NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20098, 8 November 1928, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

IIELTCIOX IX EDUCATION

"The notion that because men do not agree in matters of religion, therefore it must be taboo in education, is quite as grotesque as it would be to pxcludo poetry from the schools and colleges because a large majority of men read only prose or because critics fall into violently conflicting groups as to the importance and influence of individual poofs or schools of poetry," Mr. Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, observed recently. "Tt so happens that of the elements or aspects of the spiritual environment of tho youth of to-day, religion is by far the most important. Religion has inspired more literature, more painting, more sculpture, more architecture, more music and a larger part of man's ethical and institutional life than has any other thing. To say now that it is not to be taught or referred to in teaching because the teacher himself prefers to have no religious belief or cannot agree with others as to what form of religious belief is the best justified, is ceriainlv a preposterous proposal." THE BUSINESS OF AVIATION. "Every important countiy in the world is subsidising aviation very extensively, and tlii*, from the point of view of national development, is distinctly unhealthy,'' writes Sir Alan Cobharn in tho Sunday Despatch. "There are those who say that we shall be left behind unless we have, a subsidy, but, on the other hand, if we could only survive the pro sent situation unaided and fin our merits alone, our air transport and flying development would be sounder and more efficient than any other in the world, for tho simple reason that we shall have arrived at a bedrock commercial basis, which is the true essence of success, before anyone else. Therefore, as our great opportunities in air transport lie in Empire communications, I advocate that air mail con tracts be given that will, first, develop the countries which benefit by tho sor vice and, secondly, enable tho air routes to run on a commercial basis. Our ship ping trade lias made us what we are to day. and mail contracts have been the origin of many a shipping route. Why cannot the same principle be applied to air transport? Surely aviation is a heaven-sent opportunity to carry on our tradition as a nation of transporters and augment our present shipping routes, at the same time developing another great constructive industry." GERMANY'S FOI!KIO.\ TRADE. I he annual report on German economic and financial conditions by Mr. J. W. F. Thelwall, Commercial Counsellor at the British Embassy in Berlin, describes extreme activity in German industry, which he remarks, was initiated and maintained by a combination of foreign borrowing and the energy, amounting to restlessness, which is a national characteristic. In industry this energy manifests itself in the perpetual scrapping and renewal of plant, in extensions, in mergers, in the closing of one factory and the regrouping of others—in short, in continual rearrangement and ceaseless striving after improvement. The feature of Germany's foreign trade during the past year was a formidable excess of imports over exports, which is explained partly bv the continued heavy hollowing abroad, which is bound to show itself in the exchange of goods in the long run, and partly by the very good home market, which not only required a plentiful supply of raw materials, but also absorbed Gorman production, thus leaving little to export. "It must be remembered that his inland market is of much greater importance to 111 e German manufacturer than foreign markets, not onlv because it is easy of access, (he largest, and pro looted, but above all because, owing to this protection, he can obtain much better prices (here than in other countries, whore lie has to meet competition oil equal terms," says Mr. Thelwall. "So long as things are going well at home there is no incentive to the German industrialist to look for business elsewhere. This fact is strikingly illustrated by a comparison of the figures during 1927 with those of the first quarter of 1928; they demonstrate quite clearly that as soon as (lie situation began to get even a little quieter in Germany exports immediately increased. Germany's export is, therefore, very largely governed by conditions within tho country, and its size probably depends more on the manufacturer's inclination to export than on his ability to do so, for, although he natur-. ally suffers from the 'tariff barriers and the lessened purchasing power which are prevalent throughout the world, lie nevertheless still shows an extraordinary capacity for penetrating foreign markets when he sets his mind to it."