LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19376, 10 July 1926, Page 9

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

DISTRESS IN THE CITY. Sir, —Touching the question of the unemployed, might it not be possible for the women to co-operate with the employers of the city .by finding jobs such as window cleaning, verandah washing, silver cleaning, etc., for some of tho married men on the unemployed list, to help them over the winter months. Having personal experience of same, as I have for some time employed a man who had the misfortune to meet with an accident which rendered him unfit for heavy work and found him most satisfactory. I feel sure the.ro must be others capable of doing the same duties. Julia Fenton. 31, Omabu Rd., Rertiuera. DAYLIGHT SAVING. Sir, —It is to be hoped, in the interest of tho real workers, that this measure does not become law —by real workers 1 mean those connected with dairying. Most farmers supply cream or milk to factories, sometimes by train and as the usual time to start work is 4.30 a.m., which is quite early enough, it will be an hour off their scanty rest. Of course it will be stated that they finish an hour earlier, but I know the cocky well, and he and his man will work till it is too dark to see anything. The cow buy, as it is, usually works about 80 hours a week. He is the hardest worked member of society, and this is a scheme to make his life harder than ever in order that the townie may have more time for games. He gets as much pleasure as it good for him as it is. Senex. Sir,—Your editorial on above subject is vaguely apprehensive that putting ou the clock one hour during the four summer months will result in hardship to country folk. The general experience of farmers is that they are not ruled by the clock, but by the sun—rising about daylight and ceasing work when the light fails. Indeed, in a goodly proportion of country homes one will find the clock voluntarily kept a half-hour or more in advance of standard time, as a matter of > course all the year round. The suggestion that city employers should alter their working hours in summer would bo quite impracticable of smooth operation. It would mean in tho first place tho movement of unwieldy arbitration machinery to alter the terms of numerous awards, apart from tho fact that employers of labour not affected by arbitration (such as office workers), could easily penalise their employees by maintaining the usual hours all through the year. The daylight saving scheme has operated in Canada, a nation of farmers, with marked success and no rural disturbances, and in England, where there are more farmers than in this Dominion. It is a recent fashion, set by our Prime Min* ister, to decry sport as a dangerous competitor with "increased production." To the indoor city worker open-air recreation, whether cricket, swimming, gardening or what not, is a necessary complement to good health, and without good health in the community increased production is an idle dream, A.E.G. ,ONE TREE HILL LOAN. Sir, —My letter of tho 6th has already borne fruit by forcing the board to give the ratepayers some particulars about concreting of the Great South Road, and in persuading the board to alter tho width to fall into line with Mount Wellington (the figures previously quoted came direct from the board's engineer). But we havo no sooner got rid of the •folly of a 28ft. between two 18ft. lengths, than we aro faced with the absurdity of allocating 40ft. for pedestrian and 2bft. for vehicular traffic on an arterial road where the traffic is through traffic, mainly by motors, and pedestrians aro practically nil, Mr. E. li. Service writes contemptuously about tho "concrete slab" put down by Mfciiit Wellington, yet it is a better job than the concrete slab in Market Road. As for the heavy formation work Mid the removal of mains from the road below the Harp of Erin it is no worse than Ellerslie's length/ whicn anyone can see by a personal inspection, and there is no getting away from tho fact that Ellcrslio and Mount Wellington are forming and concreting the road at an average cost of £IOO per chain, as against £192 per chain of One Tree Hill, Ratepayer. AFFORESTATION COMPANIES. Sir, —In your issue of July 3 appears a letter from "Forest Investor," in which he takes exception to Mr. Macintosh Ellis' suggestion that the Forestry Department should take some part in the administration of afforestation companies. I havo not seen Mr. Macintosh Ellis' report in detail but it may interest your readers to have the humblo opinion of another resident of tho Putaruru district, that sees, I think, most of what goes on, and takes, I think, as intelligent an interest as he is capable of, without having an axe to grind. I have no fault to find with the manner in which the new forests are being planted. I have no doubt that the highsalaried officials are capable and conscientious men, who are really doing a national service in a . business-like way, besides creating employment for a large number of men. I quite agree with "Forest investor" there, but tho point where I should like the department to supervise goes further back than that. There should be some independent supervision for the protection of the investors, of whom 90 per cent, do not understand the real costs, etc., of planting on a large scale, and aro persuaded to invest, tfcirough that 'forest sense' generated bv insistent propaganda, and tho "bright young men" employed by the companies. No on*, more than myself admits that these companies will benefit the generations to come immeasurably, and wa all admit that jt is the reward that sweetens labour, but for the protection of the class of investor that constitutes the 90 per cent, it tvouhj be well that a. highly-trained staff of independent men' should pass judgment on the prospectus before it is put to tho public. Granted that political interest is an abomination, but I think our forestry officials can, be depended on for au unbiassed opinion. In closing I would liko to add, in. fairness, that I consider that most of the companies give the public a genuine proposition. Lose Pese. TAKAPUNA TRAMWAYS, Sir,—l notice in Thursday's Herald that Mr. Harris, MP., has again been snapping at the heels of this company. He averts that the motor omnibus regulations establish a preference in favour of this company as against a "trade rival." The fact is that the regulations do not discriminate, so far as the public interest is concerned, between tramway systems, whether publicly or privately owned. It is true that all 'tramway systems are favoured, but even Mr. Harris should be abl«> to see that if it is the travelling public which is to be protected the regulations must affect municipal aad private systems equally. In othe' words, the Government has deliberately laid it down that tramway systems, in the public interest, must be conserved even if opposition buses are to be eliminated. Mr. Harris credits the company with being the author of legislation in 1912 and 1921. There was no tramway legislation in 1912 and in no year has there been any legislation which by any stretch of the imagination could be held to be of peculiar interest or special bene fit to this company. About 1921 the Government proposed to take power to nx fires by Order in Council, but did not proceed with the matter. As to the constitution of the Takapuna Borough Council as a separate licensing author, ty this nc in abusing the mainstay of one of the nprhaDS be aa well u he were g;ve«j , Cabinet rank, and thus save his constituents the humiliation of seeing Iran publicly spanked {metaphorically oi course) Kv het Priino Minister, by tne trrm* Cum Chairman Takapuaa Tramways Md Ferry Company, Me. JS