THURSDAY

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 32, 20 January 1939, Page 13

THURSDAY

1. -DAY I've been looking for something ‘silver and lasting’ g"’ for my god-daughter. She's the daughter of Bill and Edna Farrell, of Hawke’s "Bay, a grand-daughter of ‘Johnny’? Farrell, of J. C. Williamsons, and @ ‘cousin of young Richard Farrell, whose picture is printed here. Anyway, after much search in a jeweller’s, IT hit on what I thought was the right thing. I told the jeweller hou I wanted it inscribed. He looked at me blankly. ‘Who ts this for?’’ he asked. ~- **Bor my god-child," TI replied. ". "Well, you’ve bought it @ "beer tankard, not a christenens cup,’* he laughed. Which shows how little I know about babies and ‘christenings! 5 te MAN eame into the office this afternoon with a letter he .had had from the post-

master in Cadiz, Ohio. It appears that in the ‘‘Record’’ feature, ‘‘Seein’ Stars,’’ there was _a statement that Clark Gable was the first movie star whose name and: picture had been authorised as a cachet by the ‘United. States Postal Department, and concluding ‘"Kvery letter. -now sent through the post. office at Cadiz, Ohio, . bore. a large official cachet on it, reading"Where .Clark Gable was. born.’ ?? The’ Ne ew- Zealander was -interested enough to write to the "postmaster. at Cadiz asking if this was true and this. is the reply he had froim Ohio. . HAR Mr. --, You are another person who has been misled through the newspaper item that ‘‘all mail passing through the Cadiz post office bears a special stamp ‘of Clark Gable; that it was so authorised by the Government.’’ oe ‘Such a statement is absolutely without basis of fact. Neither do we use a special stamp (not even a cachet), nor‘ wis it so authorised by the department. During the ‘National Observance of Airmail Week in May, we used a cachet of* Gable on airmail only, and atits conelusion we promptly discontinued the practice. It wotld indeed, be a silly, and alsurd movement on the part of the post office department

to go to so much trouble and expense to invent special dies and machinery for their use just to honour a movie player. We make this statement in the interest of accuracy and fair play to the public. This is the second letter we have had from Australia; we even had a few from Hitlerland and several other European nations. TONIGHT Uve been at the . private screening of one of the finest films I’ve seen in a long while. It was taken from the Pulitzer Prize play, ‘"‘You Can’t Take It With You,’’ and it impressed. mé no end, It’s the old old story of which the more _ serious American playwrights are so fond-the battle between the ‘‘haves’’ and the ‘‘have-: nots.’"’ But what skill! what artistry! and, above ail, what human treatment! There are some priceless remarks in it, too. The penniless Russian bailet master who is told by one

of his pupils that she is going to the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet: ‘‘Ah, ze Monte Carlo Russian eet steenks!’’ And the play-writing member of the family who -‘‘only writes plays. because a typewriter was delivered at the house by mistake eight years ago."