Citizens Say

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 806, 29 October 1929, Page 8

Citizens Say

(To the Editor.)

ANTI-BUS Sir, — The bunglers arc still bungling’. What can we expect in the way of improvements in transport, and making transport pay? Take the Stanley Street loop, for instance. I consider it a disgrace, both in construction and as to its present situation. There is an old saying, “While Auckland sleeps . . The public has been asleep for so long it has become almost permanently comatose. Wake up, Auckland. Open your eyes and make use of your grey matter. Discontinue these bus services which have run us into debt ever since they were started! ADVANCE. THE TRANSPORT BOARD Writing on the subject of the increase in tram fares, your correspondent "A.M.K.” gives your readers some statistics which are no less instructive than startling, and more information from the same pen should be welcome to the people, who are in the dark as to the actions of that autocratic body, the Transport Board, the members of which appear to think that people who live in the suburbs do so for the joy of having to ride in these ponderous, slow-moving, and airless tramcars. They might with equal reason make a charge for using a longer footpath to reach one's home. After all, tramcars and footpaths are to enable one to travel with greater facility, though there is not much difference in the matter of speed. With the announced increase in fares, it will pay residents in second, third, and longer sections to hire taxis to bring them into town, thus getting comfort, service, and civility. Surely this last move will teach the ratepayers what to do when they have a chance of dealing with this cabal at the ballot-box. N.Z.M.R. WRESTLING BROADCAST Sir, — Now that the wrestling season is close to its finish. I would like to have a word or two about the broadcast of these bouts. On several occasions I have listened in, and on each occasion I have been disappointed. The technical expressions of the ringside announcer are excellent, but whenever an exciting

part of the bout is reached, the description is lost in a maze of the announcer’s comment. For example: Last evening a Maori appeared in the ring in typical Maori colours—green tights, red belt, and so on. “Well, gor blime: get an eyeful of this,” came over the air to ~ the startled listeners. That was all right. Later, two Indians, Kasha Bana and Ranchood fcSukha, were announced. “Well,” called the announcer. “I will call this one ‘banana’ and the other one ‘sugar-;’ then T won’t become mixed up. How pleased the contestants would have been had they been able to listen in as well as wrestle! During the evening a friend of the announcer apparently appeared alongside the “mike.” “Hullo cutie,” came floating across on the air. Well, sir; that might be all very well to those who enjoy it, but I was among those who were listening for a picturesque description of the wrestling, so that I could tell how the parties stood in the ring. Filled with expressions such as: ‘ 000 gee; what do you know about that?” and “Well you beauty,” wrestling broadcasting conveys nothing to me. PIRATE. PRIMITIVE MAN Sir,— - _ v ‘ as very interested in your rep°rt of Mr. Shaw’s lecture on the mlnd ' appears to me that men such as Levy Bruhl are in a rather unscientific position by maintwein S H he fundame ntal difference betueen the primitive mind and ours. thinks ’f n aintams tllat Primitive man from US ts A ai?n ® r totaJl y different tiom us that he is incapable of logical reasoning—and that be is really pr°logical in mentality. But this Anot borne out by facts. Primitive life recognise that the savage thinks—that he argues and makes de! auctions and inferences from certain premises. The fact that he arrives at different conclusions from cure o! any set of facts is quite immaterial for we are discussing ihe savage’s processes of thought. To understand those processes, we must heir . tinually in mind the c“tions of hU environment and the resulting content of his knowledge. Every tribe of human beings, savage or civilised has a varying culture. win '' ~ ’ cause of the varying environment'll conditions and premises on which be-

lief is based. Human experience in a certain environment is interpreted in terms of human knowledge from xa nen certain premises are drawn, and those premises give birth to a train ° finite logical and rational processes or thought. From varying premises, varying conclusions will result by exactly the same processes of thought. And because the savage arrives at a conclusion on certain facts of experience, different to our conclusion — Because beginning in different premises based on different degrees of 'noivledgc that does not demonstrate ' aria tion in the logical processes 01 thought between them and us. or s'.,- \ hey . , are irrational or illogical n their thinking compared to us. Knowledge, from which we can onl-' trame our premise, depends on experiMVlf’ "'’j o * l in turn depends on «C. monment; and a true scientific afci AAA. 111 interpretation of 1 sfmMi mentality must recognise a natfill causal connection between that . x n onment and the processes of humM j,, 1 ”. 1 "®' Man is a natural causal pro duetion, and a scientific studv of H?2?S n - m .?, ntallty cann ot recognise any .H'c kind” between primitive and citihsed man's thinking. It is only along these lines that we ourselves ~' a form a rational interpretation of ,?o7i<.? onfllC !L bet ween primitive man's ~ ideas, as conclusions of j with modern scientific ideas, rit as , conclusions of thought. Dif- , :Sf nr knowledge of causes gives us different premises on which we interpret experience. But both interpretaaro logical and rational from L' .r respective premises, although the final conclusions are vastly different. PROFANUM VULGUS.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENT HU ’" a St ’. Mhile sympathising tv it h P°A nt °f view, we cannot publish Vhe t<?r ’ as - ,he verdict returned in ,- , .'-ase mentioned precludes our pubhshmg letter which might he regarded as defamatory to the person who was acquitted—Ed. The Sun.