THE DRAPER MAN.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 523, 16 April 1920, Page 2

THE DRAPER MAN.

(For the "Times")

Dear Sjr- I'd crave a little space In your invaluable pape.;, To say I think it a disgrace

How we're exploited by the draper The Draper-man he once was shine And looked like you and I. But cent per cent has bloated him, And we're the reason why. I say we are the reason why: And why are we the reason"' Because, dear madams, you must buy

Clothes in and out of season. Dunedin damsels in the van, Have made the first expression Of theii" intent that Draper-man To teach a wholesome lesson. They've said they'll not buy furs and muffs, Or skirts frilled out with pleating, No Valenciennes on neck or cuffs, Or hats they look so sweet in. Thev'll strive no more in Fashion's

mart, . >' Have hats but six ov seven. They soon will look quite neat and smart. (The husbands breathe, "Thank heaven!") y " So ladies, if you'd all refuse To buy, he'd soon be jasle To realise he'd killed tha* goose We hear of in the fable*. Old Adam had a splendid plan I'm far too shy to mention. But in his time each Draper-man Received the old-age pension. Our weal his one obsession, (We've sometimes seen a- wall-fed puq .$ „ With rXaeh the same exp/estapn). lie goes monthly to the kirk, And prays aloud each Sunday, ' .. i Adds zeal and favour to the work, S And ten per cent on Monday. And yet I sometimes wonder how He'll ever get to Heaven. He's grown so fat there'd" be no room . jjf Fo? more than six or seven, Thovfgi&his desserts he may not get-' To,wtite the Black Maria, -.■-* |H. I fancy in' thß end the fat *§| --- Will finish in the fire. LYDIA LWGUISH. .'.

bulls -Rutherford's and Hull's—commenced to fight and broke through . on to Rutherford's property. The staples,, were tojn out for about a chain. Referring to the posts in the fenes, witness said the posts were oJU, puri-i and kahikatea and were rathesiTf rotten and blowing over. Staples-;. , would not hold the wires up to thV fences. The drain on Mr. Hull's' boundary was kept in good order. He had cleaned the drain out, and it was perfetcly clean. The wire was in fai.'y good order right through, ex- •; cepting on Gibbon's fence, where the' wire was buried in the grass and rotted. All the time witness #as there Given had not repaired his portion of the fence but he had cleaned out the difein. Mr. Rutherford asked wanted anything, and wft ness replied "no." On one occasion Rutherford asked him where he could get some posts, and witness told him. The reason he did not strain the wire was because he had no strainer. Mi'. Rutherford forwarded some staples to Pukekohe, witness picking them up, using them several times to repair the fences when the bulls broke through. He cleaned oat drains on the property in April. The reason for starting early was to make the work easier when the growth was not so heavy. He left about the middle of June. The reason he did not complete the cleaning of the drain was because he had r jr not time, Mr. Rutherford writing jK to get on with the erection of a uew cowshed. There were 20 cows not dried off at the end of May. About the middle of June a heid of cow} was taken to the place and put on. Given's place. One evening witness £ told Rutherford and Hawkej&ary < that the cows were not dried ojf;snd that they had better be attend«|jto. Mr. Rutherfoi'd never mentioneflrany? r hing about the fences, nor d«l he mention that he was not satisfied with witness' work. Witness was working at the drains right up to the time the northern herd was brought down. There was no drain at the cowshed other than a small • ' drain from the milk cooler. In the yard it was so clean that Mr. Rutherford had tipped sand with which to construct a shed and instal milking machines. He never received any instructions from Rutehiiford as to where to put the manure. He had tipped it there for many years. To Mr. Conlan: He may have used three or four pounds of staples during his term there. He carried out the terms of the contract as far as he was able.

To the Magistrate: The place changed hands from Walters to Hastings and tehn to Rutherford. J. Walters, a previous owner, said he owned the place for a number of years. He and his brother did the fencing about 14 years some of

.. 20 years ago. When he sold to Hastings the fences were not good; in fact, they were about the same now as when lie sold. When he saw ihe boundary femes in February they we.e f;ood enough to hold the ordinary dairy cow. Liking at the feme on Of tuber ti. i:'l7, when he sold, and again on February 2 last, they compared favourably with when he sold. In his time there never were drains round the cowshed. There never was a \ard. l>ul the approaches were metalled. The yard was meicly a dividing night and day fence. 'lne manure dump was purely a dunui for reclaiming the land in anr^V creek. At the time the agree-itUMft was signed the manure could .have been carted away. He was mori^pgco of the property, but as niortrafcee lie did not think the value of tufKnces had deteriorated. Mr. R. Walters said that Carroll, witness, and the hitter's man repaired the feme known as Lull's. Carroll assisted with this work. Some of the fences were put up ovei 20 years ago and others about 20 years ago. When witness had a sharemilker he would inspect the fences, and if they required repairing he would supply" the material and direct the share-milker to do the nqressury repairs. Aftet? hearing legal arguutfnt, His Worship gave judgment Tor Mr. Rutherford for £25 and costs amounting ot £3 ll8 A