FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 387, 22 June 1928, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN.” HOW COULD HE? Hundreds of people who in the past have been fined for having failed to produce tickets when demanded by railway guards have been wrongly convicted, apparently. Recently, an Ashburton man was prosecuted on this charge—‘although he had obtained permission to travel from the stationmaster at Christchurch, leaving his name and address as a guarantee that he would pay his fare later, which he did. The Ashburton magistrate held that as the man had no ticket, he could not be charged with having failed to produce his ticket. A Solo-mon-like decision. How can one produce what one has not? It is up to the Justice Department to expunge from the records the names of all those who have wrongly been convicted in the past of failing to produce something from nothing. THE XJNTRUE HEROES Deep in the heart of every man is the desire to be a hero. This seed, long dormant, and languishing for need of propagation, is quickened by momentous events like the successful Pacific flight. How many castles in the air were created by this epic adventure! Men in all walks of life, and in diverse environments, dreamed of conquests untold and of hero worship. To the dreamers, the honeyed cup of success seemed for one short moment a reality. But the call of every-day affairs brought these castles tumbling about their ears, though many are veritable, even if unrecognised, heroes in their daily struggles. If only we had the courage or the audacity to risk the scoffing -which we know would attend the failure of our schemes, there would be many a brow crowned with the laurel wreath which now wears the marks of failure and disappointment. How true those words, ‘‘Nothing venture, nothing win.” * * * THE MAN-EATERS Former observations of the Australian black support the allegations made by Daisy M. Bates regarding cannibalism in Northern and Central Australia (republished from “The Australasian” in yesterday’s Sun. The degree to which cannibalism prevails depends probably on the amount of natural food available. Wallace mentions that it is not always from necessity, but sometimes also from choice. Natives will occasionally kill and eat one child as a sacrifice to save an ailing child, in some districts the flesh is removed and eaten before disposal of the bones of a deceased member of the tribe; and as no distinction is made between dead meat and killed meat, conviction for killing is almost impossible. Several cases of cannibalism are on record in the police courts: one at Roehourne, before Colonel Angelo; another at Geraldton, before Sir Edward Stone, at the Criminal Sessions. Lastly, a white man received a message from some natives on an island in Exmouth Gulf that they had a baby ashore cooked, and that If he liked to come he could have a bit. According to the Federal statistics for the Northern Territory for 1921, the remarkable figure for half-castes is given as eight , in a census (excluding aboriginals) of 2,204 males over 21, 461 females over 21, and 22 Chinese. —lrlTlrlrlrlvl-j-lvl-l—(-(rivlrrr:-

MATTERS MUNICIPAL “Dear Look-Out Man, —One has only to reflect for a moment to realise the enormous task placed on the shoulders of a sedre or so of men in administering the truly municipal functions of a large city. There is the formulation of by-laws, the provision of sanitation, care of health, provision of parks, and a dozen and one other matters of equal importance which alone appear to be the true functions of a municipal body. To these, however, councillors of a decidedly plutocratic and ambitious turn of mind have added trading departments—mostly in matters requiring expert control, which the council is not qualified to supply. Consequently expensive advisers have to be appointed by a board admittedly unqualified to judge the suitability of the applicants, so that frequently the wisdom of their selection is at least questionable. Apart from the suitability of municipal control—on which point alone much more could be said —there is the question of its economic wisdom. No local body can go bankrupt so long as there is a ratepayer, which means that the making of a loss on trading departments can be, and Is, made up by increased rating. On the other hand, if the departments make a profit, does this not contravene the principle of municipal enterprise being a utility and not a profit-making concern? Then, also, the country loses in revenue, in that the profits (If any) of a municipal enterprise are free from the imposition of income tax payable by a private trader, and this lost income has to be made up again from the pockets of the public. Let local governing bodies keep to government.