THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1912. THE COMPETITIONS SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15578, 7 October 1912, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1912. THE COMPETITIONS SOCIETY.

Wilts the Duncdin Competitions Society was founded eleven years ago there were not lacking those who quite expected to' sec it delivered into the hands of the Philistines, and nil the confidence and enthusiasm of ite promoters was required to bring it safely through t|ie trying period of infancy. The Society has, however, done more than merely survive. It has flourished and expanded. It seems |o have lived down criticism, and has to-day tho best justification for its existence that it could desire in tho supjrart of an 'ipproving public. It has also the satisfaction of having given a lend to a movement which has spread over tho Dominion. The annual festival in Duncdiu has become a local institution which is looked forward to and prepared for by no insignificant proportion of the community. Convincing evidence of the great interest taken in the event is afforded by tho great number of competitors who come forward, and by the rather remarkable measure- of sustained patronage which it' is able to attract. The Committee of the Society may be congratulated,' therefore, upon the position to which it has been ablo to bring an undertaking the success oi which could by no means be a matter of exact calculation, and on the ide:il which it has endeavoured to keep before it. It teems highly essential in the case of public competitions of tliia kind that iiotliing should be allowed to tlinut their main or educational purposo into tho background. Instituted to provide opportunities for the development of talent in a variety of desirable directions, it certainly should be no part of their design to provide merely a field offering temptations for exploitation on the part of those to whom the value of tho prizes to be gained constitutes their chief allurement. Tho local Society shows wisdom in seek-

ing no advertisement at tbo risk of encouraging that sort of thing, and in Jaying no undue stress on tho attractions its festivals present as mero public entertainmente. Tho enso for and against thoso public competitions lias boon often enough discussed, ami, while there may bo differences of individual opinion on tho subject, tho weight of argument in their favour, apart from tho public verdict, seems really to bo very considerable. Their educational value has been mentioned, and this reflects not only on. tho hundreds of competitors, but on the very much larger number of thoso who hear or witness their efforts. The moro listening to so many musical and elocutionary performances—of a standard, it may bo suggested, that is by no means to bo despised—must add to tho knowledgo of many and ought to improve tho judgment of all. Only the very superior person, indeed, would be unablo to derive genuine enjoyment out of much of tho work submitted, and that by reason of its merits, and tho fact that it is competitive work, must naturally add to its in* tcrest. Competition festival audiences seem to show themselves, as a whole, vory fair-minded in their approval, very ungrudging in their recognition, and very encouraging in their general disposition. With a proportion of the individuals wh* constitute tlicm it is, of course, not so. For reasons not far perhaps to seek they aro " not champions of Art at latge, but merely jcalons fanciers of, sonic particular artist," to borrow an apt expression from Mr Bernard Shaw. So much tho moro reason for tho judges, whoso task is surely most enervating and who aro engaged by virtue of their reputation as experts, to be gentlemen of a certain philosophy, As for the competitors who tako part in these, festivals, there, ought to bo no doubt that jf they submit themselves to the ordeal in a proper spirit, they will profit by tho experience, 'flic self-confidence of sorao may receive a not altogether unnecessary shock, and the diffidence of others may receive a desirable encouragement. Where few can after all be winnors, defeat, if accepted in a right spirit, should only serve as a stimulus to further perseverance among those who have tho determination to excel. A lest such as tho Competitions offer should ako serve to give many of thoso coming forward a better knowledgo of whether the ability they believe they possess in a certain direction is really worth cultivating. Tint when all is said, its best recommendation is that it calls for an effort in the way of preparation which, even if it may be misdirected, can never be altogether wasted. It is out of such effort in the way of genuine study and work that great icsuJta may emerge. It may produco a competitor whoso art is " too precise in every part," but on some raro occasion it may also produce one who reveals the real stigmata of genius. The Duncdin Competitions Society can claim to havo raised tho standard of what the public has como to expect from the competitors, and its present festival, which is the moro attractive by reason of the prominence given to events for school children, appears to bo proving a great success, Its years of " propaganda by deed " merit their reward in public support.