NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 65, 10 December 1930, Page 10

NOTES OF THE DAY

Many people will give more than a passing thought to the selfsearching of a. New South Wales schoolmaster as to whether modern education has failed. So much has been, hoped of education and so much spent on it by the present generation that we shal, be reluctant to scrap it along with other lost illusions. The subject is too large to be dealt with summarily but it does seem that what modern youth lacks most is a sense of values, ability to think and to reach a true balance as to the essential and the non-essential. And when it comes to assessing between false and true values, is it not that thing which we call character that decides? If we can build character, we can safely leave the rest. If that be accepted, then it must also be admitted that, although the schools can do a great deal, they cannot do everything. Only 40 of the 5- weeks in the year are spent in the classroom and only 25 to 30 of the io. hours in the week. 4. * * ' *

When prices for a commodity fall, there are always people to advise curtailment of production. That may be a. remedy in the case of a commodity for which there is no substitute but it would be hard to name such an absolute indispensable. To save the market, for instance, raw rubber, production was restricted in certain countries but this not only stimulated other producers outside the policy of control but caused experiments to be made tn reclaim used rubber. Two-thirds of the United States consumption to-day is crude and one-third reclaimed rubber. Restriction of pro duction of petrol has also to be handled very carefully lest power alcohol should make more gains. New Zealand producers know that if butter goes too high, consumers switch to margarine and woo. is only one of several textiles in competition with each other. Hemp and kauri gum are two other products that must meet the market or miss it. These are only a few examples that go to show how difficult it is to manage the market by reducing output. « * ♦ . »

To secure the best result for Wellington City in the municipal \ elections to be held five months hence, the first essential is unity. Citizens’ organisations must realise that it is well worth while striving and even making sacrifices for a united front. Fortunately. in the case of the Civic League and Ratepayers’ Association, fusion would not call for any sacrifice of fundamental principles and there can be no loss of pride when doing the right; thing. These organisations should place before themselves as a clear objective the return of a strong Mayor and Council pledged, to institute a policy of prudence and economy appropriate to the times. There can be no denying that rates constitute a very heavy overhead which must be reduced along with other costs. This is the chief municipal issue and it should not be lost sight of for a moment in the maze of minor considerations and petty politics. To work at cross purposes wifi involve missing the main objective, an objective that can easily be won by singleness of purpose and as easily lost by dissension and diffusion of effort and votes. » » * ♦

That the Soviet dictators should show clemency to prisoners accused of high treason seems to confirm, if confirmation were needed, the opinion previously expressed that the accused were no more than stool-pigeons. They had served a purpose m re-ammatmg the flagging enthusiasm of the masses for Communism by raising the bogey of foreign interference, always a good rallying point fo. a disaffected populace. Domestic quarrels are quickly forgotten at the threat of a common foe. That this effect '■ has been secured at least temporarily, by the dramatic trappings hung about the trial seems evident from the mass demonstrations which attended its opening. Having secured the attention of the public, the Soviet proceeded to impart sound Communist doctrine through the so-called “confessions” of the accused. It would be rank ingratitude and wicked waste to ring the neck of such well-trained. stool-pigeons so death-sentences are commuted to terms of imprisonment and these also may be waived when the public has forgotten all about Ramzin and his fellow “spoolers.” But the merciful role does no. come easily to the Soviet bosses for they have found it necessary to exolain their sudden access of clemency.,