Personographs.

NZ Truth, Issue 1055, 11 February 1926, Page 6

Personographs.

. / 7 POPULAR PIVOT OF POLITICS I C VERY three years, when he emerges from his official chrysalis to flit £ L nimbly about the political field, the public hears more about Deputy V Chief Electoral Officer Gilbert Graham Hodgkins than the usual head of J the Department. . ■ At election time ihis star shines-^-and shines very brilliantly— in ...its -. i heavenly course. ' ' '/.'■ 1 Let it be said that it is only such men as the "G.G.H." type that make efficient officers for such a nerve-racking and exceedingly exacting field of usefulness, because it is not everyone these days that can boast such a broad. *■ toleration, a fine sense of humor, an understanding of human nature, combined with a meticulous regard for detail, as Gilbert, whose official shingle graces one of the doors m the big wooden Government building. • ,: ; A pair. of kindly eyes that suggest an appreciation of the humorous aa ■ well as the aesthetic side of life look out inquiringly at anyone who knocks ) at his door. : .., i The eyes were the gift of his mother, but his hair has gone grey, possibly with work, possibly with tennis, as he is good at both. i G.G.H. is one of that rare: species of humanity that, simply could never i grow old. He joined the service about 35 years ago, has served as Registrar of Births, etc., and was appointed to his present position iii 1913. VVice: A couple of cigarettes a day, a happy smile, and courtesy for all and sundry. -.'''■ '■■■■■ L A .'

; MAN FROM DUNEDIN l r C SEN for a fleeting moment In Pittstreet, Sydney, recently, Ferguson B. Mason, one of the best-known Showmen m the Ricketty Isles. Years ago Ferg was the principal m the vaudeville team of ''The Two Kranks," trick cyclists, but with the , advent of a thinning thatch and" greater waist girth, he saw the error of his ways. , ' ' ' ■ - ■••.'-. i Nowadays he fits snugly Inside a i dress coat, and is an adornment to any theatre vestibule, while his knowledge of the motion picture business might measure up m print about equal to a year's "correspondence" from "Pro : Bono Publico." Despite the fact that Ferg. claims \ Dunedin as his birthplace, he is a ' genial soul, and the only Scotch m his make-up comes from Edinburgh m a glass container. • Sydney claims him for the moment for two reasons: (1) to obtain a little relaxation; (2) -to cast an eye on a commercial enterprise m which' he has more than a passing interest. STEELES SUBTLETY U C FEELE RUDD* is known to legions v 3 of Australians. His "Selecton" stories are perennially popular and any . Intimate close-up of the man who created "Dad" is chockful of interest. Arthur H. 'Davis, to giveHhe author his baptismal appellation, is a man m whom the gift of sarcasm is fully developed. At a dinner given by Brisbane artists recently he was asked to air his views on "Art m Australia." Davis was m good form, and his remarks were decidedly &e< trop. He stated that he was convinced Australian art would live for ever. This pronouncement . was loudly cheered, but there :\vas a period of prolonged embarassmeht when he added, "Yes, I'm sure, of it. I base my remarks on a Shakespearean quotation: 'The evil that men do lives after them.'" ' .

HIS GREATEST CASENEW ZEALAND'S finger-print expert is E. W. Dinnie, Chief of the Criminal Registration Branch of the New Zealand police headquarters. The son of a former New Zealand Police Commissioner, Dinnie has had i something like 15 years' experience m the study- and classification of finger- ,| prints. ; . ..,•■■■ ..-.-. ■> -'-'W: "--' •He underwent a special course of / • training at New Scotland Yard, the real home of the -finger-print system;: and it was there that he picked up. . the greater portion of his knowledge concerning the art. His greatest case, of course, was the Dennis Gunn murder m Auckland In 1921, when the finger rprint system was j completely vindicated. . V" „ > It was Dinnie's expert work, that was; ' really responsible for Gunn's convie- a tion, and his work was completely 1 confirmed by Inspector J. A. Fowler, at that time m charge of the New South j "Wales finger-print bureau. - ' ; A quiet, cheery man, many are the interesting stories which Dinnie can< ? relate concerning .his wbrk, 'and,;- like most finger-print ■experts, he' has made it a hobby as well as his work. 1 POPULAR "JOE" ASK anybody m Wanganui if he ljnows "Joe" Hayhow and he will immediately answer* "Yes." , "Joe" is m the employ of the Harbor Board and to him is entrusted the responsibility of seeing that all the boat's '-: are comfortably berthed. Though small,' "Joe" cuts a great V „ dash m his blue uniform when he is. attending to the heavhig. lines'. .-' : >' He knows to a foot how many coastal r < packets he can fit m alongside the Town Wharf. , . _ .:.;• ;■- --"Joe" is also the mainstay of cricket- * operations m Wanganui and gathers up the score-books after the matches with the utmost regularity. On the ' Nelson tour he was sent as manager : 6f';\ the team. ■' • ■ •-.-' •■■ :• ■ v---.-y '' \ 5... ' ■ .-.■''■■'■- ■ ■'.■ ■-'•'.-..;' ' . ••■• . '■"*

