TOO MUCH MONEY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 82, 3 October 1941, Page 6

TOO MUCH MONEY

YOUTHS IN TROUBtE

LIQUOR AND DANCES

"Some few years ago, when pleading I the case of some young men before this Court, I spoke of 'the tragedy of unemployment'; today I want to plead the catastrophe of employment; actualjly one of these lads is earning between !£5 and £6 per week. They think only in terms of money. It is- a stigma on the times in which we live," said Mr. N. T. Gillespie, at the Petone Court today at which two youths, aged 18 and 19, were charged with the theft of liquor from a car standing in the vicinity of a dance hall. Commenting on the case, Mr. A. M. Goulding, S.M., said it was one of the singular tragedies of today that young men, supplied with almost "-unlimited money, seemed to think of nothing else than drinking and dancing. They did not realise their duty to their own homes and the parents who had committed sacrifices for their sake*. They had too much money and got into idle ways. The young men, Brian Roderick Crawford and Don Selwood, were attending'a dance on September 2(3. They noticed a quantity of liquor on a car seat, worked the window down, and removed the liquor, which they and another youth consumed; The following night at another dance Selwood and the third youth were apprehended by the owners of the liquor. The case of Crawford was adjourned for a fortnight, to see if, as his counsel (Mr. D. M. Dickson) suggested, he could go into a> Territorial camp and remain there till called for overseas service. Selwood, an apprentice hairdresser, was convicted and placed on probation for eighteen months, with the stipulation that he was not to indulge in liquor during that time or attend dances for twelve months. Senior-Sergeant H. D. C. Wade conducted the prosecution and Mr. N. T. Gillespie appeared for Selwood. An application on behalf of Selwood for the suppression of his name was refused, Mr. Goulding stating that the Court took a very stern view of these cases.