CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 7, 8 January 1908, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE.

FRUIT HAWKING. (To the Editor.) Sir, —I in turn read with interest Fair Play's views on the above. I should recommend fruiterers to become hawkers if indeed 'tis correct that the former have to undergo such disadvantages; to my knowledge, there is no law to prevent this. I certainly have seen oranges, particularly in shop windows, actually mouldy and unfit for consumption, (though not in Queen-street). It may either be the presence of police inspectors, or hawkers that prevents that. If fruit was offered the public at a reasonable price there would not be so much left to decay. Just another matter. Potatoes at present in like manner we are told, are being consigned to Davy Jones in large quantities, and yet the ! prices remain high.—l am, etc., I ARTHUR CUMMINGS. DISCARDING THE HAT. (To the Editor.) Sir.—l see the news has arrived that Southern advocates of the No-Hat movement are boldly putting their theories into practice. Well, Auckland is not lagging behind in this matter, for I have already seen, I suppose, close on two score carrying their head-gear in hand, and seemingly as much at ease as if they were merely in the corridor of some I building. It will not h-z long before 1 these hand-carried hats ai - e left at home, !at all events in the weather we now enjoy. Baldness is prevented, and a thick growth of hair favoured by this simple treatment, not to mention the absence !of headaches caused solely by the con- ! striction of the head by a hot leather hat-band. May fortune favour the Nohat movement, which, carried out in moderation, is eminently sensible and practical.—l am, etc., ANTI-BALD. P.S.—A weekly shampoo of tar soap is another valuable preventive of baldness. DR. BAKEWELL'S INVESTIGATION. OF THE FASTING CASES AT WANGAUNI. (To the Kditor.) Sir, —There seems to be some misapprehension as 1o my position in the matter of the fasting cases at Wanganui. When I first read of a fast lasting from 125 to 45 days, 1 expressed my incredui iltv in plain language. When, after inI terviening all the persons who had fasted I found myself compelled to acknowledge that they were speaking the Iruth, I made the amende honorable as soon as possible. Beyond that 1 am not pre- ■ pared to go at present. T undertook the j investigation entirely at my own cost, without any arrangement with any ' newspaper, and I do not feel disposed to j impart the result of my inquiries to the ] public unless I get some adequate remuj neration. It by no means follows that jif a man at the height of five feet eight inches, weighing 17 stone, finds himself on the second storey of a house on fire, ' with the staircase in a blaze, and throws j himself out of the window, and escapes i without serious injury, that a man of I the same height, weighing nine or ten I slone, can adopt the same mede of escape with similar impunity. Still less does it follow that the fat man should adopt the plan of jumping out of the second floor window as his ordinary method of leaving the house. Which things are a parable. lam preparing a full report of vay investigations for the " Lancet." —I am, etc. E. H. BAKEWELL, M.D. Onehunga, January 3rd, 1903. THE BORER. (To the Editor.) Sir, —I read recently a very interesting article by A. E. Hobbs, on the "Borer." Some years since I had a chest of drawers built at home of rimu, I I but unfortunately there were some old j j boards of the same wood, from a pack- I I ing-ease, used for the back. We saw the I holes, but didn't know the Borer then. • Soon they began to spread, and I was I then told the cause, and to use kerosene j freely, which I did. Beyond a worm I now and then, I never saw the insect, till about the middle of November I had the room papered and painted, and a j waslistand which the borer had spread to i was treated kerosene in like man- ! ner. Then little brown beetles began com- | ing out in numbers. I watched the arti- '■ cles closely, and must have killed hunj ilreds all through December. Have they I left their eggs after them in the wood? They have ceased coming out now.—l I urn, etc., BORER. PINE ISLAND WHARF. fTo the EditorJ Sir, —I would like, with your kind permission, to draw the attention of the j Devoupo-t Ferry Company and the HarI bour Board to the very dangerous con- ' dition of the wharf at Pine Island. On New Year's Day I was one out of some two or three thousand persons, some hundreds of whom were young Sunday-school . children, who visited this favourite picnic ground, but on reaching the wharf a considerable time was lost in getting the ! boat alongside- The captain was, no doubt, afraid of the frail structure, the piles of which have a considerable cant to one side. To all appearana?, it would not take a very strong contact of the boat to knock the thing over. The same thing occurred again in the evening. The last boat was to leave the island at fix , o'clock, but, in consequence of the '. steamers not being able to make fast to ' the wharf, the last bont did not leave . until nearly eight o'clock, and everybody \ was thankful when they got safely on I board, and I venture to say most will not ! be seen there again until" there is some '. improvement. Now, Sir, Pine Island is . a splendid place for a picnic; the nice \ smooth water trip; the fresh balmy . breezes of the island, with its pleasant walks and shady trees, a!! go to make it an ideal place for a days' outing. But that old structure which is doing duty as I a wharf taks all the gloss off the enjoy- . ment, as all the time you have a fear that [ a serious accident will happen—l am, etc., s PATERFAMILIAS.

