THIS TERRIBLE WORLD WE LIVE IN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 254, 18 June 1932, Page 4

THIS TERRIBLE WORLD WE LIVE IN

E. G.

W.

Being the Brief Impressions oe the Man in the Street on current aeeairs He had no doubt, said the Man in the Street, that having regard to recent events, a number of -our politicians, departing, would leave behihd them footprints in the sands of time, and fing-er-prints everywhere else, although so far as Mr. Lang was concerned, he doubted whether he had had time to leave even his fingeiprints. He had, however, undoubtedly left his deficit. On the facts, it rather loolced as though Mr. Stevens had asked for a mandate.from the people, and had been given a piece of lead piping as well. Another preci'pitate departure had been that of Sir Richard Squires, who had broken the well known record set hy the last rose of summer, while in both France and Germany the public was learning just how dear its dear departed had heen. Reports also indicated that Chili was becomittg tqo hot to live in, while in America, the Heave Out Hoover movement appeared to he gaining force every day. In fact, the majority of the world's politicians appeared to he so used to f olding their tents that the only differenee hetween them and the Arabs, who silently steal away, was that the Arabs did their stealing silently. Unfortunately, the only hgure among the great ones of the earth who refused to part, depart, or part up, was Mr. Forhes. In fact he had read somewhere that the poor we had always with us and Mr. Forbes appeared to be~developing the same characteristics. In any case, if both Mr. Forbes and the poor rcmained, it was only another example of the relation. between cause and effect. He had been sorry to learn that Mr. Forbes was not going to Ottawa, or further, and taking Mr. Coates and Mr. Stewart with him. He felt that a sea holiday would have benelltted all the honourable gentlemen and particularly Mr. Stewart, who, as a Scotehman, was doubtless attracted by the nohle lines. "The sea, the sea, the open sea, The blue, the fresh, the ever free." However, it was well known that politicians were able to cultivate a restful atmosphere without being rocked on the cradle of the deep, and Mr. Forbes had apparently decided that duty called him, which was the sort of stupid thing that duty would do. Like the majority of our modern damsels, Mr. Coates' mind was the only part of him that was not made up, and he was apparently employed at present in deciding whether the unemployed could remain unemployed without him. He had heen interested to learn that there was a strong movement on foot to restore the Hohenzollerns to the throne of Germany. He had always understood that the Kaiser had decided that the saw was mightier than the sword, but apparently the Crown Prince had heen persuaded that where thero's a Willie thero's a way. However, leaving the Willies-for the woollies, it appeared at present as though all the women had given up socking their husbands and were knitting the socks instead. He had endeavoured, as with everything, to take an intelligent interest in this knitting craze, hut his wife, who was knitting him a muffler, appeared to take the attitude that she was merely throwing her purls before swine. Knitting appeared to he like poker — one dropped a lot more than one picked up, and once a knitting school started, it was a lot harder to cut the marital knit than the marital knot. Once npon a time, neighbours had dropped in for a cup of tea and a bite, hut now they stayed for the bite and brought their knitting. Nowadays, his wife and the maid appeared to drop as many stitehes as dishes, which all went to show that the Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady were sisters under their skeins. From a woman's point of view, of course, knitting had one big advantage in that one could knit and talk at the same time. In this it differed from other women's sports where they merely talked at the same time. However, his experience had heen that most women enjoyed making things warm for their husbands, and for that reason he eonsidered the knitting craze, like his mother-in-law, had come to stay. And talking about coming to stay, ho would not give the barman an excuse to make that remarlc again.