NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST Fresh to strong southerly winds. Weather cloudy and cold, with occasional showers. The further outlook is for a continuance of similar conditions. The Moon.—New moon, August 31. High Water.—Today, 12.46 p.m.; tomorrow, 1.14 a.m., 1.32 p.m. Demobilisation Figures. The information that 22,606 men and women of the fighting services had been demobilised up to June 30 last was given by Mr. S. W. Gaspar, a member of the Rehabilitation Board, at Auckland. More than 9000 of the total given, according to Mr. Gaspar, were from overseas and 13,388 from the New Zealand Forces. Football for Returned Men. Special provision is being made by the Wellington Rugby Football Union to accommodate returned men of the Second N.Z.E.F. at the Army interisland match to be played at Athletic Park next Saturday. After their parade and luncheon the returned men will be the guests of the Rugby Union at the Park, where a block of seats has been set apart for them. Winter Not Yet Over. Comparatively genial weather of the past day or two gave rise to hopes that perhaps the winter was at last giving place to spring. But the clerk of the weather last night turned on a cold southerly which wetted everybody who happened to be out of doors. A sprinkling of snow on the Orongorongos this morning glistened picturesquely enough in the fitful sunshine but was an indicator that August is a winter month. Petrol for Furlough Men. Instructions had been issued to local oil fuel controllers that a further licence for 10 gallons of petrol a month may be issued for the personal use of the men now on furlough from service in the Middle East, said the Minister of Supply (Mr. Sullivan) last night. The Minister said it was apparent from the number of petrol applications received that many of the men on furlough were experiencing travel difficulties in connection with visits to relations and friends. High Prices for Flowers. Probably never before have cut flowers, chiefly from the North Island, realised such high prices 'in Dunedin as those obtaining today, and florists bid eagerly in the wholesale markets to secure supplies, which are not nearly sufficient to meet the demand. At the weekend boronias were sold wholesale at 16s to 25s a dozen bunches, freesias from 15s to 18s a dozen bunches, Soleil dOr 20s to 30s, violets 5s to Bs, creme narcissi 5s to Bs, trumpet daffodils 12s Ito 30s, anemones 24s to 30s a dozen j bunches. Flowers for wreaths are in constant demand, and this is an important factor in their sale. i School Buildings. "The Minister's policy is very simple. It is to build every school the Building Controller can furnish the means to build," said the Minister of Education (Mr. Mason) in the House of Representatives last night when,, during discussion of the Supplementary Estimates, he was asked to state his policy in regard to schools and to make j known the difficulties facing the Department in this connection. Opposi- I tion members rose one after another to draw attention •to school needs in their districts. The main estimates included a vote of £225,000 for school buildings, and the supplementary vote before the House last night was for an additional £80,000 for the erection of prefabricated schoolrooms. The Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash) said that at the present time the erection of hospitals came first in the building programme and then next and together were homes and schools. There was jno question of money not being made available for schools. It was just a question of determining priorities, having regard to the limited labour and materials available. It was intended that the prefabricate rooms should be added to the existing school accommodation. "Knock-off" Times. j By an arrangement between the Waterfront Control Commission and the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union, "knock-off" times for work on | the various wharves have been defined. A semi-official practice has developed of stopping work in time to enable the men to be oft" the ships and away from the wharves before the hour has struck. The commonly-accepted practice has been for the cease work times to vary according to the distance of a wharf I from Queen Street. Under this system, the men have been allowed to stop about 10 to 15 minutes or more early at meal times, or at the end of. the shift. Originally a privilege, the practice of stopping work early, j through years of observation, has become almost a right, and now it has been regularly denned. Under the arrangement, work will cease eight minutes early on Queen's Wharf, and the times for the other wharves vary. "The arrangement constitutes a reduction in the times on what has been allowed," said Captain C. V. Stanich, Auckland Waterfront Controller, on Monday. When he.was asked what was the concession in time for each wharf under the new agreement, he said it I was not a matter for the newspapers.