Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Wednesday 19 January 1927, page 6


NOTES OF THE DAY

Income Tax Demands.

In a few days time oitizens will receive from the State Income Tax Department the annual notification that they are due to contribute toward the coat of adminis-tering the country. The unwelcome mis-sives will be issued on Friday to those who are the possessors of a name begin-ning with thc letters "A" "B" "C" or "D, and perhaps "E." The department has hopes bf issuing all thc demands within a period of BÍX or eight weeks, io tliat the respite of the person who nnswers to a .name beginning with a letter near the other end of the alphabet will bc only

temporary.

Illumination of War Memorial.

"I am taking up the matter to see if anything can be done," said the Mayor of Hobart (Alderman E. J. Rogers) yester-day, referring to the suggestions made in "The Mercury" that tile flood lighting bf the Hobart war memorial should be made part of the illuminations for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York. This method of lighting the memorial was

adopted for the visit to Hobart of the > American squadron, and was strikingly successful. "I am hopeful," said the Mayor, "that the memorial will be simi-larly illuminated for the Royal visit." Discussing the proposal in a letter in "The Mercury" yesterday, Mr. H. W. Shoo-bridge pointed out that the cost of the illumination would not be any more than that for the temporary lighting of public buildings for the two or three nights of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York, and would be far more effective. How to be Successful.

"The only way to be successful in any ?walk of Ufo is to set yourself a definite aim and to work for it all the time," de-clared Mr. Arthur Shirley, the Tasmanian, who became an American film star. "And," he ndds, "you will find that it will be a life's work to realise success. There is no such thing, although one heats about it often enough-especially in the motion picture industry-as the sudden realisation of success overnight. Stars, of course, are sometimes created, so to speak, in a night; but if you' follow the history of this kind of star yon will find that in-variably their 'success' is as meteoric and as brief as their rise to it. I do not refer, naturally, to the actor or the actress who, given a big role after years of patient training and effort, makes so great a suc-cess of it that they practically force star-dom on themselves. That only proves my contention, that there can be no real success without years of patient effort. In

short, success in merely the culmination ! of a life-time of endeavour along sound | lines, and there is no other kind of reil » sncceris." Mr. Shirley began his career in amateur theatricals in Tasmania, his first part in professional drama being to carry, as a super, a chair across the stage with Nellie Stewart in "Sweet Nell of Of i Drury." Now he is a producer of Austr* lian pictures.

Snug Beach.

There is no botter beach within easy i access of the city than that at the Snug, which of recent years has been steadily increasing in popularity. The scenery sur-rounding the beach, with industry re-presented on the one hand hy the carbide factory' at Electrona and wild Nature in the other by the surrounding bills, and the magnificent panorama of DEntrecaateaux Channel in the foreground, is su-perb, and the beach itself is eminently suited for bathing. But it is lacking in one respect-it possesses no facilities for bathers. A rough dressing shed would be

a desirable acquisition, and. would be much j appreciated.

Tasmania Vindicated.

In the report of a discussion on Federal control of education at a - New South Wales conference recently (says the Bris-bane "Courier" of January 12), one of the speakers waB reported in an after-noon Sydney newspaper as having said that 3,000 children from Tasmania came across to the mainland of Australia illequipped for the battle of life in the mat-ter of education. This statement was much resented in Tasmania, and was re-ferred to at the conference bf the Austra-lian Teachers' Federation in Brisbane yesterday. The chairman (Mr. Robert Lee), who is a Tasmanian, pointed out that Tasmania had led the States in ceritain important educational matters such m dealing with defectives and medical inspection of schools. In other branchs of education, he declared, Tasmania was quite up to anything in the other States, though, perhaps, not on so large a scale. Mr. A. G. Allanson (New South Wales) explained that his remarks at the conference in Sydney had been based on what had been said by a Minister for Education in according a reception *o delegates last year, and had been mis-understood. What he said was that Tasmania was training children and los-ing 3,000 a year of them to the other States. Thatj he had said, might be re-garded as an argument why the Common-wealth Bhould subsidise Tasmania, but he had not said that the Tasmanian children were in any way insufficiently educated. The chairman expressed a hope that these remarks would be telegraphed to the Southern States, and the matter was then allowed to drop.

Weird Visitant at Sandy Bay.

Although the weariness of the lads pre-vented much in thc nature of "ragging" from taking place at the Scout Camp at Sandy Bay during Monday night, here and there the ebullient spirits of the more active were not altogether subservient to the rule of Morpheus. The quartermas-ter was roused at midnight by a noise out-side his tent, and on looTcmg out found a gruesome and unearthly visitant roaring upon the moonlit sward, with flaming eyes and fearsome horns surmounting a furry body. Tho apparition gathered on its tour of the camp an excited crowd ..f half-clnd followers, who watched with breathless interest and enjoyment the ter-rifying effects of it« visitations upon their comrades. Inquiries made in the light of day led to the production of the skull of a cow, the eyes of which had been illuminat-ed with electric torches to produce its ghastly appearance. Evidence of another gentle "rag" were to be seen in a New South Wales tent, where the inmates i awoke to stare amazed at each other's blanched faces and to vow au awful ven-

geance on the practical joker who had

i "floured" them all.