BY THE WAY

Evening Star, Issue 21820, 8 September 1934, Page 2

BY THE WAY

[By X.T.] “ The time has come,” the Walrus said, “ To talk of many things.” “ The reason why there is so much talk about war to-day is that the world is ruled by child psychology,” says Dr Elizabeth Chesser, a Harley street specialist. “ The majority of the politicians have the psychological make-up of the adolescent. Indeed, very few so-called normal adults have passed the age of sixteen or seventeen from the psychological point of view.” Dr Chesser goes on to recall certain daring experiments in which Professor Huxley and Charles Darwin were found pricking a baby with a pin in order to record its reactions to pain. Wo must confess that the abridged cable outlining Dr Chesser’s remarks does not give us a clear understanding of all she may be intending to convey, although it will doubtless, be fairly obvious that the process of pricking a baby with a pin is> always likely to lead to a very lively war of sorts, and should therefore be discouraged. At first we thought she was about to amplify the time-honoured edict which has_ been known to sum np woman’s verdict on man, to wit: “Men are only children, after all.” But then by inference she continues by including women in her classification of those who, psychologically speaking, have not passed the age of sixteen or seventeen. That is very generous of Dr Chesser. It makes a more even distribution of the blame for the war-stimulating child psychology. However, we think she is on stronger ground when she says that the majority of politicians have the psychological make-up of the adolescent. The only trouble here is that, while politicians have generally shown a natural aptitude for starting warfare, they do not as a rule show any boyish tendency to take an active part in it. It will have been noticed, we believe, that young folks playing at soldiers invariably clamour to wield a wooden sword or some such weapon of offence. The average politician is no sword-bearer. His taste runs more to flag-wagging. Therein he shows a shrewdness, not usually found in the adolescent. * * * *■ Facts and fancies on the recent Nudist Conference in London: Behind some twenty feet of fence, . Where rubbernecks might not intrude, , There met in solemn conference The Unequivocably Nude. No foul hiatus marred that wall, No aperture, however small, Where Peeping Toms might stand. Reporters—vile, unhallowed crew 1 Retreated'at the cry of “ Shoo!” And cameras were banned. Ami yet, lest men should reprobate Their lack of customary dress, They ventured to communicate Some meagre details to the Press. Some clergymen, at seems, there were (’Twould make their congregations stare If names should be revealed!) . With Commerce, Medicine, and Law A Japanese, a child of four, Among the Wholly Peeled.

They talked on things of interest Connected with their lofty aim, As other people do, when dressed And-in their right mind—-fie, for shame! _ It’s narroAV-ininded thus to sneer At folk so nakedly sincere, So open in their ways. The difference ’twixt mad and sane Is not invariably plain In-these eccentric days.

They played some games—and, like enough (I’m venturing to speculate) They spent their time at “ Blind Man’s Buff,” As being most appropriate ; And then some tea —oh, dear, oh lor ! The salad had no dressing, for Such purists Avould have loathed To sit around the table in The bare integument of Skin Before a salad clothed.

And yet, in spite of them, I hold That, in Noav Zealand’s latitude The Aveather’s just a trifle cold For people absolutely nude; . And Avhere could we unhappy men Put handkerchief, and fountain pen, And baccy, pipe, and fags? One needs (since pockets -aren’t supplied With any normal human hide) A coat, a pair of bags! Besides— how could avc OA r er keep, If every living soul wore nil, Our drapers’ shops, our flocks of sheep— Or—blow it all!—a Avoollen mill? If Nudist cranks, or Doukhobors, Should land upon NeAv Zealand’s shores, They ought to be consigned To glaciers in the wild South-West Until .they’re reasonably dressed And in a proper mind! * * * * It seems that the Alsatian lovers have come too late to the rescue of their pets. Instead of writing to the papers at . a stage Avhen the Bill cui--tailing the activities of the breed avrs nearly through the House, they should have rushed in early and muzzled the legislators before the said legislators muzzled the dogs. Personally, avg must say Ave are well content to let present" developments run their course. The Alsatian has his uses. His intelligence nobody cqn deny. But, unfortunately for himself and his supporters. he has shoAVn a streak of the “ big, bad avo! f ” sufficiently broad to spell his doAvnfall. or at least curtail his OAvn liberty. His protagonist is delightfully ingenuous, Avhen he declares that sheep dogs are more frequently found Avorrying sheep than are Alsatians. He is quite right, of course. In a sheep district where we once lived sheep dogs Aver© much the greater offenders. But we should like to add that there were no Alsatians within a radius of fifty miles or more. As a tracer of , lost children the Alsatian may be just the dog, but the number of children who get lost in New Zealand surely does not warrant an excessive Alsatian population. Tho majority of parents, moreover, have reasons for belieA'iug that the Alsa-

