The Editors' Mailbag

'Jehovahs' Are In

Papua

A reader in Papua writes:— In a recent mail I received a screed from a gentleman who lives at 40 Tebbutt St., Leichhardt, Sydney, and who says: “We are interested in contacting people who would like to see world peace come in our time.”

He goes on to quote Biblical texts and says he will be pleased to answer any questions I may have.

I gather from the pamphlets he enclosed that he is one of the “Je hovahs Witnesses” sect.

I remember that Jehovahs Wit nesses had a caravan between Red bank Camp, Queensland, and the Railway Station in 1940, and used to waylay passing troops and call them potential murderers and sim ilar names. One morning I saw them being taken to hospital, but it was never known just who had dealt with them.

These Jehovahs Witnesses are in this country now, and are causing trouble already.

A campaign to keep all “splinter” religions out of this country should be inaugurated. They cause only confusion among the natives —as in deed they do among Europeans.

One of the publications this sect sent me is called AWAKE and is the April issue, 1957. In it is an article When Animals Heed the Mating Call. It is quite remarkable to find a thing like this in a re ligious paper. I cannot see how it has any bearing on religion.

Maybe It's Trouble

With the Rye

We’ve got a letter from a fellow in the British Solomons who is not at all happy about the way those New Guinea doctors are conducting their inquiries into the mystery dis ease, “Kuru”, which has been kill ing off a lot of unfortunate Fore people in the NG Highlands.

He has a few suggestions, and we quote: “I cannot believe that all the medical officers concerned are of the mind that nothing is known of the disease and nothing can be done about it. Surely this Laughing Death is of the same type of virus which depopulated what was left of European cities following the Black Death?

“History records whole popula tions laughing and dancing them selves to death as the disease swept through Europe. A medical officer at Vila recently discussed this with

me and said that only thos« ate rye were affected, and the is connected with a mould develops on ill-kept rye grain “Perhaps these New C people consume a home-gro< imported cereal on which a a mould has developed. Sure* medical authorities are au fai these clues given us by histoc Well, we don’t know if thu or not, but we don’t intend ourselves involved in it. It’s c Drs. Zigas and Gajdasek.

Anybody Here Seen

a Cross?

An old P-NG hand, now liv Brisbane, is looking for a n cross. He writes: “The young man sent from bane to cover the visit to the tories of the Duke of Edinbur ported that, whilst flying fron Moresby to Lae, he spotted s cross on the side of a moi and added that nobody seen know anything about it.

“As he was just what wr timers call ‘another journal checked to see if he had se« cross of Pere Jules Dubuy c Albert-Edward.

“No, he hadn’t gone that W' west of Mount Yule.

“As a matter of Territory h cal interest, does anybody about this ‘cross on the side mountain’?

“Exactly where is it and h» is it? Is it anything to do wii rescue of some American s by the Kunimaipans? This was reported on by PIM years au is it anything to do with ‘the on the crag’ which Fr, Bern* raised at the scene of the t:; of the wreck of a wa* bomber?

“I get this information fra November, 1957, ‘Walkabout’ bourne printed). For future torians I think all these nr should be recorded in Pli where will you find a medium? I would appreciat fullest possible particulars photograph and locality pH possible.”— SANASl.

Old King Cole

Revised

A Fiji correspondent, presu pondering recent taxation de ments in the Colony, sends u;i Old King Cole was a merry ol\ But a cunning old soul wt Faced with the facts of his Ii Tax, He called for his fiddlers ft