AGRICULTURAL SHOWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23685, 17 December 1938, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS

UNDESIRABLE GAMES THEIR ELIMINATION SOUGHT (Special to Uailt Times) INVERCARGILL, Dec. 16. The Southland Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union to-day decided to support the action of the Southland A. and P. Association in ridding shows of undesirable games. Certain types of games were objected to bv Mr D. H. O'Brien, who said that he was not complaining against legitimate sideshows, but was up against "confidence men." The speaker's small son had, under strong persuasion from a showman, rolled down a ball for which the showman said he was entitled to £l. Before giving the boy £1 the showman had asked him to show that he was financial. The boy thereupon produced 10s which he was carrying. Further persuasion resulted in the boy having another' roll of the ball, and the showman recaptured the £1 and also took the 10s. A man alongside the boy said that he had lost £5 in that way, and another man was poorer by'£ls. Mr O'Brien said that he had no sympathy with adults who lost their money in that way, but it was different with a boy. The police had said that they could do nothing about it as once the boy had rolled the ball they were powerless to interfere with the result. Mr O'Brien recommended that at future shows such games should be placed in an enclosure and children warned away from them. As secretary of the Southland A. and P. Association, Mr A. L. Adamson, who is also secretary of the Farmers' Union, said that the association realised that there was a grave danger of " spielers " being on the ground, and had asked the police to keep a careful watch. The association had advertised that a certain ball game was barred, but the showmen took no notice of that. The association had consequently asked the Police Department to eject those conducting such games, and they were immediately stopped. There may have' been a few later "outbreaks," but on the whole the matter had been effectively dealt witn - , *u„ Mr G. R. Herron, who was the association's representative in supervising the sideshows, said that the association did not license the sideshowmen. The men paid for space and did not give a description of their intended activities. They more or less defied the association, and some of their doings were difficult to detect. It was likely that within the next 12 months much of the trouble would be eliminated.