The Editors' Mailbag

Her Flying Saucer!

When in Suva, en route to Labasa, a few weeks ago, Mrs. Tom Low (her husband was relieving manager at Labasa) suffered an extraordinary accident. A taxi in which they were travelling de veloped a strange wobble. They got out to look at the wheels. As they stood there, an inner tube blew out m such a way that it hurled the chromium hub-cover with great force at Mrs. Low. It struck her below the knees, and lacerated one leg and broke a bone in the other, and she had to be taken to hospital for attention. “I will bet that I am the only woman in the South Seas who has been winged by a fly ing saucer,” writes Mrs. Low, in reporting the queer accident.

Defence of Papua DC

An experienced man who erected a number of desiccated coconut plants in Papua (Mr. J. V. Glover of 105 Victoria Street, Potts Point’.

Sydney) is by no means sure that the blame for contaminated coco nut has been fairly divided between the products of Ceylon and Papua.

He says that there is some factor m the production plant which is responsible for this typhoid infesta tion, and he strongly suspects pollution of the water. He insists that in the Papuan plants every precaution was taken against water pollution; but he is sure that the same care was not taken in Ceylon.

“The plants in Papua are 85 per cent, mechanised,” he says, “while in Ceylon the coconuts are treated by hand on a piece-work basis.

Australians generally have pre ferred the Papuan product because it was fresher and cleaner than the stuff from Ceylon. I have seen many samples of Ceylon DC, and they were rancid—usually because of the long storage from Ceylon to Australia.”

Mr. Glover strongly suspects that there may be some clever juggling by certain interests now, so that while Papuan DC is given a bad name, and wiped off the market, the much less desirable Ceylon DC will be boosted and marketed, to the great profit of the particular interests he has named. It seems unlikely that high authority will try to do anything to save the Papuan industry, in the unfortunate circumstances; but the whole tragedy becomes worse if a racket is being worked. (See article else where) .

This Pidgin

ioHT er^rne^ spaper 1 have read lately (Vic., SA, and even WA) has

given all this Pidgin controversy a xOt of space. Most people seem to think the problem is impossible. I do not think so. Concerted effort by all should bring about the change to straight (Basic) English in 10 years. The other day I called in to see Army Education, Nth.

Command, for whom I sometimes do instructional work, and they are most interested. They are running lessons in English (so I am told) to their troops with the idea of eventually wiping Pidgin and Motuan right out. Lots of the Missions, I fear, do not teach enough English. They smugly declare that all their staffs speak the native language—but what good is that 10 miles away?—SHC.

Put the Memorial in

Sydney!

“I see from your pages that it mt ®nded to erect a memorial to the Coastwatchers who paid the supreme sacrifice in World War II ” writes Mr. W. F. M. Clemens, from the Office of the Commissioner, Nicosia. Cyprus.

“I believe the intention is to erect this memorial somewhere in New Guinea.

“Surely it would be more appro priate to put up this memorial where more people will have the opportunity of seeing it. Surely one of the open parks or open spaces of Sydney would be more appro priate.

“After all, Sydney is the gate to the Islands, and it is from there that many of the Coastwatchers set out, never to return.

“It would also be there for visitors who have no intention of going up to New Guinea to see it.”

It was announced in Melbourne in August that the Fund is now £1,200 and that a committee soon will meet to make a decision about the type of memorial, and a suitable site for same “in Papua or New Guinea.”

lound or Tapered?

On the subject of round or tapered tins of corned beef for the Pacific Islands market—Australia forces her canners to pack in tapered cans while Islanders, for preference, buy corned beef from other countries because it is in rounded cans—we published in May a paragraph ; leaded, “Charles Sullivan Loses Battle with Bureaucracy.” (Mr Sullivan has been fighting the silly regulation for a long time, but officialdom is stubborn— and Aus tralian manufacturers lose the market.) Now Mr. Sullivan writes: “Your heading is not strictly correct. You

remember what the American admiral, Paul Jones, on the Ameri can warship Bonhomme Richard said to the English when they called on him to surrender—Hell! I haven’t begun to fight yet—and then pro ceeded to belt the daylights out of them. Well, I too have hardly begun to fight yet.

“To-day, I received a letter from Mr. W. C. Wentworth, enclosing one from the Minister, who states that he noted the points made by me in my communication of the 29th June (which was a couple of days after I returned home) and he is seeking further information from the appropriate technical officers of his Department and will write again to Mr. Wentworth as soon as possible. I do not intend, of course, to wait for the Minister and am planning a campaign which I hope will be successful.”

We are bound to secrecy, and cannot disclose what we know. But we think there are going to be some red faces in the chosen ranks of bureaucracy before long.