GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2713, 27 March 1924, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

“You are. telling the truth/” asked counsel of a witness in flic Maslcrton Police Court “Yes.” “And if you dropped down dead there now— —/" “1 wouldn't be able to tell you anything," was the quick reply, which raised a general laugh.

Says a JSew Plymouth Herald: When the only lady competitor in the Piannagan Gup race was brushing on Sunday a purpose was seen to he swimming heside her. When told of her unpleasant, position not a word was heard from the swimmer, who swanr on to the finishing point where she was Loudly applauded for her plucky effort.

A Times reporter was recently shown over the mail room at the General Post Ulliee at Wellington, where the stamping machines are at work. These are worked by electric motors, and will stamp ordinarysi/.ed correspondence at a rate oi' 1,000 per minute. The letters are i'ed into an endless running belt and this carries them into the stamping portion oi' (he machine at a tremendous rate, impressing the long stamp right across the letter and defacing the postage stamps. Towards 5 o’clock there will he ten men at the bench sorting and feeding, but the machine will cope with all the letter they can pul through. Some lime ago the department requested commercial houses to post their invoices correspondence in bundles, and to see that they were all the same way up. When one sees the machine working one realises more thoroughly the reasonableness of the request, for it all means promptness n despatch, and in the rush hours makes all the difference in getting the whole of the mails away.