BY THE WAY

Evening Star, Issue 20137, 30 March 1929, Page 2

BY THE WAY

[Ry Q.V.]

“ Tin* lime romc,” l!ie Walrus “ To talk of many things.’* To rail at Kate when chaos comes is the last .resort of fools, invertebrates, and might-have-beens. it is clear, then, that the people of Dunedin belong to none of those three t.vp'-s. Scarcely had the wayward waters of last week receded than_ practically the whole adult population of the city was hot on the scent of some responsible party. For the lino and cry there seems every justification, because surely the flood of .11)23 was destructive enough to have been remembered as a grim warning. Kver since the earth became inhabited man lias hud to tight for water or against it, and although it is true that tic has fought bravely and well, it is also true that invariably lie has been a hit behind himself. On 1 v rarely lias man attempted anything in the nature o) a safety measure until actual loss of life and the consequent awakening of the instinct of self-preservation lias spurred him on to activities so concentrated that the resultant achievements savoured of genius. It has been said ih.it; performance is hut a matter of intensity of desire. If ibis is so let us hope ’that the City Council and _l.iic Flprhoiir Board desire with sufficient intensity to guard the city from further encroachments of the swollen Leith, otherwise the members of these bodies can save themselves the trouble of desiring intensely to keep their comfortable scats. Apparently, however, it recjiiires the thought of supermen the world over to view the future in cold blood, as it were, and establish safely measures before a fatality Jims made i hem imperative. There is no evidence to show that our city councillors and Harbour Board members are supermen. Whether such wonders o( the human race, will eventually conic into power remains io tie seen.

Whenever an Assessment Court, sits in J tuned in we are reminded of the hvimi of hate we periodically sing against the originator of luting on improved tallies. ’ Thera .may he something to he said for the system; I here is much to he said against it. Possibly the Ciiy Corporation, eager in its search for wealth, looks upon a wellgroomed property as a simpleton might Tcgard a rainbow. If the corporation thinks that when money has been .spent on improving a properly there must lie ample bullion still available fertile taking* then its case is u>ry nearly a parallel to that of the innocent who trails towards the rainbow's end to nmarth a pot ol gold. In some cno'S such an nmpiration as tins is periectn logical, for wealthy men have been kimwn lo enhance still fnvtiie'the beauty ol 1 heir estates. In ihc main. however. he who owns Ids home, even though he he keeping ins resources only a ie" pounds’ above debt level takes a pride in the lamily nest, and is oyer on the alert ioi the opportunity to improve it. Whv should his tad; be made hard w by ‘a civic body winch innreasonable enough W overlook' the fad that I lie ratepayers’ zeal in ilsell is the city’s gain 't The inevitable exceptions are. ol course, always with ns. Tniortiinateiv—or fortunately, perhap-—-the Hood has revealed the presence in our midst ol landlords who, it punishment. could he made to lit lue clime, should be doomed to dwell lor the delation of their lives in one, of the lonl habitations, they have had the inhumanity 10 let to tenants. But liny is a digression. 'What is to become ol the ordinary everyday ratepayer when ihe strain of dancing to the corporalion's tune of fremded finance becomes more than he can bear I* Personally, we can see nothing lor it. hut. to let go --give up all attempts at maintaining law and order in homo and section. Such n course would quickly enable a new spirited race ol householders to grin 1 riuinpliantly from the unkempt undergrowth in iheir gardens at any valuer who dared to walk through the front fence.

Mu"-olini's recent clwiion in liaiy reminds me very forcibly of a ;oke I >aw in - Punch ’ during the war—the la l ter stages tinned. A bombing party ol Tommies had just surprised a. iiiimi her of Germans in a trend), and a corporal with a bomb in his hand called mil “ Nab. tlien. TaTs for a trip to I Icngbiml V All the Germans put: their hand-: up. ” Carried unanimously,” said Tommy; and so it wa-. Of course, with, ail Ins grandiloquence Benito is a simple soul at heart, and consequently believes in direct action—so direct 1 haL it lakes one breath away, and leaves us wondering whether wc are 10 laugh or to execrate, or to admire. But, then, we haven’t a Mussolini, and we aren’t Italian. And it’s quite possible j Hial, this simple nay of doing tilings wouldn't work among British folk, heic lor at. Home. One wiseacre said that I Kasci-mo would never work in KngI land, because everyone would want to ' bo Mussolini, which, of course, would mean that it wouldn't be Fn.scisino at all. but plain ordinary democracy. One can understand after all Hie spate ot speeches, advertisements, letters to (ho papers, ami editorials, to say nothing of street corner arguments, which accompanies one of our elect iovi«, some weary citizen might: long .'or a plain •• Vm-No ” i-suc. But, I'm at raid it wouldn't work. In spite of onr little dabblings in .Socialism we are too much Individualists at heart to put up with it. ’Wlii'ii politicians (ace the lest, As ullentimes they do. They sweat like anything to -wrest A surplus scat; or two. And stick to all that they've possessed Pike concentrated glue. Ami each constituency claims Two candidates, or three. As eloquent upon their aims As eloquent can he. Thcv call each other naughty names In their intensity, ’| hey talk anti talk, and no nip knows \\ liich way the poll will sway Until the polling places dose Upon election day. And then the magic lantern shows It we have won or they. Now, isn't it a waste ot lime, And. when yon come to think, Of valuable cash, and. I'm Afraid- of printer's ink; The whole infernal pantomime Just gives my brain a kink. There may be some who think it nice, Ami sav with miction. ‘'That's Because we have to pay a price For being Democrats. You've got to make some sacrilice.” And li'.y retort h ‘‘Rats'.''' Democracy is out of date. And costs ns more than less. In Italy they don’t orate Or inundate the Press. I Benito names a candidate, And you votg ‘No or ” Yes.”

