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FOR JULY
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THURSDAY JULY 27th.
OUR
Summer Sale
LAN
Commencés
ANE, CRAWFORD, ▼ TD.
YEAR
All Departments.
The Opportunity of the
THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1939.
Save Tyre
Expenses
HAVE YOUR TYRES
RETREADED
"SATISFACTION
GUARANTEED”.
Priced from $13.00
Hongkong Hotel Garage
SHOWROOM.
STUBBS ROAD
TELEPHONE
27778-9.
The
Thongkong Telegraph.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1933.
RACKETEERING IN U.S..
NOTES OF THE DAY
DO FILMS MAKE CRIMINALS?
A disquieting account of the effects of gangster screen pictures on the young mind of America
By R. J. Cruikshank
The Very Idea!
COST OF LIVING
By Edward Kelly, Economic Expert.
DID you notice that dirty
crack at us in the leader of yesterday's Tele- graph?
The cost of living is a tople pro- viding endless scope for discussion It is not surprising, therefore, that within the confino of a abort load- ing article, we were unable to assess the true weight of all the factors contributing towards the marked disparity batween wholesale and retail prices. Some part of the omlesion is rectified to-day by a reader, whose contribution to the discussion will be found in another The films are responsible for a pictures 64 murders took place, in After all we've done for column, and it la sufficient for us to large number of Juvenile crimes, 12 pletures 17 hold-ups took place, endorse the points made. Gavern- according to a group of American and in 32 pictures there were 69 the Editor, too. It was only ment's reply as regards Import scientists who have spont four instances of assault and battery. the other day that we gave duties, would be, we imagine, that years atudying, the effects of mo- AWAITING THE REPLY. him his "Cost of Living" the slackness of trade, shown in a tion pictures on the mind and be
"Those constantly recurring diminution of importa, compels haviour of children and adolescents. crime picture may become for a subject for a leading article maintenance of the existing tariff A summary of the conclusions of level in order to keep revenus up to this group appeared in the "News portion of the spectators not merely by borrowing ten bucks from
n school but n very university of him.. the its former figure. If the process Chronicle" recently and now
crime with a wide range of gets up a vicious circle that is un-detailed evidence on which they baac techniques, suggestions and pat- Although we are sncered at, fortunate. Our correspondent their findings has been published Interns cunningly executed and vivid-we have at least got a high overlooks one point in his analysis. a book entitled "Our Movie Made ly presented. Wille it is true that Chinese taxes on exports contribute to the high cost of living, they are taken.Into account when local wholesale prices are Indexed and when this has been done, the rise in the average cost. a foodstuffs to the importer is still only ten per cent. above the figure
for 1924.
THE MENTAL ATTITUDE
Children," by Mr. H. J. Forman. Another section of the report enough opinion of ourself to WAYS AND MEANS OF ROBBERY. gives cases. of sex delinquency know that, when it comes to Investigators who examined among men and girls which it is writing about cost of living, a pyn large, number of young criminals alleged were inspired by the films.is mightier than the sordid..
The reply of the film industry is
prison report that many of them
had been inspired by gangster awaited with interest. Bims, and from this source of criminal education had derived their methods and fechnique.
Twenty per cent. of the con- victs studied affirmed that the
SONGS THAT
7
High Cost of Living is at.. tributed to the dancing dollar. Nothing of the aort. Anyone who has resided in Hongkong for any length of time should know that the High Cost of Living is the same
pictures had taught them ways "WON THE WAR" in all respects as the High Cost of
and means in theft and robbery. Professor Plumer and Dr. Hau-
It ia not Ber made an exhaustive catalogue
them
were
Those who in the war years were
Beer.
this month.
..
only
The cost of living is higher on the Peak than it is in Kowloon. This is, of course, natural. Everything is higher on the Peak. About 1,800 feet higher.
Seeking root causes, there is yet another factor which cannot be overlooked in considering living
costs in Hongkong.
Last month, after we'd settled economic in character, profound of methods which these young moved as much greater music bewth the Compradore for our liquor as is its influence upon our inter-criminals declared they had copied fore and since has failed to move supplies, it took us all our time to
make ends meet. We are nal economy. It is purely a men-from films. Among
them-by the yearning. lllt of "A able to do it by letting our other tal attitude, as expressed in the these:
long, long trail a-winding," will wellworn phrase: No-one comes to How to take doar off hinges to learn with genuine regret that the accounts slide until the end of
force way into apartment. Hongkong for the good of his
author of this famous song, Mr. How to break window noise Stoddart King, recently died in health. The spirit behind it do-
Icasty by pasting Hypaper on it. Washington, after a long illness, minates commercial life-and far
Hote to open or close lock with at the age of 43. beyond-to an extent disastrous to
pair of tweeZ81*8, the moral quality of the mass of
He wrote the song (another How to force automobile doar American, Mr. Zo Elliott, composed the community. The doctrine is
with piece of pipe.
