Stratford News

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 173, 9 December 1912, Page 3

Stratford News

From Our Resident Reporter. INDIFFERENCE-WHAT IT COSTS. Territorials who are indifferent art) finding indifference- decidedly costly. Some men living close by the Territorial headquarters neglected to look up the staff officers and make a simple verbal explanation. Cost, £2 7s. Others couid have written, but did not write to the area officer concerning inability to attend parades. Cost, £i 7s. Some would not take the trouble to attend drill Cost, 12s up to .i!2 7s, according to the eiiv-iunsticr.ces of the case.

Still a further section of tho Territorials negiected to notify change of address. Cost, £2 7e.

And the money has to be paid. It is ordered by the. court. • And if there is any default the defaulters are handed over to military custody and s-et to' work for their country under compulsion.

Now. the Defence staff in this district consists of easily approachable men. Captain Lampen is no martinet, nor will martinet methods be tolerated under his command. Men may go to him with! their little troubles, and find a willing ear, as well as willingness to help them in any way. Drill and compulsory military training generally are made as pleasant as possible. The law of the land says that certain men have to be trained a»s soldiers. It costs a few hours per month to be trained. But it costs a whole pot of money to stay away! STRAY PARAGRAPHS

Glorious day Saturday. Three fine days in succession!

Kara avis. The Borough Council water-cart was busy in Broadway on Saturdav.

Glorious view of Ruapehu, Ngaruhoe, and Co. from Stratford on Saturday. "Rounding-up" tardy Territorials i 3 increasing the drill musters. Building additions are projected by the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, to provide some 5000 feet of extra floor room. Tho store is to be made two-storeyed. Fancy goods shops are getting a good start in their Xnms run.

A travelling auctioneer who vended his wares here for a few , weeks haa wended his onward way. Fi'om all accounts the loyalty of most of our people to our own shops was exasperating to him. It is a fact, though, that some people will pay a-pound or so at auction for a ruhhisliing but gaudy bit of stuff after refusing a substantial piece of merchandise from a reliable local trader.

'•Cheap-jacks'' and men of that kidney should lie made to pay heavy license fees to the local body. They do not represent fair competition. They pay no local rates. They do not. stick to the town in slack times, but flit from town to town for cash like a bee from flower to flower. Some of them "flit" unannounced, too. Frequently the wares offered do not stand minute inspection, and it is only by cajolery that folks are tempted to part with their silver. Further, people trade with, the local shopkeeper wiien times arc hard and "tick" is necessary, but rush off to the "cheapjack" with their cash as soon as they get it. These remarks do not apply generally, but the cap will fit a good many heads.

The A. and P. Executive is inviting suggestions from exhibitors at the recent show. Suggestions received will be noted and well considered. It is only by getting the opinions of patrons in this way that the management can keep to the. fore in providing facilities for man and beast at the show. "If his conscience will allow him to drill between October Oth and 10th, and will'not allow him before or afterwards, what sort of a jumping conscience must lie have?" asked Mr. Kenrick, S.M., during the Territorial prosecutions on Friray. A young fellow had put in a written excuse for not attending parade, and "soul and conscience" and 'lumbago and inability" seemed inextricably mixed. The S.M. found the usual way out.

Mr. 1). L. A. Astbury is making a good recovery from his recent illness. He was in Stratford on Saturday. Mr. (',. W. Riehtcr left for Auckland on Friday night. The old-established fancy goods emporium recently sold by Mr. T. McKeown is now in the hands of Mr. Alf. Moon. The new proprietor has made an excellent beginning. Mr. McKeown's sound judgment is evidenced throughout the whole of the new Christmas stock, and Mr. Moon combines with this the determination to sell at the very finest margin of profit.' The stock on show just now bristles with bargains for those who are buying Xmas gifts. The goods range from tine electro-plated and leather goods, right along through the mazes of the crockery, glassware, and China departments, to photo frames, gift books, fire-screens, etc., etc.; and,there is a well-stocked toy department, in which dolls are a very winning feature.

BUSINESS NOTICES Christmas brings with it thoughts of Christmas puddings and cakes. Good cooks know how impossible it is to have the best of these if the fruit is not right. Drake's "Dreadnought" sells fruits that are right in every particular fresh, clean and good weight. As for that Christmas ham, why not get it now, or at least order it? There's always a shortage close up to Christmas, but there's a prime lot on hand just now. TKEASURE ISLAND "Treasure Island," when screened in New Plymouth, established a record, the sale of tickets having to be stopped before eight o'clock. Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" has been acted by the great Edison stars, and is produced with a guarantee of the usual Edison excellence. The tale is too well known to need repetition, and it loses nothing in its transfer to the picture screen, being excellently photographed and splendidly portrayed. All the main incidents in the novel are reproduced, the several brushes with the pirates and the exciting search for the hidden treasure stimulating the keenest interest. In "An Outcast Among Outcasts," the A.B. Company hit upon a drama with a happy theme, following the vicissitudes in the fortunes of a happy-go-lucky "blanket tramp" who was rejected of his fellows, only to figure later on in the role of a hero. In lighter vein comes an Edison drama, "A College Girl." The story is a happy blending of humor and pathos, showing a girl at college participating in the various sports and "after-lights-out" frolics of her fellow students, and, later on, with the sudden death of her mother, entering upon the more serious duties as sole guardian of two young children—her brother and sister. There are other dramas, and more sober scenes are likewise, featured, including pictures of some Swedish waterfalls, a trip to Tahiti, and laughmakers.