"THE BIRD"

NZ Truth, Issue 1145, 10 November 1927, Page 6

"THE BIRD"

Sunday Concerts In City Theatres

The Auckland City Council, without bothering to inquire into, the why's and wherefore's of the matter, has decreed that there shall be no more Sunday evening concerts m city theatres. APPARENTLY the only reason why the decree has not been sent forth that henceforth the sun shail not shine, birds must not slug,' grass must not grow and babies must neither be born nor permitted to crow and gurgle on Sunday, is due simply to the face '♦ that the City Fathers have no jurisdiction over such matters. Just what are the reasons given by the Finance Committee, for this officious interference . with the public pleasure? With characteristic apathy individual members of the Council were unable to rouse sufficient interest m the recommendation, that no more permits for Sunday concerts be issued, to ask why the long-suffering ratepayer should be again kicked so heartily. It is evident that this question is not regarded by the Council as a matter of policy, .but merely as a subject of ' municipal routine to be finalised by the Finance Committee. Did the Finance Committee inform flic full Council that as the result of its investigations it had decided that the continuance of the Sunday evening concert was detrimental to ■ public morals? Have the programmes a corrupting influence upon the parents of these same young people? For all the members of the ,City \2ouncil as a whole might know as to the actual motives at the back of this autocratic curtailment of public pleasure, the members of the Finance Committee may have decided that these concerts were keeping" too many •people off the city streets. ' The actual reason is not at all (hard to find. * ' '" . - It is simply another instance where the City Council is abusing the flowers it possesses to eliminate all competition with one of its own enterprises. There was no mention m the Finance Committee's recommend-ation that m future, .Sunday evening concerts should be prohibited m the . Town .Hall concert chamber. . Even supposing, for argument's, sake, that the persons conducting these concerts are making a small profit out of the silver coin contributions, or that the artists '.are being paid for their part m the entertainment, does that warrant such drastic action as complete prohibition?' If this crazy kink for interfering with the pleasures of an adult population is carried much further it will very soon be not an offence, but a crume, for a boy to whistle m the street on Sunday, for children to play, or' for a man to sing m his bath. When will the worm turn?