Citizens Say—

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 818, 12 November 1929, Page 10

Citizens Say—

(To Uie Editor.)

A MONUMENT Sir, — i should like to offer a suggestion to those who are interested in the Elsie Walker case. What about the mothers and daughters of New Zealand being allowed to erect a plain white cross? If each and all Mho are in sympathy with this girl, were to give, say, Is. each, a small monument could be erected somewhere, perhaps on the spot where her body was found. These silent monuments sometimes clo more, good than all the preaching. MOTHER. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS Sir, — Your correspondent "Fresh Air” puts the case very mildly when he suggests that Mr. Miller’s statements are surprising. Canterbury is the home of the open-air schools movement in New Zealand and the excellent results achieved place the success of the Fend alt on type of classroom long past the experimental stage. There seems to be no sound reason why a Fendalton type of classroom should not be fairly tried out in Auckland. It is deplorable that Mr. Miller should take up a condemnatory attitude in regard to the Fendalton type of classroom. When matters vitally affecting the welfare ol children are at stake petty prejudices need scrapping. SQUARE DEAL. THE HARBOUR BRIDGE Sir. — j It seems that your correspondent | “Progress” has based his arguments lon wliat lie has seen of past harbour : traffic rather than on a close investi- ; gat ion of the facts. This is alto- ! gother a wrong attitude, as the bridge will not be built for the past. ! The deepest Mater inside North j Head is between Point Erin and NorthI cote, and the next deepest farther up, j though few appear to be aware of this, las it lias not until now been necessary j to use these anchorages except on a I few occasions. In the future, however, it will be far too valuable to be | shut off by a bridge. Calliope Dock, even now. is too i small, and the only suitable site for a new floating or dry dock is on the i deep water above Northcote. There iis also a reserve (not far off) for a ! naval base above Chelsea against the time when the Devonport reserve is i.oo small. A comparatively low bridge as suggested by the Bridge Association Mould render this useless. Farther up everything is in favour of a traffic bridge to the north. There is a long reef running a greater part of the way across and high lynd directly opposite on the northern side. A road extending from Quay Street along the St. Mary’s Bay wall to a bridge on the above reef and then a direct road to the railway somewhere | about Tahekeroa M ould shorten the 1 distance north by even a greater

amount than that mentioned by your correspondent. Shoal Bay is far too valuable to be used as a bridgehead. With a halftide wall'across the entrance it -.vould make an ideal commercial seaplane base right near the city, and Ngataringa Bay, lying as it does in our two prevailing winds, could be tilled in as an airdrome. There are also other obvious uses for Shoal Bay more valuable to future Auckland than a bridgehead. The bridge must be considered from the viewpoint of the rapidly-expanding far north, as the Bridge Association’s own arguments put it out of the question. on account of expense, i" most residents of the marine suburbs. The suggested penny-a-liead toll would make it dearer even to walk to town and back than to travel all day on a ferry season ticket; to say nothing of the greater safety of the ferries. Pedestrians tire hardly safe in Queen Street, to sav nothing of on a bridge in a fog or gale. Perhaps “Progress” lias not visualised the time when a lock above Hellyer’s Creek will give continual water access to the top harbour, where a canal will connect to the Ivaipara in addition to the Wliau Canal to the Manukau and Waikato. What will then be the value of the large harbour area above the suggested bridge when there are numberless deep-sea craft berthed above Northcote? It would j be a pity to have our children forming ; an association for the demolition of J the Freeman’s Bay-Shoal Bay bridge, j If the few cross-harbour motorists—and they are few in comparison with j those north of Wcllsford—must have i direct access to Queen Street, what I about a tunnel beginning in the high | wall opposite the Tepid Baths? WINTERLESS NORTII MOTORIST. PEOPLE WHO FORGET : Sir, — S<> lar as a great proportion of Auckj landers were concerned, there might not have teen anj terday. In fact, I believe many of them ha ve forg* »tten that tin I war at all. When the gums sounded 1 at 1 1 o’clock, tradesmen’s carts in my suburb went merrily on their way, and the call of the b as loud as before and after the booming guns. Buses sped ..long toward ler suburbs, «ntly did not give a thought to the dead millions whose memory was being Commemorated. The workers on ' 11 " : • • w tram ext< their rails and screwed their bolts with equal vigour, and industry went on as usual. Is there no sentiment in Auckland? Do these citizens not possess a spark ng for thosi « | them their liberty anil their very lives? | Was it too much to expect that we | should stop work for two minutes? (Continued in next column)

Could industry spare it'.’ Or uere those who continued working ashamed to acknowledge their feelings for the dead? Let us devote .. little sericu* thought to this business ot remembering tin dead, and the l etter will be our sttite ot mind when our own day's work is done. ' It teaches us lo be less selfcentred and a little more considerate for others. _ PLAIN TALK. ABOUT A TITLE It was with interest that 1 read in The Sun Zealand Wrestling Association to stage the New Zealand amateur heavy-weight championship on die programme sit down for g of this title for t ie past two year-, would it not have been the correct thing for the association to have noUlied our club of its intentions? complain, sir. of the poor advertising the championships have had i*:;s and we would like to draw liu association's attention to the iact that there are also other title-holders who are in ignorance that the championships are to be held. We \vrot< to the secrctar: : sociation some time ago on matters o* nterest to wr« seem to have been ignored 5 * ° n " sider that I should have had a chance to defend my title. Thanking /on tor your valuable space and trust: ngtno association will v treat us more fall'lj m future. DAVE SCAUKOWPOINT DUTY tail', — Please allow m< a little cf \our space in defence o. our traffic control* As a driver for tlv past ten years, mostly on the City's busiest streets, under the old and the new systems. I think I should have a siignt idea ot how these men do their duty. 1 have had three petty convictions against me in 10 years, but non . »-*.used by a city traffic man. and 1 have averaged eight hours’ driving a day. days a week, and I suppose 1 pas* more pointsmen in one day than either “Bumble” or “Whippet Four” does in a month. I have had u shake jp one® or twice; perhaps 1 deserved it. Its easy to make a mistake, but why rush into print because a traffic man issue#* a reproof? I see enough in any on#* day to drive a traffic cop mao. Take, for instance, a line cf cars held up. with the first car in the line in th® middle of the road. No one can pass it. As a rule the driver is tvilirg Ids friend a funny story and the traffic man grows tired of waving him on. Finally our friend comes back o earth after those behind liav< ing at him After stalling hi- engine two or three linns, he finally gets going. Then Biie “brute" on point duty shows his teeth —and I wonder "he wouldn’t? This is only on. Iri-al of the traffic man. As for ]: - taking shelter from the storm: well, isn't t j aC dreadful? Not a motor in sight .ud wouldn’t. My udvice to “Whipi*et Four” and “Bumble” i> to get out into a field and learn to drive there. Learn, too, a few* by-laws and how to signal for the benefit of others who may h« on the road. Then when they coni'® to a point they will possibly give a real signal to the man on duty and keep both eyes open when h< civrS them the sign. TEN-TON X EC.