CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 86, 9 October 1915, Page 9

CORRESPONDENCE

EDUCATION AND HANDWRITING TO T«R EDITOR. Sir, — In your issue of Saturday last appear some paragraph* relating to the address of Mr. J. S. Tennant, Principal of the Training College, on the previous night, to the District Institute of the N. Z.E.I. Mr. Tennant is therein quoted as advocating speed as against "perfection of form " in handwriting, and as condemning the use of copybooks because they set before the child an unattainable ideal. He appears to forget that, though one's ideal may be too lofty to be attainable, yet to have a lofty ideal is the surest security for high performance, whether in the practical or in the moral world. Do those, for instance, who wish an example of right-living and high-thinking turn to their nearest neighbour, or even to Mr. Tennant ' No ; they set before themselves the unattainable ideals of Christ, of Buddha, of Confucius. Does the soldier who wishes to distinguish himself copy the conduct of his brother officer? Rather does he model himself upon Lord Roberts, upon Wellington, upon Napoleon ; even though he know that he must ever be much less than they. Mr. Tennant seems not yet to have reached to the poet Herbert's wisdom :—: — " Who aimeth at the «ky, Shoots higher much than he that means a tree." As for speed in handwriting, which, it seems that Mr. Tennant prefers to " perfection of form " — that is, to clearness and legibility — because of the necessity for speed in commercial correspondence, it may be pointed out that children go to ordinary schools to have their faculties in general trained — the powers of their minds, their eyes, their hands — and not to be taught the details of any particular trade or occupation. The proper place for such teaching is a technical school, the office, or workshop. And in the matter of handwriting, a boy who starts an office career able to write a clear and legible hand 'can acquire speed, if necessary, in the office j but he who has been trained to speed instead of legibility will never properly acquire the latter. Moreover, a child who is able to -write quite, or «yen nearly, ac well as his copybook headlines has not, as Mr. Tennant asserts, had his time wasted ; for, in his strivings after this excellence, the child has learned something of habits of neatness and accuracy, has developed some artistic sense, and has acquired a steadiness of hand and eye that must always and everywhere be useful to him. Must we, then, say to Mr. Tennant, Principal of the Training College, " Art thou a master in Israel, and knowe6t not these things?" As for Mr. Tennant's fancy about a writer needing to write rapidly in order to keep pace with his thoughts — well, let such writer jot down brief notes of his ideas and write the thing out afterwards; or let him (after leaving school) learn shorthand. But, after all, how many of the boys in a common school are likely to become writers? Be it noted finally that, to support his argument, Mr. Tennant falls back upon the puff advertisements of the makers of fountain pens! "Alas, poor Yorick ! " Could the debasement of Education further go? She may now cry with the Psalmist, having Mr. Tennant in mind : ' ' Mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted . . . hath lifted up heel against me!" Enough. There is altogether too much tendency in this country to confound education with technical training, to the very great injury of the former. That this confounding of two distinct things is supported and maintained by a principal of a Training College does not make the confounding right; it only makes it more dangerous to the interests of true education. For it is an old saying, " Quicquid delirant reges, ' plectuntur Achivi." — I am, etc., H. L. JAMES. Wellington, 4th October. THE ASSAULT-AT-ARMS TO THB EDITOR. Sir,— ln reply to your subleader in your issue of to-day, in which comment is made regarding ' the expenditure in connection with the recent aseault-at-arms, I append the following details for your 'information. , At a meeting of the Executive of the New Zealand Patriotic Society, .Wellington'branch, called to discuss the advisability of promoting the above-mentioned function, the whole matter was dealt with at great length, and only ' after many enquiries had been made in places where Capi M'Laglen had previously given exhibitions of his skill was it decided to go on with th 4 project, and an attendance of anything from 30,000 to 40.000 was anticipated. In the first place, I attribute the loss partly to the inclement weather immc diately preceding the event, which cortainly was an important factor in keeping the public away; and partly to the expensive preparations necessary to ensure the attendance looked for; in this respect the society was endeavouring to I keep faith with