Shannon News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923.

Shannon News, 6 February 1923, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923.

Miss Aimers has taken up her duties as relieving teacher at the local school'. -

The local school children’s annual excursion to Plinimerton takes place on Saturday, February 24.

The usual fortnightly meeting oi the Borough Council, will be. held in the> Council. Chambers this evening.

On Saturday afternoon a car belonging to the • Foxton Motor Co. came to grief in Ballance Street ow r ing to the back axle breaking.

Messrs. H. A: Scott and H. JHook ieit Shannon on Saturday evening, per motor car, on a fishing excursion to Waiouru, on the Main Trunk line.

In connection with the Soldiers’ Memorial Fund, we been requested to state that donations can be left with the Town Clerk, Mr J. T. Bovis.

Yesterday afternoon a oar driven by Mr McGill, ol Koputaroa, went over a hank at Makerua, owing to something going wrong with the steering gear. Fortunately no damage was done.

A largely attended meeting ol the Shannon Tennis Club was held on Friday evening, Mr J. T. Bovis president, occupying the chair. He stated the meeting had been called to discuss the advisability ol purchasing section 5, Vance Street, belonging th llie Borough Council, lor the purpose, ol laying down tour courts. At the present time the club was forced to turn away .members on account ol not having the accommodation, and ,in the interests ol the game it had been thought advisable to secure more courts. The site under consideration contained nearly hall’, an acre, and could be purchased lor .£BO. Alter a long discussion oil the ways and means ol raising money it was decided to secure the section, and a committee consisting of the presi-; dent, secretary, captain and Mr Beard were appointed to go into the question ol raising the money and also of the club becoming incorporated, and to report at a future meeting. !

Owing lo the Shannon School Ccmuuiti.ee nut being able to come to a satisfactory arrangement for a second concert to .raise funds towards the school excursion to- Plimmerton, it has been, decided to send out subscription lists with a view ,to augmenting * the hinds ■ now in hand. The Committee trusts that parents and others will respond as liberally as in the past. .Mr Glut ha Mackenzie, accompanied by his secretary,' Mr McQuame, were visitors to Shannon on Friday last to make an angements -in connection with/ the collection of (funds for the Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial Fun'd. Mr Mackenzie arranged with the Mayor (Mr Murdoch) that a week he set aside for, the purpose of collecting, and ./that a ycohunittee be set up to assist. Mr Mackenzie will again visit Shannon shortly, when' he will deliver a lecture. . ‘

Acoustics would, seem to be a little understood science among architects. The council, chamber of the new London County;Council Ha'll, built at a cost of £4,000,000, is so bad for speaking, in that it has been found necessary to call.in experts to devise means of improvin gthe acoustics.

“Hqllo, U.5.A.,” written acro’ss the sky in,letters ai mile long caused a great, craning of necks in New York uu a recent morning, < and the , trafitc was blocked lor some time while drivers and chauffeurs gazed at the white scrawl. ‘Die writing was carried out by Captain Cyril Turner, of London, to demonstrate the possibilities of skywriting.

The. popularity pi ihe J/Jimineriou beach, is- being illustrated at present. On Friday the children of the College Street (Palmerston) and Buniiythorpe schools went 10 that resort, while a thousand people went by a special train from Feilding on Saturday morning. The Tokomiim School picnic also was held there that, day, as well as the annual excursion of 200 employees of a Palmerston hosiery factory. Levin School will visit Plimmerton on Wednesday.

The . traffic at the counter of' our city hanks on an ordinarily busy dayneed not ! be regarded, says a writer in the Manchaster Guardian, as typical' of what goes on in other places. At a sub-branch office in a remote seaside village business in,- the winter is inclined to. flag. One cold, foggy morning the clerk in charge and a junior arrived as usual and proceeded to await whatever might turn up. But nothing, did turn up. After a weary day, reading the newspaper, twiddling his thumbs, and looking; out of the window at the cold, grey sea., the clerk told the boy to shut' the front door. The lad “jumped to it,” and relurned looking rather flustered. “Have you closed it all right?” asked tbe chief. “Oh, ves, it’s closed all

right, sir. The'fact'is I forgot to open it this morning.” Firemen are not generally ■ thought to he great sticklers for etiquette, but an incident on one of the Timaru wharves this week, when an overseas steamer was about to sail, indicates that the fireman is not always prepared to surrender his right to certain minor formalities (says the Timaru Post). The steamer was- ready t« put to sea, but two of the firemen were missing: -After the siren had shrieked its warning thrice they appeared, slightly inebriated, coming along the wharf. The gangway .was lowered sufficiently to allow the men to climb on without much difficulty, hut one man flatly refused to clamber lip. He quoted the regulations stat-

ing that the gangway must be lowered down to the wharf, and harangued the ship’s officers on deck at great length on his steady, determination not to waive one jot or tittle of his privilege in the light of the laws governing gangways. So the gangway was duly brought down to ihe level of the wharf, and, with much dignity and precision his Majesty the Stoker came aboard-

