Citizens Say

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1013, 2 July 1930, Page 8

Citizens Say

BIG MEN AND SMALL It lias be£u said that our four greatest evils are drinking, smoking, gambling and over-indulgence in luxuries, but, were these lour entirely eliminated. would you say that New Zealand would at once go ahead and become one of the most prosperous countries on earth? Personally, I doubt whether it would make much difference. What we want here is big men, employers and public men with j vision and brains; and that is what we do not seem to possess at present. A few of the Henry Ford type would do wonders, but their task" would be made extremely difficult by the terribly large number of presumably big men wlio, by any amount of reasoning, could not be convinced how small they are. J.V.C. SCHOOL FOOTBALL Sir. — The Canterbury Rugby authorities have arranged the Boys’ High SchoolChrist’s College match so that it may be witnessed by the British footballers. This, I think, is a splendid idea, and I would suggest the same thing for Auckland. To make such a game more representative o£ school football, however. I would suggest that a combined match should be arranged. As a suggestion, why not have a combined Grammar (Auckland, Mount Albert, Taka puna) fifteen play a combination of King’s College, Sacred Heart and Technical? Such a game would be j sure to arouse wide interest, and should be played not to win, but as an exhibij tion of what the Auckland schools can do upon the football field. lam certain such a game would be of great interest to our British visitors. It might work admirably as a curtainraiser for the Test, or for the provincial j game And if not, why not? R. M. THOMSON. RECKLESS SPENDING ' j Sir.— Your editorial, “The Price of Fun and Folly,” which appeared in Saturday’s issue, is well worthy of thoughtful perusal, earnest consideration and further emphasis. It reveals a tremendous waste of national wealth, and explains why we cannot pay for the . .development of our Dominion from . wealth created by production, but must constantly borrow money and increase j our national indebtedness. ’ • It is high time we reduced our expenditure on fun and folly to an amount . commensurate with our income. Your : | comparison with Great Britain does not j reflect credit on New Zealand, but

(To the Editor.)

simply shows that the people of the Old Country are equally foolish, or 1 worse. No one would defend Great Britain’s annual expenditure of £ 288,800,900 on drink, "when only £ 80,000,00(1 is spent on bread. Just an individual cannot drink rich, so does national intemperance produce national poverty. How can Great Britain hope to solve her unemployment problem while sho wastes such an enormous sum on liquor each I year? The same reasoning applies to our Dominion, but to a lesser extent. When we cease foolishly to was!*, money on drinking, gambling and other unnecessary pleasures, we will be able to provide more food, clothing, educa- i tion, and home comforts for our people as well as develop our country without borrowing money. J. DONALD. AT TAKAPUNA Sir.— AV ill you permit me, as a member of the Takapuna Borough Council, to point out that on March 19 last the 1 council, when reviewing iis finances for the ensuing year, promised a policy of economy, and it then decided not to raise the annual rate, to live within the amount of income, and to undertake only essential works out of the revenue. From the list of works submitted for consideration the most important and urgent were selected—first and foremost among them being the conveying of storm water from Norwood Road, Bayswater, where the water after heavy rains flows over \ the footpath on to the property of a widow, whose fine two-storey build- ' ing is liable to be rendered unstable by the flow of water. The import- j ance of carrying out this work at an estimated cost of £l5O was such that a resolution was passed at the meeting follows:—“Resolved on the rotation of Councillor Wilkie, seconded bv Councillor Collins. re storm water draindge, Norwood Road, That this work be next in order after the tarring of the footpaths.” In face of this a sum of £IOO has since been allocated to and partly spent on Quinton Park, in addition to the whole of the recent Poppy Day funds of £34 and subsidy thereon, £ 34. and nothing has been spent on the storm water menace. This prompted me to give notice of motion to rescind the allocation of the balance of the £ 100, more so as a majority of the council rejected a proposal to repair the tennis courts at Kitchens Park, a useful playing area at Milford, at an estimated cost of only £o. The motion to rescind was deleated. however, by the Mayor and six councillors. At the meeting the ; confer with the widow’s representa- ; tive who had attended at my request i ex P l;un the position regarding the B *' ,ri " water. j now in a worse position as regards

available maintenance money to utilise , take the work than it was when J passed the resolution on March 13 *** I I maintain that not me penny should be spent on Quinton l*ars similar work till the storm menace, materially and financiallycT been overcome, .is the whole threatens the council with heavy ages If it is allowed to remain ** present . ALEX. 11. WlLk*» When Mr. Wilkie's letter was sulinljl this morning to ihe Mover of Mr. J. \v Williamson it was ‘ that the council was - \ S■ tinting will x Itoaii properties . . net d by ’he L( posed drainage w rk n order to guard the action of the council. A acting-engineer and the architect to confer immediately with the c and should agreement he : Ni'-iCou*** work would proceed. Mr '""'pel | said tlte work was totally distincw. c ■ tiie Quinton Park plans. The .- 1 „ . t been alloe»ted by 111. ■.'■'» hWJtES I diate protective work. w-Men™* pi soldiers were being g. g--d. I '* r Wednesday. . : ■ . bee“ ’.kf . j The council had ..i - ‘ beet coo ll ’ by th, 1-1110 t,. restart > die tennis w iJ at Milford.—Ed., The Q*,