RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 164, 9 April 1934, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events (By Kickshaws.) According to a lecturer, the motto for every man should be simple service, simply given. Isn’t this a bit rough on one’s tenuis partner. • • » 'The latest hobby is siaid to be collecting spiders’ webs and storing them between thin sheets of glass. What is wrong with the good old-fashioned way of storing them on the ceiling? News comes from England that alter an excursion into tiie country it was found that several husbands who went with the party had been left behind. The Anti-Litter Society doubtless will take up the matter with the wives. Byron Brown writes: “Are you sure your interviewer reported Bernard Shaw correctly when he credits him with using tiie word ‘taboo’? Mr. Shaw is the only English writer, whom 1 have read, who uses this word in its correct Maori pronunciation, and spelling. In ‘The Author’s Apology’ to ’Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ Mr. Shaw uses the word ‘tapn,’ and in other plays-iis well. In this, tiie great, playwright teaches not only Englishmen, lint we Now Zealanders, to use correctly a very expressive and beautiful word .There is no ‘B’ in the Maori language, despile the. fuel that we frequently hear it applied to Maori words over tiie air, and in our Press.” • ♦ • Although it is encouraging to see that the Wellington Public Library has issued over half a million books in the year, there should lie no fear* that its growth will be curtailed for any scarcity of now books. It has been estimated that since the invention of printing no fewer than 20,000,000 books have been published. Having read all these books, an ardent reader even I lien need not feel despondent and dull. Every year he could be provided with a further 200,000 new books. If he put aside books in Lent, didn’t read on Sundays or public holidays, he would be left with the problem of reading something like 700 books a day to get through his year's ration. Wliere all these books get to is somewhat of a mystery. Tiie British museum obtains a copy of every English book published, some 14,000 a year, and a copy of almost every other book published in the world. It lias now nearly 5,000,000 books, but they still pour in. • * * With a total of nearly 5,000.000 books the British Museum would rank as the largest library in the world but for Its curious modesty in the counting of its books. Whereas other libraries count every book as a book the British Museum counts sets of books, such as enclypopaedias and the. like, as one work. For that reason the largest library in the world ranks only as fifth largest. The largest libraries in the world in order of size are, therefore, the Public Library of Leningrad ; Library of Congress, Washington; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; New York Public Library; British Museum; Berlin Library, and the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Despite the capacity for storing books represented by the seven largest libraries mentioned the time must surely come when more books will be published than can ever be stored. There are already 60 miles of shelving in the British Masscum alone, not to mention a separate building containing 14 miles -of newspaper files. The time cannot, be far distant when some method will have to be devised for compressing volumes to postage stamp dimensions for purposes of storage.

If it be correct that the projected cut in the pay of civil servants in France is to start at the top, perhaps the President of Frapce will find some 20 per cent, sliced oft his pay. It is difficult to compare the franc with other money because it has varied so much. Ou tiie pre-war standard the President of France received something like £BO,OOO a year. On, a currency basis this has fallen io a' fifth of that total to-day. Nevertheless a 20 per cent, cut would mean the dropping of many thousands a year. Curiously enough, •this salary Is very much greater than the salary of the President of the United States of America. Tiie salary of this office was originally a mere £4OOO a year. It was increased to £BOOO a year some 60 years ago. To-day the salary stands at the comjiaratively low figure of £12,000 a year plus another £4OOO a year for travelling expenses. Perhaps one ought to add that the President of the United States is provided with a free house.

It is all very well to talk glibly of salaries of £lBO.OOO a year, such as the President of France enjoyed in prewar days. The real test of a salary is whether the recipient can keep within its limits and live in the manner expected. One of the highest honours open to an individual is to represent his country at a foreign court as ambassador. It requires an Andrew Mellon to hold down the job for America in London without going “broke.” The £lO,OOO a year or so paid for the job usually disappears in entertaining in the first few months. It is the same with British ambassadors. At .one famous European court the £SOOO a year paid the lucky holder of this office finds that unless he can supplement his salary with a further £12,000 a year he is that much in debt. Incidentally, the Lord Mayor of London enjoys the nice little salary of £lO,OOO a year. So many are the calls on his purse he is lucky if he is not at least £5OOO on the wrong side of the ledger at the end of this year.

“Could you please tell me the largest amount of wheat (in tons) carried by one sailing ship from Australia to any oilier port?” asks “J.C.,” Grcvtown. [Tiie Magdalene Vinnen, 3476 registered tonnage, regularly loads 5000 tons and the Horzogin Cecilfe 4100 tons. These represent the outside limit.]

Concerning the horrors of the convict ship Alartiniere a reader t adds;— Pipes of steam encircle the cages to lie turned on to scald the occupants to death if unrest occurs. The average cargo of human beings transported to the jungles of French Guiana to rot, their lives away is about 300 all told. Discipline on board is so severe that if a word is uttered at night the man responsible is confined in chains and fed on bread and water in the deepest hold. A few lucky ones die before thev reach their destination. ♦ • •

All start anew, but we should know That 'though we reach the goal we see, ■Twere better failure were our lot If wrongs beget the victory. —A. Grubar.