The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1928. “OUT OF TOUCH”

Southland Times, Issue 20496, 26 May 1928, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1928. “OUT OF TOUCH”

To incur the envy of Auckland is to have achieved recognition. When Southland set out to enjoy itself at May Fair it did not entertain any hope of attracting the attention of the Wonder City of the North, but this it. has done nevertheless. One fortunate citizen of that favoured spot which has New Zealand for a suburb has written to the newspapers there to comment on the opening at which

15,000 Southland inhabitants and visitors gathered to hear speeches on the opening day and some of these speakers were extremely vulgar, of the coarsely-humor-ous type.

The writer signs himself aptly “Out of Touch” and quotes from a description oi the crowds in order to show that there was much noise and merriment, presumably of “an extremely vulgar and coarsely humorous type” and then proceeds in a lofty tone:

I understand that cheerful music is a stimulant and the enemy of depression, but that discordant noises and vulgar romping can encourage trade I greatly doubt. America leads the way in such childish, undignified displays as this, and that it should be an example to be imitated by us is to be dreaded. A carnival can be made beautiful and joyous if the rowdy, noisy element is sternly repressed, and it is to be regretted that the foolish excesses of “capping day” should be quoted as offering relief for bad trade and unemployment. I should like to see a well-organized, picturesque and graceful carnival in Auckland to give young people pleasure and provoke a holiday spirit, but I hope there will always be local condemnation of noise and nastiness.

The organization of a nice, proper carnival in Auckland has yet to be undertaken. We agree heartily that all nastiness should be excluded, though it is first necessary .to define what is “nastiness,” the 'term is so loosely applied and what may be nasty to a superior Aucklander might be quite pleasant to an ordinary citizen of the world, while our ideas of things which should not be done would probably clash with the Aucklanders’ notion of good behaviour. But if Auckland proposes to hold a carnival without noise it is going to achieve something greater than its Civic Square and more remarkable than its own vanity. Invercargill doubtless will watch the Auckland effort when it is made, and probably the local May Fair Committee will submit its 1929 programme to Auckland for censorship before it does anything next year. It is possible, however, that the whole of New Zealand will wait breathlessly, and even a little skeptically until Auckland has shown that it can hold a carnival, “picturesque and graceful” or just a plain week of good fun. In the meantime Southland apologises for its “extreme vulgarity” and pleads its distance from Auckland as its excuse.