tiau's treatment of children who are not lost may not be quite so considerate. For us and our children we prefer the friendly “ community dog ” to the “ one-man dog,”'which the big fellow is prone to become. * * * * The extent to which animal and bird life ignores Dunedin's status as a city is both astonishing and disconcerting. Time and time again during the last year or so animals, whose province has been either the wide open spaces or some place remote from the public gaze, have invaded the very centre of Otago’s capital. For instance, it does not seem long since a rabbit, all the way from the backwoods of the territory surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral, was seen doing its daily dozen and having breakfast in the Octagon Reserve. A little later an opossum showed up near the main street skirting the Woodhaugh Gardens. Less interesting visitors were the rat that was seen crossing Princes street and the chicken that marked time in George street. However, a real thrill was provided by the cattle that ran wild in the Queen’s Gardens and by the cow that sauntered into the shop of a George street mercer. Only the other day, moreover, a turkey put up a spectacular performance before making an unhappy landing in a bootmaker’s shop. It is when one hears of incidents like these and learns, per medium of the relief work activities assigned to the various > groups, how “ farms ” are now creeping into Suburbia that one hesitates to - believe that Dunedin is a progressive city. Basing our opinion on the present trend, we venture to suggest that the proposed new steel works are badly needed if Dunedin is to retain its reputation as an industrial centre. All animals captured henceforth should be herded on to the foreshore, where, failing the erection of; these works (which seem too good to’be true), they could form the nucleus of a zoo. We have noticed that a northern writer is not at one with the scientists who are trying to put a stop to the night noises of London, made up largely of those produced by motor cars. In his argument he works on the theme that people become so accustomed to city noises that they cannot sleep properly when all is quiet. He cites the ease of the city dweller who, determined to get away from tlie thunderous sounds of a great metropolis, flees to the country, there to lie sleepless night after night listening to the bellow of the crickets, the roar of the mosquitoes, the shriek of the birds, and the deafening chorus of the hens. His remarks recall also the war-time sketch of the touchy colonel who, while on leave from the front, could woo sleep only' when at repose in a cucumber frame, surrounded by a staff of servants who tried to imitate trench warfare on assorted tins and other appurtenances of the English home. * * * * As a matter of fact, it is true that one can become so accustomed to certain noises that it is quite a shock to the system should they suddenly cease. These, however, are sounds of the more or less rhythmic type. Thus the regular beat of a steamer’s engines can be infinitely soothing—so much so that; should a stop be called in the dead of night, many passengers would at once awaken. On land we prefer to be allowed to accustom ourself to peace and quietness. Somehow or. other, we do not find motor car horns conducive to ready sleep, and we object so strongly to be lulled into the arms of Morpheus by a vicious hack-firing motor cycle that we resolutely refuse to sleep. Unlike our northern friend, we think there is much, to he said for the London experiment, j * £ * * In taking the senior inspector of schools to task over a statement made by him in a recent address a newspaper correspondent denies that, in the treatment ot children, there is a force that uplifts. We must-say we agree with the inspector, who made it clear that on the occasions when it was necessary to apply .force it must be the force that uplifted and not the for.ee that crushed. It is our present purpose, however, to apply the inspector’s “force that uplifts ” in a literal sense and not to school children, but to a type of hoodlum whose impertinence and mischiefmaking propensities sometimes lead to liis appearance in the Police Court, The hoodlum may not be a had fellow at heart. His criminal tendencies may be nil. That being so, we have often doubted if his life'is influenced for the better when an overdose of so-called “ humane ” attention from the law follows one of his lapses from grace. Is probation desirable in his case? Does it not create in him a spirit of revolt against an irksome period of restriction and control? Does he not begin to think that, after all, there is something of the criminal in him? Is he going to tho “ dogs”? Our contention—-it follows, in substance, the remarks made by a magistrate last week—is that a good thrashing is what the hoodlum needs more than anything else. Literally speaking, there is a force thatuplifts. It is the weight of well-filled footwear that travels fast from the ground in an upward direction. This treatment has a great advantage over probation in that it makes a youth feel that he is nothing more dangerous than a plain, honest-to-goodness young fool. * * * * I will not yet Attempt a bet, Or try to pick The first to get To Melbourne (Vic.). Some silly sheep Might start a sweep On this event; But I shall keep My cash unspent. Each brute I back Upon the track Achieves no luck. He>’s just a hack Among the ruck. And seeking gains From backing planes Is just a chance No min of brains Would countenance. Some idiot May try to spot The winning flight. He’ll lose the lot, . And serve him right 1 I find no fun In being “done”'; But if I did, There’s only one That’s worth my “quid.” If ever I Should have a “ fly ’’ The one who most Attracts my eye Is Wiley‘Post. For planes may go Both high and low As suits the flier, But he (say, Bo.!) Is going higher!