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New Zealand Mail, Issue 1683, 1 June 1904, Page 61

Some months ago a letter from Durban. written by Mr Frank Cole (a brother of Mr William J. Cole, of this city), to show the bad state of commercial affairs in South Africa, was published in the “Times.” In a later letter (written last month) Mr Cole elaborates his former expressions of opinion. “The country,” he says, “is being brought to an awful state by these nien (the Rand capitalists). . . . They have caused work to cease at the mines; they will have their way at any and all costs. If things don t alter very soon, there will be some crash in commercial * circles. Money is as tight as it can possibly be, and at present there is no sign of things improving.” Newspaper clippings accompanying the letter show that for three subordinate posts in the Transvaal Sanitary Department nearly 500 applications were received; also that at Durban, in response to an advertisement offering one month’s employment for £lO, there were 284 applicants. In America, it seems, they have just got past musical comedy. The vogue, we are told, was exasperating; biit it is over. Good musical shows that would have run for months a year ago have failed m New York because musical comedy is played out There have been 20 musical productions in New York since last September: and most of these have already fallen by the wayside. They have taught American managers, we are assured, that the public is sick to death of the musical show; and American managers will look askance at musical comedy for a long time.