FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 996, 12 June 1930, Page 10

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN.” LETTER BY LETTER A stands for “Arrah!” —an Irishman's cry When major disasters appear. R is the Reason why both you and 1 Are talking- of spillway and weir. A comes again, and this time it’s the Awe That we feel at the price we must pay. P is the Power that today is no more. After two years or so of delay. U are the Users of words impolite When they find they are left in the dark; N is the Nuisance of limited light. And the way we express it: A Narkl I is the Ink that is certain to flow When public demands become heated . . . And now we must end this recital of woe. For the ill-fated word is completed. M.E. ROYALTY. LIBEL Few royal personages have experienced greater vicissitudes than those which have come the way of King Carol II of Rumania. Though Continental biographers are now at pains to present his career in a glamour of romantic adventure, there was a time, a year or so ago, when they vied with each other in berating his mode of existence and his unfortunate little affaires de coeur. On one occasion Prince Carol sought relief from his worries in England—a popular rendezvous f-or fugitives and others since the days of the French Revolution. A London newspaper has cause to regret this visit for it launched an unfounded attack on his Rumanian host who subsequently sought redress in the courts. He obtained it to the tune of many thousands; meanwhile the young man round whom the trouble had revolved, sought seclusion in Belgium where he remained until his call to the throne. “O.V ASSIGNMENT '• Though the lives of New Zealand journalists are sometimes colourful and even exciting, they cannot lay claim to the variety of experiences that befall their American cousins in cities where scientific lawlessness is a recognised occupation. Nevertheless they can sympathise sincerely with the relatives of Albert Lengle, of the “Chicago Tribune,” one of the largest newspapers in the United States, who was shot down while boarding a train. Lengle was “on assignment” at the time, which means that his journey was to be made on behalf of his employers, and the chances are that he was killed by gangsters who had a grudge against him or his paper. The pathos of such a happening lies in the fact that, by his death, the victim adds to the total of news items that have occupied his life. Albert Lengle probably secured wider recognition through his final “story” than for any of the others. DEATH-DEALING BLAST But because New Zealand journalists are immune from American gangsters it does not follow that, to use a grim old phrase, none has died in his bopts. Many years ago a Dunedin reporter was killed while “on assignment.” He was sent to the Otago heads to observe and report on an unusually large blast which was part of the Harbour Board’s quarrying programme. Quite a number of onlookers was present, and safety precautions were made, but the blast wa,s faulty and pieces of rock blew out in all directions. One struck the watching reporter on the head, killing him instantly. No one else was hurt or even touched by the flying debris. There have been several cases wherein New Zealand journalists have had narrow escapes. On one occasion a Christchurch man investigating the progress of a fire from the roof of the burning building, found himself cut off by the flames, and was rescued with difficulty. THOSE NEW NOUNS Still another list of “nouns of assembly” comes to hand from an ingenious reader. It includes; A gape of trippers. A gloom of farmers. A delay of trains. A clutter of trams. An ogle of lounge-lizards. A titter of schoolgirls. A gaiter of bishops. Who knows, this coinage may prove of lasting worth. If the list is extended sufficiently, one might consider having it reprinted in pamphlet form and forwarded to Messrs. Fowler and Fowler or other august keepers of the King’s English! ONE FOR US X.N. —Everyone has his or her own method of “picking winners,” and the influence of rumour and superstition is such that the casual punter often hesitates between authoritative advice based on a study of form by experts, and the whisperings of a street-car acquaintance. Not so one Auckland man, who noted the horses mentioned as promising in Friday’s Sun, and supplemented his lists with those mentioned by the morning sheet. On Saturday he journeyed to Ellerslie and backed every horse he had listed. Out of seven races he secured six winners and four seconds.