NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 249, 15 July 1921, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

It seems scarcely worth while to take eixty witnesses to Leipzig fo;- the trial of two subordinate officers of a German submarine for acts of brutality committed by their commanding officer. The crime was an atrocious one and unjustifiable on any grounds. Tho officers of the submarine absconded on the prosecutions being instituted, and they had every reason for not desiring to face even tho Leipzig Court. Tho Llandovery Castlo was returning from Canada empty, after having taken wounded to Canada, and was torpedoed without warning 116 miles south-west of the Fastnet Rock, off tho Irish coast. Sho was painted as e hospital ship and hud tows of lights around her sides illuminating her markings so that no mistake us to her character was possible. Ten minutes after'being struck tho vessel sank. Everybody on board--258 persons in all, including 14 Canadian nurses —is believed to have left the vessel in the ship’s boats. One boat containing 24 persons escaped. Tho survivors reported that the submarine cruised at full speed among the wreckage and boats, and fired twenty shells in the direction of the other ship’s 'boats. It fired at their boat also, and two or three times rushed at it at speed in an attempt apparently io ram it or sink it in the wash. Eventually the boat got away in tho darkness. Although an exhaustive search was made later no other boats were discovered, and there is little doubt that the bulk of those who left the ship in. them were tho victims of cold-blooded murder, in defiance of all the laws of war and humanity. This criminal submarine commander the Germans have failed to produce, and the farce is being enacted of assessing the share of guilt of two minor participants in the crime, while the real murderer evades punishment.

Those who follow at all closely tho sport of horse racing must always read the annual address of the president of the Racing Conference with a great deal of pleasure. Sir George Clifford has filled tho office at tho head of this national sport for more years than we can at the moment recall, and during that long period his influence has been consistently and powerfully exerted to the elevation of horse racing to the highest plane of sportsmanship. Whether one agrees or not with his views on matters of detail, there is no room for differences of opinion as to the soundness of his downright and insistent advocacy of clean sport, and there can be no question that the high standard which tho sport of racing has reached in this Dominion to-day is largely due to the fine ideals of sportsmanship which Have ever influenced his wise leadership.

It is good news to learn that owing to the exceptionally mild season there is a surplus z of butter for export this winter. At the present time, with values for most of our primary products down to zero, the Dominion would have been in a bad way indeed but for the exceptional output of its dairy farmers. Those who have been inclined to begrudge the farmer the prices he received for his wool and meat and dairy produce in the times of high prices are beginning to realise what it means to them as well as to the farmers when demand Is slack and prices drop in the markets overseas. The financial pinch which the community is now feeling simply reflects the drop in the prices of our farmers’ products overseas. When tho farmer is doing well in a country like New Zealand, the people as a whole share in his prosperity. Butter, though not bringing the fancy prices realised last summer, is quoted in the vicinity of two shillings a pound in London, and the price seems to be hardening. It is very unusual to have any winter-raised butter for export from this Dominion, and it is a matter for congratulation that at a time like the present there should be a surplus available.

In theory the world-wide "brotherhood and unity of the proletariat" is a principle to which local Labour extremists affirm attachment with all the strength of their lungs. In practice that attachment is not so marked. When the Ruahine arrived at Auckland with immigrants aboard a large poster was prominently displayed with the announcement that thousands were unemployed in the Dominion, and a circular was distributed inviting the newcomers to an address at tho Trades Hall on ths lack of housing. As one of tho immigrants remarked, it was a cold welcome. As for the “thousands unemployed," he pithily added that there were millions in Britain. Yesterday the Labour Party, at its annual congress, resolved to extend the hand of fellowship by circulating in Britain the "strongest warning against coming to New Zealand at the present time." No one would advocate conducting an immigration campaign at present. At the same time, one would expect that our preachers of working-class solidarity throughout the world would at anyrate take the trouble to inquire whether their "comrades" from abroad would be better or worse off by coming to this country. That is surely the test from tho “brotherhood of the proletariat" point of view if brotherhood counts for anything more than empty froth and humbug. It, however, is not the Labour Party’s test. Recent events in Sydney and the dictatorial attitude taken up by the lord Mayor have aroused much interest in the municipal elections about, to lake place in the city. The Labour aldermen are in a lai re majority iu the council, and. as they work on the caucus system the result is that they vote en bloc on any matter of importance. This means that it is possible for the Lord Alayor and six Labour aldermen to dictate to the caucus and through them to the whole council of 26 members. Alderman Lambert, the Lord Mayor, has an exceptional fondness for having his own way and an exceptional disregard for tho feelings of other people. Tho result is bitter feeling with a hard-fought election in prospect. The Labour aldermen have taken astuta precautions to buttress themselves in office. They passed a bylaw that preference of wnploymei t be given to residents In tho city. This brought shoals of workers in from tho suburbs, and in return for their employment they were expected to bo duly grateful to the Labour aidermen in whose ward they took up their residence ,

and whoso constituents they have 'become. This led to the practice of Hid wives of the workmen becoming the nominal "tenants” of their homes, and their husbands and families being added to the city roll as "lodgers.” lu this way as many as 10 to 12 votes have been added to tho register for one house, ns against tho previous single vote of an owner or leaseholder. That tho congestion in tho city, which was bad enough before, has been considerably increased by tho manoeuvre of bringing in municipal workers from the suburbs is seemingly a matter of indifference to these exploiters of tho Labour vote. A cable message yesterday indicates that the Labour Party has gone still further in its operations by carrying tho war into tho enemy’s camp and endeavouring to have numbers of non-Labour voters struck off tho rolls. Tho whole proceeding is strongly reminiscent of New York in the Tammany rule days of "Boss” Croker. It is not the workingman’s welfare that is sought but the workingman’s vote.