TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 27, 25 February 1913, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Messages about the Lalkan Wai' continue to contradict one atiThe Balkan other consistently. One Fog* day the Turks are said to be famished and halffrozen in their trenches, and reluctant to fight, and next day they are credited with some success, and the Allies are said to bo in a mysterious state of lull. It is mentioned to-day that the Greeks, who wero expected to figure in co-opera-tive manoeuvres, did not keep the appointment. This failure ifl eet down to "n misunderstanding over Salonika." Various reports have indicated dome ptrain -between Bmgaria and Greene about the future of balonika. This port is covoted by both nations, who' are oach strongly represented in the hinterland of Macedonia. More powerful on land, Bulgaria has hoped to gain an advantage, but Greece is the only member of the Balkan Loagtio with a fleet worthy of tho name. As. a Greek envoy said in Wellington a few weeks ago, tho Greek ships, which dominated the vEgean Sea, have been remarkably uqoful during the war. The Turkish vessels did not dare tv venture outside tho Dardanelles, and therefore tianapoitation between the lower part of Aew Minor and Turkish ports westward oi Constantinople was

not possible. The Greeks feel that they are entitled to more than Bulgaria may regard as r proportionate sh&ro of the spoils, and despite occasional assurances that ft ftiodly settlement has been fixed it. seems that some finessing is sfcill in progress. Rumania, too, tins yet to be appeased, though this country is not quite go fretful and threatful against Bulgaria as it was recently. The Government at BuKaresl ha* agreed to the Powers' offer of mediation. A despatch from Constantinople to-day states : "It is still hoped that European complications or the exhaustion of the Allies by delay will determine the pituiv tior.." This attitude of the YoUng Turks Mfts discussed by tthglish reviewers before the war was resumed, and the gist of their interesting comments was given in 'The Post. On the evidence so fai published, tho Turks are losing less by delay than their eiiemies.

Ajti instructor ami demonstrator of "adding machines and A Beneficent such-like mechanical Kef own, appliances" i« in request by tho Publir Service Commissioners. The obvious <tesife Uto havo office drudgery on. humanity re» tfttood as much ns possible l^y machinery which has no soul to be harried. This decision to modernise tho antiquated methods of the Public SeVvico may cause consternation in certain qnartere,. bnt it will nob grieve the taxpayers, who have paid heavily for the old cumbersome procedure. This young country, with only a million inhabitants for a hundred thousand square milee, cannot spare brawn and brain for the slow performance of office taeke which ingenious plant can quickly put through. As The Post has remarked many a time, thi* country needs not only additional hands from overseas; it can aleo make better use of many of the hand® and minds already here. Over and over again it has been said truly thai the number of dependents on the orimary industries, which are the foundation of the country's welfare and pay the interest on the Public Debt, is increasing inordinately. Skill and energy wnkh ehould be used for production are diverted into the arena of consumption, without justifying' the diversion. The public expenditure h&a swollen out of all proportion to ,the volume and value of the business done, and a saving must bo effected, however loud the protest from persona who do not wish to be disturbed. Humours of indignation at the Commissioners' proposals' for economy vex the air from time to time, but such discontent is inevitable with any large scheme of reform. We hope that the Government wfll not be dismayed by the rumbles of dissatisfaction. The people of New Zealand deserve a courageous fulfilment of tho Miiv isterial promises.

A etrangei 1 on a steamer approaching the Queen's Wharf has A Bedraggled his gaze arrested by b 1 Crown. grim building on Mptint Cook. He is curious, and is not' surprised, though he may be pained, to heAr that the structure waft deßigned to nerve os a gaol. A brow of the capital crowned by prison wall&l Wonderful monument to inexorable Jußtice! Severe warning to undesirable immigrants to be well-behaved ! However, regrets are now vain. Several years ago it was hoped to transform the gaol into a National Museum, but examination showed that the structural alterations would be too costly. Therefore the severely plain building has to work out an indeterminate sentence jih archives for records and offices for the Defence Department. Yet the harshnees of t-he brick lines can be shaded off by trees, and the grounds can be beautified. Ugliness is now 'rampant. Tho eastern flank is nearly as desolate as the neglected cemetery, over-run by musty, dank fennel, below Victoria College. A correspondent cotnpMtis in The Post today about the ugliness of the slopes, tbo playground of mules and horses, and the writer's statements are certainly not an exaggeration of the sad truth. Mules are necessary ' for the Defence Department's operations, but we cannot agree that the exigencies of the service regnire the use of one of the most prominent pieces of Crown land in Wellington as a breathing-space for mules, which kick up a dust that distresses many people. Human beings are entitled to more consideration than mules, which can surely be accommodated in a less noxious manner. The residents of Tasman-street have been remarkably patient. Their toleration of a nuisance 'and an eyesore is at A point where one wonders whether the patience is a virtue or a vice.