the public, as on other occasions, and give them sufficient justification for their attendance. That we were successful in this particular is well borne out by the fa\Tt that everyone who did attend came away highly pleased with their entertainment. I will now deal with the items of expenditure in the order in which they are given in your subleader referred to : Printing and ■ advertising, £83 3s 6d ; this duty was placed in the hands of two members of the Executive whose abilities in such matters are undoubted, and whose talented and untiring services proved invaluable during the Carnival ; the items under this- heading include printing of programmes, of tickets, writing posters, and printing display bills, etc. Taxi-cab hire, £76 16s ; this item certainly appears to be heavy, but in view of the numerous journeys to be made, the large area to be covered, together with the limited time at our disposal, and the enthusiastic manner in which- Capt. M'Laglen interested himself in the success of the project, the item had to be faced, notwithstanding the specially low rates charged. Capt. M'Laglen's fee, £70; for this gentleman's services in training the Territorials in bayonet fighting, also training men and horses at Lyall Bay, he was paid an amount equal to that received by him for services of a similar nature rendered in other districts of the Dominion. I would point out that, under 'all three headings mentioned, the cost of continuing the a'ssanlt-at-arms for a period of one week would not have been much heavier than the sums mentioned above, at the same time the arrangements which were made and the expenses incurred were essential to the success of the undertaking. You conclude your remarks by stating that "the people paid out £325 for admission and programmes. Xot one farthing of that £325 is now available for the wounded ; worse, the people have to see a further* £40 or more (previously passed on to the Patriotic Society) used now to meet the loss on the 'assault-at-arms.'" In fairness to the members of the sub-committee which had this matter in hand, I would inform you that they were prepared to make good the deficit. Xiiß writer i» of -opinion tfeaj, yojo? «r- j

tide under notice is not quit© fair to the Patriotic Society ; it ignores the fact that it is becoming harder to bring home to the people the fact that money, and still more money, will be needed to provide adequately for our wounded, nor can this be considered strange in view of the magnificent response they gave during the recent carnival ; bearing in mind also the present very high cost of the necessaries of life, it is hardly to be wondered at that the people, or many of them, are unable to give as liberally as they would wish, nor to support as heartily as they would like to, those entertainments, the financial proceeds of which are to be devoted to the fund for the benefit of our wounded. Id conclusion, I would like to state that the writer, in common with other members of the .executive, and of the society, has spent since last April many hours of valuable time and incurred very considerable personal expense, both being only too gladly given, in the attempt to provide for our wounded New Zealand boys, and "though no exception is taken to the criticism of the press regarding the_ result of any well-meant effort of the society, such criticism being rather wel- : corned than otherwise, yet I would be glad if the press would make enquiries or request information, which will always bo cheerfully given, before criticism of a somewhat destructive nature is allowed to appear in the daily papers. — I am, etc., JOSEPH LEWIS, Hon. Sec.', N.Z. Patriotic Society, (Wellington Branch). 2nd October. RECRUITING TO THJ! EDITOR. Sir, — The Defence Minister a few days ago made an appeal for a strong increase in recruiting to meet the urgent demand for more troops. In clause 3 of his circular he calls upon private employers to facilitate progress by assisting single eligible men in their employ to enlist. A very desirable request, it must be conceded, and which should be given effect to by every employer of labour, both with moral and material help. But, I ask the ,Hon. Mr. Allen, should not the Government itself set the example to stimulate recruiting by making a direct appeal to their own eligilbe employees to join the colours for the protection of their parents' homes and the maintenance of the Empire? Surely it is only a fair thing to ask Government employees who enjoy all the privileges of the country at peace times, to share ■the responsibilities when danger has to be averted, and a common foe destroyed. Let me say here I recognise the magnificent patriotism of many Civil servants and railwaymen, who have gone to fight for us, and some of them have given up their lives. But at this moment there are hundreds of single men with no I family