THE SCHEME OF THINGS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 85, 20 October 1928, Page 14

THE SCHEME OF THINGS

(By M.U.C.) It is rather amusing to find Melbourne writing to Christchurch for the secret of silent tram running. While the Christchurch trams with the wider gauge are certainly more quiet than most, they can hardly be characterised as "silent." The ilatness of the city also helps, for there is less noise of brakes, but New Zealand has a loug way to go before there can be any satisfaction, about the quietness of the city, day or night. A certain improvement here has' been accompanied by a display of energy on the part of the "powers that be," who passed a bylaw prohibiting unnecessary noise for horns, cut-outs, and such-liko night nuisances, and provided a real "live" official, who ■brought in a very satisfactory crop of delinquents who had happily disregarded the health and peace of countless other people in their late night excursions, or their early return in the morning from night employment. "'I am awake, and .the rest of you have 'got. to be" was the attitude, and,sick people, young children, over-worked and over-tired mothers were the sufferers from a very real and cowardly selfishness. It appears that the various nuis- . anceshavo got to such a pitch in London and other big cities that an "Antinoise League" has come into being, and is finding thousands of adherents who pay a small fee to belong to it, and this is to be used to pay officials, and conduct, "prosecutions in the hope of abating, the nuisance; at that end. of the.world. It is a strange mentality, which, when almost alone on a road nr street in a city late at iiight or in the very early, hours of the morning, hoots obtrusively at every corner, and when passing a cross street, just as if it were a traffic hour when there was likely to bo trouble if the maximum of noise were-not made. The remedy, as suggested by the. Anti-noise League to night travellers, is that they should go. at a moderate pace, "keep their',eye lifting," and not sound the horn a#all ■unless plainly necessary. Then there is that, to'the uninitiated, extraordinary proceeding which is common among motoi--eyclists when they stop outside some quiet and unoffending house, get off the cycle and proceed to make it emit a series of appalling blasts. They do not appear to do anything else that cani be noticed, but after a spell of this uoise, when the harshly awakened inhabitants of the house-would-gladly-see a bomb fall upon them from above, they get on again, and, with an even louder series of explosions, take themselves off, followed by thoughts of the most unfriendly description from the neighbourhood aroun.d. The Anti-noise League has- support from the 8.M.A., says an' -English writer, for that wise and sapient body has discovered that the nerves of the' people, old, middleaged,, and young, are suffering badly from .the over-noisy world, and it is more important than anything in the present that quiet sleep should at least, be secured to a hard-pressed and nerveracked generation. It is to be hoped that,, if necessary, in the course of time a branch of that league may be started iii 'Jfcw Zealand to support the efforts made to get peace at night, aud less disturbance.: ' A correspondent sends a page from a journal that describes a most selfsacrificing mother, with the question, "Are there any more mothers like this?" Tho answer is "Yes; tens of thousands of them." The mother described is one of'absolute'unselfishness. Her daughter took her to a doctor as she seemed so quietly and thoroughly ill, without any apparent cause. The. doctor told the girl bluntly .that what was the matter with her mother was starvation;' "Star--vafcion in the midst of plenty" she asked in astonishment:" "Go home-and watch," said tho medico, and the writer tells the story^thus: "I found that a system of profound unfairness rrns being shamelessly accepted- by all .of us. The best of .eVery. meal was dealt to us. Mother helped herself last—when the juiciest portion had been handed to father, and other portions served round to a fastidious family with the usual ideas about fat and lean, the last icmnant was mother's share. It was the ■same with everything we oat, and not one of us had noticed it. That was not all; mother's chair was on .the draughty side of -the room, and throughout the day and'house she willingly and quietly took the'least'good, and least, comfortable-." Quite, an interesting little story ends with tho words: , "We children ■want the wing, of the chicken, but mothers must be taught that unselfishness breeds nothing but selfishness— '■ and. that's that." The story is .very simply told, but it embodies a great truth, and most people, men and women, if they look into their time-at home ■with their parents, will realise that they never at any time, thought "what mother was having," not only in the way of meals, but of outings, pleasure, and necessary changes of air now and then. Most people will remember that they did not think of it at all, but took it for granted that she herself, or possibly father, :would see to it that she was always well looked after and served. And what was anybody's business was nobody's business. It is more than likely that millions of mothers were even as the one mentioned, for the selfish, grabbing mother, the one that will sacrifice her children to herself, is quite rare, though she. undoubtedly exists, and she is often the product of a too unselfish mother who has not taught her-anytliing of the joy of service to others. Mothers v.-ho sacrifice themselves so utterly a a in the story are only admirable to a certain point, for, while every deee.ut mother would rather the children had the best, she should make a., self-re-specting effort to ensure that they will learn to look after her as something dear and precious. Then there would I* more healthy life for all concerned. But to the correspondent who asked the question I would certainly say that t>e "World is full of such mothers as the one described.