General News

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23717, 15 August 1942, Page 4

General News

Desert “Grand National” The rider 'of the desert "Grand National” winner was identified from the photograph that appeared in “The Press” yesterday as Gunner D. E. Lindsay, son of Mrs E. M. Lindsay, of Cust, and the late Mr C. E. Lindsay, who was a well-known owner of trotting horses. Mrs Lindsay had a letter from her son describing the race. His mount, he said, was the dark horse and the outsider of the field. It was a poor-look-ing animal, and the last the men could persuade the Arabs to lend. When it paraded in the “saddling paddock” it was received by the crowd with guffaws. “I was as surprised as anyone,” wrote Gunner Lindsay,’ “when my mount passed everything else and flashed past the post the winner after tailing the field for most of the journey. But I was not surprised to find that the Arabs who lent him had some money on the outsider!” 300 Racegoers from West Coast A full capacity train, of eight carriages, conveying 300 passengers, made the trip from the West Coast to Christchurch on the normal rail-car schedule last night, arriving at Christchurch shortly after midnight. The bulk of these, who are racegoers over for the second day of the Grand National meeting, will return to Greymouth on Monday morning’s rail-car schedule, on a steam train replacing the ordinary rail-car service. The train was delayed half an hour at Rolleston and arrived in Christchurch 55 minutes late. Tyres for E.P.S, Personnel Some requests by E.P.S. personnel for support for applications for bicycle tyres have had to be refused by the organising committee, which considers that it cannot endorse applications unless the worn-out tyres have been substantially used on E.P.S. work and unless the new tyres will be similarly used. The chairman (Mr W. Machin) said yesterday that in some cases the committee had endorsed applications, and it would do so whenever there was any merit in them from an E.P.S. point of view. Elimination of Envelopes The Post and Telegraph Department has approved the specimens of selfcnvelopmg circulars submitted to it by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. In a letter to the chamber, the Chief Postmaster (Mr V. C. Lawn) says that accounts prepared and folded in a similar way will also be accepted provided the name and address are clearly indicated, and that no other printed matter on that’ side of the paper would interfere with legibility. You will appreciate that each case must bo considered on its merits as to suitability, and those which do not, in our opinion, comply with requirements will bo rejected. The department expects that when roorints of account forms become necessary firms will make provision to comply with the requirements previously notified,” states the letter. Petrol on West Coast Petrol distribution on the West Coast under the present system was described by the Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) last night as very unsatisfactory. He said he had met the oil companies in Wellington before holding conferences at Hoki-, tika and Westport on the saving of petrol and tyres. Zoning committees had been set up in both towns and they were going ahead. The South Island zoning officer (Mr T. H. Langford) would later visit the West Coast to check up on the system. Cotton Quota for New Zealand In response to requests for the release to the trade of cotton piece goods from the United Kingdom, the textile section of the New Zealand Ministry of Supply has secured by way of a trade quota a quantity of cotton which will be quite separate from defence and Government requirements. Advice to this effect has been received by the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association. The circular from the Ministry of Supply states that the trade quota fixed for the quarter, July to September, is a minimum of 300 tons yarn weight of cotton allocated to piece goods. This trade quota is distributed to exporters in the United Kingdom and then becomes a matter as between those exporters and their customers in New Zealand. Pigeons in Air Force Display When the first flight of bombers came .over the city in the mock air raids arranged yesterday by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, all the pigeons in Cathedral square rose in agitated flight: their various formations were not maintained for more than a second or two, but their display gave the watching crowd much pleasure. When enemy aircraft were signalled and the flash was fired from the signal mortar with a loud explosion the pigeons renewed their agitated circling and flew from the patch of sky that was invaded by noisy aircraft. Ministerial Visit to Coast The Hon. P. C. Webb and the Hon. R. Semple concluded their visits to the West Coast yesterday, when their railcar returned to Christchurch from the Buffer district. A carriage attached to the goods train leaving Greymouth at 10.35 a.nj. enabled passengers to connect with the car at Stillwater and make a quick daylight journey to Christchurch. £lO3 Collected in Two Hours Posfwomcn and other women employed by the Post and Telegraph Department and other Government departments, including the State Advances, Public Trust, and linen flax section, collected £lO3 for the Patriotic Fund yesterday while the Royal New Zealand Air Force paraded and demonstrated ground defences. There were 90 women collecting in Cathedral square and Colombo street, between Armagh and Cashel streets, and in the two hours between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. they collected more than £IOO. Many of the women were collecting in their free time, the postwomen all having done their rounds in the morning. Mr L. F. Smith, chief clerk of the Post and Telegraph Department, said last evening that the amount collected was surprisingly good, considering the short period during which the collectors were in the streets. E.P.S, Supplies Units Members of the E.P.S. supplies unit and of the relief (almoners) unit have been instructed to be ready for action on the morning after the coming E.P.S. trial. The procedure to be followed by these units in an emergency is not generally known and is the subject of a statement by the E.P.S. authorities. It has been arranged that all supplies continue to go throiu.’.i the usual channels of distribution so that they may be handled by those normally dealing with them and on the usual commercial basis. If a coastal suburb has to be evacuated, supplies will be diverted from it to the place to which the population has gone. If a section of the Christchurch population has to go to another part of the city, the shops in that part will immediately have supplies diverted to them. Keen Demand for Seats So keen is the demand for railway accommodation by Greymouth trotting enthusiasts at Addington a fortnight hence, that when bookings on the rail-car leaving Greymouth on Friday, August 28, were opened at 9 o’clock yesterday morning, the 50 available seats were booked out within seven minutes. School Cadets “Any boy up to Standard VI is too young to be taught soldiering,” said Mr J. H. Mander, expressing disapproval of a suggestion that the school cadet system should be reorganised, when this was being discussed at the annual conference of the North Taranaki School Committees’ Association at New Plymouth recently. The only good that came from junior cadet training was physical development and an inculcation of discipline, and as both of these were already being provided by the new system of physical education in the schools, he said, no good purpose could be served by reintroducing cadet companies into an already overcrowded syllabus, contending that it was time enough for a boy to begin military training when he left school.