responsibilities shirking their j duty, and a number whom I know have unblushingly declared they will not volunteer. Here is the chance for Mr. Allen operating. Let him send his recruiting officers to the Government Buildings, the Railway Department, Post and Telegraph Department, the Police Department, the Education Department; , in fact, all Government Departments, ! and enrol these single men for service ; also, let the Government set the example to employers of labour by helping their own employees to serve their | country, by granting them leave of absence from their Departments. It is welL known that several railwaymen have been refused leave and have had to resign. Some of these men are going with the 7th Reinforcements. Can such attitude be called a stimulus for recruiting? There are also men willing to serve, but refrain from so doing while they see Germans retained in the Public Service, and I can hardly blame them. Just fancy a BritisheT fighting to preserve an enemy subject , in public -employment, enjoying all comforts of' an eight-hour day and pleasant evenings, while he himself undergoes all the cruelties of war. In fact, in a Railway Department, a German has filled the vacancy made by a young fellow who leaves soon for the front. Let me suggest to the Government the desirability of giving preference to married men who seek casual employment, instead of single men who are shirking. Hoping these suggestions will receive the consideration of the Minister for Defence, and that soon a system will be established which calls for equal performance by all eligibles. — I am, etc., SAFETY. Wellington, 4th October. BOARDED-OUT CHILDREN TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Being a church visitor, I have been much interested in the discussions that have appeared of late in The Post in respect of the boarding-out of the children, or the setting up of an orphanage. lam strongly inclined to the present system, having seen the workhouse system at Home, and having seen a good deal of the home life of the present system. I think, however, that there should be a very distinct arrangement as regards the food of the children. In some places it is good and sufficient ; in others it is a mere matter of bread and scrape, the very smallest they can live upon, and woe betide the boy that asks for more. Then, I think, sir, that an alteration should be made in regard to the question of religious training. The foster parents may be Methodists or Baptists, but the parents who are unworthy of the name of parent may be Episcopalians, and the foster parent, forsooth, must see that these children attend their parents' church. To me such lan idea is ridiculous. Let the people 1 who Uk« tht children Uk« th«n wub

- — — — — —^— — them to the church of which they are members, and if they are. not members of any church, then let the ordinary law apply. Many of the foster parents that I know are earnest, consecrated men and women, who want not the children for profit, but who feel that in serving the children they are serving God, and they have told me repeatedly how difficult it is to send the young folks to one church whilst they go to another. If the Anglicans or Romans object, then let homes for their own children be found amongst their own congregation. Let me further suggest that in each house a punishment book should be kept, and when children are punished in any way, either by locking in rooms, sending to bed without food, or thrashing, the punishment and the reason for it shall be entered up, and that before the punishment is administered. Some of the poor little beggars never know what it is to get through a day without some punishment or other. In other homes you never hear of punishment — the children are happy and the foster-parents, whilst strict, are thoughtful and careful.— l am, etc., CHURCH VISITOR. Wellington, 7th October, 1915. / PRICE OF BUTTER TO THI EDITOR, Sir, — With reference to "Factory Director's" letter in your paper, I beg to differ with some of the figures put forward. In the first place, it is stated that when the retail price in Wellington is Is 6d the factory gets Is 3d, the 3d difference being accounted for between the merchant and storekeeper. The last paragraph of the letter states that factories supplying stores direct net Is 4d retail price presumably being Is 6d. If I finished my criticism at this point I might reasonably ask in what way the public would benefit if the grocer did deal with the factory direct? On the figures shown above, they would still have to pay the same price for their butter, whether the grocer bought from the merchant or the factory. But to continue. Let us examine more closely the alleged net returns to the factories. The factory selling through the merchant nets Is 3d, the merchant charging Id for distribution, etc., made up as