NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 222, 19 September 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Tuberculosis in Cows The eradication of tuberculosis in dairy herds was discussed by the executive of the Auckland Farmers' Union yesterday. A resolution was passed to the effect that, while the necessity of eliminating the disease was fully appreciated, the executive could not approve of any scheme under which the farmer was not adequately compensated for condemned animals. Profitable Cow Keen values were again realised for fat cattle at the Frankton stock sale this week. One well-known vendor obtained a highly satisfactory return for a small outlay. A year ago he purchased a Shorthorn cow for 35/, and ror almost 12 months used it as a house cow, also obtaining a good calf from his purchase. At this week's sale he sold the cow for the high figure of £12 2/6. Manurewa Fire Station Built by the voluntary labour of the firemen in their spare time, a new fire station has been completed in Manurewa, this practically completing the fire-fighting organisation in the borough. Water reticulation throughout the borough, previously dependent on rainfall and tank supplies, has made it possible to formulate an up-to-date scheme. Funds for the station were raised by the volunteer members of the brigade, who arranged social functions, and the council prepared plans and provided material. The building is about 30ft by 20ft, and the materials cost £120. Escape From Crete "I gave my signet ring to a Jerry for a tin of biscuits. I had not eaten anything for seven days. We were nearly starved in the prison camp." Thus Private G. N. Johnson, of Taihape, in a letter home, describes conditions in a German prison camp in Crete that prompted him and a friend to escape. After the escape, he says, they lived for two months in the mountains, sometimes starving and eating anything they could get, from snails to donkey meat. Eventually they got away from the island and reached Egypt. Indicating the story behind this part of the journey, Private Johnson writes: "All I arrived here with was a pair of underpants." Length of Vacations Considerable discussion on the question of the dates of terms and vacations for 1942 was a feature of the meeting of the board of managers of the Seddon Memorial Technical College yesterday afternoon. Opinions differed as to whether the second term vacation should be ! three weeks, as with most of the f other Auckland. secondary schools, ; or a fortnight, followed by a longer i Christmas holiday. The question of strain on teachers and pupils during I the examination term was raised by j some speakers, while others emphasised that many pupils assisted on | farms during the long vacation. The ■ board finally decided to adopt the S practice of other schools, and proI vide for a spring vacat''"'" of three | weeks.

Expiation at Naseby The town of Naseby (writes an 'Otago Central special correspondent) was shaken by a violent explosion on Saturday night. Investigations proved that explosives had been placed adjacent to the local police station, the weather boards and windows of which were blown out, as well as other damage being caused. Constable Fowler was absent from the station at the time, having left a few minutes before the explosion occurred. A number of impressed rifles belonging to the Home Guard were stored in the premises, but were undamaged. It is believed that a considerable quantity of explosive was used, as the explosion was felt a considerable distance away. Better Off With Less A man with five children and earning £5 a week is better off financially than a man with the same number of children and earning £1 a week more. This is not a conundrum, although it might be described as an anomaly. The man receiving £5 a week in wages is entitled to a family benefit of £1 a week. The family allowance is not subject to taxation, but the man has to pay national and social security tax on his wages. His total income a week is £6, and the tax that he pays on his wages reduces this to £5 10/. The man earning £6 a week and with five dependents is not entitled to a family benefit, and has to pay 12/ in tax on his wages, reducing his income to £5 8/ a week. Thus the financial position of the man earning £5 a week is better by 21. A Cold Bath They breed them tough in Aldershot. This was learned by a Hawke's Bay man who was billeted in a place famous among the forces for its hospitality. Getting out of bed one midwinter morning, the man was told that a bath was available. He went to the bathroom, where the water in the bath was coated with a layer of ice. He was surSrised, but, determined to show that few Zealand could also produce tough men, stepped into the depths of the icy water. Later in the morning the son of the house said: "I've had your bath run for you; take it while it's hot." The New Zealander explained that he had already had his bath and was still tingling. "Oh, that was not your bath. That was the water we use for incendiaries. We have it there so that we can bucket it out in a hurry," the lad told the amazed guest. Spy Story Exploded The handing over of the battered remains of a marine code book, a standard publication of the international code of signals, to the committee of the New Plymouth public library closed a two-year-old spy story which had been investigated by the local police. The code book and a pair of battered binoculars were found wrapped in a 1918 newspaper by boys exploring caves near New Plymouth overlooking the sea at a point held as tapu by the Maoris. Sensing possible spy activities, the boys passed the find on to the police, who made inquiries which led them to the conclusion that the code book and glasses had been merely the hidden treasures of a band of small boys, who had used them to improve their nautical knowledge by watching from the cliffs. When found, both code book and glasses had been so damaged by the weather as to be useless, having evidently been abandoned for some years.