the tune) before the war, when he quite frankly advanced as a justi-
The "scientific way" of burg was a student at Yale University. fication for profiteering, even for
ting by leaving no finger prints. It caught on" for some months, the acceptance of "aqueoze." Sub- mitted as a subject for philosophic discussion, it would still find powerful defence, if we correctly estimate the mentality of many of its practitioners. And there is no cure for them. Some of them join the Rotary Club with its fam- ous motto, and do not observe the incompatibility. It is quite prob able, Indeed, that they practies) the Christian Iden, oir Sundays,
INDUSTRIAL DEBTS
windows or doors.
noiac,
violin casc.
WORSE THAN FAGIN.
.
ex
We are just about to ease; our
along and asked for the two dollars. It appears that chits are not signed on the Peak.
This peeved us.
Personally, ever since our How to use weapons in crimes and WAS then forgotten-untii | perience up there last year, we --pistols, shotguns, machine British soldiers in France began to have no time for the Peak. The guns, blackjacks, brçsa kuuckles sing it on the march. Scon the girls may be okay, and we can still and bomba.
Germans in the opposing trenches have our little bit of fun with How to drown out, shots of were singing it too. It was carried them, but, as far as the Peak itself qun by backfiring.
to Mesopotamia, to Italy, to every is concerned, it's a washout. How to main or kill motor hamlet in Britain.
It all really started when we It has required the kidnapping
cycle policemen by singing and
OFTEN WIN NO REWARD. went into the Peak Hotel and stopping car suddenly. peri and other activities of
How to effect gaet breaks by the war songs were not great music.
It was not music of distinction; ordered a couple of drinks. racketeers to bring home to the
using truck to pull bars from But it has entered, like a half-dozen raging thirst when the boy came
How to use other on sleeping other war-time, songs, into the United States that prohibition
occupants of house being burgled. emotional consciousness of an en- has not been solely to blame for
How to use arc-burner.to burntire generation. It is a part of the President Roosevelt's appeal for
out combination of safes without music that wrings the heart.
We were even more peeved when Neither in this country nor in the they took our two drinks away the gangster menace. Doubtless a common effort to break the in- boot-legging contributed to the States provides
How to carry machine gun in United States was Mr. Stoddart when we said we didn't have the dustrial depression in the United a further clear
King's name well known. The
two dollars. jauthors of songs which stir two rise of the power of the gangs towards present-day problems. He example of his enlightened attitude
So we stalked out of the place, continents often win neither fame and went to live in Kowloon, and doubtless, the removal of has not failed to grasp the fact,
Young criminals, according to nor financial reward. Mr. Gitz which is being brought home only their own explanations, often re- Rice, who wrote "Mademoiselle where, believe it or not, we are
still trusted. the prohibition on beer has very slowly to most people, that the gard gangster films as laboratories from Armentieres" in 1915, when creation of new money by banke, in which they can see how various he was serving with the Canadian diverted lawlessness into other through the expedient of making methods work, and these investiga- Expeditionary Force in France,
But what, you ask, has this to channels. America must per-loans by ledger entries, is one of tore give names of films which declared recently that he had "never do with the High Cost of Living? the most destructive factors in our prisoners claim to have inspired received a cont" for this famous force face the simple fact that existing
Well, it's all a matter of taste? economic system. He them with various new Ideas. song, which-in one version or Taste is what does it. the underworld has discovered, realises that the payment of in- Many cases are given of boys who another is known to everyone who
because served in the British Army during show good taste by drinking Up on the Peak they say you tercat charges upon the burden of adopted criminal careers during the past dozen years, a huge industrial debt is keeping they admired film gang lenders or the war.
moderately.. Over in Kowloon money out of the hands of the crooks and imitated them-even-to-Other composers-of-songs-which that organised society is often consumer, that the purchasing pow- their accent and mannerisms. acquired immortality during the war you can taste anything and still helpless before during and ruth-er of the community can only be "Fagin's school was child's have been more fortunate. Early have a good taste.
