ROTARY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19478, 26 December 1925, Page 17 (Supplement)

ROTARY

WORLD-WIDE PROGRESS ACTIVITIES OF THE MOVEMENT The Wanganui Rotary Club is “in recess’’ during the holidays, to the ex-, tent that the weekly luncheons are discontinued, but. the Christmas season is affording plenty of opportunity to keep the Rotary spirit alive. In a letter conveying the compliments ot the season from the officers to the members the vice-president writes: — * ‘Since the beginning of 1925 our club has grown and prospered in every way. We started the year with a resolve that we. would profit by our lessons of 1924. To those of us who have been in the club since its inception the benefits of Rotary are now becoming apparent, | and when we compare the feeling of fellowship that existed in our midst last meeting with the cold acquaintanceship of the last meeting of 1924, it must be recognised that we arc growRotarian Tourists. At its luncheon on Monday the A tick- i land Club had as visitors five American ! Rotarians, who are among the tourists | on the Cunard liner Carinthia. r l hoy p.re Rotarians C. R. .Met ann, of Dayton. J. C. Wilmot, of Cleveland. FL W. Percival, of Covington. W. L. Mason, of Keene, and F. R. Thompson, of Cortland. Practical Rotary. A Christmas tree festival for 1490 poor children of Auckland was given bv the Auckland Rotary Club this week at the Majestic Theatre. Workers arrived at eight o’clock in the morning, ami had a busy time sorting and arranging toys. A suitable picture programme was the first entertainment for the children and the distribution of toys from the Christmas tree followed. At the call of the Rev. F. R. Jeffreys. th<‘ children gave a hearty vote of thanks to the members of the chib and enthusiastically cheered the secretary, Mr A. J. Hutchinson. Dunedin Convention. It is hoped that Wanganui will be well represented at the Dunedin Convention from. -March 4 to 7 next. A icepresident Percy Higginbottom is making arrangements for the local delegat ion. A Seasonable Message. International Secretary Cbesley B. Perry sends the following 1" all Botariansi—A Mcrrv Christmas and a Happv New Year to you all from the President ami Board'of Directors of Rotary International and entire staff of the International Secretariat! 'the jovoumess of the holiday season has its appeal to Botarians. for they are always ready to extend the cheerful hand of friendship to others, be they Botarians or not. The spirit of helpful service to others which appears on every side during the Christmas season is. one which ought to control the lives ot [ Rotarians throughout the year. notary's endeavours toward bringing | about the advancement of international peace are practical attempts to make real that lirst Christmas message: peace on earth, goodwill to mon. And what of the New Year? We all recognize it as the time when resolutions are made—when men set before themselves

new ideals for living or resolve again to live in accordance with ideals which thev have held, but have perhaps tempnr'arilv discarded. It is a time then when 'Rotarians should rededicatc themselves to the principles underlying the Six Objects of Rotary and resolve that through, the coming yoai they will establish closer friendships, will serve their fellowmen more unselfishly and use every endeavour to promote international peace. Once again, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. How To Get Acquainted. The Rotary Club of The Hague has recently introduced a novel method ol promoting acquaintance. Six members of the club were chosen by ballot and these six meet periodically at the rcstdence of one of l> six. Each time a different one acts as host. Every ! month a new ballot is taken and t wo o| the six withdraw and two other Iv.tttrlians replace them. Through these Ismail meetings each member gets betj ter acquainted with five other membets •tad has an opportunity to discuss . Rotarv intimately. By eliminating two members each month and adding two new ones, a certain continuity is guar iantesd which adds to the attractiveness of the meetings. The whole s.nome is hound to promote closer acquaintance ami better understanding ot. each other among the members of the Rotlary Club of The Hague. 1927 Convention. \t its October meeting, the Board ot Directors of Rotary International had before it invitations from several cities for the holding of the 1927 Convention. The Board, in considering these invitations, bore in mind the fact that a resolution was passed by the Toronto Convention to the effect that a Convention of Rotary International should bo held outside North America as soon as p,actieable. .Because of the rapid increase in the number ol Rotary '■tubs in Europe during the past two rears and the probability of a large amount of extension work taking place .n that continent in the near future, t'o Board was of the opinion that the ’;i ’7 Convention of Rotary International should be held on the continent '■l Eurepo. , . , No definite oca was te.iilud a to the city in which the ccnvention will !,.■ held, but the Secretary of liotary International was instructed to visit the several cities which are inviting the .1927 Convention after he had completed the work of presiding at the Continental European Club Executives Mooting, in Brussels, Belgium, November 21 and 22. and make a report on these several cities at the .January meeting of the Board. It is probable that a definite decision as to the city in which the J 927 Convention will be held will be reached at. the next meeting of the Borad of Directors which will take place on January JI to 14. Rotary Philology. Rotarian Guglielmo Tomei, a member of the Rotary Club of Leghorn, Italy, while visiting some months ago the town of Spoleto, Italy, observed over the doorway of a house at No. 20 A ia del Duomol the following inscription: “Per servirc s'acquista. Scrvi quando poi.” (Through serving, one gains. Serve when thou canst.) Upon his return to Leghorn, he called the attention of the Rotarians in that citv and particularly of Professor Steiano Mancini to lhe inscription. Photographs of it were obtained and a study made of the history of the house. It. seems that the. inscription is over the doorway of a very hacutiful resid-

once of the 14th century, constructed of red and xvhitc stone. The building is the old seat of the “Opera del Duomo” (Administration of the Patrimony of the Cathedral) as attested by an inscription in characters of the 14th century, which carries lhe Ghibelline coat of arms of lhe town, a rampant horse whose ruler is armed with a lance having a small flag at the end. The Avords ‘‘Per s rvire s’acquista. Srrvi quando poi” occupy the whole of the architrave and arc written in beautiful capital letters, some of the char acters being a little smaller .for reasons of spacing. Tli<* “Opera” was an institution for the. service of the Church; the members of the administrative council served without recompense, ami for that reason Professor Mancini believes that the motto above quoted should be interpreted as follows: “Through giving services and charities one gains merits; therefore, see thou to it that thou art of help to thy fellowmcn every time Avhcn opportunity will bo given thee. ’ ’ In support of this interpretation, Professor -Mancini refers to another motto which xvas found imprinted on the cover of a leather case now preserve'! in the Museum at Arezzo. This motto which is in Lombardic style and dates back to the time of Galeazzo Maria Storza, reads: “Chi spera in Dio non puo fallire, per soffrire ac,quista.” (He who trusts in God cannot fail. Through suffering one gains.)