The Lord Mayor (Alderman Gilpin) has provided two specimens of his wisdom (says the .Sydney correspondent of the Melbourne Argus). They were given lorih on the one day, which for the Town I-lall seems rather like .“speeding up.” A party of hoys of Ihe Cootamundra-Temora district have been having a good time in the city, in charge of two Methodist clergymen who promoted the trip. These lads were entertained by lire Lord Mayor. He approved the enterprise, but warned the clergymen that they should apply mental sedatives to allay the possibly unhealthy excite-ment-created by city novelties and delights. “Too many country youths are already ■ attracted to the city,” said Alderman Gilpin; “city boys should be taken to the country.” The other deliverance was prompted by the suggestion of a civic reception for a visiting swimmer. “Nothing doing!” said tbe Lord Mayor. “This honour has been cheapened in the past, and I am going to make it worth while by 1 limiting receptions to those who obviously command notice. ” There seems to be but little opposition to this view. x . V

Nine cases of appendicitis are said to have occurred in an Auckland family and its immediate connections.

Dr. Thacker, ex-M.P. for Christchurch East, reckbns there will he another general election on March 20. rie is going to America, hut intends to leave a nomination, paper already made out,, but for Christchurch East, not for Christchurch,as he says .there will be proportional representation. A woman of the most unmistakably conservative type had •accidently got into the railway carriage reserved for smokers. With ill-concealed indignation she saw the- man next to her All his pipe. “Sir,” she said, frigidly, ‘‘smoking always makes me ill.” “Does it, ma’am,” was the polite rejoinder. “Take my advice and give it up.” \

A humorous touch was added to the swimming sports at the Calliope Dock, Auckland, on Monday afternoon by a large black dog repeatedly taking part in the races. Though he invariably came last, the dog was always ready when another event was started. When the racing was over, the animal, not yet tired of the sport, attempted to take part in the game of wafer polo, but this being a distinct breach of the regulations, he was ejected from the bath.'

The interest best represented in the New Zealand Parliament is. always the fanning interest. In the new House of Representatives there are 27 farmers. The next group in point of numbers is that of lawyers, who are nine. “Five journalists form the only other homogeneous mass, for the six members who may be described as agents are engaged in a variety of 'businesses, and (have consequently'diverse interests. ,In addition to 27 farmers, nine lawyers, six agents, five journalists, two secretaries, two en-gine-drivers, and two labourers, there are in the new House a printer, a manufacturer, • a fruitgrower, a saddler, an engineering employer; a county engineer, an engine-fitter, a merchant, a draper, a clothier, a storekeeper, a dehtist, a refreshment-room keeper, a school teacher (retired), a commercial traveller, an assayer; a polisher, a 'signwriter,-a baker, a grower’s assistant, a storeman, and a eellarman. The native members are not accounted for in the analysis.

An unpleasant experience befel a voung' girl about IS years of age while battling at Friendly Bay (says the “North Otago Times”), as the resuit of the sudden iappearance of an octopus. The devil-fish made aii attempt to clasp the limbs of the unfortunate girl, who, however, was rescued from harm by a lady bather in the vicinity. Beyond suffering a little from shock, no other injuries were received. '

Tiie Monthly Abstract of Statistics shows that during' the 11 months ended November, 1922, 157 Chinese, seven Hindus, and 35 other coloured persons arrived in New Zealand with the intention of residing' permanently in the country. During the same period 13 Chinese, five Hindus, and 1 1 o' 1 other coloured “permanent residents” took their departure with the intention of returning. During the' last few weeks spurious half-crowns have been handed over the counter of one of the Napier banks, but they were easily detected and promptly destroyed (states the “Hawke’s Bay Herald"). The only counterfeit denomination in circulation seems to be the half-crown, and they are made of some base metal very much like silver, but lighter in weight, and do not ring truly. The design is not so clearly executed as that on minted coins, but they are good enough to pass muster on some occasions.

