GREEDY GEORGE GOODALL

NZ Truth, Issue 150, 2 May 1908, Page 5

GREEDY GEORGE GOODALL

IN THE ROLE OF RICH LANDLORD.

His Scurvy Treatment of Joe Norman.

The Woes of a White Willis-street Fruiterer.

This mild-mannered, and" usually meek, Methodistical organ experiences quite a thrill every time it mentions the name of George Goodall, hash-keeper, of Willisstreet. George is a lively cuss with a sharp tongue, and when he sets out to deal stoush per pen he dips his nib m vinegar and gall. Indeed, the various harmless members of the staff of this religious rag have not quite recovered from the awful shock -they received some time ago, when "Garge" measured • pens. He almost annihilated us. He called- us for everything. He pictured us as beetlebrowed, blood-thirsty ruffians, he reviled us as if we were chicken thieves, he cursed us as if we were beer-soakers. He did everything but bless us. He literally tore our entrails out. He accused us of blocking up bars and monopolising ' the sweet attentions ,of Hebe. Then our glory seemed to have faded. The sight of two or more "Truth" fellows walking the streets m broad daylight did notseem to George as anything wonderful or inspiring. Dogs as of yore, there was no victory for "Truth,"' and there was no sting m dirt. Not even "Togo," poor, harmless, delicate, fastidious "Togo," the office canine, was spared. He was grossly libelled. He was described as a big red setter, a hungry, lean -sort of cur, receiving more kicks than caresses. Poor Togo, noble, well-bred, well-behaved arid well-fed Gordon setter, thdu, too, hast had to pay the penalty of being attached to poor, \ despised, but greatly-feared "Truth," -whose savage power -is wielded only for the good of poor, downtrodden humanity. Then came the blowing-out process. Without an effort, without being fully extended, we blew the little insignificant insect almost out of existence. He whined, he moaned, he almost apologised for being on the earth, and the poor deluded fellow actually, went the limit and- said he didn't mean it. This little outburst will be pardoned by the generous reader when the remark is ventured that "Truth" . is forced once again to tilt at the hashhouse keeper, and

OUR FEARS ARE PARDONABLE We hesrtate, but- are not lost. Regardless of all consequences, we musrt at him., "Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung." What matter if we are beetle-browed ruffians, or possess the countenances of chicken-thieves, we are. not, worse luck, landlords, and blood-suck-ing landlords, at that: We ' Will deal' once again with George von his merits, not that they amount to much, but just to let him know we ne'er forget, though we have long freely forgiven him. Now, m this city of Wellington, the white fruit-, erer, after a long, strong and hard struggle with the slings and iirro.ws of outrageous fortune m the shape of the Mongol, is just beginning to find his feet. In a word, he is holding his own with the Chow competitor, and right m the face, too, that the Chow has a big say m the fruit market. White fruit-shops are far more numerous 4 to-day than twelve months ago, and this) is pleasing to ".Truth," which all along has fought tooth, and nail for the cause that lacked assistance, which was the cause of the white fruiterer. The street-hawker came. llt constituted himself to the Chow-lover, a confounded nuisance, but the street-hawk-er more than held his own and bids Well to settle the Chinese fruit-shop question if he gets but a square deal. One of the most successful of these barro^r-men was Joe Norman, who, by. 'Strict attention, , civility and honesty,' merited public patronage and was enabled to get into a shop m Willis-street, which he fitted up at a cost (to himself) of £13 odd, and he straight-way commenced to do a thriving business, till the hungry and jealous eye of the landlord fell upon his humble store. Need it be remarked that Greedy George Goodall, hash-house keeper, was the landlord ? He drew up an agreement : stipulating the rental at £10 per month payable m advance. Well and good , thq rent was paid. "Garge" had no market i for a lot j

OF SOFT DRINK STUFF, and he palmed it off to Norman, who, by the way, hasn't been able to get rid of it to this day. The rent was met regularly. Norman was honest, he paid his way, and "Truth" wishes, for ttte v sake of the community, that it could say the same of Goodall, who runs up a£i bill with *Nprman for fruit and vegetables. Here it was that the shoe began to nip. "Garge" was so fixed up that if he didn't pay for his fruit and vegetables, Norman would deduct it from the rent, a^nd, moreover, Norman thought it just as well to pay Tiis rent weekly instead Gf monthly, and he accordingly proffered greedy "Garge" £2 10s per week m advance. "Garge" got the needle. He was bitten' badly by the bug of boodle, and 'to show his dirty spite humped the rent up another £2 per —.onth. . Tliis was a sort of ultimatum to pay or go, and Norman decided to go, and "Garge" was left without a tenant last Monday, &nd whether he will let it to a Chow remains to belseen. Now, "Truth" readily admits that a landlord, or sub-landlord, can do as he likes with his property, and so long as he does as he likes with a show of decency, no one will squeal. This is, however, the dirty part of it. George isn't a patriot. His "troubles about the : Qhow curse. He saw that Norman was building up a profitable little business, J*nd this got on the greedy one's guts, , or his. nerves, or his small mind, or somewhere, and he therefore decided that Norman would have to ' pay a bigger rental . or get ; of course., not forgetting that Norman himself forced George to be honest. WelL, the result is, Norman's business is "busted." He has gone out of the shop m much the same manner as other tenants have gone. George is ,too greedy by a long chalk. He wants to own the earth. This is all "Truth" has against greedy George Goodall this time, and some people will . be foolish enough to • say it is not much. This fact, however, must' noti be forgotten. In Wellington decent, clean-minded white folk are willing to suffer small sacrifices to drive the Chow and his filth and his vices out of the city. George Goodall is not one of the decent and cleanminded whites. He's greedy George all I the time. " ' ■ ■

HE GREW JEALOUS of Norman's : budding prosperity and turn* ed nasty, and the nastiest thing a landlord can do to a tenant is to raise either the roof or the rent, and G.G. adopted the latter alternative. In stronger terms than these we have before expressed our displeasure of Goodall and his various and not creditable • ways, and wo are- once again forced to the conclusion that his treatment ■of white ■ fruiterer Norman stamps G.G.GA as a rotter, and we fearlessly express that opinion, not m the least deterred by G.G.G.'s -wellknown literary abilities. He might slaughter "Spokeshave," burgle Byron, pummel Pope, dissect- Dryden or collar Kipling, he .might mix em all up m. a motley medley, he might point the finger of scorn at the staff, he might lampoon "Togo," he might >massacre "Miss Moses" (if he "had done for her callers . this week he would have done a signal service), m short, George might do anything from " bilking a servant to acting the rapacious, avaricious landlord, but our duty has to be done, and we accordingly present our compliments to George and m, measured tones tell him that he's more miserable than we erer thought him.