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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 1, No. 3. March 23, 1938

Rejoinder

Rejoinder

Dear "Salient,"—Apparently D.M.S. has not seen "Dead End" or else he would not have written as he has done on J.D.F.'s review.

There is no doubt that this him was outstanding for tow reasons. Firstly, its characters were true to life—real: and secondly, it showed up evils of the present day that should be rectified. Of course D.M.S. would rather stand on the roof of his apartment house gazing towards the heavens, or studying his French and pouring his milk on the shrubs, than make his way down to the hovels where the blowsey old char pinches the half-eaten biscuit from a kid and where he [unclear: could] help to prevent the "Dead End" existence of those people forced to live [unclear: as] such poverty. He could make it his job to lift men out of the "Dead, End" life from which there is no way out from their point of view except, as was shown in the film, by Dave killing "Baby Face" Martin and on the reward starting off anew with Drina.

Let us see from it too, that the same system that forces men and women to live in such squalor, which breeds boys for one-half of their youth in slums, and the other in reform schools, is in New Zealand, just as much as it is in New York. Our Reformatories, Borstals, Prisons, have become institutions of punishment where men and women have their characters bent, and embittered, and return to the rest of the community to continue in their "Dead End" existences.

We have to face reality before we have the opportunity to search for the romantic. The hush-up policy of D.M.S. concerning facts and truths would never give the milk to the char nor would it lift the half dozen boys from their forgotten environment.

Goldwyn has helped to show us the truth—it is now our concern to make sure the has not fallen on barren ground.

R. W. Lithgow.