YOUTH OF TO-DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24413, 26 September 1940, Page 6

YOUTH OF TO-DAY

BETTER OFF THAN EVER LEANING ON OTHER PEOPLE MR SOLOMON’S CRITICISM “ The young fellows of to-day are a d d sight better off than they ever were. It is time that young cricketers and players did some thing to help themselves instead of looking to older people to help them,” said Mr D Solomon at the annual meeting of the Otago Cricket Association last night, following some criticism of the City Council over the rentals charged for grounds The discussion was initiated by Mr O. G. Stevens, who raised the question whether athletes were getting fair treatment from the City Council in the matter of the rentals being charged bv the council for playing areas. He moved that it be a recommendation to the incoming committee that steps should be taken to endeavour to get the council to waive the payment of rents for the playing grounds. “ Free ” Grounds Advocated Mr Stevens said that the association had paid £145 to the council last year. If that money had been paid into their endowment fund it would represent a fairly large amount. The speaker referred to the expenditure by the council on the removal of the muehlenbeckia creeper from Woodhaugh and also to the large amount of money spent on the flower gardens about the city, lover of flowers though he was. He thought it was the duty of the council to assist in every way to provide playing areas, so as to build up the physique and character of their youths. He thought they should approach the Rugbv Union and other sports bodies in an endeavour to get free grounds. Mr J. A. Robson supported Mr Stevens’s remarks, and said that all facilities for promoting sport in the interests of their young people should be provided free of charge, both by the Government and the civic bodies. It had been said that larger ground rents were charged in the north. To that assertion he would say that they paid far too much in the north. He had himself told some of the men in authority that they were “mugs” to pay these rents. Self-help Lacking Mr D. A. Solomon said he had listened with some impatience to the discussion. It was a definite sign of the times. It seemed to him that the people wanted the Govenrment to do everything for them. He would suggest that trying to do something for oneself had become unknown. The young fellows of to-day were a d d sight better off than they ever were. The argument was a ridiculous lot of nonsense. The people thought that they should be nurtured, nurtured and nurtured for ever. It was time that young cricketers and players in other sports did something to help themselves instead of looking to older people to help them. The young fellows of to-day were earning more money than had ever been the case in the past. They were now better able to pay into the endowment fund and better able to pay for their playing grounds. Mr A. G. Valentine said that he was not sure that anyone appreciated what they got for nothing.

After some further discussion Mr Stevens’s motion was carried.