NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 105, 30 October 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Subscribers. Owing to the suspension of Newman Bros. 2.30 p.m. daily motor service to Palmerston North, Manawatu subscribers are notified that from Monday next, November. 2, the "Evening Post" can only be dispatched by train. Why the Girls Struck. Some sixty girls held up war.work in a Sydney engineering shop a-few days ago. Hours, pay, and, conditions were not in dispute. The. girls struck as a protest against the refusal of 50 men to join the * Ironworkers' Union. Cook Islands Fruit. Efforts are being made to resuscitate the banana and orange industries in the Cook Islands, states the Rarotonga Press Association correspondent. Replanting ,of citrus fruits is going ahead in the islands and banana replanting should increase production in twelve months to something in the.:vicinity of-7000 cases a month when an increased price will be payable., • Saying Nothing Well. Referring at an Auckland- gathering in celebration of the Czecho-Slovak national day to one of the difficulties facing public men under war conditions, Mr. R. M. Algie, Czecho-Slovak Consul, raised a hearty laugh at his own expense. Nowadays, with so much emphasis on censorship and publicity restrictions, said Mr. Algie, one of the principal duties of consuls was to talk a great deal and still say nothing. "And I suppose," he added, "that most of us do it very well!" . Cherry Ripe! Face-packing of cherries is now prohibited in Australia, under an order- of the Minister of War Organisation of Industry. The system is known as x*ow* facing ■or bunch-facing, under which cherries are methodically packed so that when the case is exposed for sale only a surface of fruit is seen, the stems being hidden. By requiring that cherries shall simply be dropped into the case, just as they are dropped into the, bag when passed on to the retail buyer, it is considered that a substantial amount' of man-power will be saved. Rehabilitation Claims. The position of servicemen who are posted as grade 3 and placed on leave without pay, and their eligibility for rehabilitation benefits, was discussed by the Dominion'executive committee of. the N.Z.R.S.A.- at a recent meeting. It was felt that as grade.3 servicemen were liable to be called up for further military duties, and that as considerable numbers, both from overseas and home defence, were in the grade: 3 category, injustice would be done unless rehabilitation benefits were made available to those men. % Advice has now been received that the Rehabilitation Board will consider applications from grade 3 men and that there is no difficulty in the way of such men receiving loans or grants under' the Rehabilitation Act. ' Fire Watching Questioned. ' A request that the present system of fire-watching" should be replaced by one more satisfactory is to be made | to the Government by the Wellington Labour Representation Committee. While agreeing 'that .some system is necessary, the committee at its last meeting expressed the opinion that- its continuance as at present organised during holidays should be investigated. The matter' was raised by the Karori branch, which suggested that personnel should not be obliged, to leave their homes unless a raid warning had been given. Delegates considered that many fire-watchers felt that the present system was futile and that there was a lack of evidence of need for a continuous watch. ; Artesian Water Supply. .. By the sinking of a bore 67ft below the sea bottom at a point about.4oo yards east of Somes Island,, a daily supply of water of 80,000 to 100.000 gallons will be available for use on the island. The depth of water at the site of the bore is. 68ft. A four-inch main has been coupled up and laid along the sea floor by -a diver and brought ashore. Previously there has been no water supply on the island, all. requirements having to be transported by tug from the mainland. "It has been a very interesting but difficult job." stated the acting chief engineer of the Harbour Board (Mr.'X. T. Jenssen), "and I cannot speak top highly of the efficient manner ..in which the staff carried out its duties/ More Women Conductors. Almost a'hundred women conductors are working on Wellington trams, but still more are needed to take the places of men called • up- for services; or transferred, to other-duties'in .the service, or leaving to do Other work. Another group is-Us commence training next week, and. there are still vacancies for thirty more trainees, the General . Manager, Mr. L. B. Hutton, .said today. It was probable that a fair proportion of the women and girls in the next training classes would be from outside Wellington, he said, for a number of applications' and inquiries were coming from outside, though, other things being equal, preference would be given to Wellington applicants. It was desired that training should be completed before Christmas if that was possible. Hospital Accommodation. The medical„ superintendent (Dr. j. Cairney) of the Wellington Public Hospital stated, in reply to a question at last night's meeting of the Hospital Board, that owing to the demands that were being made on the available beds for Service personnel and others whose presence in the hospital arose directly out of the war, the position during the whole of this year had been that only two classes of patients1 had been able to be admitted—those who were gravely ill and simply had to be admitted, and those suffering from conditions dangerous to life. Otherwise, no waiting patients had been admitted, and there could be no change unless the demand from the Services lessened, and there did not appear to be any prospect of. that, or until the first group of additional beds now under construction became available. Dr. Cairney pointed out that the new Hutt Hospital would have to be available as a general hospital before any.relief could be expected, and then only provided that the military demand did not increase in the meantime. "I hope the civilian population of Wellington will note that this is the position," said Mrs. E. M Gilmer, "and that if they want attention in hospital they must make their own arrangements." No Main Water for Drills. The possibility of serious water shortage in Wellington this summer is so real that instructions have been given to the E.F.S. and the fire sections of the E.P.S. that water is not to be drawn from city mains for practice drills or demonstrations until further notice. This means that training will be restricted to "dry" drills (which in any case are a major part of routine training), and to "wet" drills using water from the harbour, storm-water culverts, or water, stored in basements, excavations," and dammed streams. It is likely that the ban upon the use of city water supplies will again bring forward the question of storing water in basements, etc., about the city, for though there is plenty of harbour water it cannot be used very far from the waterfront. A lot was said a few months ago of the necessity of storing water in basements, etc., where the pumps could reach it, but not much was done about it, notwithstanding the full confirmation by expert advisers that in a raid reliance cannot be placed upon main supplies. Even the sandbags piled near culvert manholes, to be used in damming the underground streams, have mostly disappeared. Some were stolen, but more rotted through, were carted away, and were not replaced,' for the fire authorities said that that was a job for the corporation, and .the corporation said the same thing in reverse.