TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10926, 15 November 1913, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

UNMARRIED.

Never in tho history of the world has a nation been so prosperous as ours, says'tho "Human Factor," and yet there are 17,000,000 unmarried adults in tho United States; 9.000,000 of these aro women and 7,220,000 are men between the ages of twenty and fortyfour. Something in our civilisation is out of joint, apparently. Can tho Chinese, among whom bachelors and old maids aro almost unknown, teach us anything about tho basic laws of a proper scheme of life? TALL FIGURES. According to an estimate by Mr John P. Freund, the United States spends no less than £120,000,000 on music every year. This is throe times as much as tho same country spends on its army and navy, while "musical Germany," it is pointed out, spends ten times aa much on its army and navy as on its music. In the American total, church music accounts for £10,000,000 a year. Tho salo of pianos reaches £27,000,000, of organs £2,000.000. of gramophones and records £13,000,000, and of sheet music and music books £2,100,000. Mr Freund adds that from 70 to 75 per cent of the total is spent by women. POWER" MISUSED. Tho Melbourne "Ago,'-' a radical gan, has this to say about the New Zealand strike:—We know that violence always breeds after its kind. Labour, which for generations was oppressed by capitalistic domination, having now achieved its liberty, ought to be the very last to_ set up an iinperium in imperio, as it is doing. It has come into a new sense of power—the power of tho universal strike. It is a power almost without check, and there has scarcely ever been known the man or the party who could be trusted with,unlimited power. It surpasses ordinary human virtue to _ have great power and forbear to use it. In vain the poet warns us that it is excellent to have a giant's strength, but tyrannous to use it as a giant. Labour is simply intoxicated with the new-born sense of its ■ power; and it stands threateningly up against everybody on both sides of the world. THE GELIGNITE FOOTBALL TRAGEDY. That is a. find Unity story which comes from Auckland about a "dastardly plot" to wreck the Main Trunk train discovered just "in the nick of time" by "an elderly man whose identity has not beon disclosed." Tho old gent.'s story is well up to the best and latest picture-film standard. The shadow in the moonlight (ah!), the man who sprang to his feet (oh, oh!), ran down an embankment and disappeared (mystery I), the object on the right-hand rail (horror!) the fast approaching train (trombone!), great presence of mind (pianissimo, teedle deedlel), the hasty kick of the ready foot (crash of drums!), disappearance of the object ("Maiden's Prayer" in G major!), disappearance of the " object"—a charge of gelignite fitted with detonators (Gnarr-h!), the carrying home of tho parcel ("March Funebre" —tar-rah-ra, te-ra-ra-te-ra-ra-te-ra-te-rah—bomb I), its deposituro under the moat safe (flute gently!). Nightmare visions (Wagner I); then off to the policeman in the morning (" See the Conquering Hero!"). Patrols watching the line (Ter rump, ter rump, tor rump ter rump ter rump I). Curtain. Well, it certainly is some yarn. But be couldn't have known it was loaded! WOMEN PLUNGERS. An Australian woman is permitted to become a candidate for Parliament, a doctor, a lawyer, a masseuse, a barmaid, a high-kicking dancer, and to play her part in the national secret service. She may legally and without reproach enter into occupations and pastimes that give experiences ordinarily supposed to cause her sex to blush. One thing the law says she cannot do, although it is done by men everywhere and on every day of the week—she must not bet. The AntiGambling Act is explicit on the point. Section 57, after referring to the licensing of bookmakers, continues: — Provided that such approved person shall not carry on or tie lioensed or permitted to oarry on the business or vocation of a bookmaker except on such parts of such racecourse aB are speoially set apart for that purpose, and provided that if such approved person shall bet with youths apparently under tho ago of twenty-one, or females, he shall be guilty of an offence. For a first offence the penalty ranges from £5 to £100; in default, imprisonment. Everybody knows that tho law in this respect is an arch-hypocrite, says a Melbourne paper. Women do bet—rgeularly and flagrantly. As a matter of fact, the number of female plungers is growing rapidly. OUR QUEEN. British society has ceased to regard Queen Mary as the leader of fashion, as far as clothes are concerned. That in itself is a testimony to the homely good sense with which the Queen is credited, not only in court circles, but throughout the laud. She seems to have little of the feminine fondness for dress, and she certainly has nene for display. There are many ladies in society, and out of it, who spend a great deal more in dress each year than the Queen does. In fact, her Majesty's habit pf wearing the same dress on many occasions annoys the smart women of society. The fashion writers of the society newspapers are not less indignant, for they grow weary of describing the samo dross at the public functions attended by Royalty. These lady writers never admit to their readers that the Queen has worn the dress on a previous occasion, and they describe it anew as if tjiey had never described it before. But as far as the general public is concerned, the Queen is the most popular member of the Royal family. She is credited with possessing the homely British virtues in a pronounced degree, and with combining good sense and decision of character. In figure she has become very matronly since she was out in New Zealand twelve years ago, and this lends to her homely womanly charm in the eyes of the people. RESOURCEFUL BOOKIE. Those persons who have a recollection of witnessing some years ago the performance of the late George Lauri as Tweedlepunch, in the tuneful musical comedy Floradora, saw re-enacted in the betting paddock at Flemington on Saturday the efforts of that wily and humorous phrenologist at self-adver-tisement, says the Melbourne "Age." It will be remembered how from tho stage he sent spinning to all corners of the theatre picture cards of himself in character, exclaiming as he sent each on its journey, "My autograph." It was a tall, fashionably-attired bookmaker from Sydney who on Saturday by similar tactics gathered an enormous crowd of clients under a friendly beech tree, throughout tho afternoon ho harangued them with advice, much "chaff," and invitations to return with investments " for the next race." Between whiles he booked bets and flung tho money with unerring accuracy into bags held by assistants somo feet away on either side. One bag was for gold, and tho other for silver, and the tall "knight of the pencil" offered all money which missed tho mark to tho bystander who recovered it from tho ground. No one got any. oiuge odds were offered on outsiders by the stranger (it was his first appearance at Flemington). Against Uncle Matt, who finished third in the Hotham Handicap, he laid 100 to 1, and unavailingly ho advised tho crowd not to back Matource, a strong favourite, for the same ' race. Tliov knew better, however, and 1 —lost, ite laid, 1000 to 1 to a man j who essayed to pick the card. The bettor selected only one winner. To a | man who backed Gladwyn and drew 70s. the anUi'tainer handed 90s, saying.

"I've seen you in Sydnoy; you may bo a neighbour of mine." Henceforth business was brisk, nnd sovereigns and half-crowns fairly rained through tbo air to the. bags, but never did one fall outside them. Tho bookmaker cracked jokes with renewed ardour, and the crowd was suffused with merriment. Before closing his bulky bags for the day he intimated that the performance would be repeated at the Cup meeting on Tuesday.