RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 619, 15 November 1913, Page 7

RANDOM REMARKS.

War is too serious p. subject to write flippantly of unless the scene of action happens to be one of the South American Republics; but there are things about an industrial war which render it somewhat different to the real article which is heralded by beating drums and blaring trumpetc. Philosopher?, searchers after truth and plain ordinary g.onsips have endeavoured to find abstruse reasons for men striking, and much ink has been spilt in idle speculation concerning the particular brand of human nature which indulges in strikes. Being a person with a deep-rooted aversion to work of any description the wonder to me is that so few strikes occur. Work is a habit born of necessity, and mankind works in response to the demands of nature under conditions which have upgrown through the ages of civilisation. Under other conditions man would certainly prefer to fish or sboot in order to exist rather than work in order to obtain the necessaries of life. However, we are beyond that stage in New Zealand now, and have to work between strikes in order to keep step in the march of progress. In the good time coming we may all be able to down tools permanently and look back with disdain at the time when work was considered a necessity. Meanwhile a strike serves to break the monotony. The Chamber of Commerce is an institution to which the term übiquitous may justly be applied in view of the manirold questions to which it turns ita attention. Railways, roads, industries, farming and sport all come within the wide scope of the Chamber's functions, to say nothing of the commercial interests which it fosters and encourages.. In this district it is now doing its best to agitate both the juvenile and adult mind to take a living interest in public matters generally. The Essay Competition promoted by the Te Kniti Chamber of Commerce should lead to results with a capital R, Little imagination is required to estimate the effect of opening the floodgates of the eloquence of the district in any given direction,and the movement started by the Chamber should awaken pubii; spirit considerably. A little breeze of indignation stirred the usually calm atmosphere of the Borough Council meeting the other evening, and the actions of certain members of the Eatepayers' and Citizens' Association were commented upon in a manner which indicated that the proverbial turning of the worm was imminent Such terms as "harmless," "thoughtless," and "useless" were supplemented by more forcible epithets, and the councillors agreed that the incident, or the Association, was hardly worth notice. It is always a cheerful circumstance to hear .freely expressed opinions when you don't happen to come within the scope of the enquiry, and both Council and Association will probably feel eaßier now that the air has been cleared. The path of the reformer is always difficult and those who continually work for the public good finally become convinced of the thankless nature of the public generally. There has been no bloodshed as yet, but judging from recent events it would cause no surprise if either the Council or the Association were to go on strike.