The Star. MONDAY, JULY 5, 1926. WILL THE DAVIS CUP CHANGE HANDS?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17890, 5 July 1926, Page 8

The Star. MONDAY, JULY 5, 1926. WILL THE DAVIS CUP CHANGE HANDS?

There is a good deal of significance in the Wimbledon results this year, in their bearing on Davis Cup problems, for they are indicative of the decline of American tennis and the threatened domination of the French challengers. To those familiar with the past prowess of Tilden and Johnston, the American entry this year may not have appeared formidable, hut high hopes were built on Richards, who has really stepped into Tilden’s shoes in America, and with youth on his side he was expected to go very near to winning the championship. But he was beaten by Cochct, who had also beaten him in France, and it was left to Kinsey, who does not rank high in America, to get into the final against Borotra. As far as the men’s events were concerned, France made a clean sweep of Wimbledon, even without the assistance of last year's champion, Lacoste. And it must be remembered that last February, in America, both Lacoste and Borotra beat Tilden decisively, and Lacoste “ smothered ” Richards. The sports editor of the United Press Agency, commenting on these matches, stated that not only was the United States slipping in international tennis prestige, but was in danger of losing the Davis Cup. This is the view taken in Australia, which has not challenged for the Davis Cup this year, but hopes to put in a strong challenge next year, when France, it is expected, will be the holders. This expectation is built on the fact that America, admittedly, has no young players coming forward, apart from Richards, while France has several young players right at the top of their form. Incidentally, French tennis has been built up on hard and indoor courts, and this aspect of the game is not likely to be overlooked by countries like Britain that are baffled by a continuous failure to make headway in the game. But Britain is entitled to congratulate itself very heartily on the improvement of the women's play. The falling out of Mdlle. Lenglen and Miss Wills robbed the tournament of a good deal of interest, but Mrs Godfree’s win *in the singles Is buttressed by a succession of wins in the combined doubles, especially against redoubtable American challengers, and in the light of past performances, Wimbledon results, this year’, must be a matter of great satisfaction to British tennis enthusiasts.

During June, 135 building permits were issued in the City of Christchurch, bringing the number for the quarter to 342. In every new house in Christchurch electricity is installed as a matter of course, if not for cooking and heating, at least for lighting, and yet, of the 26,000 houses in the city only 17,000 are receiving electrical supply, and these are rationed to a certain extent by one restriction of another. These figures give point to the remark made by the manager of the Municipal Electricity Department that even after Lake Coleridge has been fully developed as a source of supply there will be a big field to be developed in the city. Everywhere electricity is coming into wider use. The electrification of the port line, the remodelling of the Addington Workshops, the rapid development of industries in Canterbury, and the steady growth of population make it necessary to look ahead. Christchurch must remain for all time the largest South Island consumer of electricity, and looking no further ahead than 1930, it appears that Christchurch must have an additional source of supply. No effective criticism has been directed against the Waimakariri scheme, which has the merit of compactness, nearness, cheapness, and adequacy. Those facts should be emphasised whenever Canterbury supply as a whole is being considered. Ashburton and Timaru are dissatisfied with Coleridge supply because of frequent breakdowns, but Ashburton, at least, would be no better off in this respect if it drew its power from Timaru, and the real problem seems to be hound up not so much with actual power-house sites as with the provision of alternative lines from the most approved sources of supply. Tekapo would be useless to Christchurch, whereas the Waimakariri scheme would relieve Lake Coleridge for Ashburton and Timaru supply. At all events, Canterbury should present a united front on this matter, and it is not too early to get together for a friendly exchange of views.