LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17631, 18 November 1920, Page 10

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PREVENTIVE DENI n ISTRY.

Sir, My attention has bea 1 toTpiSw news cablegram with referena ? t e £ oJ , p per purporting to have been reao gcience _ Australian Society of Denfe ftl d } While I can only assume tha ; de jt rate 'concerned has been miari should is surprising that such a sta-teml nre<?s have been given space in t*»« ya\ the P key : as it is a well-known fact ti&V , ta i note of the teachings of the m , nn t?blA Eession and the practice ot n Empire dentists throughout the British • for the hist 25 years -has been pi"* en "™ in the interest of public healths., n< ? treatment of advanced or neglected •• caries is of such an arduous and .vi nature that members of the professi «V a a >® always eager to treat the disease i« ll } e ' initial stages, and with this objet'A V* view are continually impressing t'U = lr patients with the need of periodical i * aminattons. Such statements as th®s have been heard before in connection wi-* the lawyer who foments strife and th& medical man who keeps patients sick ft> ' reasons of. commercial gain, and it is to-i be hoped that public opinion will be as J little influenced by this latest bogey as i. the extravagant and preposterous nature ; <i! the suggestions deserve. ; Nelson Mitchell, President N.Z. Dental Association.

MR. ENTRICAN'S RESIGNATION. Sir,— wish to take strong exception to a statement made by 'Mr. C. I. Bennett at St. James' Hall last evening. If correctly reported, Mr. Bennett, vyith reference to the unseating of Mr. A., J- | Kntrican and the Mayor's remarks] thereon, stated that the latter were '"an j attempt to gloss over a scandal that .had overtaken the municipality." As one with full knowledge of the circumstances, | I wish to assert that, while Mr. Entries in certainly made a mistake or error of judgement, call it what you may, such .a statement is utterly unwarranted, an el that in the whole affair there is not the slightest circumstance to support "it. Mr. Entrican's unseating was solely duo to aix entirely unthought of omission in the Act allowing the council to sell the Anzac Avenue sections. To show how entirely -this* aspect of this situation was misunderstood, it is only necessary to state that one of the leading solicitors in this city with many years' experience of municipal law and affairs by the same oversight unseated his client, another . councillor. The absurdity of the situa- * tion is seen in the fact _ that as the law stands at present a citv councillor would be unseated if he purchased a grave lot in the Waikumete cemetry. I consider it is deplorable enough in all conscience that a councillor of Mr. Entrican's long and loyal service and proved intregritv ■ should be unseated through an absurd technicality without his being made the ■ subject of such. unwarranted attacks. ; G. E. Eliott. I 14, Commerce Street. - Auckland, '1 November 17, 1920. —— I : . THE WOOL OUTLOOK. Sir, —I am not of a pessimistic nature or ; anxious to decry my . country, but when one reads daily about the commercial : slump in America and the whole of Europe practically in the throes of finan- ' cial dislocation and industrial strife, it occurs to the ordinary business man how i can we : escape our quota. The , opening ; wool sales at Christchurch are not by any means exhilarating, though we may be - buoyed by a temporary belief, that the ; best method is to hold our wool to mainl ,tain . full rates. As has been reported, •- there is a good demand for our mutton arid" lamb", which will obviously increase the wool supply, unless the flocks are reduced, and as prices are rapidly getting back to pre-war values, what is to be gained by holding wool on the off-chance of something eventuating ? While it is being held it is accumulating storage, interest, and insurance charges, and locking up money wanted for the compulsory loan now on the market. • as well as diverting it from lucrative channels. Would any buyer pay sellers' prices under r the present conditions when he has to face receding markets? No, lie would adopt a hand-to-mouth policy, knowing the quantity held here and elsewhere. Our taxation is increasing in company with wages, and. money is daily- hardening, and ' yet our wool is unsaleable at • sellers' prices. I. think interfering 'with supply and demand under present couclitions will only complicate matters, unless something ,of an. unforeseen nature should occur to rally markets; and is it likely? If it,, is the "Dominion's intention to hold its wool foe better prices tonnage will be diverted elsewhere, and if the ' London markets should improve it -is apparent we would get deeper in the "mire" with augmented stocks and charges. P. Virtue. November 17, 1920.

TECHNICAL SCHOOL TEACHERS. Sir, Would you kindly grant me space to set before you a few facts concerning Technical High School teachers? It is not so well known as it should be that many of our salaries remained stationary during the war, amid the general rise of prices. Would you believe that many of us,' ; departmental masters in science, mathematics, English, physics, art, commerce, etc., have had less . than £350 per annum during v the war, and still enjoy that salary, which is equal to a pre-war vifllj.e of £200 ? Do you know that many of 'Us are" highly qualified, that degrees of Ph.D., M.A., B.Sc., and LL.B. are, to be Hound among us? Do you think that afl"average salary of £6 per week is fair to mien of that calibre? You can fancy how contented we must be as we return to our classes at night, sometimes three or ,' four times a week, to know that we are paid at less than trade union rates for overtime. We are teaching .secondary work, handling boys and girls (from 14 to 20 years of age), at the most critical period of their lives; we are teaching tlieiu subjects which demand greater skill than the -ordinary' primary school subjects, and yet assistants in the primary schools scaleSjrise to £450. Here is an example of how we stand in comparison with the primary school teacher :—ln my C -class, a young assistant teacher informed me that the next rise in his grade would bring his salary up to £340 I (nearly 30 years a teacher), have the magnificent salary of £350! We have borne all this with a patient shrug, trusting to the justice of. our claims, and the Government's sense of fairness in thenpromised dealings with us. Now that the Government's scheme has arrived, what is nur,portion ? A highly ingenious arrangenu'iit is made to rob us of our due. (a)' The maximum marks of 120 are unattainable by any of us— fact, by one device in the scheme, 100 is our only maximum. This means lit once that we can never hope Uo rise to the top ranges of our grade, (b) Our married allowance of £40 is coolly divided by 2—for no reason that we .can*see. (c) No teacher can receive more -than a £70 increase. Now , this scale, which was to be so just and generous. debars any of us from getting more than £350. with an increase of £70 (£420 this year , which is roughly in the neighhood of £250, at pre-war rates. Where is the fairness in this to men who have so patiently and faithfully waited for an honest attempt on the Government's part to _ offer us some satisfaction? Instead of a fair, clean attempt to make our salaries fit our needs in such a time as this, we are. presented with a scheme v.hi< h promises us no present: relief, and no future incentive. The tone of the out■me of these/draft, proposals for classification of High School teachers is not clear enough and bold enough in its endeavour to make our salaries compatible with the time m which we are living I here are too many additions, divisions, and formulae in it to call forth in us any appreciation of the Government's attempt to dea with ~u s fairly and squarely. We are nttetiy disappointed with the draft scheme erf the Education Department, and camidt bring ourselves to believe that- the Government has fairly considered us. .X' Technical School Teacher.