CURRENT COMMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1929, Page 17 (Supplement)

CURRENT COMMENT

OTHER POINTS OF VIEW

(By

MAS.)

In Canterbury, so it seems, there have * appeared those infallible signs which, to the discerning eye of the moralist, plainly mark the Age. * « # * Christchurch has had what it calls a midnight matinee. This, since matinee means an afternoon affair, is very illuminating. Almost as mttch meaning, as well as retaining the fragrant whiff of French, would have been conveyed if Christchurch had spoken about a midday soiree. , # « * , It was really a picture show which wickedly began at twelve o’clock at night. . Someone should write to the ’ papers, about it or warn Christchurch. It will go wrong like Sydney, which, as everybody knows,-is always staying out late at night., #.# ■ # “Some of them wandered in after parties,” said the report, “or after other /hows; some of them came of set pur- ' pose, just to see what this new midnight matinee business was like; but for whatever reason they went everybody thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a sort of -carnival air abroad.” So different, of course, from the ordinary common or garden kind of air, one part oxygen and four parts nitrogen. e#. # . * For all our civic pride, there is little that one can hold to the light to conipet'e against this. One'might, perhaps, point to Stratford, for there io indisputable evidence that they do advance there. Stratford has definitely decided to build a grandstand at Victoria Park. Some of the older brigade, with tenacious memories, will remember how first the, idea was evolved, how it was handed down through • the. ages from-father

to son, almost a romantic legend. People of middle age will remember how the idea grew' in favour and was eagerly taken up by the citizens; how-there were some who 'desired to have the stand on the north side of the ground, some who asked that it should be placed on the south side, some again who wanted it on the east side and still some who, with a sturdy independence, stuck out for the west side. * * #; # # Month by month, Stratford feverishly pushed on with making Up its mind. Time and words were not spared. At last the matter was placed in the hands of the burgesses themselves. A referendum was taken, and now comes the glad news that the north side has been chosen. Stratford has/ made up its mind. This, to tardy towns, is au object lesson worth remembering. This great labour has been done in just two years’ time. But in Stratford they do not stand still. They move. They have, as the Americans put- it, “pep.” Have they .not a Broadway in their town ? . - *.* * * As for New Plymouth, it is. still far behind the midnight matinee condition. It is only with a struggle that it han attained the pie-cart stage. =»««=* A far more serious matter, however, is the complaint of a correspondent to a city-paper, a correspondent who “was staggered on reading that members of Parliament, had voted to increase their pay by a bonus of £100.” He felt strongly that “this self-awarded bonus, coming at a time when taxation is high, and there are prospects of a severe fall in the price of our produce, must be condemned in the strongest terms.” Underneath, stretching across the column in big type. like an accusing finger, he put the remarkable pen-name “Thou Shalt Not Steal.” This is perfectly delightful. The correspondent is evidently a man of some feeling and some imagination. Parliament, however, remains cruelly adamant. In fact, if it could write a letter to the paper in reply I have no doubt it would sign itself, also across' the column in big type: “Thou Shalt Not Squeal.” ■# ■ « o o Biblical expressions' are not altogether out of place with reference to money which, as io well’ known, has become almost a sacred subject these days. Even our own green province is not altogether free from this'taint and it would not be surprising if, one day, some far-sighted prophet pointed out that we are afflicted with the besetting sin of the Israelites in the past—the wonship of the Golden Calf, # « o « Curiously enough the mention of i animals leads to reflection on the words of Cr. R. A. Wright, M.P., in welcoming the new Commissioner of the Salvation Army in Wellington. Mr. Wright it was who, when he was appointed to Cabinet to further the position of education in the country, made the remarkable statement that there was far too much of it. In welcoming the commissioner, Mr. Wright said,' it was a notable fact that the last four Mayors of Wellington—of which he was one—were all wearers of beards. This/ he suggested, might convey a hint to applicants for the Mayoralty. After reading Mr. Wright’s words, it would be interesting to know how many readers, their eyes roving grimly over the remaining pages of the newspaper, paused speculatively on the heading of another article, and wondered what exactly Mr. Wright meant to convey. For the heading of the nearby article was—but perhaps it would be as well not to mention it just yet. # # # # It would be better to turn to a description of the Lido in a London newspaper. “All night,” says the article, “you dance in the gayest, most tropical gala in the world. Couples whirl on the glassiest of floors , . . Kings of industry give fabulous suppers ...” It would appear that the writer has been reading the advertisement for the Kaupokonui° Cheesepunchers’ Annual Ball. # -■ ■ # # # As for that other matter, the question of beards, the heading was a very email thing. Merely: Goa tßaising—Worth Investigation. •