DANGER TO BOYS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 30 November 1938, Page 9

DANGER TO BOYS

HOME MADE EXPLOSIVES TEACHING IN SCHOOLS i United Press \«aociai*m» 1 WELLINGTON. 28th November. 1 j The serious injury which some ! young people had done to themselves; by playing with home-made explosives 1 was mentioned bj r Mr C. H. Nicholls at a meeting of the Wellington Technical College Board of Governors tonight. Only recently, Mr Nicholls said, a boy had blown a hand off. “Could we not discontinue teaching in institutions such as this, the com--1 bining of chemicals to make explo- ! sives?” Mr Nicholls asked. “Person- ! ally, I cannot see any reason for it. : If it has to be done, could it not be in such a way that boys cannot get together and make this dangerous stuff themselves? It seems to me that boys get their first ideas of making explosives in institutions such as this.” j Mr Nicholls suggested that legisla- { tion might be passed to prohibit the sale of explosive chemicals to boys under a certain age. The director, Mr R. G. Ridling, ! said it would be useless to cease instruction, because formulae for explosives were given in every text book on chemistry. “The only thing that will stop the trouble is knowledge and good teaching,” he added. Chemistry should be taught by practical work in the laboratory. Academic teaching was one of the things responsible for the danger, but technological teaching would prevent.