From The Watch Tower

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 457, 12 September 1928, Page 8

From The Watch Tower

By

“THE LOOK-OUT MAN.”

THE SPEED HOG'S ANTHEM! New traffic regulations in New Jersey exonerate motorists from any responsibility for street accidents which occur between regular crossings, thus making jay-walkers fair game for the speeding motorists in future. Chants the 'merry speed hoy Loud and sweet and clear: Oh! To be on Broadway Now that Sirring is here! In the open season All the nights and days, Stepping on the juice, boys — Nora the laivS are loose, boys — Skittling all those jays! Never mind the headlights, Running boards are cheap: Swoop upon the small boy — Catch him in full leap j Bounce the stout old lady, Blow the old man down, Cheer them as they drop, boys — Winking at the . cop, boi/s Freedom's come to town! CLIMAX Mr. Litchfield, navigator of tlie Southern Cross, rode from the Sockburn airdrome to Christchurch in a furniture van. The L.0.M., who once spent a day or so in Christchurch and learned something of its roads in general and the one to Sockbarn in particular, can only describe this as a fitting climax to a wild and “bumpy” flight. No doubt Mr. Litchfield wished he were back in the Southern Cross. ♦ * * A BAD START A gold medal for annual competition in oratory lias been presented to a Southern college. What is the Child Welfare League doing about this? Surely its duty is to guard the younger generation of the Dominion from pernicious influences! * * * SCOTCHING A LION A young lion at the London Zoo is being fed on porridge. Fears are entertained that instead of developing a full-throated roar so essential to the zoo lion, it may make vain endeavours to say “Hoots.” COME ON, WELLINGTON Auckland has scored another point over the capital city according to figures reported at the Harbour Board meeting yesterday. Shipping handled last month amounted to 336,746 tons, a substantial Increase over last month. Wellington’s figures will be augmented this month, of course, by a few more tons registered when the monoplane Southern Cross made port on Tuesday, September 11.

ROMANCE Two Balkan kings, Zogu (the new Albanian “mpret”) and Boris, are rivals for the hand of a fair Princess of Italy—Giovanna. Rather romantic, but what a pity there is no dragon for them to engage in mortal combat, thus solving the problem by chivalrous elimination. Of course Signor Mussolini might undertake the role, but the problem might then be solved by the elimination of both Kings, and it is not good that fairy tales should end that way. DOGS IN CHURCH Some surprise was expressed the other day at the presence of a' black retriever dog during the service of solemn evensong at St. Barnabas’s, Pimlico, England. It strolled about the aisle until the sermon began, then, with a proper decorum, it settled down near one of the front pews and went to sleep. Later it walked behind the vicar in the procession around the aisles. There are sound precedents. In the grey, roughhewn little churches of the Scottish Highlands, where singing is confined to the Psalms, and the fire-and-brim-stone touch is expected of the preacher, the collie still sometimes insists, without protest, on accompanying his shepherd master into the pew. In Lapland the presence of doss in church is quite a commonplace, especially in winter, when they are exercised by being allowed to run several leagues with their master’s reindeer sledge, and might catch a bad chill if they had then to sit down in the snow for a couple of hours. In England itself dogs used so commonly to go to church that the verger was provided with special long wooden tongs wherewith to drag out from beneath pews those needed to be evicted or withdrawn from a fight. Several churches still preserve the dog-tongs among their relics of bygone days.