Clean Your Attic! You May Find A Rembrandt

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 306, 28 December 1936, Page 10

Clean Your Attic! You May Find A Rembrandt

PRAGUE. —An old masterpiece, declared by Czech art experts to be a Rembrandt, was recently discovered in the attic of an old inn near Kladno. This resulted fro.a the "spring-clean-ing” which followed the government order that throughout the land, all attics should be thoroughly examined and any inflammable material removed. When tile innkeeper found an old picture he asked advice of the local schoolmaster as to ns po&sioie value. He, recommended that it be sent to .Prague. 'There it was expertly examined and accepted as u genuine masterpiece. Each stage usually represents three or four months’ work, and his promotion is attained only after thoroughly satisfactory reports of his skill by his instructor, his foreman and the clerk of tire works. The boy iu the lowest gang is given pay at the rate of about Jd. a week, and this is increased by 2d. a week as he is promoted to higher gangs. Independence Encouraged. Al Lowdhani Grange the lads are encouraged to be as independent as possible. They learn during their day’s work that the more they are skilled ano the higher the standard of workmanship and output they reach by their own exertions and intelligence, the more they call earn. If, owing to bad behaviour or [laziness they fail, they are put into the • unemployed party where they have to work hard with no pay ayd no privilegEach boy can choose how he spends his evening, lie lias a choice of technical classes, bandcraft classes and hobbies, or else recreation such as music or gymnastics. The results over the last live years of this experiment have been highly satisfactory. A large number of the young men have joined the British Navy, Army or Air Force, and most of the others have settled down successfully in civil life. One of the best proofs of this is a number of letters which li.e governor shows from “old boys," asKing to be allowed to revisit Lowdhani Grange, some anxious to spend their holidays there, and others to bring their wives or fiancees in order that they might see the place in which the young men had made a i'esh start in life.