Citizens Say-

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 800, 22 October 1929, Page 8

Citizens Say-

(To the Editor.)

LIQUOR AND MOTOR ACCIDENTS

Sir,— It was suggested by a correspondent of The Sun yesterday that evidence of sobriety should be given when application is being made for motor-car driver’s licence. That is impossible—it is Obvious at the outset—but I suggest that once a man is convicted of having caused an accident definitely through partaking of liquor, then he never should be given another chance. But here, again, there is such a fine line of discrimination in determining whether or not liquor is the cause of an accident that to deprive a man of his freedom in driving when there is a shadow of doubt would be to establish a dangerous precedent. Do not let us go too far in our enthusiasm to regulate the private habits of the motorists. . MOTORIST.

SHOPLIFTING EVIL

Sir, — I noticed that, iii the pawnbroker’s reply to business men, published in last evening’s Sun, it is made clear that anyone who recognises in a pawnbroker’s shop a stolen article belonging to him must reimburse the pawnbroker before he can secure it. That, surely, is an extraordinary state of affairs. Supposing A steals B’s car and sells it to C, afterward disappearing. I have always understood from specific cases that if B recognises his car in C’s possession, he may claim it. and C is the loser unless he can find A and wring the money out of him. Why is it, then, that this rule does not apply to the pawnbroking business? It is a perfectly just one. Things being as they are, I suggest it would make pawnbrokers much more cautious if they stood to lose what they paid for stolen articles. OBSERVER.

MIGRATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Sir.— It is to be hoped that no official notice will be taken of the hint which has been extended from Great Britain for the Dominions to absorb immediately some of the surplus population of the Old Country. We in New Zealand, as those elsewhere, are sorry for the people at Home, but charity in this instance begins right here, and whsn

we have set our own house in order, then, and only then, must we consider the prospect of bringing any further migrants to the Dominion. It does not seem to have dawned upon our politicians that to bring to Hew Zealand people willing to go into industry—but possessing no capital—without providing adequate assistance for the industries which are to absorb them, is simply crushing any scheme at its inception. Population must be stimulated if industry is to progress, and industry must in turn be encouraged if it is to feed a growing population. But what happened a few years ago, when the flood of migrants from England filled this country? Tile people were brought out here without any reasonable chance of success, and industry was allowed to wallow along in the trough of depression, and struggle for itself. If Hew Zealand is to help the Motherland, it will not be by an empty gesture of Imperialistic magnanimity, but by handling the problem in a fearless and a comprehensive manner. Money must be spent, and spent in big quantities, if we are to get a return. Let us get to it.

STATUES—AND OTHER THINGS

Sir, — Your correspondent “J. 0.” rather misses the point of my remarks about the statues. He seems to think that I was objecting to tile lack of physical beauty of Nurse Cavell and Kitchener, i have no wish to see the one represented as a “young and beautiful flapper, or the other as a matinfie idol. He asks me if the statues of these two people are not like them, im sure I don’t know. X have seen photographs of Hurse Cavell, but I pretend to know whether the erngj hi* fhe hospital, w-hich reminds one of Prehistoric Peeps” more than anything else, resembles her or not. I hope it doesn’t. lam on surer ground in regard to the Kitchener monument, for I have seen dozens of pictures of the soldier, on cigarette-cards and other places. The face certainly does bear a faint resemblance to the original. But if the whole statue is a fair representation of Lord Kitchener, then all I can say is that he was wasting his time in the Army. He ought to been . m a circus. The thing is a monstrosity. In any case even a perfectly true likeness of Kitchener would not make a statue of him a thing of - - (Continued iq next column.).

beauty. Perhaps lam peculiar, but X cannot help thinking that a statue of a man in full dress is a vulgar and deplorable sight—unless it happens to have been doner by a Rodin. And when the full dress takes the form of a military uniform, the thing slops ov£t into farce. However all this is beside the point of my article. I was merely concerned with the artistic side of the matter, which doesn’t seem to bulk very largo in the mind of “J. 0.” As long as a public statue is “like the man it represents,” God’s in His Heaven and all’s right with the world. It seems that l am “wasting my great brain” in bothering about such trifles as the artistio value of public statues. Man, as we have been told, can live quite nicely by bread alone, and quibblers like myself should turn their attention to the all-important business of filling the bellies of the populace. . . • Ah, well! I decline to become heated. The Apollo Belvedere never did stand a chance against a £o9*; juicy beefsteak, and it’s no use trying to mend matters at this stage. our patriotic zealots vulgarise the city as much as they like by erecting preposterous blocks of stone in every nooK and corner. They will remain as monuments (in two ways) to the period ana the place in which we live. There S only one thing I have to say in copelusion. The Glorious Fifth draws nigh. What about a statue to the late Mr. Fawkes, who, we have been assured, was “the only man who ever went to Parliament with good intentions?” Will some of our enthusiasts oblige? * _ _ „ A-R.D-F,

COMMEMORATIVE ART

Sir,— - Of all the foolish letters commend me to that of “J. 0.,” who has apparently the mentality of a half- stunned water-fowl. How can any man in his right senses write such tosh as: ‘it any public-spirited people wish to erect a memorial to someone, so long as is like them. I say let them go ahead. I say, for Heaven’s sake, stop This is a young country and at tns rate we are going we shall soon have it littered with stone atrocities. Tn© nation that blunders on without pacing due regard to the cultural side ot things is a nation that can never aspire to greatness. Would the smallest village in any country of Europe permit the construction of some of the memorials that are unveiled in the ence of local bigwigs, all over New Zealand? Emphatically, no. I a P I delighted that The Sun has seen fit t° publish some articles on the subject. It is high time that a board was established to consider all plans for these projects and to be given power to reject absolutely anything that f all = below the standard set for works ot art. We cannot go on peppering tne country with obelisks and crude representations of apparently hydrocephalous persons, wearing, drainpipes in lieu of trousers. One glimpse at the commemorative art of America' i* enough to convince us that —in this respect—we in New Zealand are living in the very dark ages. _ SAMOA i