LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17853, 6 August 1921, Page 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CHT7RCH ANT) THEATRE. Sir, —While members of the acting profession are justified in resenting anysweeping condemnation of them and then art. they should remember that they then: selves axe seldom quite fair to modern clergymen when thev dep'ct. them on the stage. Waiuku. " J C. FrsSKt.l,. AUTOMATIC TELEPHONES. Sir,—l think most of your rcadcis »rn use automatic telephones" will agree vitn me when I suggest thev he returned to the country from whence thev came, labelled l not up to sample." f" r of course we | must perforce take it th. . were purchased ;.rom sample. The :-:-,-'.,, n e department i nave made a very bid deal indeed in buvj mg these telephor.es. because it is patent | U> every user that they are quite unre ! hable, and should be taken out of use at • the earliest possible date. Cmv.vs. MODERN DANCING. Sir—l httie thought when 1 ror.tn- ; buted my short ite-n on the modem j dance, that I was gl , Ulg Cume , n , or I such strong cnti< ism from Mr. McNeil IHe pes a Fig wav back when le ""-*** "- »Ml.:,ral ;,, ~u;,l of M.riap. dancing. He might aiso have quoted King David and many other?. But had he taken the trouble* to read the head mg of my letter he would see that it re . ferred entirely to the rnod-.rn r r mixed dancing as practised at present. Mr. McNeil also wishes me to tell ham the ■ names of the districts where the sr.se people live who do not dance. I never stated there were any such districts, hutmerely regretted this tact that dancing 1 had taken the place of more intellectual pursuit.,. W RoSS Morcuigside. | AUCKLAND V -PRINGBOK> ! Sir, —Last year Fd»u Park was Dot con- ■ sidered good enougn fjr the Auckland I We!!n;gt.,:i ma»vh. and y.-i tlie K#-;,\ Union pn pose to play the Springboks' ; match there, when the attendance will be ; enormous. Anyone with recollections ul ' the English matches played at Al&anura I Park will know that Eden Park is iota*}/' : unsuitable, and that the Doma-n is tus place for the spe< lators to all see tfc-. | match in comfort. Perhaps it is unfe. • 1 tunate that the union can only chanre * I fixed price for the Domain, but thev rnuet remember that the public like to see the match they pay for. and what chance Las a person nf seeing the play who arrive* on the Eden ground after one o'clock"'

Sir,—-As a cricket club stand subscrily.I 'nouid beg to suggest that the stand ! sbuuid he reserved for subscribers only, j up to h specified time duly advertised. I At, present it seems to be open to one I and all. With the Auckland v. South African match fixed for Eden Park, and I the certainty of a record crowd on that. | occasion, it seems only fair that the regular subscribers should have this consideration shown them, and the stand reserved up to a specified time. On various occasions this football season I have been present long before 3 p.m., and found I the stand crowded. non-subscribers, from ! ray personal knowledge, being well to the 1 ! fore. The guarantee given with the . j membership ticket is that the st-and shall 3 I be specially reserved at ail times for sub y I scribers only, but this has never been s j honoured. Ii set-ins to me thai now is 1 j the time for members to assert their 1 j rights, and insist that no non-subscriber * j 1* admitted prior to a specified time 6 i The association must play the game, and i honour the guarantee given with the j member's ticket. Subscribes.

j - WATERSIDE LABOUR. j Sir, —Yes, my esteemed friend, Captain ! Colbeok, 1 will always champion an ! honest worker's cause when he is being [ unjustly belittled by modern Solomons, , who speak hrst and invariably think after j wards. If my memory serves me rightly, a Captain Coibeck stated at a Wellington conference, in severe military language, thai the Civil Service must be ieduced, irrespective of sentiment or anything akin to it, as the cost of production must be reduced at ail costs, and he was followed by another member stating " that all the useless members of the Civil Service should be put on the land." Captain Coibeck has ;it last comprehended that the Wellington Harbour Board is relieving shipowners of doing their own legitimate work, and is a_;ain diving into figures which are about as complicated as a recent cheese conundrum. Captain Coibeck finishes by itating that nis imaginary " permanent staff could have a holiday now and again and still be in pocket." If he is goirg to treat it as liberally as he intends doing with the Civil "service. I am afraid the " permanents " will be very much out of pocket Why is Captain Coibeck playing to the gallery so much, which 1 detest? August 5, 1921. P. VnmrE. AN OTAHUHU PETITION. Sir, —A petition to the Speaker and "House of Representatives, promoted by the Otahuhu Trotting Club, is being largely circulated for signature by the general public. One clause of the petition, referring to the club's grounds at Mangere Crossing, reads as follows: — "' The c'.ub's grounds are extensively used for all branches of outdoor sports, including football, cricket, tennis, croquet, and bowls, for which no charge is made l\y the club, and that it is really the only recreation ground in the d:6trict available for those purposes." Another clause defines the term " district" to include Otahuhu, Mangere, Papatoetoe, and East Tamaki. I would like to point out for the benefit of those who prefer to sign truthful documents, that within, at any rate, the past 18 years, to my own per sonal knowledge, no cricket, tennis, croquet, or bowling has been played upon these grounds. Another clause in this petition states that there are clubs in existence which have been unable to find other grounds for the purpose of the above-named games, and are dependent on the Otahuhu Trotting C';ub. To this I would reply that there are no clubs formed for the purpose of playing cricket, tennis, croquet, or bowls, whi'h are seekin- privileges from the Otahuhu Trottiog Club. To the statement in the petition that the above c'.ub's grounds are really the only recreation ground in the district ! available to the public for the above | sports, I would state that Otahuhu, Papa.toetoe, and East Tamaki do possess excellent clubs and spacious weU-laid-out grounds for tenn:s. croquet, and bowls, and also ample public grounds suitab'e for cricket and football, and may T add also that the residents in this district are both ready and willing to pay for their games as they do at the present time, and have done for a long time past. _ The name Otahuhu Trottinj Club is quite a I misnomer, as very few people here are ! identified with it." Probably, therefore. j the above mis-statements are practically ' due to the club's ismorance of the dijtrirt I whence it takes its tit'e. I am net writ- | ing as an opponent of horse races or trot[ting matches, for in moderation they are ; enjovable and healthy amusements, but T I can only recret that a certain se-rion of j their .followers are so easily unba'aneed as j to derive harm and rot jrood from this i recreation. I am writing thus be'-anse on ! Sturdav last I called the attention of an ! official of the club to the statements in j their petition. He acknowledged tbev ' were untrue, and yet to-day the same peti- | tion is sti'l in circulation. 7 am sure T 1 am representing the vast majority of the j residents in this district when I say that ! they strongly object to a widely n'rc'lated i petition statinc that they hive neither I clubs nor grounds for cames. H. Mason". The Vicarase. Otahuhu.