engraved on steel. The changeable dates in the centre of the stamp are also made of metal. The pantograph principle is used in the engraving machines, one arm of the pantograph following a stencilled plate on which has been cut the letter to be engraved, the cutting arm of the machine reproducing this outline exactly, but on the much smaller scale seen on the date-stamps. The steel discs used are softened for engraving, and afterwards hardened so effectively that 20 years’ efficient use is not regarded as remarkable. Criticism of Air Mail Service It was illogical to expect the air mail service on the Palmerston North-Dunedin. airline to be a success under the present conditions, said Mr W. G. Walkley, secretary of the Hawera Aero Club and of the North Island Motor Union, before his departure for Sydney, where he has accepted the managership of an oil company. No one with any sense would expect the present service to be a success, said Mr Walkley, because it did not link the main centres of population. Not until the trunk airlines included Auckland and Wellington in their time-tables would they be successful. At present one had to sit up all night writing letters if one desired to use the air mail services of the Dominion. Good Times Coming “We speak of the coming revolution; that revolution is on us,” declared the Rev. A. C. Wedderspoon in an address under the auspices of the Southland Presbytery. Mr Wedderspoon said that tremendous advances had been made during the last 20 years in New Zealand; indeed, during the last three months. “The limit of the good things provided or promised is the sky,” he continued. “The extortionate retailer is going to have his prices fixed, the shockingly rich have been provided with running shoes, the revoltingly poor are going to live like millionaires, and ministers of the Gospel are looking forward to the halcyon days of a 40-hour week.” “An Expensive Organisation” The opinion that the Associated Chambers of Commerce was a most expensive organisation, and sooner or later most of the smaller chambers would have to take the same course as Palmerston North and withdraw their affiliation, was expressed by the Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce recently. For many months the Palmerston chamber had been at difference with the Associated Chambers over the affiliation fees demanded, because it was found impossible to meet the amount requested. The Associated Chambers fixed the fee at 6s a member, and as the Palmerston North chamber found itself unable to build up anything like a large membership without reducing the subscription to 10s 6d, to have to pass on Gs of that amount was considered out of all proportion. An offer was made of 15 per cent, of income, but this proved unacceptable to the Wellington authorities. Under the 6s rate, Palmerston North would be called upon to hand over £45, plus arrear?, which brought the total to £7B. The chairman. Mr A. J. Graham, said the only thing to do was to retire gracefully A motion to that effect was carried.