OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 653, 26 July 1921, Page 9

OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

' TRACKING MURDERERS,

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

AUCKLAND, July 22,

Apropos of the terrible Arch-hill murder, it has been suggested that the New Zealand police should employ trained bloodhounds to run murderers to earth. The notion seems to be a good one. These dogs are wonderfully sagacious and most effective. I well remember the murder, under appalling circumstances, of a little girl, at Blackburn, England, about the year 1875 The murderer, a hairdresser, carried, the unfortunate child in his arms to his house and, after outraging her, cut her throat, wrapped the body in newspaper and thrust it up a chimney. Within a few hours a bloodhound, put on the scent,, arrived at the murderers house, rushed 'upstairs, and began barking loudly, up the chimney. The murderer was arrested on the spot, and was shortly afterwards hanged. FOOTBALL FOR GIRLS. Two (girls’) Rugby teams were to have rpade their first appearance in public at Carlaw Park on Satuiday afternoon and to have played a match and hundreds of people journeyed to the convincing ground in the hope of seeing the fun. They were disappointed. i. There was no match, the League intervening, so I understand, at the eleventh hour, and refusing to allow the girls admission to the park. If it is true that the League was responsible for no match eventuating, I think it is to be congratulated. Rugby football is a rough and brutal sport, even for men. For girls it is simply unthinkable.

THE DOCTORS ALL SAY “ NO,” Should girls play football; ivugby football, that is—has been a burning question in Auckland for some little time past. The girls—that is, some g-p l s __eagerly reply in the affirmative. The general- public, however, is much divided on the sub ject. De<L old Mrs Grundy is horrified, and wants to know what the world is coming to, while the doctors declare emphatically that young women should not play football-because they ate not built that way. They say that girls may sustain not only temporary but permanent injury—injury that may affect their whole future life. Meantime, while their elders are oravelv discussing the ernes turn, the girls have got to work Three teams one ‘"soccer” and two Rugby—have, I am told, been already formed m Auckland, and others are projected. A similar movement is afoot at Wellington and Christchurch Personally I hope that public opinion will strongly discountenance football tor girls.. It is neither suitable noi saevmy for women to indulge in a rough and tumble sport like R'-gby.

1 end of slump coming

The slump in soft goods and wearjr r apparel. referred to in my iasL still continues, but a .leading member of the trade, assured me a day or two ago that the end was new :n sight, the wholesalers having decided to" call a halt arid sacrifice no more goods at the rates now ruling. It is expected that within a month or six weeks ’things will begin to return to normal, and this view .is confirmed by recent cablegrams received by local firms advising the hardening .in values of'various lines at the souices of supply. ‘ ' NOTHING LIKE THE NEWSPAPER. An advertising specialist, in addressing a meeting of business men at .Christchurch, said that after years of experimenting he had found «.hao while a newspaper could take . the place of a hoarding for advertising purposes a hoarding could not take the p’ac? of a newspaper, which penetrated into the hemes of scores of thousands, and at a rower cost than hoarding advertising entailed. For i certain classes of ace. ca tisw.g tiij hoarding night be rlGght, but the newspaper made a nucii st.v-i gei. rod considerably wider appeal This view is unqusstionabiy held by Auckland advertisers, as is proved oy thei. liberal 1 patronage of the local news-papers—-the ciaTy newspapers more es pec i a i 1 y N ews p a pe r ad ve r t|si n g rates in this city have advanced by ip'i paj- cent., or more, during the | last year or two. and ye«. tiio dailj | papers arc fall of , advertisements j every day in the wee it. j OUT ©F WORK. : j There is, I regret to say, a good j deal of unern payment just now m I Auckland (as elsewhere in New Zealand), ami it is to be feared that many are feeling the pinch of poverty this winter as the result of their enforced idleness. And yet incidents come to light every now and then 1 which go to show conclusively that 1 fhe-re are determined vviiotei.-* in the ranks of those who are elarnoui-

in;/ for work. For example, an Auckland employer of labour relates how, a few days ago he rang up the secretary of a certain union and offered to find work for two men. Six men called round at once, but, simply because he could not find work for them all, the whole boiling of them marched out in a body. Next day this employer repeated his offer to engage two men, and two men rolled up accordingly. Their first question was: “How about wages?” They were (offered work at above the award rate, but they both declined to take on the job unless they were paid 3d an hour more than was offered. So it was a case of nothing doing. It reminds me of the story of the Londoner who was offered work on his own terms, and declined it on the ground that he had to take part'that day in a pub cessioin of the unemployed.

DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE. On Monday afternoon, when the College students were holding high revel' in the streets of Auckland, a policeman made his Way, with measured tramp and slow (to slightly pai aphrase “the Village Blacksmith”) down the sunny side of Queer, Street. He bore himself with a dignity befitting the representative of law and order, and marched with the stolid expression of countenance peculiar to policemen. Suddenly an audacious student, garbed in fearful and wonderful costume, approached the constable'from the rear and knocked off his helmet., Instantly swinging round Robert prepared to assert himself, but before he could do so half -a dozen students (male and female) joined hands and danced around that astonished member of the foice cluiing what time they sang “ring-a-ring a roses.” Robert tried to look severe; but, giving it up as a bad job, presently joined in the laughter—and then they let him go. It was one of the funniest things I have seen for serge time.