FINER HOPES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 857, 28 December 1929, Page 1

FINER HOPES

Notions for New Year Resolutions

PITY THE TRAMWAYMEN

This Sunday, thunderstorm or no thunderstorm, 225,000 worthy Aucklanders will be making their annual resolutions for the New Year.

IN any case, Sunday, if it is a few days short of New Year proper, seems to be a perfectly good day for New Year decisions. Left to the last minute, fine hopes for the 365 days ahead are apt to be overlooked. Alister, the splendid young grocer’s assistant, may, for instance, when he is busily occupied in ragging tram conductors in Queen Street, when bells are clanging and sirens are wailing at midnight on December 31, will scarcely be thinking of solemn questions of conduct. This is regrettable, but Alistep is not one whit different from other young men. If the City Council developed a conscientious strain to the full, it would form a strong body of strong men to examine all the sprightly young Alislers before they congregate at the foot of Queen Street near mldjfight for the possession of throw-downs, bombs and over-ripe strawberries. All these weapons are beloved by a certain type of young man at 11.59 o’clock on New Year’s Eve. Last New fear’s Eve, one remembers, a joyful ■rowd seized a taxi-cab and lifted it lodily from the ground. Willing hands grasped tramcars and, indeed, any likely vehicles, for no other purpose than setting up a rocking motion. The taxi-driver, the tramway conductors and motormen, and the perturbed passengers were very annoyed. It is almost a custom for some commercial houses to board up their shop windows on nights of intense public celebration.

That is where a reliable body of grim inspectors would play its part. Deprived of bombs, throw-downs or strawberries, vigorous young men would be chagrined and helpless. In the present expected atmosphere, proper resolutions on New Year’s Eve are utterly impossible. It would be a good plan if Sundays could be arranged two or three days ahead of each New Year’s Eve: worthy Aucklanders would have reasonable time to make their decisions without Interfering with the actual observances of the season.

But the people who, on the surface, seem to have absolutely no justification for thinking in an excellent manner at such a time are the ffamwaymen. Thickets of false noses, hundreds of squeakers and forests of funny hats must be rather jarring.