From the Islands Press

FEARS that the opening soon of a second movie theatre in Apia might provide a disruptive cultural in fluence were laid to rest last week.

Mr. Ralph Carter, Pacific manager of American International Pictures, here to advise the new company, was reported as saying that the new threatre would "continue to provide a diet of costume dramas. Westerns and horror movies".— Columnist in the "Apia Advertiser", Western Samoa.

THE well-known Tongan whaling

family of Messrs. Walter Cook and Sons harpooned their first whale for the 1967 season last week. The whale, a 32 ‘ft humpback (or right whajle) was harpooned 18 miles north-east of Tongatapu near the island of Tau.

Commenting on the activity of whales this year, a member of the Cook family said that prior to their catch there had been very little activity in the area.— News item in "The Chronicle", Nukualofa.

PROMINENCE has been given to yet another disturbance at Port Moresby Rugby Union fixtures.

Rugby Union has long been con sidered as the "gentleman's game", but that certainly isn't the way it is played here. Players and spectators misbehaving seems the order of the day, rather than the exception.

It's high time Union officials took a long, hard look at ways and means of controlling these disturbances.

On present standards, it would hardly appear that the high standards of sportsmanship demanded of inter national competition are being adhered to on the local scene. Soccer had plenty of trouble last year. They took drastic steps, and now they enjoy comparatively trouble-free weekends. —Editorial in the "South Pacific Post", Port Moresby.

OLD fears die hard but it would seem from the new trend among local businessmen towards big plate gjass windows that the fears of riots during the Mau of 40 years ago, and insurrection following independence, have finally been put to rest.

Burns Philp started the trend a couple ( of years back when the shutters were removed from the win dows at night. Since then the tiny grubby show windows of half-a-dozen

businesses have given way to large windows filled with inviting displays of goods that make the town look ready for business rather than under a state of siege.— Columnist in "Apia Advertiser", Apia.

THE news that the Government has decided to plan a new road be tween Suva and Nadi, and a recon ditioning of the stretch between Nadi and Lautoka, will be welcomed in the colony and overseas.

For years, the Queen's Road has besn one of the main grumbles of the people of Viti Levu and the butt of the comedian. Now we have a definite target, a new sealed 50 mph road in five years' time.

A tourist boom is coming in the South Pacific. That is agreed by all the international airlines and the ex perts in the industry. A new road between Fiji's capital city and Nadi Airport is a necessity if Fiji is to obtain maximum benefit from the boom.

But the benefits to be derived by tourism must not overshadow the other benefits which could accrue and which could make a new Queen's Road the Road to Riches . , .

A first-class road usually brings in its train an increase in agricultural and industrial activity, the utilisation of more land, more tributary roads and more incentive to trade.— Editorial in "The Fiji Times", Suva.

A POLICEMAN was hurt after fight ing with a snake in Rabaul. The policeman was in a small police car when he saw the snake moving across the road on Namanula Hill in Rabaul.

The policeman tried to run over the snake and kill it. But the snake jumped into the car; and coiled around the policeman. The policeman and snake fell out of the car. The police man fell on his arm and hurt it.

Other policemen killed the fighting snake.— News item in simple English paper "Our News", Port Moresby.

THERE is a strong tendency for Pacific Island art nowadays to be commercialised and devalued in artistic quality. This is especially true of our dances.

However, the Solomon Islander is not as "rootless" and "lost" as he is currently being made put to be. The young Solomon Islander is beginning to see through the clouds of the material world, and has his sights on

the world he understands and knows.

The world of his forefathers is not lost; it is merely clouded . . .

The more forceful and advantageous culture cannot spare the time to examine itself. No wonder some Solomon Islanders think that "civilisa tion" is big buildings, big motor cars, the hippy-hippy shake, long stockings or beer-drinking . . .

No, the young Solomon Islander should know where he belongs—at the heart of his own way of life, its arts, its traditions, its culture. He knows if he gets to the top of his own world first then he can see clearly the top of any other culture, and be re spected.—Letter from Francis Bugotu, of Kukum, Guadalcanal, in the "BSIP News Sheet", Honiara. 1 THINK it is about time that some thing was done to restrict the growing danger [of the increasing dog population] to our children and stock, not mentioning the danger to health.

I know some homes that have five or six dogs and puppies living, either with the main household or in the kitchens.

The packs of dogs snarling, barking, fighting and roaming around at all hours of the day and night have been rapidly increasing.

There must be some way of con trolling the dog population . . .

Licensing of all dogs or restricting the number of dogs per home might solve this problem.— Letter from M. Sword in the "Cook Islands News".

AT least nine policemen are guilty of brutality, but only one of them has been discharged, according to findings of [American Samoa's] Legislative Special Joint Committee on Government Operations . . .

Its report said in part: "The evidence before the committee con vinces us that there has been con siderable brutality practised by a number of policemen engaged in ar resting Samoans and upon them after arrest.

"Samoans have been beaten and kicked and at least two of them so severely that it was necessary to send them to the hospital for treatment . . .

"There was evidence before your committee that at least eight other policemen, including two lieutenants and a sergeant, had wrongfully beaten arrested persons whom they intended to charge with criminal offences."— News item in the "News Bulletin", Pago Pago.