ANON

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25086, 18 January 1947, Page 8

ANON

[By WHIM WHAM.] The Chancellor of the University of New Zealand (Mr Justice Smith), in his address to the Senate, said that oversea visitors had commented to him on the number of letters appearing in the newspapers of this country which were not signed by the author’s name. ... It might be a mark of modesty. It might be just fun. It might be only a habit. It might be a sign of inferiority or fear. . . .—News item. —To the Editor, Dear- Sir, It has been asked why I prefer. When I address you, to assume Some nicely chosen Nom de Plume. The disagreeable Charge is laid That it’s because I am afraid, Or that some inward Sense of Shame Impels me to conceal my Name FrornPublic View, and choose Another— Disgusted, Student, Worried Mother, Wake Up. New Zealand. Interested, Be British, Taxpayer, Well Fed, Citizen. Fed Up, Civic Pride, * A Former Nurse. The Other Side, No Stockings, Facts, Once Bitten, Mum, Father of Four, or Not So Dumb— For I, with more than Protean Skill, Am each or all of These at Will; And you. Sir, only you and I Know Whom these Symbols signify. But is it Fear that makes me shy? No. Sir! And if you ask me why, It is that I and All the Rest Are simply getting off our Chest Some Grouch, some Fad, some Private View, Hoping you will permit us, too, the Luxury of Publication And secret Upon our little printed Bit, The Style, the Wisdom, and the Wit! As for the brazen Few who Sign Their Name and Style, to every Line As if the Fate of this Dominion Depended on their least Opinion, And give the gentle Game away By really meaning what they say— Why should these Rascals trespass thus On Space that should be kept for us? As I shall do. if I go on— Yours, most Et Cetera, ANON.