A secret society, similar to the Ku Klux Klan of America and the Facisli of Italy./is springing up in' England, the ‘‘Daily News” declares. The organisation is called the Order of Crusaders. It was founded two. years ago and recently launened. an intensive recruiting campaign. Its total strength is kept secret. The garb of the oruer consists of crimson robes with a large

| cross on the front of the gown. Inter- ■ viewed, the Grand Seneschal declared 1 he knew a little of the ICu Klux Klan and the Fascisti, but asserted: . “I am not prepared to answer questions as to our relationship until I consult o,ur ' committee.” ' A Wellington lady during a recent visit to New York, went through the telephone exchange ,in that city. “It i was certainly most interesting,” writes the visitor, A as this: exchange has all the ’phones of the New York financial district, and is, I believe, the largest in the world. Soiiie of these build,uigs have so many sub-exchanges. For" instance, a building like the Whitehall would have as many,as 2000 ’phones, and you can guess, once seeing New York down-town, what a number, of , ’phones are in use. The girls work , eight hours on day duty They have their meals at a cgfetaria on the premises! They have a fine rest-room, ] with piano and graphaphone. On one | 'floor there are dental-rooms, hospital \ rooms, etc. They employ fourteen i doctors and eight nurses. The doctors do not actually treat the employees, but give them advice; and in the dental division the teeth are cleane\d free, and advice is given as to where the teeth can be treated otherwise. The girls , are only permitted to use set sentences over the wire; any" other conversation means instant dismissal. At the end of each board there is a list- j cner, who reports on each girl if ne- . cessary. In another room is a board J which registers how many calls each J girl receives a day. This register is not written down, but is photographed, and then there can be no mistakes. They have some automatic ’phones m, but it would take years before they were all installed where there are so many subscribers.” Just a rub of liquid “Tan-ol" makes home a brighter place. Polishes j floors, furniture ana leather goods j ■Aij'i ;n rust** form.

The Rev. Father Dooiaghty, who has been parish priest at Opunake for the past six years, has received word of his transfer to Foxton as parish priest. He will be leaving Opunake about the middle of February. Father . Forrestal, of, Foxton, goes to Inglewood, Taranaki.

It is reported on good authority that Brigadier-General G. S. Richardson,' General Officer in Charge of Administration at Defence Headquarters, Wellington, is to be appointed Administrator : of Samoa.

The Hon. J. G. Coates, PostmasterGeneral, while, not predicting an early return to the penny postage, has stated it.is-within,the bounds, of possibility. The. Department did not want the reduction to l|d on ! letters made final. That reduction would represent about £300,000 to the Department, but it had been made possible by departmental reorganisation and the strict , exercise of economy, reports the Christchurch Sun. If this policy were' maintained, he was of the opinion that the penny postage would* return.

A post office town in Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) was strangely named. It is called Aitch, and ithis is the way it came by that title. There were in that part of Huntingdon County five prosperous farmers, named respectively Anderson, Isenberg, Taylor, Crum, and Henderson. Each of them wished the town to be named after himself,' but they could not come to an agreement; and finally, as a compromise, the first letter from each name was taken and placed together, and thereby origin, ated the odd name of Aitch.

Most of us have heard ’of the mythical goose that lays the golden eggs. Mr J. Stra'chan, of Balfour, has quite another story to tell, says the ,“Mataura Ensign.” The other day ' this gentleman killed a goose, and among the contents of its gizzard was a quantity ol' gold. This, we learn, is not unique in the experience of people thereabouts, gold being often taken from the “innards”, of geese whose feeding ground is iii the vicinity of the Waimea stream. Mr F. Gluyas is the possessor of a red . diamond secured in like fashion. '

When berthing' at the cross wharf Dunedin, the Canterbury Steam! Ship, ffiing' Company’s qteamer .Breeze struck the centre of the wharf with some force. It was blowing hard from the north-east, and the weather was very thick when the . Breeze, which came from Wanganui and way ports, entered the basin; between the Rattray.street and Birch.street wharves about nine o’clock.' She approached, her allotted berth at a slow speed, but the thick weather made navigation very difficult, and the steamer’s bow struck the wooden planking. The stem cut through a heavy piece of ironhara timber, splintered it to its entire length smashed a stringer under the wharf, and bent the water service, .pipe. The steamer itself suffered very little damage. One of th.e plates in the bow on the port side well above the waterline was pierced in several places aria dented. . ,