POSTSCRIPTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 49, 27 February 1942, Page 4

POSTSCRIPTS

Chronicle and Comment

BY PERCY FLAGE

If it is not a total war effort, it may end up in a total eclipse. * « * An expert is a man who decides quickly and is sometimes right. * * * X.: No, Melisande, the jitterbug is not an insect: it is a human being who acts like one. * #■:;■#> Then there was the Judge who said: "I haven't had a hard life—just sitjting on the Bench being educated by high-priced lawyers." ■ * * .♦ Did the Japanese know how things were going when they decided to enter the war? Did Hitler wire Tokio: "Come right in, the snow is fine"? ■*.■■■ * «■ LIMERICK. f , Another one— A Tommy from Somewhere in France Took Mademoiselle to a dance, But his French was napoo When she said "Parley-vous." Now for the last line. • **»• ' ■ ■ NORMANDIE. Less than two months ago a strange story was current in the United States about the great 83,000-ton French liner Normandie. The story ran that she was designed for easy conversion into the greatest aircraft-carrier in the world, and tha.t the United States navy was going to place her in commission as such. What a flocl? of planes the Normandie might have loaded. * ♦ ♦ LOOKING AHEAD. Our Bellrive returns to work. There was sunshine on the mountains The sea was a mistic blue Unreal the thought of danger * As I enjoyed the view. Yet I knew the foe are near our shore There is work to do as ne'er before. Oh . lovely land and lovely sea We will do our best to keep you free. So when the war at last is won, Clearly we'll here those words: Well done. MILMAY. » ♦ * . FOR WOMEN ONLY. It is Dr. Edith Summerskill, M.P. (England) talking to her sex: The New World must have women who will establish new standards. We need a new conception of the ideal woman. She should prize not only the outward graces but strive to cultivate a mind which will serve to interest and charm long after her physical attractions have faded. She should learn that companionship based on a communion of the mind is the true basis of a successful marriage. * # ♦ INTIMATION. Several inquirers may be wondering why their questions have not yet been answered in Col. 8. Explanation: There has been an unusual number since we resumed work in the middle of January. Further, a proportion of the questions is not always easily answered, as will be understood; this accounts for seeming delay. Finally, we are interested in this particular feature ourselves. Problem No. 2: Results will appear early next week. ■ ■ - . . * * « THE RETREAT FROM MOSCOW (No. 2). (With apologies to the shades of Stephen Foster.) It snowed all day the day they left, The weather cold and dry, The sun so hot they, froze to death. Which made Herr Hitler cry. Poor Shickelgruber, ' Oh how you cried to see Your plans all crashed, Your armies smashed, And no World Victor-eei ATOM. * ■♦•:..» information! Dear Mr. Flage,—Would you or one of your readers please be kind enough to tell me the value of a penny dated 1797, bearing the portrait of George III? Also the value of a penny commemorating Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The coin bears the head of Queen Victoria, King Edward VH, King George V, and the Duke of Windsor, then only a boy.—Yours sincerely, ONLY A SCHOOLGIRL. The honorary secretary of the New Zealand Numismatic Society advises that recent price lists show that the value of a 1797 penny, in very fine condition, is 2s 6d, and in extra fine condition ss. The value of the medal is not available, but the value of comparable medals, in copper, is about Is. : : . Thanks everybody. * ■«• ♦ SHELTERS. \ Modern war turns back the page To a prehistoric age— We have reached the "Cave Man" stage! Tunnels in The Terrace faceDugouts deep in cellar space— Trenches slit all round the placeTons of concrete! Yards of sand! There's a mighty job in hand Sinking man-holes in the land. This should hearten timid souls, They will be as safe as moles Now there are so many holes. Don't forget the folks at homeExcavate a catacomb, Or zig-zag the garden loam. You must learn to duck and div«, So if bombers should arrive You'll be certain to survive. I don't fancy getting hurt— And if there's a raid alert I'll be first to hit the dirt! H. GALLAGHER. Island Bay. * # » PETROLEUM OR WHALE OIL? Whether New Zealand is, or is not,, petroleum bearing remains in doubt, despite recent high expenditure in boring for oil in Taranaki and Gisborne districts. But one thing is certain: the three Taranaki oilwells at Moturoa, New Plymouth, have supplied oil continuously for nearly ten years past: The late Mr. E. M. Smith, M.P., and others were great enthusiasts, and believed oil was there, and, largely due to their efforts, throughout long years oil was found, although signs of it could always be seen on the surface, and thereby hangs a tale. "Dicky" Barrett, the whaler, made his home in Taranaki, when the Maoris ruled supreme, before the general European settleemnt began. His "try-ing-out" place for rendering down the whale oil was at Moturoa. In.a heated argument between oil optimists and j pessimists in the early days when small results indicated that oil was possibly there, one pessimist remarked with profound conviction: "All I can say is that the only oil they will -ever 1 get at Moturoa will be the oil that Dicky Barrett. spilt from his .'trying pot' when boiling down his whales." Ad. H.