TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 32, 7 August 1911, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

At one time during the recent conference 'of thft * New A Littla Zealand Shcavew Difiingenuouei. and Woolsli-ed Em- . . ployees' Indnsfcrial Aaaocifttioa of Workers it seemed that the Ultra-Socialist New Zealand Federation of Labour was in dang&r of losing a largo (section of ite army. A line of cleavage between the miners «nd eheav«r« began to develop, and at one etage the conference reaolved to seoede unless the federation agreed to pertain propofials of the ftheatets. This Resolution has been rescinded, and the suggestion of "epht" is officially deprecated, but sorae adjustment* will have to be made, before the federation ■will be Able to describe itself as a happy family. No doubt the httk family difference— do not term it & '"split"— has been enjoyed by the Trades Council unionist, once ridiculed by "fjtaltvwis" of the federation. The she&reTa are not quite «o "red, ' not so refvc-lutionary, not bo contemptuous of conciliation and arbitration as some of the miners' delegate*. Mr. Latacy, general secretary for the cheaters, is not a. meek and wild man. but he is no such fife-eater or fire-walker as Mr. Semple or Rickey, who give free tongue to impettiouß and even reckless thought^ They wieh to stride to El Dorado in "Seve/n-League Boots.?* Mr. La.racy ha« not . been willing to advise eheajters unions, to copy the miners' example in c^ncdling registration under the Arbitration Act, and the conference backed up the opinions expressed by Mr. Laraey j-n the ofßciaJ otgah of the Federation ci tabftur. Yet the ehearersw«h thn world to understand that their minimum rate is "a pound per I hundred" (in line with la«t year's batt™ ry ; , . v "c want a pound a hundred"). ! The Arbitration Court is left the liberty to award more, but must not gWt lees, acervrdmjj to the shearers. What, then, is the function of an. Arbitration Court it one -of ' the parties to arbitration, insists on beihg the arbiter ? Thus the shearers are retaining their I regißtevition, but the executive ig i M «. mg a lttamfteto to the unionists urfiiim them to strictly adhere to the "pound per hundred." This is conciliation and arbitration up to dais. The times niovfe. Examination of the youths who have „ , registered for millFor Serious tury service has Consideration, given no cause foiuneasiness on the geneml score of physique, but has furi mshed good reason for alarm about the pr&valehce of dental disease. The inspection Of a few schools during the past two or three years gave the public the information that a child with sound teftth was remarkably rare. All along the line the examiners found mouths distressing to the expeTt gaae. The dental profession has long been aware of this evil, now so widespread as to call for the attention of public. m«n. Dr. Alex* »nder Paterson, of Christchurch, who Prided at the dental conference in Wellington last month, stressed the need for dental wards in connection with public hospitals' and the necessity of a vigorous educational campaign- to con* vince the public that neglect of the teeth can lead to perioiis trouble. Thousands of parent* seem loth to recognise tho peril of diseased teeth in thpir children, and, of course, the average ctyld is only too willing to do without dental attention, however pmnlefiß tho ope^Mtion promises to be. Usually the teeth are abandoned to the ravage of disease till the remnants have to be removed. Hence New Zealand has many young people of both sex<* with their months full, or half-full, of arlifi^ dal tppth. The authorities have nol, lacked reminders about the gravity of this question. It is one to deeply concern all who have a care for the national welfare. No' man r&n be at his best without goad digestion, oncl bad teeth are h'">sti]p to that de.Mi'able digest ion. The stomach should command thp physi- | fnj tituaticm, but lhs ?tomaph> for ajl its i \rillingfteEs to do Well, is at the mercy,

Of the teeth. If the first line of defence is defective all sorts of disagreeable enemies can slip down. We hope that the; New Zealand Dental Association, which has been doing valuable (service for New SSealand, will continue its educative work till the people and theft representatives are thoroughly roused to the need for action. Han the Eugenics SOuiety thought much about the place of common teeth in the scheme of things?