And parti-coloured papers tell Which side you’re vote has gone, And every working man or sued Can only vote for one. And that’s the side they know full well Their bread is buttered on. It seems a cheap and simple plan Which wc might well install; But then another chap began “ It wouldn't do at all.' You need a special superman, And ours arc Jar 100 small. ’ For if we started in this laud A sort of Fascisino A little kid could understand. Which way the thing would go. Why. everyone would lake a hand And try and run the show. Ami. though one Mussolini might (Because he's big and strong) Be absolutely Air Right To .push Hie show along. But eighty Duces would be quite Indubitably wrong. And so. despite delay, expense, And Coates and other such, Democracy lias this defence, There's far more human touch In eighty men that have no sense Thau one that lias too much.

With the advent of the “(alkies’ we begin to wonder how much longer actors in the flesh will he able to cany on in a profession which lor countless generations has delighted the v*or!d o\ playgoers. In the lace of ever-uicieas-ing' opposition can the legitimate stage retain its planks? The first jolts came when moving pictures and gramophones were introduced. tl he pictures njckered. The gramophones shrieked. But year hv year each avenue of entertainment had its initial coarseness toned down until at the present day the one provides cheap hut tolerably good amusement outside the home, and the other caters for the fireside. Broadcasting next. Its possibilities appear to be unlimited. Theatre lovers should combine in an effort to have listening-in made legal only for mariners, lonely fanners, and invalids. Now come the “talkies." ft given full rein and vitalised by vocal intonation, unaffected and un-American, these should become the most formidable rival ul the stage. And yet we think we should rather hear. see. and sense the personalities of Miss’Vanbrugh and Mr Boueicault than only hear and see a shadowy Air G. Bernard Shaw. If acting pleases us we like to express our pleasure in hearty approbation, and if our applause delights the actors so much the better. In tins desire for self-expression we feel that we do not stand alone. Perhaps this is why so many people find pictures a trifle unsatisfying. There may ho idols of the screen, hut as far as we can judge the only gallants of rnovielnnd who draw torl,li unstinted applause from fheir audience are the rollicking, roughriding lads who rouse all the hero-wor-shipping faculties of matinee children.

In cold and clammy Muscovy

The Bolshie bird doth dwell. And tries to heat it up to he As hot as—l won't tell. Tic stamps upon the bourgeois there T*nt.il his cranium cracks. And loves In give il to him whore The chicken got. the axe. But, nh, in little Switzerland. That tourist-ridden Switzerland. He's just discovered it's a land That stops him in Ids tracks.

In fond and foggy Bouden. And all along the Clyde. He, finds each'.doorway undone Bor him lo ivalk inside. In Liverpool and Manchester .He’s free to come and go. Bor they’d accept without demur A Chink or B.skiino. But Switzerland, 0 Switzerland, That bourgeois heaven Switzerland, No Bolshie Imsine-s Jits a land Where leuriHs bring lludr " dough.”

In Germany they pet him. And give him quite a chance. There'sdittie to upset hint In Portugal or France, lie's here and there in Italy. Though Mussu.. so they say, Resents his presence latterly, And wishes him away. But Switzerland. O Switzerland. They know lull well in Switzerland How revolution hits a land Where moneyed people play.

So all along the trouper The notice hoards are spread Explaining Wo don't want here The Gentleman in Red. We know full well what lied be at In less than half a jiff. So chuck him out upon the mat, The great big hairy still !” For Switzerland. 0 Switzerland, Thai shrewd and canny Switzerland, AVill see that Ivan quits her land Wit hout a “ hut ” or " iI.