ROUND ABOUT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 228, 21 October 1940, Page 5

ROUND ABOUT

I (By .Aitchel)

Mr R. Sinel, the Dominion Organiser of the Home Guard racket, proved to be a, very competent speaker. In fact, from every point of view, lie was worth at least six of the previous visitor we had to address us on the Home Guard— notwithstanding that he had little, if any, more material to work on and took less than half the time to do the working. - Incidentally, I have noticed that several newspapers refer to him as 'Major' Sinel, and I have been told that he enjoyed a certain amount of fame among units of the . New Zealand Division the ' last war through his extreme daring. That sub-leader, "The Shelter of 'Committee'", certainly roused the mayoral wrath, albeit His Worship knew it concerned him not. It occurs that although there was no intention of advising him how to conduct a meeting, the introduction of such a subject, even under the very elastic heading of 'General Business,' might well have been ruled out, - - / < However, we have no quarrel with the mayor. There arc local bodies, though, with the very nasty habit of retreating into committee when discussing matters which they consider should be kept from the public— though they represent the public. It is understood that occasionally it might be necessary to adopt the secretive procedure hut many of the subjects laboriously disentangled in the hide-out could well do with an airing. 'Committee' subjects, as with those which are sometimes .described as 'not of interest to readers' or "I do not think that will be suitable for the Press/* could well be left to the Press representative's discretion — and to his experience. at

Goebbels' Best, . ' , "To-day twenty of our planes raided the Shetlancls and twentyfive returned safely to their bases." 1 ■ m • .» Ingenuity worthy of a better result was displayed by an eight-year old sehoolboy who thought a holiday was a bright idea. He came home from school and . announced that mumps had broken out. It would be necessary for him to stay away from school for a month. How- " ever, when sister, aged six* evinced a desire to return to school mother's suspicions were strengthened. She communicated '.with the , school, which supplied the information that eight year old had told the teacher his Daddy had the mumps., and had been at once sent home and tQ.ld.tQ stay there. ■ The forthcoming- _ ballots, that commencing to-day for 34,000 and that to be held before Christmas for overseas "service, should see every fit single man in the country in uniform before three months have gone. When comparisons are made with the balloting system as operated du.r ing the last war indications of the effect on the farming" industry of those days are lacking. To-day,when the country's economic existence depends upon the primary producers, the effect, of draining the industry of its workers will be l'elt severely. The men are required to defend the life of the,, ( nation, but it seems that to defend that life is at the same time a threat against it. If the problem is resolved satisfactorily—l beg your pardon, I should say, WHEN the problem is resolved satisfactorily'—it will be something in the nature of a knockback to that old and much-favoured adage, "You can't have your cake and eat it."

• «■ _ • ' Following that appearing in last Monday's issue, a further communique has been advanced the Hillcrest' resident,'who ;is ; hawing- with mosquitoes. He states:/Sife the issue of the last bulletin, the enemy has confined operations to sporadic attacks, in the majority of which he was repulsed with some loss." New secret weapons are proving-in-creasingly effective, these including a treacle trap at the windows and the suspension from the clothes line of a chunk of poisoned beef. Our pillow fighters are definitely in the * ascendancy and increased strength, following several nights of sleep, should soon permit of offensive action.