The Waipukurau Press. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1933. UNDERSIRABLE TACTICS

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 199, 18 August 1933, Page 4

The Waipukurau Press. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1933. UNDERSIRABLE TACTICS

Wrestling is becoming increasingly popular throughout the Dominion, attracting in most istances a large crowd of spectators to the contests staged. It is unfortuate, however, that from time to time there are untoward episodes in connection with the bouts, of which two examples may be quoted:—“After a fast and colourful contest at Palmerston North, George Walker, the British Empire wrestling champion .defeated Jake Patterson, of Syracuse, U.S.A., securing the verdict in the seventh round by two falls to one. There was a record attendance, hundreds being turned away. Both wrestlers exchanged blows during the contest and in one round Patterson struck the referee, who was breaking a stranglehold. The latter promptly retaliated.” “George Walker defeated Jack Patterson at Timaru in the sixth round of a rough and tumble wrestling bout, when the American was disqualified for the repeated use of illegal tactics. Patterson repeatedly threw Walker over the ropes and when disqualified took to the referee until Walker intervened. ' After the referee had left the ring the men continued to brawl until Walker knocked Patterson out with a tremendous kick in the abdomen. As Patterson lay inert on the mat the crowd booed him and showered coppers into the ring.” Such incidents are by no means elevating and it is to be hoped that adequate steps will be taken to cope with the situation thus created as good sportsmanship is an essential of any well-conducted trial of strength or skill in the sphere of British pastimes. It is not a matter of winning by “hook or by crook,” but by fair means rather than foul. A BRILLIANT FAILURE? The epitaph for the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill will be: “He was a brilliant failure,” opines Sir John Foster Fraser in a special article appearing in the “Empire News” (Manchester). His most recent endeavour this week has been to swing the Conservative Party against the Government’s conciliatory policy toward India which has the approval of Mr. Baldwin and the Conservative members of the Cabinet. He has been rebuffed. No doubt Winston is the cleverest man in the House of Commons—bar none. He is tremendously industrious and has always backed his ambition with hard work. Impulsiveness does not always lead to success. However, he has the knack of instantly, being in the picture. One of his handicaps to political appreciation has been swift ability to change his mind. He started his career as a Conservative, and when the fortunes of the Conservative Party began to wane 30 years ago, he found his political home with the Liberal Party. The dimming of Liberalism coincided with Churchill’s realisation he could better serve his country with the Conservative Party, and when the Coalition came along he worked with that Government. It has been alleged some leading Conservatives didn’t want him, but it was generally considered advisable to give him a Government post and keep him quiet rather than have him as a disgruntled critic. Mr. MacDonald, when he formed the National Government, didn’t want him and the Conservative group did not use all the influence it might to insist he should be in the Cabinet. So Winston is a back bencher and does not like it. But he has not taken things lying down. He has discovered that the new proposals in regard to India will not only ruin British prestige, but will be a treacherous retreat from our imperial trust —so he led the revolt of those Conservatives who favour strength rather than concession. They are quite genuinely alarmed.”