BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7,- 1949 “COMMON COURTESY”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 35, 7 September 1949, Page 4

BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7,- 1949 “COMMON COURTESY”

An old and infirm man climbed onto a Wellington tram. School children remained seated while he staggered uncertainly. Finally, he approached one young hopeful. “I’ll give you sixpence for your seat,” he said. “Okay,” said the youth, extending a hand for the coin and preparing to rise.

Once the term “common courtesy” was in general use, meaning, presumably, that courtesy was a common thing. Those were the days. The incident recorded at the head of this article actually happened. It would have been impossible for it to have happened here for one reason only. We have no trams. But hogging of bus seats by the very young to the acute discomfort of the very aged, and by the male at the expense of the female is not an uncommon thing. Nor is that the only discourtesy rampant in our midst.

N.Z. standards of gracious living are not what they once were, and the loss is a heavy one. Today there seems a tendency to confuse servility with civility. One often is made to feel that people—particularly the very young—are afraid to be courteous for fear of being thought servile. We are apt to confuse consideration for others with “crawling.” A man need never fear being any the less of a man through acting like a gentleman. But that rare creature, unfortunately,' is rarely encountered today. All too frequently the substitute is an arrogant snob with a brassy polish, unbridled conceit and virtually no sense ,of rear courtesy. No longer is the desire to serve for the sake of giving others satisfaction in evidence in many business places. Too often the man or girl behind the counter acts like a wolf in shop’s clothing, - working on a snatch and snarl system that seems to have become accepted business practice.

There are exceptions, thanks to the inherent fineness of some families that not even the all pervading get-impulse of modern society can corrupt. Unfortunately, the getters are usually in a better position to throw their weight around than the givers. Who could blame the boy for cashing in on the old man’s infirmity? He’s the type of lad who’ll make good in this materialistic age.