Notes by the Way

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 3, 5 September 1923, Page 8

Notes by the Way

(By "Onlooker.") Strange are the ways of men i Some seek publicity; others shun it. Speaking tp a public man recently who complained that the Press rarely (or ever) reported him. I said he had no need to worry. Let some ot us look at, the history of King Tllt-Ankh-Amen. He had been dead and buried over 3000 years before he came into the lime-light, and the publicity department has at last given him plenty of space. So, no one need feol downhearted; it may take a thousand or two of years and they may get it some day, and in many cases if the Press reported some speakers in detail, there might follow murder or serious injury to some one. It is notorious tliat the Press of New Zealand is perhaps the fairest in the world, and few public men have cause to complain.

The football played last week between High School and Palmerston North was just great. You always hear more by taking notice, and practically the opinion unanimously expressed wag- "Why can't we have this class of football in our senior team s and interprovincial matches." The Rugby Union should seriously enquire as to the reason. Bess tjhan a thousand people to see Taranaki and Otago, and about six thousand to see the boys." One only expression on the latter match : "They are good, clean sports." Dame Rumor has many tongues and the sooner tho officials in charge of football in Taranaki will assert that most of the talk about a few individual members of the team, is not true, the better it is going to be for sport in Taranaki. It should be a great honour toi be a Hep. player, but a s one prominent player told the writer, "he was not proud of it" just now.

The writer picked up an old pamphlet entitled "The Shadow of Tammany," and the thought dawned on him, is the Council playing the game about tho proposed Town Clock. First they struck a rate to be- called a lighting rate, but someone put the boot into that scheme. Now an application has been made, and the request granted, that it be called a War Memorial, and the necessary authority is Gazetted and a further application for remission of duty has been made, before the loan is even voted on. A number of patriotic men and women formed a Committeo for a War Memorial and got tho scheme under weigh and the contriputors are going to be taxed willynilly for another memorial. Why not let the real War Memorial have a fair spin. Up to the present it has not got; tho money a real War Memorial deserves. Tliero are quite a! lot of people the Committee and Treasurer are waiting to hear from.

Men that, take a great interest iu the progress of our district are greatly* pleased at the wonderful prices being offered fcr butter a.nd cheese, but the financial people sound the waming "go slow, no boom "to follow."

It is well to take such statements that outside papers are publishing that Stratford raised £3OOO in a few hour 8 for a sport s ground as not correct. It wag really part of a loan, and the people who took up debentures did so on good security and at a fair rate of interest. Steady progress is what we want, and more settlers on the land. We must have producers and the more butter, cheese, and other primary products wo get for sale the better for us all. Big post offices; £16,000 bridges don't kelp at all. It i 8 die man on the land that is, and is going to bo. the saviour of New Zealand and make it the brightest gem in the British Empire!