follows : — Pounding, \d ; cartage, £d ; clerical and canvassing work, profit, and bad debts, fd. It must be borne in mind that the merchant has to stand all the latter himself, as he invoices to the storekeeper, not on the factory's account, but his own. Taking the average storekeeper's account for butter as £50 monthly, we find that the merchant would have to be doing business with the storekeeper well over two years before he would have sufficient gross profit in hand at fd per lb to cover a bad debt of £50, and then, of course, his clerical and canvassing work would have to come out of it ! Now for the factory dealing direct with the storekeeper allegedly netting Is 4cl. Is it sound business to say that because you prefer to do the distribution your self it can be done for nothing? The butter has to be patted and carted to the storekeeper, clerks have to be employed for invoicing, and if the factory is to keep abreast or ahead of competitors canvassing and advertising would > have to be done. Last, but by no means least, the bad debts would have to be borne by the factory,, and as it is impossible to accurately forecast these, I think it will be admitted it is extremely unlikely that the direct dealing factory would be able to do the distribution any cheaper than the factory selling through the merchant. If there is any difference it is in favour of the latter factory, as they usually employ agents whose financial standing is beyond question. Summed, up, the position amounts to this: The factory selling through a mer chant is sure of netting Is 3d, the factory selling direct may net Is 3d ; but in either case the distribution charge of Id cannot be avoided and the storekeeper must get his profit. — I am, etc., FAIR PLAY. Wellington, sth October, 1915. P.S. It may be argued that the factory selling direct would be able to save that part of the distribution charge known as commission, and could therefore give the public the benefit of it, but that is only an illusion, as 'after making provision for canvassing, clerical and advertising work and bud debts, the margin left is so small that there is no coin of the realm small enough to be able to refund it with. RECRUITS-A SUGGESTION TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — As the Defence Department are sure to have trouble in getting a sufficient supply of recruits for the coming reinforcements, I would suggest to the Government that the Minister of Justice be given the power to pardon and liberate any men (medically fit) that are at present serving sentences in New Zealand gaols for minor offences against the iaw, providing they will agree to enlist and go to the front. As you will agree, there are many good men, who, through a lapse in their otherwise respectable career, are at present confined in gaol. Many of these men, were they free, would require no other inducement but the honour to serve their country and Empire when they need it most. We then would have these same men fighting for and honouring the country, thereby wiping the slate clean of their past offences. Some may spurn the idea of sending away what they would call gaol-birds. Let me say, sir," that counts for nothing, as many of our brave lads who are fighting so nobly at the Dardanelles have ex perienced that self-same experience, and wouid be Uie k«t Jo. hmut #t ooa

another. I do not know how many men by the means mentioned above would be supplied, but 6urely out of the great number of prisoners at present in this or any other country at least a fair percentage come under the caegory I have mentioned. When peace is declared it is customary to liberate prisoners of this class. Let us liberate them now ; it would be a simple 'process for the head gaoler in each gaol to fur1 nish a list of the men of good behaviour and those likely to make good soldiers. — I am, etc., OUR COUNTRY NEEDS 'EM. | Wellington, Ist October. THE NATIONAL RESERVE TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— lt is admitted, I think, that the National Reserve is for a good object; that it is the nucleus of an organisation that may become extremely necessary ; that it helps to keep up enthusiasm, and the encouragement of military training ; that it helps recruiting, by giving the first taste for military work, and also relieves the Government, whose hands are already too full, in connection with the military forces. All these benefits are given by the National Reserve, but there seems a tendency to belittle its work, and whose help should be given are inclined to ignore the organisation. There are many whose only idea of belonging to the Reserve is to parade on special occasions, say, when a Minister of the Crown is likely to review them, or to wear the badge in the streets or at evening parties. There are many who, when asked to join, say: "Oh, I did my time with six years in