PAPER

North Otago Times, Volume C, Issue 13177, 5 October 1914, Page 3

PAPER

" Dut is,iiinttor>-oiit ofipincoj nnd as i i i* ' ■> i r| " mil wily ono oftho most 5 objcdtioi\ftblo fdiiuli _of MißplitcoiU ninttyr 'to .found in liapoi', Ai Is n gioat pity that Australia lijiK not a'conscience to papoi that* hnasorvod'its puiposo. This substance, may have helped to cany the nows of the world oi tho dcsncsjihd cxpen enccs of the Individual, oi it-may havo ionvqloped 'excellent fimotioirs—but what ho main of om joung fplk fail to icalise or act upon is tlmt tho existence of this nmtenal should not outlast its usofulncss I)\cij household has a waste papoi bisketj oi at loasl N a dust bin, If fragments of papci aio to bo seen scatteied o\ei the Oooi or in coineis wo inslinttuelv a\oid that home as menacing to health Yet wo toleiole papoi in the thoiough tnics of tho citv and on countm loads 0. wimlnx dnjs wo mn\ seo pages of neuspajieis, poitions of torn loiters, md tho winppings of fruit and gio ceiios parachuting down the shee l Theio arc sickh duffs along the kerb jlonc nnd in the angles of houses wheie inntimenble bnrnplea of this substance congiegnte—biown papei, blue paper, papei fox.cd with age or tionslucent with butter, fragments of bags that hn\e once encircled onnges, paper that dogs snifi eigeil) at, and poitions of InSt week's news on a smface of fllth\ jellow Spmelnncs the pieces aie large and of capluie to those who haxc the courage, sometimoa thex are as small a3 confetti, and. as.difficult to annihilate.

' Houston. Chamberlain has waxed clo fquent bu" the prt which > paper has ployed in the onward march of eivililatiou. The invention of printing was ,i. good: thing, but what service /.'could it have offectod without cheap ; Jiapor,' Chamberlain, "in.fact, placos the discovery of tho mnnufnclui'o and use of /paper above the invenlion Of tlie'loco'pmtivo as an ngont in changing man's 'outlook and man's power. This "lay lie true, but'them is another sido to the picture. The nicdiicval township may have had unsavoury streets and yards,' but, nt least it had no Waste paper, 'Doubtless the historian or the writer of historical fiction iii the future ffill give an unllnttoring account of-the dirt of'to-day, with its large admixtur'j very divergent suggestion, As the jof paper of very divergent origin and I very divergent suggestion As the use of pnper has grown its abuse has kept-pace. Whcnlfaroiiii nl Rnsehid brought, the paper makers from,, Samarkand; wero thostreets qf Bagdad, we wonder, for the first time polluted with this noxious residue J Or are we to date this unsightly and untouchable thing to the first paper mill in Eavernsbmg, or to the stimulus of the early printers, or to the riso of tho press in the last century? Hygienists tell us that paper is destined to oust linen and cotton from handkerchiefs, napkins, and tablecloths, Thero are fearful possibilities here of increased nuisance, but by that time, let us hope, there will be paper bins at each corner, and anti-paper-dropping regulations, as explicit- as those directed against ex> pectoral ion, which even policemen disregard.

ihe man of science, in his wisdom, tells us what paper is made of, We learn that the paper of today is shortlived, and that the daily issues from the vociferating presses of the world n'ill crumble to dust in the fingers of twenty/first century historians. Hutto him who views paper as insurgent material, its resistance to change is remarkable, Retributive ovidntiou over-' takes it but seldom; no animal, except the infrequent goat, will eat it; no amount of rain will dissolve it, and sunlight, instead of bleaching it, seems to accelerate its change from white to jhabby yellow, 'liven the sea, whose priest-like task of pure ablution one .night expect would rid us of this ugly c-hin';,', washes it up with tang and llotjam and shattered shell. The path if modern civilisation through virgin nature 13 strewn .with paper. The favourite spots for picnics soon become goleondat, of paper and broken bottles. 'Who can walk along the exquisite curves of our Bay, fringer with ti-lree, and steeped in sunshine, and not ohudder at these filthy .remnants? Can one-be brought into a forgiving rtate who, walking through the bush,Is filled with joy in the presence of ansujlied foliage, and then -is abruptly (brought back to things mean and eonJtemptil.de by the sight of an abandoned camping ground? A sandwich or residual biscuit will give food to the birds, or be removed by ants, but th.* gronsy paper in which it 1 has bean wrapped will remain a whole year polluting the beauty of its surroundings; It is "possible that siienne may oiie 4 these days give us a material with the good qualities of paper and na chfin|.* Ipr cheaper, but less resistant.to.'tho 'elements-something 'that , wlion- dis ; carded, will thaw* and resolve itself into dew or humus. But until that invention, is nindo there is a cloar-cnt duty duty confronting, everyone who goes to jiiciiij's or camps. We try to loach ipur children good tabic maiinors, so jjhat.they may not offend others who aro present,' Tt is quito as important that ,thoy should not. offend others who will-* jsucfdcil them, It is always a'tost ( of'good upbringing whon a man acts •nicely even when there is no ono pro-

sent who could lie offended. To'seek p!rn<itiie anil ho iiidiffeionf fo flip plea .lines of othpis is lnily a ninik of Ihn bea<.t, "If the pamper 01 pienickei is so coaispfibied and obtusp that ho is imnuaio of tljoinsiilt to thp sanctity, of the bush 01 Vonst, lip migiit at leasT tliink of liis fellows, who nio bound, sooiipi 01 later, fo alight on tlmf nninr .spot, just ns eager ns"lio"is, andVde'leuing, to he pleased with the piosppct, 'and hoi npifted by the purity of wild jiiatiiip. At all seasons llipio is some ',plnpo near wlieie papei and other iojfnso can lie hmnod; if it ma.y not ho .binned, let, it be blnied/so it hidden, until thej mysfdries of. jinpteiinl plieniistiy tiausmuto it into soil. A little thought foi othois would flo away with many evils— Included.—JfelbouW AW • -»'« -M-