POSTSCRIPTS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 127, 31 May 1935, Page 8

POSTSCRIPTS

Chronicle andCommtnt

BY PERCY FLAGS

The appointment of 380 new Justices of the Peace makes us wonder what has become of all the old ones. It is reported that on one of th« Solomon Islands the cannibals have become politically minded. Missionaries, however, continue to be the life of any party. . # • • We note that a Mr. Damrong is one of. Siam's leading statesmen. In fact, conditions seem to be much the samt everywhere. • * .«■.'♦ That he has invited "Ride-em-hard" Johnson to return to the White House as administrator, indicates that Roosevelt isn't afraid of that "big bad wolf,"Father Coughlin. *- « * BLACK AND TAN. Apparently the summer hour for the commencement of cases at the sitting of the Levin Magistrate's Court each month is too early to be observed during the winter months as it would appear that some are compelled to dress in semi-dafrkness, says that enterprising journal, the "Levin Chronicle," under date* May 24. Counsel in a case before the Court this morning was noticed to be wearing varied footwear —one black and one tan shoe. CHERISHED THREEPENNY-BIT. Re your article "A Wizard With Pins" of last week, I have in my possession a threepenny-bit with the Lord's Prayer engraved on it. This belonged to my father, and may be one of those quoted, especially as the coin has the head of Queen Victoria on the other side. Here is a funny epitaph my mother saw before she left England fifty years ago: Here lies the body of Deborah DentShe kicked up her heels and away sh« went. a "NEWTOWN." NEWS ODDMENTS. A club is to be formed in Melbourne' where stammerers will practise reciting and public speaking. It will be called the Stammerers' Club. ' This is what was. found inside a fowl at Hobart, Tasmania:' Three sixpenny pieces; doll's head; iron nut; lead button; piece of aluminium, and • cUo' handle. Japanese girls who want to. sell sweets will in future have to pass a rigorous examination and answer 31 technical questions. ' ' Such is the regulation of the Merinaga Kabushiki Kaisha, one of Japan's leading confectionery manufacturers. _ The girls will be required not only: to have a complete knowledge of the process of. manufacture of the sweets of the ingredients used in the various goods, and of all the products of the company; they will need, in addition, to possess a. "pleasing personality, intelligence, smart appearance, initiative, and good health." .-. . - . " »,' ' • . ' • • APVENTURE WITH A MOUSE. ■ Dear Percy Flage,—l want to tell you about the hardest job I have ever had to do. On Tuesday morning I saw a mouse go into the dining-room, so t shut the door on it. I kept the door shut all day,'and after bedtime I heard it nibbling at the door, trying^ get but. All Wednesday I kept the'door : shut, and that night I set a trap. There were two or three nibbles at the door* but the mouse gave it up after that. Just before daylight the trap went off', but the mouse had not .been caught. Last night I was sitting in front of the fire,; :■ readings "The Post" ' having just: finished a cup of tea, the rest of.,.thevfamily having retired to bed, when :I» heard squeaking, and there was the, ;mouseon the hearth sitting up begging for something- to eat The Good Book says (Gen. 9:2),"The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth," so its hunger-must have overcome its fear, and made it come out of its hiding* place and *ask so plainly for food. I laid aside "The Post" and my cup and saucer,, and-the mouse never moved from its position, but it stopped squeaking, when it saw I had seen it. I bent down and picked it up, and took it out and drowned it, but I give you my word it wasn't easy. Have you, or has any other correspondent, had a similar experience? . . ■ , , ANON. ,* ■'■*.'■ * QUAINT EPITAPHS. "Nemo."—-The enterprising sons of a deceased innkeeper admirably combined business and filial regard in the following epitaph:— - \ Under this stone, in hopes of Zion Doth lie the landlord of "The Lion." Resigned unto the Heavenly-will His sons keep on • the business still. "Pom de' Angleterre."—How would these do. for your column of curious epitaphs? Here lies the body of Mary Gray, She would if she could, but she couldn't stay. :'•■■■■.-." She had two bad legs, and a very bad cough, But it was her two bad legs that car- : ried her off. A man was badly mutilated in a mill accident and subsequently died. In explaining the cause of her husband* death in the obituary notice on th» tombstone the widow had the following lines engraved at the bottom, in place of the usual text:— The mills of God grind slowiy, Yet they grind esiceedingly small. There's no accounting.for tastes. * * * \ "LIBERTY" IN ITALY. Is' that Italian worm turning at long last in real earnest. One wonders. It would come" as no surprise to hear that industry was chafing under the yoke of State regimentation. Regard these facts. There is only one syndicate, or union, for each trade. A worker is free to join or not, but he must pay dues to the'syndicate whether or not he is a member.- His work is completely regulated by it Conditions of work and wages are fixed by collective contracts negotiated between the employers and State-appointed officials. A worker has no voice in the choice of his representatives.' The right to strike is abolished. If out of a job a worker must seek employment through the official bureau. He is pre^ vented also from moving from one town to another in search of work. Credit, the lifeblood of industry, is monopolised by Government-controlled companies or investment trusts. No business can borrow money from these trusts without State approval. A definite check, is put upon the expansion of every plant. Government permis* sion is required for the construction of branches of an established concern or the construction of new factories. An employer has no choice in the selection of his operating personnel. He must accept the wbrkers sent him by the official employment bureau. If business falls off, an employer cannot reduce hands wittiout incurring. liability for overdue liquidation payments to his employees proportionate to their length of service. 'And no unprofitable industry, may be discontinued without the consent pf the State..