PER MAIL ORDER

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 72, 26 March 1934, Page 10

PER MAIL ORDER

MAYORS, PROTECTION OF

MR. HISLOP URGED TO ACT

CAR AND BODY ARMOTJE

The Mayor of Wellington has received a surprise by mail'from Kew York, u:S.A., a personal letter written by the manager, Ordnance Department, P.Z.Q., Incorp., and printed and: illustrated matter, Ordnance Bulletin No. 2, setting out the dangers of life today for those in higher realms of-authority and the safety which" comes to. thas.e who are wise enough to guard: against bomb and knife and bullet.■-... :■:;•■ The firm from which this, -to.NewZealanders, astounding catalogue comes is no-fly-by-night catch trade company but is one of the oldest steel-makinjj firms in America. . -.-, ;• . - "We are living- in , troublous ,: and troubled times," writes, the -manager-, Ordnance Department, of this 'generally, peaceful firm. "Political and -civil crime is rampant all over the world. Men in the public eye,are exposed to the whim of the crank to whom human life is meaningless. Protectors of law and order fall victims to. the'desperado whose only.language when facing capture is the quick shot. Leaders- must protect themselves, their adherents^ and protectors. Tho logical.-; protection,-.is P.Z.Q. armour plate." : . '" ..." P.Z.Q. will, states the manager, Ord,nance Department, supply fully fabricated armour plate ready .to be. incorporated in car bodies, or made up in vests or coats, or they will supply-the finished article, and, in conclusion, the writer urges that action should be ta£en at once: "You cannot-leave, yourself, your staff, your leaders .without P.ZIQ. protection. With every day "lost iiivaluable lives are put'into jeopardy." Notwithstanding that warning,- Mr.Hislop does not propose to act; , ' ~"■'. A WAY THEY HAVE' OVERSEAS. .The letter is astonishing;:but: the brightly-illustrated bulletin is. more: so. On page 1 is a half-column impressionist sketch of a, silk-hatted, astrakhancollared bank manager , (presumably), being done to death, in spite of .nearby guard and chauffeur, by/ailpw-down gunman ruffian. At-the. foot .of ~ths page is a sketch reealling;the as'sa'ssinajtion .of Lincoln.' Page 2,: has;-'il-lustrations of technical interest, and.qji the next a PjZ.Q.. protected'executive smiles scornfully at the. gunman- Who has 'shot harmlessly; at .his 'vitals—-He wore a P.Z.Q. ■ bullet-proof vest.' : .Page 4 is devoted ,to armoured cars, .with compelling illustrations.' Thus a . section of the letterpress: "The construction'of ■ P.Z.Q. armoured bodies'does not sacrifice, beauty to safety. 'There is no outwar.d sign of the; b'odies'beinjr armoured. AH solid portions^ of .'"ifie body are. protected .with arnipur'.plate. Windows and windshields;are made' of 1 l-Bin non-shatterable * buUet*prop£ glass, which will stop bullets fired'from up to .45' calibre pistols;.'" ';' •' -; ■ The second enclosure is equally .startling, for it deals with, "a 'highly-deve-loped tractor ; tank,' arniouied 'against light gun . fire, carrying "one; machine gun,.a 37 millimetre gun for', ground level or. anti-aircraft use,'.and smbke, tear, and vomiting gas equipment. ■ It is ' recommended 'as very 'suitable' for municipal, as Veil- as for.'military use, for when all is peaceful the armour plate and guns and'poison gas equipment can be detached and stacked away in a corporation storehouse,-arid •'. the tractor used .for .public.- works or- any haulage, but may.J.be quickly .reconverted for' othe'r..niunicipal'.'purpbses.; It is a ,ipke. that ,tne;. Mayor of .Wellington should receives such a catalogue setting;; out, the splendid virtues '-'of armour;lplating for.body and for^the Mayoral car, but this .firm,.'long established • and , well known; even. in this country,' ,dbes not ;go in ,"for [jokes. .Neither",;3id PIZ.Q.' embark'npon" the. expense', of establishing this ipjarticular section,^of ordnance work untij^it.gaw' a.market ahead. ._ That there;is';'sucfca tragic, in the ' .United'"", States cabled" news', only too oftet'indicates, but the attempt to,push prdnanee Irasi■oess in New Zealand is, fortunately,'a trifle-premature. ■ ■ ■ .. ;-."..' P.Z.Q:,":'by ".the way, is-not.Vthe I real name of .the firm. ' ' "\ ■'. . '