The Sun THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1928. THE VALUE OF PUBLICITY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 256, 19 January 1928, Page 10

The Sun THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1928. THE VALUE OF PUBLICITY

THE manifold geographical beauties and sporting attractions * of New Zealand are an unfailing theme for a people who live among them, and who do not err on the side of modesty in their description; but, as we are too painfully aware, those glories that are ours in the way of scenery and sport will not attract visitors if people abroad never learn of them. Thus New Zealanders should be thankful for a man like Zane Grey, an author with an international “public” and still one of the best sellers, who wanders along this way for a few months’ fishing, and then “tells the world about it” in a book.

Zane Grey’s “Tales of an Angler’s El Dorado” has brought, and is bringing, many amateur fishermen to the Dominion, including wealthy patrons of the sport from England and America. These visitors will return home with splendid tales of their experiences, and there is the chance that they will come out again, bringing others with them. But much depends upon how they are treated when they arrive here; how they are accommodated (they cannot all set up costly establishments, as do Mr. Zane Grey and his millionaire friends), and what courtesies are extended them.

Here is where the red tape of officialdom is likely to strangle the tourist influx, or at least to embarrass it gravely. The reiterated complaint of Sir Benjamin Fuller regarding the annoying restrictions to which visitors are submitted, the inquisitions to which they are subjected, and the vexatious regulations with which they have to comply before they can even drive their motor-cars off the wharf, must cause thoughtful New Zealanders to marvel at the stupidity of their own officialdom. On the one hand, there is the Government Publicity Department, fully seized with the importance of good publicity, doing splendid work to make New Zealand known abroad. On the other hand, other Government departments proceed to harass visitors as soon as they arrive, with the result that many of them refuse to return. Sir Benjamin Fuller is of the opinion that the tourist traffic from Australia alone would be worth £500,000 annually to the Dominion, if properly encouraged. Every tourist is a golden asset, and the sooner the superfluous issue of red tape is stopped, the'better it will be for the country.

SPORT AND SAVAGERY

SO Dempsey is to fight Tunney again! Modern sport as a spectacle'affords a striking illustration of the inherent savagery of the race. Civilisation has not done much for the spectator,. He still prefers those sports in which rude, untrammeled strength is of more account than skill and brains. The clash of man, stripped of social trappings, with only the barbaric strength of wind and limb as his weapons, is the most popular diversion of the twentieth century. Boxing has become a gigantic public spectacle, a grim struggle for the survival of the fittest—and the snatching of the dollars. The penalty of defeat for the gladiator of to-day may not be death, as it was in ancient Rome, but it is often financial oblivion. At the top are men like Tunney and Dempsey, feted, idolised and rich beyond the dreams of ordinary avarice, if not their own; below, a struggling mass of humanity, slashing, ripping and jabbing, each at the other, with all the concentrated fury and lust for blood that the modern prize-ring demands of those who climb through its bespattered ropes. Over a period of days, the skill and artistry of an international cricket match may perhaps command the same amount of public patronage as is crammed into an hour at the ringside or at a football match. But it is only a Ponsford in cricket, a Tilden in tennis, or a Paddock on the sprinting track who can hold the crowd to the same extent.

The pessimists will probably see in all this another text for a sermon on the degenerate tendencies of the times. It is true that the victory in sport is to the strong, and the weakest go to the wall; but it was ever thus, and all the moralising in the world hammers vainly against a brick wall. Public preference calls the tune, and what the publie demands is supplied. In the frantic scurry for existence, the so-called brutality of modern sport as a spectacle, is a “throw-back” to a more robust era. Possibly it is a safety-valve for the bottled-up passions of the race.

HELPING THE MOTORIST

ONE cannot pass through any part of the Auckland Province without realising that the Auckland Automobile Association is a body that has fully justified its existence. Everywhere is the sign of the A.A.A. to guide the touring motorist on his way, as certain aids to the traveller by land as are the sun and stars to those -wffio navigate the seas. In the wildest and most remote country—such as, for instance, lies between Te .Kuiti and Taumarunui—when the stranger is beginning to be uncertain as to his whereabouts, and to fear that he has missed the road, there will appear, as welcome as water in a desert, the yellow sign and direction board of the A.A.A. The A.A.A. is adding to its activities. It has decided to employ three uniformed patrolmen to assist motorists. One is chiefly to be engaged erecting additional direction boards; another on motor-cycle duty in the suburbs and country; the third to cover popular routes Hear the city with a motor-cycle outfit. The cycle combinations will be for the assistance of distressed drivers, and will be equipped with special tools for breakdown work. This fine service cannot, of course, be accomplished without cost. In fact, the annual expenditure to be involved by the extended activities of the association will amount to £i,600, which will include all salaries and running costs. It is expected that a largely increased membership will be obtained—a roll of 10,000 is aimed at for the near future—as the result of the new departure, and that this will remove any difficulties as to finance. Motorists who are frequently on the road, and who benefit by the provisions for safety and convenience made by the A.A.A., owe the association a debt of gratitude, and this can best be paid by joining its membership.