DAYLIGHT SAVING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2986, 25 January 1917, Page 5

DAYLIGHT SAVING

SYDNEY'S EXPERIENCE

MANY PEOPLE PROTECT

c- "It would bo unwise at the preserii o juncture to say definitely that ths 1> daylight-saving scheme is generally uni- popular (said the "Sydney Morning 0 'Herald" last week). Only a vote of n all tho people could decide that. But 0 there is certainly in many quarters a i- strong feeling of opposition to it. That il was made quite clear yesterday, n " 'It is a terriblothing,' said one of I- Sydney's leading citizens, 'that milk ', carters, dairymen, and others who have s been in the habit of getting away on :. their rounds before daylight, -should s now have to rise while dawn. is still - an hour further off. Personally I have a felt more tired since tho introduction 1 of daylight saving than before, and - this has been the experience of many - of my friends. We do not go to bed ;. any earlier, but we get up an hour - earlier, thus being deprived' of 6leep. No doubt it is a finef thing for surf - bathers, but whether.surf bathing is to ) be the first and last thought of Ausi tralians is x matter on which I. should r like the opinion of tho DirectoivGeneral - of Recruiting.' The surf bathing argu- • ment in favour of dock time comes out . of consideration to those who indulge j in tho sport before breakfast. t '"I don't think it is giving genera? [ satisfaction,' said the president of tho , Chamber of Manufactures (Mr. ,W. _T. i Williiigton). 'It has interfered with . the daily lives of the workers, many of , whom live in remote suburbs, and 1 con- , sequently have to rise \ very early in , the morning. They get a longer even- '. ing, certainly—and m many cases do , not know what to do with it. There i has been no benefit so far as I can , see, and it has not increases production. Neither has there been any sav- : ing of daylight, because it is daylight before the factories open and daylight after they close.' "Farmers, dairymen, miners, slaughtermen, as well as men engaged; in many other callings, are all opposed "* to the scheme, according to their official representatives in Sydney. But, above and before a 11, tho womenfolk— the wives of working men, anyway— have passed an adverse verdict, and it must therefore bo looked upon .as already doomed. They claim that their burdens have been increased 1 rather, than'lightened, and'that the hour has been put on to the wrong end: of the day—most of them could l do with an extra hour in bed in the morning. Instead of that they must rise earlier, and spend the extra hour of daylight in performing household duties. It has not; benefited tho children, either, it is pointed out, for it is impossible to got them to bed much before ten o'clock, the result being that in the morning they are unrefreshed; and have to be practically dragged l out of bed. The taking away from children, of an hour's sleep each night is a very serious deprivation indeed, and it is to be hoped that when school starts they maysettle down into the old routine, and Totire to bed at the old hour. Even where the father of the family is a howler, and, therefore, an enthusiastic daylight saver, the house is divided, for the housewife has to upset all her arrangements, and postpone-'tße tea hour until his return at, perhaps, eight o'clock. So that while -flio'liowler has more time to devote to his favourite pastime, his wife gains no corresponding advantage. "Many opinions might bo quoted both for and! against. Those in favour say that tho present opposition will die out as time goes on <md people get used to tho change.- But. so far daylight saving has . failed" to create enthusiasm. Many people assert that it is a needless interference with the people's habits, which, by a natural process, have been adapted, to tho climatic' conditions, and those who assert that this year will seethe last of periodical clock-readjusting in Australia may not be far out after all."-