THE COMMON ROUND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18556, 17 May 1922, Page 2

THE COMMON ROUND

By Wayeaheb. An Ohio man, who died recently, left 100,000dol to a girl who had refused to marry him. Gratitude is, it seems, not entirely a lost virtue. The world is moving at the rate of 66,600 miles an hour, more or less—l don’t guarantee the figures. Trouble, nevertheless, manages to keep up with her. The dismal as Carlyle called it, must be coming into its own. “A Knowledge of economics is the individual’s best asset.” So a correspondent affirms in the columns of the Daily Times. If .he is correct, the popular notion is all wrong. It has been commonly believed that good health is the-test asset which an individual can possess. But most people d 6 not know much about economics. Perhaps that is why they do not realise what a tremendous asset a knowledge of the subject is.

“ Eggs are three shillings a dozen. Why, it is monstrous!” So paid a unidn official last week in ! indignant protest against the decision of the Arbitration Court to prune the cost-of-living bonus. It almost looks as_ if the hens were “ going slow,” or it might have that appearance if it were not for'the fact that so many hundreds of people insist on eating hams and- eggs and in consuming eggs in other forms and in thus creating a demand for this article of diet. Now that the price of eggs is mentioned. it occurs to me that poultry is much higher in price ‘than beef and mutton, and that champagne continues to be quoted at a big figure. And, of course, nobody must be expected to forego’luxuries even when prices are high!

From a discussion in the House of Commons upon education:

Lieut.-colonel Hurst; In mid-Victorian times the people took a lively interest in Kossuth and Garibaldi, whereas 'now ' the only celebrated foreigner with whom the mass of tbe people were acquainted was M. Georges Oarpentier.— (Laughter.)

Mr Jack Jones: What about Jack Dempsey ? (More laughter.)

This involves a certain injustice to M. Lenin and the ex-Kaiser, but they hardly stand on the same plane as Carpentier and Dempsey, and one cannot imagine that people would assemble in sufficient numbers to see them pummelling eabh other to warrant a« purse of £75,000 being divided between them. That is, however, whaf is seriously proposed in th© case of Carpentier and Dempsey, When on© comes to think of jt, if one wants his son to become a wealthy man, the best thing to be done with him is to make him a blacksmith or a bush-whacker in the first place, and have him trained in the second place as a pugilist. Brawn is ousting brains as a money-making proposition.

Perhaps a loser’s share of £75,000 is worth the ignominy and pain of being battered temporarily out of recognition in a few minutes. An old adage says the love of money is the root of all evil. An English paper has been cataloguing some of the things that are due to it: ' It makes men fat. It makes men thin. It makes them eat too much. It makes them eat too little. It makes them drink too muoh. It makes them teetotallers. It makes them marry It makes them refrain from marrying. It makes them reckless. It maket them mean. It makes them rich. It makes them poor. It makes them politicians. It makes them indifferent to politics. It makes them patriots. It makes them judges. It makes them thieves. It makes them specialists. It makes them nervous wrecks- If makes them archbishops. It makes them miserable sinners. It makes them moneylenders. It makes them borrow from moneylenders. It makes them bet. It makes them eschew betting.

What is known as a Community Sing has attained a wide measure of popularity in Wellington, as is' proved by the fact that the large Town Hall has not been commodious enough to accommodate all the persons. desirous of participating in this form of making , a joyful • noise. The idea of community singing is spreading, moreover, from Wellington to other. centres in the North Island. It has not so far penetrated deeply in the South Island. It seems worth a trial. The ‘lsing” in’ Wellington is held once a week—on Wednesdays—between 12.30 and 1.30 p.m., when large numbers of people have some time to spare in their luncheon hour, and when both those whoso luncheon hour begins at noon and those whose hour begins at 1 p.m. have an opportunity of participating. The theory—it is quit© American—is .that the act of singing contributes to cheerfulness of spirit and that a great many people, who would shrink from getting up on a platform or in a room before company will readily enough join with, a ' f large number of others in singing and will derive pleasure from doing so. This supplies, no doubt, an illustration of what is called mass psychology.

It may assist to an understanding of what a Community Sing is if some mention is made of the procedure that is adopted in Wellington. A leader is selected for the day. He should be a person of musical knowledge, possessed of a sense of humour, who is capable of directing and controlling the programme for the day, which is selected either by himself or by the committee, with liberty to the “community,” to suggest. special numbers. The leader is assisted on the platform by a pianist and perhaps by a few vocalists, such as might be provided in Dunedin by the Male Choir, who will sing over a-verse of a selected song in order that the “community” may know how it should be sung, where there should be a pause, where the emphasis should be laid, and so on. A sheet programme which is used in Wellington contains some 20-or more songs or choruses, but the number may be extended almost indefinitely. It includes such songs as “Land of Hope and Glory,” “Home, Sweet Home,” “Killamey,” ‘The Swanee River.” “My Ole Kentucky Home,” and ‘-'Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes,” all of them well known, and a few humorous songs, such as “Three Black Crows,” which are found to bo very popular. The leader works up to a good, effect by trying a verse over with one section of the “community,” then with another, and finally with the full “house,” and, if the song\is one that possesses no difficulty, a rousing chorus is secured in the end. The -programme ends with a verse of the National Anthem, and, though the. Sydney Labour Council might disapprove, this is a number which everyone knows and is able to sing, and it brings the programme agreeably, as well os appropriately to a close.

The sentimentalists in our community have been moved to remonstrance against a sentence of seven years’ imprisonment which was passed last week on a prisoner, a fugitive from justice, who had pleaded guilty to three charges of breaking and entering premises, committed while he was at large. In all probability their feeling of sympathy with the man in his present plight is more or less due to the fact that he is one-armed. A one-armed person, however, who carries dynamite about with him for use in the destruction of property. as this man did, may be a far greater danger to society than a man possessing both arms and not similarly provided with explosives. Is it not possible that we are becoming rather mawkish in our attitude towards crime and towards those who are’ guilty of crime? Our consideration for convicted persons extends not only to the release of* first offenders on probation—a practice which has no doubt been completely justified by results —but, in,certain cases, to the removal of the protection that used to be afforded to the community by the publication of the names of, offenders; and whenever a sharp sentence is imposed there is an outcry against it bv persons who cannot possess the information relative to the prisoner that is at the disposal of the court which imposes the sentence.

The agitation which was worked up in Melbourne over the Gun Alloy murder case was so recent that it will be recalled by everv person who reads the papers. The conviction and the death sentence led to appeals to the Full Court in Victoria and then to the High Court of Australia, and when these appeals failed a campaign of intimidation was begun. Threatening letters were sent to persons who gave evidence against the prisoner and to members of the legal profession who were engaged in the prosecution. One of the witnesses is said to have been fired at in a Melbourne street at night. Political wires were pulled in the effort to avert the exaction of the death penalty. The story goes that the Leader of the Opposition called on the Chief Secretary in order to intercede with him, and was confronted with evidence which had come into the possession of the Crown after the date of the trial and which was of such a character as. supplementing the evidence presented at the trial, would have so convinced the jurors that they would not have hesitated for ten minutes about their verdict. This of course presupposes the intelligence and honesty of the jurors—-which is another question. The point is that people who are gravely upset about sentences on criminals do not alwavs know as much about the facts as enables thc m to form an accurate judgment. Or' they may be specially interested persons.