NEWS AND OPINIONS

Evening Star, Issue 21624, 20 January 1934, Page 2

NEWS AND OPINIONS

THE SAFEST DAY. In view of the steady increase in road accidents, there have been many demands recently for recognised speed limits' to be introduced again. It has been discovered, however, by the Ministry of Transport, that fatal accidents recently have not been brought about by excessive speed. A large proportion of them have been dife entirely to pedestrians themselves. ’ Of 3,025 people killed, 1,581 were pedestrians. It was discovered that men were more reckless than women, and a larger iiumiber‘ of old people,', jrere: .killed ;, than, y'.oung. The most dangerous hour of the week is between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday. Fatigue after the day’s work seems to be the cause of a large number of accidents during the week. Wednesday was the week-day which produced the fewest fatalities, and Sunday, with its decrease in traffic, showed the smallest number of all. So many accidents take place through careless crossing of the road, or in many cases merely stepping off the kerb, that rides will need to be enforced for using the recognised crossing places where, very often, a policeman is controlling the traffic.—‘ Weekly ■ Scbtsitian.’THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER. The exhumation of the Princes in the Tower has brought the old tragedy of English medieval history vividly to the minds of all British people. Although the actual exhumation took place in July, it was only, this week (December) that the facts were made public to a gathering of the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington : House. After, examining the skeletons, the experts had been entirely convinced that they were indeed the remains of the two ill-fated Princes. Every traditional story was borne out, even to the rumour that the bodies of the murdered boys had been flung on a refuse heap, which was proved by the bones of fowls ,and animals being included with the human remains when they were transported to Westminster Abbey. This final proof of the blackest crime that can be laid to the charge of Ilichard the Third may perhaps check the modern fashion for whitewashing historical characters, both English and foreign. Henry the Eighth has recently been, sentimentalised into a good-natured, jovial' fellow; with the soul of a wistful poet, and even the flamboyant crimes of the' Borgias have .been explained away until they seem, no more than high-spirited pranks. ■ This sympathy for * misunderstood murderers. Can be overdone, and when 'some villainy of long ago is suddenly recreated, in .all its grim details, one realises that the crimes of history should not be glossed over to suit modern taste.—‘ "Weekly Scotsman.’ A NEW VOCABULARY. Letters received from two Californian ladies who recently toured this big .land —they contained many eulogies of the country and its people—were widely published. They give information about Australia’s vocabulary. The writer says: “We learned to listen to a ‘ wireless,’ and not a radio, to take a ‘ tram ’ when we wanted a street car, to ‘ ascend in a lift ’ instead of to go up in an elevator, to walk on a “ footpath ’ in place of a side-walk, to keep to the left and never the right, to ask for a ‘ reel of cotton ’ '-hen we needed a spool of thread, for ‘ press studs ’ when we wanted dress snaps, to buy * stalls, ’ for seats at the theatre, to worry over ‘ stone ’ and not pounds when we weighed, and to ‘ barrack ’ and not ‘root’ at a game. Candies turned into ‘ lollies,’ roasts into ‘ hot joints,’ desserts into ‘ sweets,’ lawyers became ‘ solicitors,’ drug stores changed into ‘ chemists’ shops,’ and the forest turned into ‘ the bush.’ ” OIL FROM COAL. The New South Wales Government appointed a committee some time ago to investigate the claims of two chemical engineers, A. F. and A. G. Lyon, who have been experimenting in extracting oil from coal by a process of distillation, in which the yields were claimed to be 100 per cent, greater than had been obtained by the Fuel Research Board in England from English coal. To put it another way, 35gal per ton of crude oil had been obtained by" the Australian experimenters as

against 17igal in England. ' The committee has been patting the oil to the test. In some preliminary trials it was used as fuel in a motor lorry and a tractor. The tests were severe, and are said to have been remarkably successful. It is estimated that the distilled oil can be made and sold in Australia to the farmers for tractor driving at a price which will reduce the cost of farming. Further trials are to be made, the object being to support a recommendation that has been put to the Government for a subsidy to assist the experimenters. « THE MODERN SANCHO. Spanish, psychology has puzzled many generations of wise men and is puzzling them' still-. Often, when great events take place,’ the actions of Spaniards seem at variance with characteristics previously observed and recorded. Those ancient attributes of the inhabitants of the Land of the • Dons and the Conquistadores, heroism and romance, appeared to have vanished when his Most Catholic Majesty drove quietly away and no hand was raised in his defence. Certainly for some decades past the Sancho Panza element has been uppermost in Spain. Sancho prudence, Pacifism, and distrust of outside inuences have sustained Spain through many tribulations since the last extravagance of the Carlist wars. The Don dead and Sancho at home might be an image of Spain in the twentieth century. Quite recently Don Ramon Valle Inclan, who is in Madrid on leave from duties in Rome, remarked in a lecture: “ The Fascist spirit of sacrifice is not possible in Spain, where each one thinks only of himself.” In a further analysis of the Spanish temperament he pointed out how individualism had ever prevented Spain front having a truly representative Government and the British Parliamentary system from taking root in Spain.—Madrid correspondent of’ ‘ The Times.’ WOMEN IN SPAIN. Spanish women are more illiterate than men, but illiteracy makes for long memories and develops other faculties. Spanish girls coming to school from remote provinces bring an unspoiled mind and natural talents that amaze their teachers. Among their ancestresses were the mothers of four Roman Emperors; Isabella the Catholic’s energy and intelligence have inspired many. Women [newly enfranchised], are coming forward readily to assume their new responsibilities.— Madrid correspondent of ‘ The Times.’ WORK FOR PRISONERS. Though the treadmill has long been abolished, something not unlike the treadmill’routine still survives in many prisons. The new spirit that is profoundly affecting the conception of prison administration to-day is well illustrated in the departmental report on the employment of prisoners, which strongly urges that the work provided should be. real work, in which the prisoner is engaged in making as efficiently as possible something as useful as possible. Prison labour never has been able, and probably never will be able, to compete on equal terms with industrial labour. It is not even desirable that it should. But speed and efficiency of work are necessary to guard against deterioration, and for this it is recognised that there should be the right kind of work, equipment, and instruction—all lacking to-day. The principles that.ought to be adopted for employment and for training are laid down in the. report. But to lay down the principles is one thing; to apply them is another. For this reason the appointment of an additional Prison Commissioner, charged with the special duty of supervising industries, is an important practical suggestion.—‘ Spectator.’