Avoiding Wasted Leisure

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 199, 20 May 1936, Page 5

Avoiding Wasted Leisure

Sir, —Your correspondence columns, full to bursting, are an encouraging sign that New Zealanders arc at last waking up and displaying a virtue that I had feared they did not possess —enthusiasm. I find it in me to heartily disagree with many of them, but it gladdens my heart to know they do not intend to be driven about like a lot of unprotesting sheep. I would like to enlarge upon the verynice letter of "Semper Fidelis. ’ My onlycomplaint about it is that it does not go far enough. The words “compel” and "enforce” do not appear sufficiently frequently. To further ensure that leisure does not lead to idleness and mischief I would suggest that all amusements should be regulated by law according to age, sex. and as many’ other qualifications as imaginative people iike “Semper Fidelis ’ and I could think up. Picture shows should not be attended more frequently than once in three mouths, and then, of course, they should be strictly censored so that no suggestion of idleness be conveyed. Also, it could be made law that only members of the same sex be. allowed to attend at one time. It might be as well to confine these amusements to persons over thirty years of age. If similar rules for dancing were made, a great step toward the prevention of idleness and mischief would be made. The games of cricket, football, tennis, badminton, basketball, etc., should be played under Government inspection (if there is time after drill) and only Government supporters allowed to win. Labourers should be compelled to march to and from work with shovels at the slope, political opponents of the Government should be thrown into. jail, and children recruited into semi-military movements tinted strongly with the correct political colour. All women should be compelled to . bear numerous children, all men forced to wear moustaches, all adults should be compelled to vote, and only selected political parties allowed to go to the polls. Production could be much increased by the establishment of “shock workers’ brigades” in factories and farms to bullyrag idle and mischievous New Zealanders into working like galley slaves., New Zealand could be turned into a writhing mass of population by enforcing marriage at the age of eighteen, forbidding, birth control and giving bonuses for quintuplets. No criticism of the Government should be allowed and newspapers indulging themselves in this way should be suppressed. It would be a sound plan to shoot authors of letters to the papers. Policemen, storm troopers, and youth organisations should wear plenty of pistols and the emblem of the movement. —I am, etc., T. O. MADDISON. Wellington, May 16.