IN THE PUBLIC MIND

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 169, 19 July 1943, Page 2

IN THE PUBLIC MIND

CORRESPONDENTS' VlE^g EX-SERVICEMEN (To the Editor.) ' [• Recently I met a returned <, n u. 1 ,f coming out of the RehabiS ?t I 0 Department, wearing a worritl 01 ■ eHe stated that all the Dep-rt • would do for him was to givo 3 f casual work that was not siTitli 1 s him. The attitude adopted hv if Department was take it or W He had asked for a light ioh V 1 1 - suitable nature, on account nfV leg . injury. The Dept. officer vLr ; e jumped on him when demand ; l- to know who said he was to hn 5 \ i- light job, his reply being that i?! 0i . such and such a doctor ■ ' after a few words, handed a list f work on. There was nothing able. He wanted to know -was e the New Order? Was this what?,' 3 , Fraser meant when he said in 3 ' coming each lot of returned J "that nothing was too good f or t ? e °. f and he would see they got it"? t question is, can the promises',* ? to these men be kept? IndustS, 6 3 present that is declared essential at > only casual jobs to offer thew l 3s f This work in the main is no t work. This means that V 5 1 returned man is a potential - If this is the case with only a T*' " ex-servicemen in New Zealand I* l what, is going to happen when ? ; war is over? If the powers that I 6 r especially the Government , e j > R.S.A., do not get on with tho - n ? f immediately it looks as if f a V 3 Zealand, and probably other ,n 6ff tries on the winning side of tL? "" may suffer disorders. The ex-w r ' = men will have to bring abfi?" i new order/ 191418 I SCHOOL AND HOME ' Again we have a crop of letters - against caning in schools! it k 1" t to stop smiling at these letters n - growing lack of parental rnJ h ? which they cloak is becoming 2 t serious. For the greater na,-t £ to ° : "fe I was a teacher and in a S"I ' large school, where I came inJi y • tact with all sorts of boys tO iT > most other teachers, I soon £§ - that I could go for years v/ifi ■ using the cane at all. I taken • credit for this; most of the bn« s came from homes where they fij 1 been taught how to behave nf > }Y. ere s ° me > however, who could nn ; live at peace with the rest of m ~ Encouraged by their parents to £ ve op their own individuality thev did it at the whole world's expense Allowed to do what they liked in r Sri lr own ?°™ es '. they thought th had a perfect right to upset the [ whole class. The teacher's greatest - problem is how to deal with the* outlaws. There is a limit to the ■ time he can devote to trying understand them. Should thev be • caned or sent home for good to their > parents? The clause in a rem petition to the Minister of Educatta ; • points out that teachers who need to ' use the cane are not fit to he teachers. There is no clause about the parents of children who have been caned I wonder how much they are to blame for their children's lack • of common courtesy and considers ; tion for others. The parent who ; exercises a wise control over his ; own children in the home will never ; need to rush into print about canin« ; m schools. P. A. SINCLAIR. HANDICAPS IN SHOPPING . When the powers that be consider . the rationing of wool perhaps they ■ can do something to save the constant repetition of my experiences. I nave a son in the air force (he being still in New Zealand), who is not issued with ail the woollen clothing necessary for his comfort. He has asked me repeatedly to send him j gloves. His station is miles from any shops, and when he does get leave they are shut. I am doing essentia! work myself, which takes me from my home 62 hours a working week (and no overtime pay, either). When, in the little time 1 have to spare, I go in search of wool, there is none j in the shops, and yet'.[ see numerous civilians, men, women and children, wearing garments knitted from air force wool. After a weary round of shops, and of being told, "no wool of any kind," I go home with a tired body and the constant thought ■ of my boy. along with others, going short. are still many idle women, worthy of no better name than parasite, hanging round the . shops day after day, ready to pounce on such things as wool, elastic, rice and sultanas-, as soon as the!y appear. If they can't be forced into doing ; something they should at least be prevented from grabbing, guzzling or hoarding. MOTHER. PRISON REFORM A correspondent who made thfi fallacious statement that those who fear the dummy need not endure it ; should remember that the warders word is always taken, so what about the prisoner who gets a cross with the warder. If the correspondent is against modern prison systems as is being advocated and tried with wo* ; derful results in England, perhaps ; as he thinks "we are too soft j he would prefer to go back to j the days of the rack and other tor- j tures. Modern thought and expert- = ence in dealing with delinquents jS to keep them occupied in useful | occupations, teaching them ana [ training them in trades. It has been .. proved in the Wakefield gaol, En ? - j land, that to put responsibility ® the hands of a prisoner so that M can determine whether or not n® ! loses his privileges that he pri® 3 ; : does far more to keep order ana ; eventually to establish the man than , solitary confinement. RUBY E. WATSON. , CHILDREN'S CLUB NEEDED The influx of Maoris into the citJ t is entailing hardship on the Maori ? children. Lack of accommodation : no playing grounds, etc., ieacl J|. ! sickness amongst them. These ctn-' ; dren have to carry on their race a|» f should be given every facility aw i opportunity to develop physical!) > and mentally on the best lines. , ; suggest as a temporary way ; relieving this acute situation that ° j club for Maori children be formj in the vicinity of Nelson Streei g where the children could go aft» school hours to play (under sup-' jf vision) instead of wandering tnt i streets. ETHEL C. WILSON- | GARDEN DAMAGE In a News of the Day naragrapj rats and hedgehogs were blamed toattacking grapefruit. Similar clam a =, t is being done in Mount Albert, an : I was puzzled for some time, and ai- ; blamed the rat. A careful > however, proved that it was a n of tuis and not rats. I have waters them numerous times. W. KEKK. g TO CORRESPONDENTS Letters to the editor must k® typed or written in ink, and in of the shortage of newsprint, tire, must be brief. Letters for w nl f' e room is not available cannot u | returned, nor can correspondence - entered into with the editor reS? 1 | ing letters sent for publication.