LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16550, 28 May 1917, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

RAILROAD BATTALIONS .Sir,—l notice that America intends sending nine battalions of railroad men to France. As this has been done both .n England and Australia, is it not p.-ssible for New Zealand to do the same' 1 am sine there are men in New Zealand tap able of this work, who would be only towilling to do their bit. G.W> HOP BKER. Sir,—l would be pleased if you w uii give me space to correct an erroneous impression that might be given by the report of the charge of supplying liquor to natives at Otorobanga, The liquor &up plied was hop beer, and not intosiratisy liquors, and I was not aware, that th:< hop beer contained alcohol until I saw the analysis. Geow.e F.a.-Kfy, Fruiterer, Otorohanca. DECAYED FRUIT Sir,— see that the authorities have warned several local retail fruiterers •■{ the liability of prosecution for selling diseased fruit, the onus being on the fruit seller. If such is the case, then ho.v is it that auctioneers are allowed to_ «*ij fruit, when it is in a decayed condition j Also, many growers of fruit pack sound _ fruit top and bottom, and fill the < cut re with" specked and inferior fruit. How is it the fruit inspectors do not condemn this fruit at the auction rooms, if the re tailer is not by law allowed to sell it Why not have market inspection with fruit as with fish. Rctail FruiteßF*. FACING DIFFICULTIES. Sir.—The spirit of our boys at the in-nt is repealed by a sentence culled from a diarv just to*hand from "somewhere :t France." Under date of October 24. l'Jl6, the iollowing words occur:—"Had gun drill yesterday. Gas drill this morning. Wet day. nothing to report. The winter is going' to be a wet one. It will take a bit of sticking, but it will have to be stuck." Surely the philosophy and patriotism in these words should put to shame the flimsy objections to service the reports in our local press display. How well our gallant lads from New Zealand "stuck" despite difficulties and discomforts we can only dimly realise. The '•"- cords of the troops since the date mentioned are ample proof. The Dot's Father. THE COSTLEY HOME. Sir,— wife visited the Costley Hume to-day, and was much surprised to see that * in spite of the present inclement weather, the old people are not provided , with fires in those wards having fire places. Upon asking the reason, the old folks said there was no coal to be had. on account of the war. Surely this is a sad state of affairs in a prosperous town like Auckland, and I wish to draw the . attention of the public to the matter. and feel sure something could be done to. make the lot of these poor old peoplmore comfortable. We all know that fire, or warmth, is one of the principal cornsorts of the- old. Ernest A. Goodwin. , 60, Grey Street, Auckland. May 27, 1917. MOUNT VICTORIA, DEYONPORT. Sir—On paying a visit to DevonpurE after an absence of several years what a shock 1 received when 1 climbed Mount Victoria to find the mount- where I had enjoyed almost daily walks, to be virtually covered with a great variety of noxious plants, the seed adhering to one s clothes in numbers sufficient to polute a farm. In short, the mount- is like a hot-bed to ( I propagate seeds to polute the whole suri rounding country. On making inquiries I am told it belongs to the Government, I but is banded over'to the care of the Devonport Council. The neglected state it is in must be more a curse than a blessing to the people of Devoiipoit. as 1 see a great many of the weeds from the mount have got into their gardens. The mount ought" to be Devonport's beauty spot. Instead it- is simply disgusting. Farmfb. FARM DRUDGERY Sir,—As a mud-spattered small farmer's wife, I wish to confirm " Struggle) 's " remarks of the 21st inst. The drudgery and hardships of a struggling dairy farnn r. his wife and family, coupled with the ever-increasing taxes and exorbitant prices of funning commodities, manures, et>., makes the struggle not worth the while. Our farm needs ftmeing materials, most of which have gone up over 150 per tent . i buildings and manures. It is one of the weedy ones. Only rigid economy can pull us through. No doubt there are many dairy farmers who have toiled and ate fairly independent, and can weather the approaching crisis in shipping facilities. but what about the young farmer who has nothing behind him? Should the dairy produce be held up the settlers on this farm go (under, while the runholder can shut his gate, if need be, and sleep comfortably. Re taxes—our dog is taxed, likewise the milking-engine. The land is taxed. If trees are grown to shelter the cattle—another improvement—up goes the taj again. Our income does not need to he very big and" that is taxed at the rate. I believe, of 45 per cent., and. finally, although the farmer loses considerably by his butter and cheese being sold to the Imperial Government, another tax is imposed in the shape of a levy. The land owner, speculator, or mortgagee, must and will have his money, no matter what banpens. Anything further in the shape of a tax will cause numbers to give up toihn? jon the land. Perhaps like Rebecca, a 1 champion will be forthcoming for us. ' I Another Strct,i;i,ek'< Wife.