In the News

Southland Times, Issue 24460, 13 June 1941, Page 4

In the News

Out of a Hat

A newspaper reporter drawing the name of Mr F. W. Freeman from a hat settled the chairmanship of the Waimakariri River Trust at the annual meeting this week. There were two members nominated—Mr Freeman (last year’s chairman) and Mr C. T. Aschman—and each of them received four votes in a secret ballot. The decision to draw lots was readily agreed to. Mr Aschman said, resignedly, before the drawing of the lucky name, that he had never yet won a prize in an art union. His luck held. Mr Freeman was the winner. Spurious Half-crown Shoppers would be wise to give closet examination than usual to their change, as a spurious half-crown has come into the possession of the police in Dunedin, and there may be more in circulation. This coin bears an imitation of the British shield design, and on the reverse side is the head of King George V. This, and the fact that the colour of the metal is distinctly dull, should arouse suspicion, although the coin is mill-edged and has a fairly good “ring.” Profit on Ice-cream “Can you tell us what is the usual gross profit on the sale of ice-cream?” counsel asked a bankrupt milk-bar proprietor in the Supreme Court, Napier. The witness replied that it was usual to sell ice-cream, for about 100 per cent, more than the purchase price paid to the manufacturer. Some sellers made as much as 200 per cent, gross profit. Economic Effects of War New Zealand is not alone in suffering economic ill-effects from the war. The economic problems of some other British countries were traversed by Professor A. H. Tocker in an address to the Canterbury Economics Society. Malaya, he pointed out, was experiencing a boom in tin and rubber, and Ceylon was doing quite well in tea and rubber. Nigeria and Sierre Leone faced lower prices for cocoa, and a reduction by a third in the demand for palm kernels, with a lower price. Fiji found its copra almost unsaleable. Jamaica found the demand for bananas reduced to nearly half, and the price reduced by a third. Palestine oranges, representing a major part of the produce of the country, could not be exported. There was no sale in sight for Kenya’s production of coffee, and it was being suggested there that the Government should buy the coffee and store it. Canada had a manufacturing boom offset by the biggest wheat crop in history at a time when there was the biggest world surplus of wheat. Australia had the poorest wheat crop in many years, but prices to the Australian farmer were likely to be low because of the world surplus.

Sunday Sport at St. Andrews

St. Andrews, in Fifeshire, Scotland, a stronghold of Sabbath observance, is adopting Sunday golf, tennis, and putting. T'he town council agreed by five votes to four, after women had pointed out that members of the Services in the district needed healthy recreation. The debate was heated.

St. Andrews, a Royal Burgh since 1124, is a university town, and has been the seat of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, the legislative authority of the game. Censor’s Tribute A military censor’s tribute to the work in Greece of a Christchurch soldier was discovered on a letter to his mother written by Driver John A Mashlan. “Youi’ son has told his story,” says the censor’s note, “but he has not been able to do justice to himself. He was one of the heroes of tire Greek campaign and there will be a sequel. He is a son of whom you can rightly be proud.” In his letter Driver Mashlan describes several despatch rides he had to make on a motor-cycle. One of them was to go to a unit 25 miles away and return in an hour. He managed it in an hour and a-quarter over a road that he says was no more than a dirt track. He was entering Larissa when it wag bombed for the first time. He jumped into a slit trench with some Greeks, but when nothing happened in the next five minutes he returned to his machine and rode on. He had gone about a mile when a bomber appeared 500 ft over his head. A few miles further he ran into a Greek on a motor-cycle and went over a 4ft bank and on to a field. Getting on to his cycle again he continued. When he was passing a truck coming the opposite way he felt something brush his arm and was nearly thrown off. It was another truck doing high speed without lights. On another ride Driver Mashlan says he was machinegunned from the air, but he saw the tracer bullets coming, and jumped into a ditch. Taxi-driver Viscount A taxi-driver of Townsville (Queensland), Mr A. B. Davidson, aged 67, has become the Viscount Davidson of Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England. The title carries with it two estates and a baronial residence in Gi’eat College street, London. Eighteen months ago Mr Davidson was informed by a London firm of solicitors that he had inherited a “high title” because direct descendants had died out. Recently he received letters to the effect that he is now undisputed holder of the title and becomes the second Viscount Davidson of Little Gaddesden. Mr Davidson said that he drove a taxi to keep himself occupied. He was not really “hard up” because he was receiving an income from property in England. He has two sons, aged 35 and 33, who are working in the bush in Queensland. He has not decided to return to England and probably will wait until the war ends. Certificates for Bicycles

Certificates of fitness for school children’s bicycles will be issued, subject to the approval of school masters, by the Automobile Association (South Taranaki). Under the scheme, which is already in operation in the Auckland district, school patrols appointed by the association will inspect bicycles and issue certificates of fitness. Items to be checked are the brakes, white strip, seat height, bell, head cone, handle bars, reflector, axle cones and the tyres. The certificate will contain the name of the owner, the make of the bicycle, the name of the school at which the certificate is issued, the date of issue and the name of the examiner. Kerbs to be Painted

Because of the black-out, the New Plymouth Borough Council has instructed its engineer to paint in white, in 18-inch lengths separated by unpainted spaces of 18 inches, the side and top faces of all projecting kerbs on the footpaths at street corners and kerbs at tram stops, bus stops and pedestrian crossings. The engineer was also authorized to paint in white portions of all poles in dangerous positions and approaches to bridges. The total cost of this work is £7B.