Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14th, 1917. SUNDAY PICTURES.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 March 1917, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14th, 1917. SUNDAY PICTURES.

The poll for the election of Councillors for 1 he Borough of (ireymouth will take place next month, and, it we may judge from the motion passed at the Methodist Conference held in Wellington recently, and from the sermon preached in one of the local churclies last Sunday, the vexed question of the right or wrong' of holding Sunday picture entertainments will be a strong - factor in deciding' the fate ot the candidates who seek municipal honours.. It will be a great pity if such a matter is made the main platform upop which a member s fitness for

a soaf at the Connr-iTs table is judged. The dan o’er oi' pitting 1 one sent non ins Innoliter must In? studiously :ivoided, lor nniliiiig causes such rancour as the demon of sectarianism, (ireymouth lias suffered too much from it in the past to wish to bring’ jj to life aytiiu, especially at such a time as , Gie presen(• i’he best way of settling- tlie cjtiesiion of Nunday | pictures is by hiking 1 n referendum simultaneously with the poll tor the election of Councillors. The cost Would be very small, and the mutter would be settled ns j satisfactorily as such n controversial subject is ever likely to be decided. in the past, too much stress has been laid on the Sunday picture question, which is,- after all, only a side issue in the ntumcipal lue of the community. In j previous elections zealots on i either side forgot that on many occasions a candidate’s only virtue its a representative on the Council was that he was opposed to Sunday pictures, or was in favour of Sunday pictures, according 1 to the point of view of the electors. The matter is one that should not be left for the Council to decide, for by so doing 1 it gives the question an importance it does not deserve. When a side issue like the one under discussion is allowed to dominate the position, | men are returned to office whe I know absolutely nothing’ of munij cipal affairs si ml who care Jess. I The granting or refusing of a perI mit to hold Sunday pictures wil. not obtain for I lie Borough gooc

roads and footpaths, an adequate water supply, and an up-to-date sewage system- It is men win will try and make Cireymonth more like a modern city than it is at present that we want at the Council table. The people who have to live their lives in Greymouth are those who should settle whether ti will make for the welfare or otherwise of the town to permit pictures to he shown on a Sunday. It is not sound policy tc send a man into oflice pledged to vote blindly on any matter. That is the great defect of the party system where politicians are compelled to follow their leaders like sheep no matter what may he their own individual opinions upon the subject under discussion. It is not altogether to those who I enjoy life under conditions that I alienate them from the ordinary I temptations of life, nor is it to | those who are kept away from going to church by the Sunday pictures that the tolerant role may he a blessing, hut In the workers of both sexes who have, little time

for recrea I ion :iin! who on Sun (by evening; are not blessed with : home that has rhp attractions pos sessed hy those with a largei sharp of worldly wealth, to keej the young- people at home- Ti the non-churchgoer the right nos; of the ((Ui'stion does not enter- lit will not go to church whet he] there are pictures or not, and lit has his evening to put in somewhere. The (|uestion is whethei it is not hotter tor such as ho t< • spend a few hours pleasantly am profitably watching pictures tha have been carefully censored, 01 for him to find his way into some, more questionable place. Sureh Sunday drinking- and Sunday gambling- are more worthy of con demnalion than Sunday pictures ’ and these are not unknown in on: midst- It is on broad lines sue I as these that our citizens slioulc decide such a question. The mat ter may be summed up thus:—l; it not better to have young- peoph congregated in a public place that to have them wandering about it couples in unfrequented place; and dimly-lit streets 'i The polict should be able to give some valuable information on tbe matter and what do they say with reference to Sunday pictures!' The>

have /stated that the streets of Greymoiith on a Sunday night are tree from the hands of hoodlums that wander about the larger towns- The burden of deciding whether there should he pictures or no pictures on a Sunday should not he left to the Councillors, hut should he submitted to a referendum of the people. Ihe main cost would he the voting papers, which would he simple in form and contain nothing hut the plain ‘’Yes‘‘ or “Mo." W e want the very best men that we can get in our municipal life, and under the present condit ions such men will not come forward. Let the views of /the people interested he heard- ihe public press is open to them. Y e admit that the question is a eon, troverslal one, and we invite cor respondence on the subject- At the onset Jet us remind would-he correspondents on either side that abuse is no argument. Let each side state its ease clearly, and then when the election day comes the public can express ds pidgin cut either by means of a clamorous “Yes" or a resounding "Mo.