THE MAN BEHIND THE HOSPITAL SCENES V " THE administrative machinery that runs a big city hospital is as intricate;/ and delicate as the finest piece of electrical mechanism. • : ' > It is a man-sized job to keep the wheels working smoothly, m order;, that the maximum amount of efficiency may be obtained with the minimum amount of friction. Perhaps mno other field of work. in any country is the- ; ' line of demarcation between the medical profession and the clerical so-:, finely .woven, and, therefore, at times so difficult to define. It is not the board of the Wellington Hospital that is affected so much by this latter phase of the big institution it administers as the medical . superintendent and thatjinuch overworked and generally much -worried m- '"-• dividual — the secretary. ' Yet for some 16% years now Jack Coyle, that brisk, always busy, and- ■ exceedingly tactful person, , as secretary of the hospital, has managed to hold down his job and still remain popular -not only with the medical profession, but with everybody with whom he has come m contact. It is certainly a record to be proud 1 of. ■ Board members may come and they may, go, but he carries on, courteous, efficient, a fount of knowledge, about the institution and .a /never- failing : -> source of information tinctured with just the right amount of advice m the places where it is most needed. " Seventeen years ago the then Board, with rare discernment, picked him.-. v out of two hundred odd applicants for the position. . Succeeding Boards • have never had any cause to regret it. Prior to landing the job, Jack had served 15 years m the head , office of the Post and Telegraph Department. , What is perhaps of more importance still, he is New Zealand, born and bred, as were also his parents. He first saw the light of day at Qrakau, m • the Waikato, noted for the fact that it was there that the famous Maori . . football war-cry originated. ( \ ; . : A modest man, m spite of his apparently forceful and pushing personality, much of his popularity with outsiders has been gained through his weakness for helping lame dogs over stiles. And for this there is no place more suited than a large public hospital. ; .

MISTAKEN IDENTITY TIE indignity of it all! A lawyer is pretty thick m the hide as a rule, but a Christchurch accountant, named Edward Perreau, mortally offended the dignity of Mr. W. F. Tracy recently when replying to a letter sent to him by Mr. Tracy's firm. ' Perreau, a paternal grand-dad, was : called on m "Court to show why he * should not pay maintenance towards the upkeep of his son's children, the young hopeful having flouted an order of the Court. "And this is the sort of jnan we are dealing with," said Mr. Tracy with heat, t apropos of grand-dad, as he held aloft > the letter. ' An opportunity had been given Per- ' reau of dodging publicity by interviewing the lawyers privately and arrang- [ ing some settlement. L The letter extended the invitation. It was signed "Mr. Thomas" (m type) and nitialled by Mr. Tracy. But Perreau wasn't having any. He returned the letter with the following note scrawled on the back: • "WHI Mr. Thomas please sign his name. [ The letter appears to have been initial- , ed by the office boy." . No wonder Mr. Tx-acy breathed indignation. Office boy, forsooth! 'Twas indeed a bitter pill.

BRIGHTON BOOSTER J /*- APTAIN OWLES, one of the lead- fl \^ ing figures of New Brighton, the popular seaside suburb of H Ghristchurch, is a 100 per cent, booster for the little- burgh. If anything is needed, by way of advice or practical help, "Daddy" a3 he ' is known, is always on hand. •/•"- j Ha is fond of sport and his name 1 figures on the annals of pretty well I every sports body m the place. Bowl- 1 ing, croquet, swimming, cricket, trotting, and rifle snooting— he knows '< them all, and boosts them all. "Daddy" has lived m the burgh since 1885, and is more than a resident; he is an institution. He takes an interest m the local band and the lire brigade. He" has a finger m almost every* municipal pie there is, and that he cuts more than a piece of ice at the * seaside resort was shown last week when "Daddy" and Mrs. Owies were tendered . a complimentary social for t services rendered to the borough. All sorts of compliments were .. t showered on him and not a few gifts. He is a wise oavl is "Daddy" and a popular one.

A DEALER IN LIFE AND DEATH \ ; „'... . —. / ■ .. ;■■ ■ ■ \ IF any man can claim to see more of life every hour of the day than "Wilfrid Wulston Cook, let him step forward and give his testimony. i Better known as "Duxie," W.W.C. is the Registrar -General, automatically ■ a dealer m life and death, interested m- .every, woman's baby, every corpse 1 ■ and every newly-married couple setting out to fulfil both accomplishments. i ; At Te Aro School way back m ISSO, the R.-G. was "dux" of the school ' and obtained an Education Board certificate', the same year. t Wellington College old; boy, keen a l l- round sport and, a solicitor, "Duxie" is cheerfully on the lips of many friends m the service. } He was appointed to his present position m 1916, and goes about with a cheerful countenance that denotes the well-balanced inner man. ?