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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 4. April 7th, 1948

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

My dear Salient,—It was with distinct pleasure and profit that I read your issue commemorating the tenth anniversary of the founding of Salient. I was under a misapprehension I must confess I thought your birthday would have been either April 1, or else May Day. I am sure everyone will agree that the mental content of many of your articles is in keeping with your age. I showed the issue to some members of the local Farmers' Union, and they wish me to hand on their unreserved testimonial of the quality of the paper Salient uses. They say, and they should know, that it far outstrips any catalogue they have used in the past ten years, but could you arrange for a hole to be cut out of the upper left hand corner to permit hanging on a nail?

I had the feeling as I read its contents that Salient suffers from a deep sense of frustration in not being able to point to some member of the staff, or party, who has died a martyr's death in the cause. As a suitable martyr Mr. Winchester could not be outdone, and his death would provide ample proof of the iniquities of the capitalistic system for many generations. You might also compose a song and call it "The Horst Winchester Song" to be sung at all meetings of the editorial staff.

However, I was more than flattered with the kind references to me on page 10 of Salient. I love headlines that size, don't you? But it really is unfortunate that you did not have space to permit the publication of that delightful piece of biassed hack Journalism which created the furore. You will know the editorial no doubt, it was the one the Editor, Mr. Milburn, did not write himself and which he himself did not think was fair. It was called "Our Judgment" I think, although a better and more apt title might have been "Our Hero Mr. Cohen," but of course only Salient's editorials are allowed to be biassed so I shouldn't be nasty and say things like that should I? Then of course, if space had permitted it, you could have pointed out that, despite Mr. Milburn's claims to the contrary. Salient is, both under the present Constitution and the old one, the official organ of the Association. After that you might have called attention to the act that, notwithstanding Mr. Milburn's averment that he had not been informed of the passing of the motion calling on him to retract the scurrilous editorial, the then President (Mr. Cohen) told his Executive that he (Mr. Cohen) had told Mr. Milbum of the motion. Now both Messrs. Cohen and Milburn, I see from your paper, are on the staff of Salient so I am at a loss to understand why this was not amended in the present issue, unless of course Salient was deliberately trying to mislead and misrepresent the true position. I am sure that that is not the reason for I can't imagine Salient adopting such scurvy capitalistic tactics in preference to the truth, can you?

As it is your birthday I am sending under separate cover a small present of one red herring and one mare's nest. I am sure the ones you have been using up to the present must be worn out. Many happy returns on your birthday. Salient and keep up the good work, and by the time you are twenty I am sure that you will have established yourself as the number one New Zealand comic cuts.

With love and kisses from your erstwhile friend and sometime combatant.

Marcus J. Poole, Ll.M.

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