the old Volunteers !" These last never seem to see that it is all the more necessary now that they have had their training to give the benefit of their disciplinary experience to those of less knowledge. Like many other organisations that have started with great enthusiasm, the Reserve is now passing through a trying stage, and it is necessary to give it an impetus. There are some of its officers who haro made brave endeavours to give it a lift, and others who have been content with speeches only. It is a good thing, and should be kept in existence. Sympathisers should do more than give genteel approbation, and it* is certainly up to the old Volunteers, who, with some few exceptions, have kept out of the movement, that they who have /had in the past Government money spent on them should now endeavour to use all their influence to keep the National Reserve on its feet.— l am, etc., NATIONAL RESERVE. Wellington, 4th October. RAILWAY REFRESHMENT ROOMS TO THI EDITOR. Sir, — Is it not about time the Railway Department made some effort to enlarge, and otherwise improve the refreshment rooms on the Palmerston North station. This station is admitted to be one of, if not the busiest in New Zealand, yet the only accommodation for refreshments is a, small room with set tables only half the size necessary for the crowds off the trains, while the tea and sandwich counter room can only hold about balf-a-dozen people at a time. It is not fair to the travelling public, nor is it to the proprietors of the rooms,, who certainly manage exceedingly well under such a handicap as want of space, but surely Mr. Hiley can have no idea of the want of_ accommodation here, otherwise he might do something to remedy such a state of affairs. Just imagine, while passing through Pahnerston a few evenings ago on the Auckland express, being absolutely unable to get into the room at all, on account of the crush. — I am etc., A CONSTANT TRAVELLER. [ Palmerston N., 7th Oct., 1915. INCONSISTENT UTOPIAN ASPIRATIONS ' TO 188 EDITOR. I Sir, — As an occasional visitor to New Zealand it is interesting to observe that your Government has appointed to its Supreme Court a very remarkable idealist. In the award which governs cooks and waiters, the Judge has ordained that tipping shall be abolished. Was he unaware that in the past more potent men than he have attempted this very thing and absolutely failed, as he, too, in the nature of things, will fail? But with a naive inconsistency in the same legal instrument, he has awarded to the cooks the perquisite of meat fat. Now, it would seem from this that the Judge disdains the vulgar diet of meat, and is apparently desirous that lesser humanity should betake itself to vegetarianism since it is inevitable that the very natural desire of cooks in the new condition of things will be to extract every ounce of fat from the tortured meat that failb into their hands. I appeal to the judgment of all travellers that it is so. A labourer is worthy of his hire, , but the adage implies that the labourer, even though he be 'a Judge shall inform himself, in some measure, at least, of that he undertakes. — I am, etc., TRAVELLER. MERCANTILE MARINE AND OFFICERS TO THB EDITOR. Sir, — May I draw your attention to an answer given by the Hon. Dr. M'Nab to a question by Mr Poole— if he would let vessels go to sea that were not manned by a qualified crew— where the Minister stated tnat they were compelled to make provision sometimes for vessels going to sea where they had not the full complement of officers qualified as required by the Act. So faf it ha* not occurred that a vessel could not secure the number of officers as provided by the Shipping and Seamen Act, as it has been ably pointed out by "Mariner" in your issue of the 25th of August, when there were over twenty certificated masters and officers out of employment in Wellington alone. Since then, the number has increased, although one of the largest steamship companies has given a number of junior officem employment. Before any alteration is made in the Shipping Act it would be well if the Minister conferred with the Merchant Service Guild on this matter, as it has been pointed out by Mr. W. T. Young to the Minister that it was purely the function of the M.S.G. (whose opinion has not been askedj. The Minister is apparently not aware that at present a large number of vessels carry more certificated men than the law provides for. As for the master taking the second mate's watch, with an uncertificated man in charge of the bridge, and still being held responsible for ship, crew, and passengers, is out of all reason. Imagine, after a master just completing his watch, the weather becoming thick or hazy, or the vessel nearing a danger point. There would be no end to his watch. Thanking you for the space, — I am., etc. ANOTHER MARINER. Wellington, 4th October.