Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 14th, 1920. THE FACTS OF HISTORY.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 August 1920, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 14th, 1920. THE FACTS OF HISTORY.

Few facts are more ominous than that nowhere in our education system is a place found for teaching' the art of living-. Boys and girls are taught the ordinary arts and sciences, but they are left in total ignorance in regard to the supreme ait and the supreme science—that of living* well. This deficiency is one of the chief stumbling-blocks in the way of our future progress as a. nation. Indeed it may with singular appropriateness be called the blind spot in the range of our national vision. In spite of appearances, the age of Democracy is still far from us; selfish and foolish passions still hold the field, class feeling and class distinctions are as predominant as ever, while the struggle for wealth and power increases rather than otherwise. The materialistic spirit is move widespread than we care to think. Our land is being- over-run with people who have attained a certain amount of commercial success, and it is astonishing how great a proportion of, these have no other idea of the power or the use of money than that of increasing physical comfort or ministeringto the demands of pride. It is this class, the successful section of tho conimunitv, who are setting the pace in education. The:teaching of history -does .aiot, occupy the placejhatit; shpiild; do-.; The chil-

undermine the Empire. A glib tongue and a mass of distorted historical incidents enables the demagogue to play on the plastic minds of his hearers, and incalculable mischief is done. The remedy for this is a solid grounding of the pupils of our schools in the facts of the history of the British Empire, not scrappy and isolated events, but a connected narrative that will give the children a clear idea of the part that Britain has played in moulding European civilisation. There are unfortunately those who take a pleasure in abusing* the Flag that has given them protection and liberty. Their number has been increasing of late, and counter measures are necessary to check their malignant activities. A start should be made in our schools.

HOUSEWIVES' TROUBLES. Our legislators deal with all kinds of subjects during the period that Parliament is in session, but very little is ever done by them to give relief to the distressed housewife. Trade unions and Arbitration Courts alike make no attempt to limit the hours which the unfortunate wife and mother must toil to keep her house in order and to keep her little ones properly clothed" and fed. The trouble, no doubt, is due to the fact that the mothers are not organised and

able to bring* concerted pressure where necessary. When election time comes round, and women's votes are accessary to secure election, a candidate whose prospects Jo'not appear to be promising, may talk vaguely of what he intends to do to improve the lot of the '"unpaid housekeepers." "Nothing-, however, results. On the present occasion, Mr Massey beasts lhat the House is well Ahead with the session's work. Therefore, there should be ample time to consider some scheme to relieve, the women folk of. the slavish'tasks which they are compelled to'undertake. The domestic servant problem is still far from a satisfactory solution. From tune to time schemes have been proposed to bring servants to % nll the gaps in the Dominion, but no improvement has resulted. The girls who are brought out very soon leara that, they can get much easier conditions of work and shorter hours by entering- a factory. There is nb use denying the fact that domestic service is not popular with girls. This is a serious matter. The women folk of the Dominion cannot go on as they have been doing. Many of them, in attempting to carry on an unequal task, break down in health. It is generally the wives of the workers who have to suffer. They are the only class that obey consistently the Scriptural maxim to increase and multiply. The women of New Zealand will get little or no relief until they organise systematically, and let members of Parliament understand that the women are a power in the land. Numerous attempts to solve the domestic problem have been made by women in various parts of New Zealand, and not the least successful is a scheme that is being tried at-pre-' suit in Dunedin. This is a form of communal kitchen which gives the housewife a respite from the drudgery of cooking, and at the same time saves fuel. A kitchen has been established where meals may be obtained at a very moderate cost. Orders for meals are left at the kitchen, and promptly oc twelve or one o'clock these are delivered in a specially constructed motor transport at house, office or factory. The meals are good and excellently cooked. The soup is a special feature, and crowds attend at the kitchen to obtain supplies, which are sold at 3d a pint. The whole scheme so far has been an unqualified success, and considering the high price of material, one wonders how the management is able to sell at such a low rate of charge. The Dunedin experiment i.s sure to he copied elsewhere, but its success is problematical outside the large centres. Some genius may yet devise a scheme that 'will give the housewife the relief from the drudgery that she is now compelled to carry out. Businessmen have made many improvements of late in their methods of conducttheir affairs. There are windowcleaning, window-dressing, shopsweeping and other organisations that * for a small sum weekly undertake duties that previously fell on the already overburdened shop-assistants. Surely similar practical schemes can be devised for the purpose of giving the housewife some relief. An endeavour should also be made to make domestic service more popular than it has been. Some housewives have themselves to blame, because they cannot retain the services of their maids.' They forget that the hired assistant "has a soul as well as the mistress. It is worthy of note, however, that this form of female tyrant is rapidly disappearing', and with the advance of civilisation will no doubt soon • become as extinct as the moa. Her passing will cause no regrets.