UNDERCURRENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17242, 29 October 1927, Page 6

UNDERCURRENTS.

IN THE DRIFT OF LIFE,

(By “Cephas.”) “CHOCOLATE ALLEY.” The usual placidity of the proceedings at the annual meeting of the Waikato Winter Show was ruffled yesterday by a member who demanded that the Association should clean up its side-shows with thoroughness and despatch. Chocolate alley, rabbit races and motor-car contests came under the lash, and an earnest plea was entered that the Show Associatiori should abstain from all appearance of evil. The mover of the resolution put up a gallant fight, but he was swamped by the massed battalions and was plainly told that he was guilty of impertinence in presuming to criticise the methods of those who have hitherto guided the destinies of the Association and who have been convinced by experience that a little of the carnival spirit must be imparted to the proceedings at the ■ Shew if the “gate” is not to come a thud. It may be pitiable to have to acknowledge it, hut the fact is that to a very large proportion of the crowds which nightly congregate in the big building in the first week of June each year the side-shows are a far greater attractive force than are the rows of swedes and mountains of butter, and the desire to win a competition iu which perchance there is an element of chance, appeals very strongly to the average unregenerate human. It is unreservedly admitted that the gambling mania is the bane of the country, but the competitions and contests which have been conducted at the gatherings held under the auspices of the Winter Show Association have done little or nothing to foster the gambling spirit. A few years back there w ; ere undoubtedly some objectionable games staged, hut the management speedily placed a ban thereon. Contests in which cash prizes are distributed on the-throw- of the cubes are far removed from a game in which the whiner is awarded a box of chocolates, and in which,, observation and judgment are important factors in success. It, of course, cannot be seriously contended that chance does not enter into the question at all —• the “fluker” wins sometimes, as he does even in the most skilful of games—but in the manipulation of the “rabbits” and the “motor-cars” the person who exercises observation and regulates his fingering of the button accordingly will probably score success more frequently than he who goes at it like a bovine at a standard, “Cephas” does not fear that the harmless revelry and merriment associated with Chocolate Row at the Waikato Winter Show will materially minister to the gambling spirit amongst those who participate therein. At the same time, it must be conceded that any member of the Association has a perfect right to voice his views at the annual meeting on this or any subject connected wiLh the management of Jthe show and the affairs of the Association. That is one of the /privileges ol membership.

ELLS AND INCHES.

It is, perhaps fortunately, not often given to ordinary people to enter completely into the thoughts and feelings of a criminal. But it is safe to bet that J-r “Give her an inch and she takes an > ell,” or some less polished equivalent, was the cry of the successful cracksman who, having thoughtfully posted K back stolen documents to their rightful owner, recently found addressed to him in the “Personal” column of a contemporary an appeal from that exacting person to add to his kindness by enlightening her as to the way in which entrance to her house had been effected. It certainly is trying for a hardworking man, who has already given . up voluntarily part of his well-earned takings, to be asked to give away in addition the professional secrets by which he turns a dishonest penny. Indignation on 'his part is intelligible, but, when he has retired from <jracking cribs, and can afford more time on trying to crack the even harder nuts of philosophy, he will realise that he is running-his head against the natural and normal relationship between ells 1 and inches. What does he suppose that inches are for but to he made into ells? Nobody loves an inch for its own brief sake, but only as a stepping-stone to something bigger. In that capacity it is indispensable;-no inches, no ells. But the man who, given his inch, does not by hook or by crook make it into an ell somehow fails to do his “bit” in life. It is, of course, a parable,_ as most things are when they fall into the clutches of the inveterate moralist. To him ells and inches suggest that all things worth while are built up from small incomplete and unsatisfying in themselves, but leading in due course and with due effort to the greater whole. In this sphere ells and inches are cursed with a more than Einsteinian degree of relativity. Inches become ells almost automatically in one direction, only by dint of / toil and tears in the other. It is a commonplace in the world of Nature. The tilled field, untended, reverts rapidly to desert or jungle. By no chance do desert and jungie ever become tilth without the sweat of some man's brow. The Roman poet saw man's lot as that of one laboriously rowing against the stream; any relaxation of the straining* arms, and ho is swept headlong down the current. It is a bitter, but true, cry that all things left to themselves are apt to progress backwards. Nowhere is this fatal tendency of tilings to go backward rather than forward, down rather than up, more clearly seen than in the haphazardous realm of habit. The bad habit into which we slip almost unconsciously fixes itself about our necks as firmly as any Old Man of the Sea. The good habit, the offspring of struggles and hesitations, of small advances quickly lost, of fresh starts and false starts, of regrets, repentance, and renewed resolve, holds its seat only at the cost of eternal vigilance. It all seems rather unfair to the natural man. Why should weeds grow so much more easily than wheat? Why should the bad habit form itself, while the good habit only comes ot painfuj practice and unremitting effort? Why, in short, is good difficult and evil easy. The man who could answer that question fully and finally would have read the .riddle of the universe. In tha meantime, by an instinct of values, , common lo ail men, however pitnu| their individual pedestrian performance, the harder path presents itself definitely as ail ascent. It is surely not for nothing that the human spirit is “upward tending although weak.

This week’s special attraction .at Hooker and Kingsions is the opening of over two hundred Children’s School Blazers. They are of a special quality being made of pure ‘wool navy doctor j flannel. Quite an assortment of col-w , oured cords for trimmings, including all school regulation colours. Remember! Blazers made of “Doctor” Flannel wash well, keep their colour and do not shrink—and you’ll pay less for Blazers at Hooker and Kingstons, w'Lio. specialise in ehildrim’s. wsar.