NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 284, 30 November 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Good News for Bowlers

YM.C.A. Year

A total of 176,447 meals were served in the association's dining rooms, 89,382 being to servicemen, states the annual report of the Auckland Y.M.C.A. which will be presented at the annual meeting tonight. The report adds that 33,492 servicemen were accommodated in the dormitory, and the residential section was worked to capacity. The membership of the association had sbown an increase during the year, the total being 2257. Opening of Freezing Works An announcement that the freezing works in Otago and Southland would open probably on January 4 was made at a meeting of the Freezing Works Utilisation Committee. It was reported that there would be a shortage of solo slaughtermen in the Southland works and at Balclutha. It was stated, however, that the general labour position was expected to be fairly satisfactory and to show a slight improvement on that of last year- . . Male Nurses Approval in principle of the use of male nurses was expressed at a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board this week. . The subject arose from a letter from the DirectorGeneral of Health, Dr. M. H. Watt, asking for the board's comments as to the need for State recognition of male nurses and the practicability of setting up a recognised course of training. It was decided that reports on the matter from the medical and lady superintendents of the Auckland and Green Lane Hospitals should be forwarded to the Department of Health. Homework Excuse Losing his grip of his schoolbag in the act of jumping aboard a ferry at Bayswater, a young secondary school' pupil saw the bag become half submerged and begin to drift under the wharf with the tide. A long pole had no effect other than to push the bag further away, and books and personal belongings were about to sink when the "catch" was made with the aid of a boat hook. The, sodden state of everything inside may have at least acted as a homework excuse for the next day, though the means to the end could scarcely to judged satisfactory, even by a schoolboy. School Record Cards Comment on the new cumulative record cards now used in schools was made by Mr. E. G. Cousins, careers master of the Wellington Technical College, in a repcn't to the board. "The introduction of these cards aroused a storm of controversy earlier in the year, resulting in considerable publicity," he said. "As a result, some modifications in the form of the card are in hand, and supplies of the new card should be available for 1945. Our experience has been that, though the card is by no means ideal, and has definite limitations, it is a decided advance on the old types of record cards, and is of decided value to the vocational guidance system. The cards are shown to parents who visit us and express a desire to see them. In every case parents have readily recognised the value of the information on the record card, and have been satisfied that it is being used for a useful purpose."

Bowlers are assured that their needs so far as a supply of henselite bowls is concerned will be met in the near future. The factory in Melbourne which makes bowls is at present engaged in war work, and is also faced with manpower problems, but it is understood that the manufacture of henselite bowls will be recommenced next March. The factory already has on hand orders for 4000 sets. Family Without Home The plight of the Hamilton family —husband and wife and five children—which was described in the Star three weeks ago, remains unchanged, although the husband has since left hospital where he was admitted a week after, his arrival in the city. The family came to Auckland on the understanding that a house would be available for them in Newmarket, but found that they had been misled. Meantime, they are living at Hospitality House, Ponsonby. Because of their large number of children they have been unable to obtain rooms elsewhere. Pocketless Trousers Increasing difficulty in replacing pockets in their menfolk's trousers is being experienced by Auckland housewives. Some men are harder on their pockets than others, depending on the extent to which they load, or overload them, and the days have long since gone when a man will cheerfully discard a pair of "bags" and purchase another because the pockets have worn out. Few pockets remain in good repair for long unless they are made of calico or similar coarse material. Efforts made yesterday to buy some trouser pockets in Queen Street drapers and clothiers proved unsuccessful. Larger Railcars Diesel-engined railcars which had been brought into use in recent years having proved a convenient and suitable means of travel in certain districts, their use generally would no doubt increase in the future, said Mr. P. R. Angus, chief mechanical engineer of the Railways Department, in evidence before the Railways Industrial Tribunal. Larger units of the Diesel-electric type were under consideration, he said, for adoption on certain sections where services could be improved by that form of traction. He explained that no railcars now in service were Diesel-electric, but had Diesel engines, and either hydraulic or mechanical transmissions. Treatment of Defaulters The treatment accorded to military defaulters was criticised at the half-yearly meeting of the Hastings R.S.A. by Mr. W. A. Mclntyre, who said he was in a position to know what conditions obtained in detention camps. Defaulters, he said, were given every facility for study, and even their requests for their typewriters to be sent to them in camp had been granted. "They even had bacon and eggs for breakfast, and when everyone else was short of tobacco they were getting plenty," he said. When the defaulters had a 60-watt lamp in their study they demanded one of 100 watts, and got it. Mr. Mclntyre declared that one of the men was visited by a member of Parliament. After the member's visit the defaulter was taken out in a car and he never went back to the camp.