OUR COMPETITIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1920, Page 4

OUR COMPETITIONS.

THE RESULTS: j SHOUT STORY. First Prize, R. W. Cumberworth, Mahoe; Second Prize, "Portia," Fukengahu, Ngaere; Special Prize, iJ. C.. Barak, Warea. SCHOOL CHILDREN'S ESSAYS. (Subject: "Aly Happiest Christmaa Holiday.") First Prize, Violet Hunt, Vogeltown, aged 15; second prtee, Frank Clarice, New Plymouth, aged 18 years; special prize, Claudia Walte, Tarata, aged IS. Subject: "Most Interesting Day in My Life.") First Prize, Nellie Fleming, Oaonnt, aged 13 years; Second Prize, Edna Wooldrldge, New Plymouth, aged 10 years; third prize. Aline M. Wells, Waitara, aged 9 years. Special Prizes: Clarence Tyrrell, Ral-otu, aged 11 years; TosswHl Woollaston, itaupuha School, Toko, aged 1(1% years; Cls Cailagban, Kaupu&a, aged 11 years; Doreen Am- ! bury, New Plymouth, aged 11 years; Hector Garner, New Plymouth, aged 12V4 years. FBOCK COMPETITION. First Prize: Ida Thomas, New Plymouth: Second Prize, Mrs. N. J. Ryan, Stratford. MUCH ABILITY SHOWN. THE JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS. The competitions which have been held in connection with the Christmas Number of the Daily News were a marked success, attracting entries itom all parts of Taranaki, while several competitions, came from districts further afield. And, what i 3 of paramount importance, the competitors served their purpose to the full, for they showed:— (1) A high standard of intelligence exists amongst the school children of Taranaki. (2) There is wealth of ability for good writing amongst the people of the province. (3) And that clever women can dress their children cheaply.

Of the three classes as divided above, the least unimportant, from a national point of view, was the frock competition, but yet it has fully served its purpose, which was to show the women of Taranaki that in these days of high prices, they can still clothe their children in an attractive way at a small cost. Journalism, it must be remembered, does not merely exist to chronicle the news and views of the world day by day, but its leaders have a wider .-vision, in which they look for ways by which they can better the lot of their fellow-men. It i 3 this policy, then, that has now been carried out in this simple way, clearing the ground, as it were; for greater endeavours.

First in importance of these competitions, however, will be placed the school essays, for in tin's way, children are assisted in their mental development, and one is able to guage the depth of their education, at the same time assisting it. One of th« greatest gifts is to be able to see things eo that we can describe what we have seen, and in children it is a quality of the utmost importance to. their learning. Let it be said at once that this power of expression was found to be strongly developed in almost every case, with the result that the great majority of the essays were found to reach a high standard of merit. In the senior class, the essay for pupils over 18, on "My Happiest Xmas Holiday", the description of a holiday on Kapiti Island, written by Violet Hunt,Vogeltown,aged 15 years, was of outstanding excellence, and no doubt baulked the judge in making his first award. It ia a single story, told in simple language, and in telling exactly what happened in plain English, the writer showed that quality which also impresses. It is a credit to the writer and to her school.

The'essay class for younger children, in which pupils under thirteen were asked to describe the happiest day in their lives, presented a very difficult task, such was the excellence and evenness of all the contributions. They were so numerous that the judge proposed that at first he would reject all the "impossibles," and it may be some consolation to those who have not been successful, to know that not one single essay was found to be placed in such a category. , These essays proved tl)e greatest task for the judge, and after many days he reduced them to about twelve. As the results show, the final decision became such a difficult matter, that special prizes had to be awarded in several cases.

The judge's message to these young people is this: "If you have not w.:n, it is not because your essay has not been good, but someone else has written an essay that is just a little better!"

In this class again the gift of observation was found to be strongly developed, and the mode of expression employed, was delightfully natural. In these few words, it Ts the judge's desire to give encouragement to those who have failed this time., and next year it is hoped their efforts will be more successful.

Variety was the keynote of the short stories, and here again a wealth of talent was discovered. The principal fault, especially with the more youthful writers, was to describe their story rather than create it, and many of the contributions were more like reviews of a story than an actual story. Having got the characters pleasantly introduced, there was a tendency by many writers to get rid of them as quickly as possible. No greater mistake could be made, for once you create a character who interests the reader, that reader will follow the characters presented. Instead of writing a thousand words, most were content with a couple of hundred words. What should be chiefly rememhered by those who have not succeeded this year is, that when they come to write iiext year's story they should first map out their plot, and then develop it. If the judge reads beyond a thousand words, there is a strong likelihood that the writer is going to win! Endless interest was provided in the topics touched on. One lad told a regular Nat Gould story—full of splendid racehorses, pretty women, handsome lovers, and evil rivals, not forgetting, the touch of the. dramatic, when the jockey's-drink was poisoned, and the. heroine rode the favorite to victory, The judge is not sufficiently well acquainted with . Nat. Gould's" stories to say if he ever wrote one on these lines, and if he did not he most assuredly should have done so. The judge was im'- : pressed with the writer's powers of imacination, while his descriptive writing ■kru v WV fair. The judge wants this

writer to try again next year, and lis suggests a milder topic, avoiding the heavy drama of the pictures. There wag another story which had a certain merit, but it was all too tragic. What mother wants her son's dead body; washed into the kitchen?' Certainly not" in a Christmas Number! But the writer of this story, pleased to some extent, and the judge hopes to hear from her again next year in a somewhat more cheerful mood. The story of the soldier who deserted and, then regained his honor (and the V.C.) is told well, but there was not enough evidence to show how it all came about. And so the stories revealed many clever ideas, but "the atmosphere" was not developed, and there was an eagerness to cloße it all up too soon.

The judge in this competition perused a story written by a gipl of eleven which unquestionably was the best of those submitted. The theme was un-s usual, as was its treatment, and the punctuation letter—or rather, markperfect. He had some doubts about it being the production of a child bo young, for, if it were, then the writer had an unusually bright future before her as a writer. He made enquiries regarding the ability of the child at school, and the reports were favorable. But later he discovered, as he feared, it was a "crib," being taken from a very old and obscure annual, and written by onef of England's most successful children's story writers. It was a great pity. The! lesson to be deduced from the incident) is that parents should discourage their children from doing what is undoubtedly, a dishonest thing, and calculated to do} infinite harm to their chaTacterai in later years. In short it is not play« ing the game."