CURRENT TOPICS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 2677, 4 August 1913, Page 5

CURRENT TOPICS.

(By “Free jLance”.)

THE ‘WOWSER.’ “I think the popular way of describing one who disagrees with betting and gambling,” said Mr Bishop, S.M. “is to refer to him as a “wowser.” My own definition,” continued the Magistrate, “is that a man who wants to live up to a higher moral and social standard than many is a “wowser”, Mr Bishop went on to express his approbation tor the “wowser. I think Mr Bishop might have added that prohibitionists arc usually described as 11 wowsers M also sky-pilots Btid other such heroic persons. Do they not all try to live up to ‘a higher standard of moral and social life?” Why! I know some of these estimable gentlemen who consider the payment ol their debts beneath them, who speculate in dredge shares (surely .this can’t be •rambling) who drink liquor and preach prohibition, and who consider, or seem to consider, that those on a lower social scale (not, be it noted, moral scale) are beneath their notice. It is praiseworthy for them to attempt to improve their ‘moral and social scale even if they rarely succeed. Personally 1 am inclined to think that a “wowser” is also something of a hypocrite and a humbug who wants to cui tail individual liberty as mud) as possible It is to these same “wowsers” that we must give the credit of the epidemic of “antis” which have swept over the country. We have anti-gambling, anti-racing, anti-drinking, anti-cours-ing, anti-military and the Lord alone knows how many “antis,” One begins to wonder what these “wowsers will allow us to do in the next decade for their arrogance and bigotry know no bounds. It is pleasant to turn frotu the contemplation of the “wowsers” even it it be to a lax on bachelors. Now being one of this much malinged class 1 naturally strenuously object to be taxed. I have not yet considered which is the lesser of two evils—to get married or to get taxed —and 1 don t intend to consider until I am forced to, Professor Edgar speaking at an Eugenic conference urged the necessity of a tax on bachelors, a tax on married people with few or no children and “assistance to those who have the courage and patriotism to and rear plenty of healthy children.” “Restriction of families is simply due to a desire to live an easy life, said Dr Hoffman. What I would like to know is there any sin in wanting to live an easy life. Most of us want to but can’t manage it, Surely rearing two or three children in a proper manner is much better for the _ country than bringing a swarm ot children into the world to face poverty and want and to entail worry and hardship on the parents and become a burden to the State. It is one thing to talk at large about large families and poverty in the abstract but it is quite another to being brought into actual contact with them. A family In accord with one s means may be heavenly, a family over and above one’s means must be—well not heavenly. I venture to say that patriotism has nothing at all to do wit!) the si/.c of families or if it has then limitation ol families is the highest form of patriotism 1 know. We may be sadly in want of population but that does not justify us in raising a population of puny, stunted and sickly children who would, when, if ever, they grew up, he a libel on the words ‘man’ and ‘woman.’ (To be continued). •