PREMIUM ON GLOOM,

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 866, 12 July 1910, Page 6

PREMIUM ON GLOOM,

THE TAXING OF AMUSEMENTS. 'A SMILE CLUB ADVOCATED. (By Sylvius.) In the year of grace 1910 it was eeriously, nay, solemnly, proposed at a Municipal Conference hold in Wellington, Sew Zealand, that amusements should be taxed. Assuming that this fact is repeated fifty years henco by those newspapers who, when in a reminiscent mood, delve up news uuder the heading of "Fifty Tears Ago," it would hardly surprise tho writer if the proposal does not create amusement which we will not unfortunately have any share in. Thus the anticipation of someone else's smiles is a cause for sadness. It is well known that tho owner of a theatre or place of amusement pays his land and income tuxes, and all other right and proper dues attaching to real estate; that the theatrical manager pays liis rent,_ liis royalties, and salaries: and the actor and siiiger has to pay his or her board, wardrobe—and income tax. ■Yet, it is proposed in sober earnest to levy an extra tax or surcharge against tho people's amusements, on Mirth that wrinkled care derides, And "laughter holding both her sides. The person who takes risks—what risks the general public are not aware of— in arranging that which lifts tho drab veil from the affairs of a somewhat grey old world for a few fleeting hours per day, is to bo checked in his enterprise. Not only is his gearing to be governed by a ratchet and magnetic brake, but there is to be a sharp point of feteel which will dig into tho track of his enterprise ■when the people come to laugh. And one assumes that tho more laughter the more tax. Isn't that a delicious idea? Any of Cromwell's lieutenants would, have been mado a general for such a brilliant method of checking the chaffer. Maeterlinck, in that grim little play of his, "The Death of Tintagiles," makes iTgraine say

"They seem to watch lest the smallest happiness come near."

In Ncn- Zealand is it to bo so? Surely not! This is admittedly a good show country—no one with any true experience of the Dominion who caters honestly can be found to dispute that—but is it becauso the public, cribbed and cabinod ty restrictive laws in many ways from Tclieving the exuberant spirits (which ■crave a fair percentage of pleasure) that the flosh is heir to, make tho theatre, the picture-halls, skating-rinks, and wellconducted ball-rooms popular places of Tesort, that this tax should be imposed? It would not be taxing the manager or owner. They would pass on the surchargo to tlio people—tho long-suffering people—who would have, consequently, to do with'.less amusement, less laughter, lass of .the gladdest thing in life. What Should Be Taxed, Such a. tax would, could as a matter of fact,'only be made on profits, so that the most successful manager would be the. most heavily taxed—the. man who created the most popular amusements and who irritated the. risible faculties most generously would be the one who would feed the municipal treasury most liberally. Surely this is wrong in principle? If it were" left to me, and it was decided that a tax was necessary, I should .tax most heavily the manager who brought round the least amusing, least edifying Bhows, no matter what business he was doing; and he that billed the town with the announcement that his was "the greatest show on earth," and it turned out to be low-grade, badly played and indifferently mounted, should be given gaol (without an option). If you' would have a happy, contented people, amuse them. This is tho Kaiser's creed, and it is not .an ill one. Only a few days ago the Kaiser asked the Reichstag for an additional grant for the Eoyal Opera House •at Berlin—some hundreds of thousands of •pounds! Here in New Zealand there are evidently those who place a premium on gloom. And the Germans are the nation England is s;iid to be afraid of. The Effect of a Tax. What would be the effect of a surcharge on amusements must also be considered. Australian managers, who are inclined to be kinder to ■ New Zealand as tho years go on, would be apt to look askance at the Dominion as a field for theatrical endeavour, and the immediate effect would necessarily be a lowering in the standard of tho companies sent across the Tasman Sea, and a corresponding drop in all forms of art that, contribute to oar present amusement. The public should disabuse themselves, too, of tho idea, that because the theatrical companies do well, say, in Wellington and Auckland, that the same business is uniform throughout Australasia. I stress this point because I believe that there are those who believe that few managers never take a losing chance. How wrong they are! What almost broke the late Bob Brough's heart was the failure of the Australian (not .New Zealand) public to appreciate the best Jiigh comedy, perfectly played. Yet in this country, where I honestly believe the good in comedy and drama is better appreciated than in Australia, they »-ould take the profits of three months' success out of a doubtful year. Tho actor has to pay his income tax the same as anyone else in New Zealand. The law takes the view that for the time being he is earning his money in the State, and must bo taxed for that time —this irrespective of the- fact that the three months' engagement for a New Zealand tour might have succeeded months of "rest" in Australia. The uusympathetic might say, "Get work," meaning other work than acting, but thu. actor gets into grooves just the same as the clerk or accountant, and the longer he is on the stage the more unfitted he becomes to take up other work.

A Smile Club Wanted. What is wanted far more than a tax on amusements is a 'Smile Club ou the lines of tho one csistent in Americi!, which has for its chief object the cultivation of laughter, or, rather, tho encouragement of the idea to smile on all and every occasion. If hard hit in business —smile; if jilted by the lady, smile at tho escape you have had from getting the. wrong girl; if you are seasick, smile '(some will find this difficult), and try to cheer up others whose sense of humour departed at the first heave of tho ship. Have a "Checr-ho!" for everyone; a Einile and a kind word for the unfortunate; and smiles—all smiles—for thrs wife and the youngsters. If everyone would go straight and smile, what a Heaven could be made of this dull earth. In the meantimeCtlioso who arc trying to artistically amuse should, rather than be taxed, have their burden of petty exnettions lightened. . . . Tho loud "Ha! Ha!" in which no tnalieo lurks, is good medicine. Ho who can induce it is one of the world's best friends.