POSTSCRIPTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 65, 14 September 1936, Page 8

POSTSCRIPTS

Chronicle and Comment

By Percy Flags.

Another thing that business needs is more orders from customers and fewer from the Government. 38 to 13! The Wallabies' Bledislo* Cup must have been full to overflowing. * »■■■,» Wireless for everybody is a nobl« conception, but the trouble is that ther* are still so many people who will have no place to park their radio. Opening the road from the kindergarten to the university is one thing, but teaching the users to think °i» another and more important matter. # ■ * * "I .like a dog instead of a woman,* says Mike Misanthrope, "because the d -d dog keeijs his mouth shut ■ sometimes." FUN IN THE ADS. This one appeared in the "agony" column of an English daily. UNKNOWN SOPRANO IN FLAT 3 —Shall be having bath tomorrow at usual at 7.45. Shall we try a duet from "La Boheme"?—THE TENOR OPPOSITE. / One, Fritz Studer, advertised for sale in a Wisconsin weekly a.1 machine of his own invention which he described as "Apparatus for making imitation counterfeit articles." What do you know about 4hat! # • « INQUIRY DEPARTMENT. "Landlubber."—The oldest steamer on Lloyd's Register is the Premier, th« Grand Old Lady of British pleasure boats. The Premier had her 92nd birthday last month. . Her skipper avert that.she will yet top the century. "Bunk's Kick" (Brooklyn).—A Philadelphia lawyer might decide otherwise, but here is'eur decision: When A gave B five points in and backed New Zealand to beat the Wallabies he was wagering, in effect,' that the All Blacks wotild prove at least .five points better than.their opponents. They did so, the score being 11 to 6 in their favour. . According to that reasoning A wins. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. Dear Flage,—Here is one that might cause readers furiously to think. I quote from "The Conqueror," by Ger- ■ trude Atherton: "The highest plane to which the human mind can attain' it that perfect love, friendship, and harmony, which subsists between two men. Women miss the best in lift .. .* The passage refers to the grief of . Hamilton when he lost his greatest friend, in action, during tht War of Independences He could not be comforted—not even by his wife. "Women miss the best in life"—well, Gertrude Atherton is a woman, and she should know. | ANON. . , #■■■■■■■» * CORONATION PAGEANT. Despite the complaints of New Zealanders (and others) of the difficulty of scouring seats on the route of the Coronation procession, it would seem that you require only a long enough bank account (and the .requisite patriotism) to enjoy a' dress circle view of the great event. "Ettrick" (Island Bay) . sends us an-ad. (overseas "Daily Mail,* August 1), which supports our point of view. It runs:— CORONATION Finest position in London. First floor flat with balcony, Pall Mall,' overlooking St. James's Palace Courtyard and Park. Balcony, seat 18 in comfort, 1000 guineas,s inclusive of refreshments, decora* tions, etc. Unrestricted view ot - entire procession. ■ ] '*' ■ Inquiries to ■ , ■ "^ 18 Green Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C.2, England. We add that last month a Greek syndicate offered £ 10,000 for a block of balconies which overlook the , route, but of all the owners only one was willing to sell. The others preferred to dicker with clients on their own account. •■* . • RAIN. When I first came to Wellington With hey ho the wind and the nun, I thought the rain was never done. For the rain_it raineth every day; And when I'd been here nigh one year. With hey ho the wind and the rain, • I cursed the rain with curse and tear, For the rain it raineth every day. And when I'd been here for years two score," With hey ho the wind and the rain, I thought it just a beastly bore, For the rain it raineth every day. But how I'm old and cannot see, With hey ho the wind and the rain. The rain,brings, listening joy to me, For the rain it comes not every day. I love to hear the rain's refrain, With hey ho the wind and the rain. To watch the swilling window pane, For the rain it comes not every day. So when I die my tomb will be, With hey ho the wind and thereto. Amid the rain in Ka-ro-ri, Where the rain comes nearly every day. PERCE CUTE. Another insult to Karpri—P.F. • * • PORTUGAL'S IRON. HAND.' Is the iron hand of Dr. Salazar, dtotator of Portugal, weakening? There have been sporadic revolts in the past, but they did not get far, because Salazar, who has been described a» the "most efficient dictator in Europe,"' has a drastic way with rebels. But the Iberian bloodfest may be stiffening up the opponents of Salazar; who plays a lone hand with almost' consummate skill. Salazar is a professor of economics. He has been virtually maeter of Portugal since 1928. Unlike his contemporary dictators he persistently remains in the background and refuses to imitate the parade and pomp which .mark other dictatorial regimes. There can be no question as to Sala- . zar's competence " and industry. In eight years as Finance Minister—he has been Premier as well during the last four years—Salazar has reformed the national finances, built roads and ports, brought order but of chaos, and added prestige to his country. But progress costs money, and as the Portuguese have an even greater .dislike t» paying taxes than other peoples, the. result is that the Portuguese • admire the dictator's skill but do not become his enthusiastic supporters. To keep in power Salazar must humour the army. This is not easy for, him, ba-;-cause he is a dour person who hates to temporise, and because the Portuguese army, is apt to be a little difficult to handle. Communism, too, is a growing force which is the more likely: to cause serious trouble, especially if the Spanish Government escapes ,ob-:. literation'. • Salazar seems to have; spiked the guns of the latest revolu-. tionaries, but indications suggest that: ho is facing a troublesome future. Like' the Fuhrer, Salazar* is unmarried.