The Sun 42 Wyndham Street, Auckland, N.Z. FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1927. “SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE. .

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 49, 20 May 1927, Page 8

The Sun 42 Wyndham Street, Auckland, N.Z. FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1927. “SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE. .

SOME sage advice is presented to the public by Cabinet Ministers, bankers and other luxurious representatives of wisdom as to the urgent need of national economy and a drastic reduction in expenditure on luxuries. Their plea, as usual, echoes most clearly among those who live in comparative luxury, but are willing to see the other fellow surrender the good things in life and go back to porridge, cold mutton, corduroys, and an occasional lift along a muddy highway in a farmer’s dray. If precept were accompanied by example, serious heed might well be given to ministerial homilies on the evils of extravagance. As things are in the highest places, however, much of the advice is sheer humbug and platitudinous nonsense. Everybody knows beyond telling that the country is suffering from an orgy of luxury and relatively easy life, outside dairy farms, but who is going to start a stampede toward simplicity, and what precisely are the luxuries to be cast out? Of course, the problem has been solved by the unenqdoyed and the guests of charitable soup-kitchens, but they are not happy over the result. Is the average working man to sacrifice his pipe and beer, even though he knows that both nowadays are absurdly expensive luxuries? He would rather part with the luxury of wickedly high rents and the preposterous cost of necessaries, if statesmen, instead of playing into the hands of the wealthy, would take a firm grip of national difficulties and make an end to exploitation. And will the rich man or the banker, who never loses, give up his cigar, his cocktail, his poker parties, his 12 per cent, dividends? To begin with, why does not the Reform Government give a practical lead in national economy and make one Minister do the work for which two are being paid, and compel two civil servants to perform the tedious tasks that now employ the services of three men, a boy, a typist and heaven knows how many departmental experts to initial and counter-check all the memoranda and correspondence about their palavering system? Following in the wake of the Prime Minister and a leading banker, the Hon. J. A. Young, Minister of Health, has sent out from the North a great appeal for thrift and a curtailment of luxuries. He has cited the prodigious expenditure on motorcars, petrol, spirituous liquors, wines, gramophones, radio sets and malt liquor. And he rounded off his homily with this pearl of wisdom: “There are many people in the country to-day who own motor-cars who would be far better off if they would lock their cars in garages and deposit the keys in a bank for a year.” Let is be granted that this ministerial advice is sound and worthy of acceptance! It follows, however, that Ministers of the Crown should also lock their departmental motor-cars in garages for a year and give the keys to the gaoler at Mount Eden. It is announced that the loss on the national railways last financial year ran to over half-a-million pounds sterling. Some of that loss could have been prevented if the Government had cut down the luxury of political lines, the luxury of overlapping management, the greater luxury of free travel by Ministers and public servants.

A LISTENERS-IN LEAGUE

COMPLAINTS regarding wireless broadcasting have been many and scathing; the programmes sent out by Auckland IYA have been openly derided; the Press has been inundated by correspondents who have written both in sorrow and in anger regarding entertainments which have been termed “insults to the intelligence.” On the other hand, .there have been some people to write in terms of appreciation, to whom jazz orchestras and songs of the “ Take Me Home to Mother” type have had a satisfying sound. Out of the welter of criticism there has as last evolved a concrete idea. A public meeting last night formed a committee to take the necessary steps for a Listeners-in League. It is proposed that the new body will be an amalgamation of wireless licence-holders, who will be enabled “to speak as one man” concerning their requirements in broadcasting. The use of wireless for entertainment has taken such a hold on the public fancy and is growing so rapidly that none can foresee the extent of its development, and it seems quite reasonable that many thousands of listeners-in should form an association to voice their views. They pay a licence fee which will form an immense sum in the aggregate if the popularity of wireless continues, and they have a right to take what steps are necessary to obtain value for their money. As to the broadcasting company, it should welcome the formation of a listeners-in league. The continued pin-pricking of disgruntled or dissatisfied licence-holders must have an embassassing effect on its operations, and it ought to find the way easier by dealing with a representative body which can give it a tangible idea of the requirements of the public.

NEWMARKET TRAFFIC CONGESTION

BROADWAY, now one of the most important shopping centres of Auckland and the outlet for all traffic going South and West, via Newmarket, offers a stiff problem for those concerned in the congestion brought about by the progress of recent years. The growth of settlement at Green Lane and Ellerslie and beyond, out past Remuera, the distant parts of Epsom, One Tree Hill, and far toward Onehunga has been phenomenal. To feed these suburbs there is an immense amount of traffic, all converging on Newmarket, which is now the main gateway to the city. Broadway is not so broad as its name implies, and the congestion of vehicles there in the busy hours is at once inconvenient and dangerous. There are alternative proposals to give access from the Remuera Road to Ivhyber Pass, without the necessity of going through Broadway. The decision as to the best route lies with the local authorities. There are difficulties in the way, but means must be. found for these to be overcome, and those responsible for the solution of the problem must bear in mind that delay will only make matters worse and probably increase the cost.