FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 598, 26 February 1929, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN." THE MINISTERIAL PICK The Lion. E. A. Ransom, in malting; his inspection to ascertain the stability of the Arapuni dam, concerning which he will present a report to Cabinet, wielded a pick on the sides of the ravine. Minister of Public Works, forsooth , He •icields a useful pick, And if persuaded , probably, Could lay a pretty brick. What if he calls a spade a spade And demonstrates the facts That all he picked teas pretty soft — And the job must yet the axe? McSHOVEL. * * * FILM MAGNATE TALKS David Wark Griffith says the talkies ■will oust the legitimate stage in five years. The potent film magnate used to be a reporter. An actor friend suggests that possibly he interviewed himself, TROUBLESOME TITLES The protracted controversy ov§r the name of Whitianga, Mercury Bay, or whatever it is, has prompted the suggestion that a compromise be effected by calling' the place “Zane Bay.” ZEPPELIN’S CRUISE The projected cruise of the Graf Zeppelin, which recently crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic, and is now to go to North Africa, recalls a notable Zeppelin exploit of which little was heard when it happened during the war. Though used on a nefarious business, the German Zeppelins were in a high state of efficiency. This particular ship was stationed in Rumania after that country had been practically conquered hy von Mackensen, and it was decided to send it to the aid of the German forces in East Africa. The ship hopped off from northern Greece, beginning what was to be a long cruise to the vicinity of Lake Tanganyika. Having crossed Egypt and reached the extreme south of the Sudan, her crew learned that the East African forces had capitulated. They could not risk a landing, and the return journey, accomplished in the face of many dangers at a remarkable altitude, constituted a feat that even to-day has been rarely surpassed. Not all the Zeppelins were favoured with such luck. On the later cruises over London it was practically certain that two or more ships would be lost each time they sallied forth. After the armistice two daring crews planned to keep their Zeppelins out of British hands by flying them to America, but the plot was discovered, allegedly by a British spy, and the ships were afterwards mysteriously destroyed in their hangars.

UNDISCOVERED AUSTRALIA In a work on “Undiscovered Australia,” Sir Hubert Wilkins has presented an unflattering picture. His hook on “Undiscovered Antarctica” should be worth reading.

SOB STUFF Mail-order songs embodying a treacly sentiment that makes the “Prisoner’s Song” seem flinty by comparison are acquiring a great vogue in America. Here is part of a song that—based on the sinking of the Vestris —has gripped the heartstrings and loosened the purse-strings of the nation: —- They sailed on their wav o’er the deep *blue ocean, , , With never a thouyht of fear, For there on the bridge stood Captain Carey, f the prep-haired captain. Waiting for death to oefOll, - nmrone And though we know that someone blundered. We should forgive after all . And then there is the Eugene Aram sort of motif of “Little Marion Parker,” which enjoyed a sale of over 300,000 immediately it was issued: And then they caught the coward, young Hickman was their man, They brought him back to justice, his final trial to start. All of which suggests that when the “New York Times” gloats over Sir Hubert Wilkin’s statement that Australia has “a class without high culture, and without the desires or Inclinations that foster art or learning.” it should first of all look around L in its own vicinity.