play to this curriculum of this year the Cross of the Legion of is on the mainland, and we know
Besides, the Hongkong Brewery, maintained by the creation of fur- less criminals. This is partly due ther debts, ultimately producing the
crime," is the comment made Honour was conferred upon M: the Secretary, Manager, sub- swing back to depression. He on this dlaquieting, record, Camille Robert; the composer of Manager and the whole works, to an antiquated and cumber-appeals, therefore, for a voluntary
Half the inmates of one penal in- "La Madelon, song, which was some legal system. It is partly remission by creditors of a por-stitution testified that the films gave as popular with French soldiers as which is just one way of defeating
tion of their interest. We are them the desire to carry a gun. was "Tipperary" and "A long, long H.C.L or H.C.B. due to a disorganised, politics- cynical enough to confess that we of the same group 28 per cent. trail," with our own. To its in-sider. Over at Kowloon you can do not anticipate any wholehearted stated that the Aims aroused in spiriting strains the French Army always tell a shroff, but on the response. But what does it mat-them the desire to practise hold- marched through the Arc de Poak he's more likely to tell you. ter? Half-mensures. are useless ups, while 21 per cent. declared Triomphe on Victory Day, 1919. except to stave off evils for a time. that the films taught them how to
It was not written as a war fool the police.
Bong. A music-hall artist, M. Bach, In analysing 115 pictures week obtained the score early in 1914 by week at the motion theatres, from M. Robert, who was on the An obvious point often proves Dr. Edgar Dale found that in this verge of giving up composing as a the one that is most easily missed.number 406 crimes wore committed "thankless trade," and in 1916 sang
(Continued on Page 5.3- This appears to have been the ex-and 48 more attempted. In 85 who issued an assurance that no perience of the Government official
▼
BLACKHEAD COAL DUMP
ridden police system which puts every large city under terrific handicaps in its flight on crime. It is partly due to the motor-car, which has given the criminal a new mobility. It is partly due to the traditional corruption and inefficiency which pervade fear need be entertained of dust from the cool dump at Blackhead the governments of most Foint affecting the Chatham Road realdential area, if annoyance had American cities from top to bot-not already been caused, if house tom. These are the points on which the Congressional com mittee recently appointed must provide detailed
wives had not sought the origin of their inability to keep their rooms- clean, it is hardly likely that any complaint would have been made. And if there exists a feeling of grievance against the Government Information.to-day, quite clearly it will be The time for dismissing all. the acceptuated in a period of strong evils of racketeering with the airy remark that it is due to pro- hibition is over. But matters will not be remedied until the problem is tackled courageously, There is a lesson in this for Hongkong, as we pointed out re-
Whatever hopes Englishmen hold contly. The encouragement lat- regarding Britain's success in the terly given to the smuggling of and of this week, they appear to Davis Cup challenge round at the opium is almost certain to lead have been strengthened following
to the development of rival gangs and this, in turn, is almost certain to lead to clashes.
wind. Nor can objections ba diamfased on the score that the area has long been a coal dump. It is probably in the difference between the coal used by the Kowloon-Can- ton Railway and the commodity dumped on the area by the M.B.K. that the source of the trouble will be found to lie.
LACOSTE'S BOMBSHELL
team. Rene Lacoste, solely respon- tho announcement of tho French alble for its composition, Is assured
of criticism between now had tho tie. From distant Hongkong the In one way and another, we selection of Andre Merlin over Ber- have sufficient examples, on a clate. It is possible, of course,
nard or Boussus is difficult to appre
small scale, of what racketeer both Merlin, and Lacoste may ing means. Any step which is have something up their sleeves. If evehte prove this to be 80, likely to give them an impetus we shall be the first to congratu fue development is one to cause late them on the preservation of the O secret But it will have to be some. thing very very goodata4
whih I know som elamusing
Then there's the shroffs to con-.
What with being badgered by shroffs and talpana on the Peak wit's end, as King Henry said when we were nearly always at our
he kicked his, Jester out of the Palaco.
Personally, we fail to see why there should be all this fuss about Cost of Living, and the only good It does is to give us an occasional. subject to write about.
We have long since given up worrying about such mundane affairs. Once upon a time, whon we were new to the East, we used to take our girl'friend out snugglo pupping, but we'd always pay the accounts afterwards.
Nowadays we still bili and coo, and later bill and owo.
Most people, when they firet como to Hongkong, are staggered at the way their accounts mount up.
After a while they ceasa, to bo staggered.
Which is as it should be, with dash of popper and salt to tasto
WAS MY VICE RED?
2
There's no doubt about it, we've got to be careful these days. With. the women, we mean. What with beauty treatments, massages, Turklah baths and tace-lifting a man isn't safo those days. A
They're getting all these bad" Idens from the cinema. For In-- stance, it's about tima-"Celluloid""" exposed Flossie Foolsem, the siren vamp, who recently bame back to the acreon playing, young, Innocent parts. She did not tako. |hor: beauty treatment at all, but sent a friend along to the studio In her place.
Thore Isjalso the case of Aggio Ardraico whose face was Hited l'ao niñïyštimes that it came right
Loft.: Shố has since made a bri