THE PROHIBITION OF THE ] STRAPHANGER. (To the Editor.)' Sir, —Might I ask through your columns whether the Tramway Company no longer allow straphangers on cars, and if so, what are notices on some of the cars intended to convey: "Standing room for S , M " Standing room for 10 " ? Some of the conductors tolerate passengers standing, while others again authoritatively call out, " N-o standing room." Is the public to be fooled on the one hand by the company's notices, and subjected on the other to the discourteous commands of the uncouth recruit conductor? If passengers are prepared to pay for the privilege of hanging on for dear life to straps while journeying, they should be allowed to do so, especially since the company cannot put on the lines enough rolling stock to meet the demands. The company at any rate should determine whether straphangers are to be utilised or abandoned altogether. The public would be prepared to accept the inevitable in either case; and passengers would not be exposed to the present unpleasantness. I am. etc., ADVANCEMENT^ KAIPARA RAILWAY LDsE. (To the Editor.) Sir, —The jii3rney from Auckland to the newly-opened station, Wayby, gives sound cause of complaint. The train leaves at 7 a,m., and arrives at Wayby at about 1 p.m. In the first place, there are no lights provided, and the carriages are in complete darkness when passing through the tunnels, and there are many to go through. The day I travelled with my children there was one poor woman ■who had three little children, two only infants, who, on our entering the tunnels, screamed until we saw light again —toe mothers efforts to sooth them being futile. Their terror was painful to -witness on emerging from the darkness. I must also draw attention to the needs of the lavatory. The basin was only supplied with a very little water, and there was no more to be had, the water in the basin having to serve the purpose for all of the passengers who required it. On going to the filter (placed in the lavatory for use of passengers) for a drink of water for my children, who were dreadfully thirsty, imagine my disgust to find it empty. At one or two stations I made inquiry as to whether we could get a bottle of water or not, but was told there were no tanks, and not a drop to be had for love or money.. We could not, in fact, get a drink until we reached the terminus. It is also a matter of regret that from town to Wayby it is almost impossible to obtain even a cnp of tea, unless one runs the risk of losing the the exact time of starting from Helensville varies considerably. If these matters were attended to, the present journey would be one of pleasure instead of being, as at present, one of dread, and I should think more remunerative to the railway, as more passengers would travel by rail. The expense connected with the improvements should not be much, and the increased amount of pleasure in travelling would, I feel sure, be noticed by all. I am, etc., MOTHER. SOCIALIST LOGIC. (To the Editor.) Sir, —The millennium is at hand. The Socialists tell us they are coming into power, and so we shall soon have everything provided for us by the Government. Only think of it! Even doctors and medicines will be free to all. The Government will produce and distribute everything—but only for use, not for profit; that is the essence of the new system, and the man who has mastered that fact, we are told, "knows what Socialism really is." I do not quite understand this, because we are also told that we shall "govern ourselves, produce everything for ourselves, and everyone will then receive the full benefit of his own labour." However, I ask, what better than this could you have? It is all so simple, too. One has only got to believe in the system To see how simple it is; and it only mcajis that everyone would be relieved of his present business or occupation and have to take service under the Government. Our individual merits might, or might not, be properly appraised, but we should all be graded and appointed to our several offices —all organised, in fact, like a regiment of soldiers, only there would be a much larger proportion of officers, and they might not be gentlemen; and with this difference, that if a common soldier is dissatisfied with his lot, or is ill-treated, I he has no remedy, only to endure as long I as he remains in the army, relief only j comes when he has served his term, and j is a free man again. But under the j Socialistic system of government we could, of course, remedy any fancied injustice, because we should t "govern ourselves"? Don't you see? For instance, if the Government sent a man coai lumping, when he should have a well-paid gocd easy inspectorship, he could remedy that injustice, as he would "govern himself." Time would bring no relief to him, but he could cut his throat, or jump off the end of a wharf on a dark night, or any little thing like that. Don't you see how clear and simple it all is? One has only to understand what Socialism really means. . . . Now. as to producing and distributing "without profit." With regard to this, we have to remember that our present Government have borrowed a little money; that social bodies throughout the country have borrowed a little more; and there has been some slight private borrowing, too. I put it in this mild way to escape the charge of being unpatriotic, and of seeking to injure the credit of the country. But I am afraid these items amount to a rather largp.Vs'um in the aggregate, and that interest must be paid—if we are honest—on that sum whatever it may be. Then the Socialists tell us there is to be no confiscation, but that all are to receive fair value. Lot us suppose, then, that everyone would be satisfied with the appraisement of value of his business and property; and -was willing to give a Socialistic Government credit for that amount —which is taking a good deal for granted—there still remains the fact that a very large sum would be required for interest on this account. Then there is the necessary development of the country—railways, , roads, bridges, harbour works, and "so on; all these take a lot of money; not forgetting Parliament vj\ the Government! So that doing all the work of the country witnout profit seems hardly a , practical proposition. Not that there is anything new in that as coming from [ the Socialists. Moreover, the Govern- . ment have already bejn in the farming business now for some years," and last year spent £24.----000 on State farms, and receiv- ; ed £6000 in return from them. ' So ' that the proposition that the Government should "produce without profit" seems to be hardly necessary. The State 1 coal mines, too, are another object lesson. But these things can all be manag-

Ed so long as there are taxpayers to fall back upon. But under a Socialistic government there would be no taxpayers, and everything would have to be made to pay of itself. There would be no credit, at least from abroad, that is quite certain. Moreover, the capitalist would still remain and be taking his share, so there appears to be nothing for it but confiscation—or hanging all the capitalists. Preaching Socialism to get a living without hard work, by deluding the credulous and the ignorant, is one thing, and may answer that purpose; but as a working system Socialism is crude and impractical: nothing could be worse or more deadly; and if it were possible that we could ever be such fools as to surrender our personal liberty for "a mess of pottage," or for such a system, it could never last; but the land would be deluged with blood before we regained our liberty. There is nothing more certain than that.—l am, etc., W. PHTLCOS. •--••--"• CHOLERA. (To «ie Editor.) Sir, —Having served in India during the cholera epidemics I have no hesitation in saying that a form of that hideous complaint has been prevalent in Auckland during the past two months. Griping pains, vomiting, purging, and consequent heart failure! all these symptoms hava been noticeable. I recommend opium, ehlorodyne, brandy, and port wine as the only palliatives. —I am, etc., H. J.