LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16916, 31 January 1917, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ECONOMY. • P lll^ -1 c, ° not " rexito tbJ B lctter with any intention of unduly criticising the Government, but it appears to mo that when the Uovornuicnt is daily emphasising tho need tor economy it should show a hotter example itself. At the present timo a Royal Commission is sitting in Duncdin to ascerUrn tho system followed by tho Duncdin Co poration in dealing with municipal leaseholds. Ihc commission has already taken evidence on the systems followed in Auckland. Wellington, and Christchurch. Each ol the three commissioners receives at tho least, 1 suppose, some three guineas a day as remuneration, and there are no doubt, other expenses. In each centre, however there is a clear-cut policy governing tho leasing of municipal properties. Theso policies could be very easily secured. Mr J-ewin (our city town clerk) oould, I am sure, in about three pages of foolscap have given the Government all tho information it desired so far as Dunedin is concerned, and the other city town clerks could have done tho same for their towns. Why, therefore, a Royal Commission? It is a foolish— to use no stronger adjective—waste of money.—l am, etc, M Dunedin, January 29

HOW ARE WE ORGANISING? fcOi,—We colonists of New Zealand aro an amusing people; we must appear so to any stranger 1 am led to make these re™f r - by afc I saw dlu ™g * recent business trip We aro supposed to bo doing all wo can for the Empire-economising, organising, so that the war may be won We ° f la K ur t0 m th * ffi and provide the nrxt harvest. We are short of coal, and will be more so, and how are we Jrt* 1 to ™ gentleman who has a. son at the front and another going, eookiW fn 3 T T the , r had had *" the cooking to do for the shearers on a large station, as no help was available. My next experience was a conversation with a gentleman connected with the freezing industry turned away for want of butchers. Afte? PhrUt h CU ? e - Up ? n the lar^esfc hote l in Chiistchurch ,n the course of demolitionfor probably, a eoldiers' home. No! a picture show and not far off another one B m •*% U ?i f™ 11 ™ 1 J ust managed to got into the hotel, which was full of pleasure seekers, and on riving at Oanwu I found had t OWII + ht %- lly de f orfc6d ' tho whole *°wn naa gone to I imam for a picnic. Truly wo are an amusing neople. Dunedin has 'not had a ehip at. the wharf for ten days, one arrived on Friday, and arrangements were made for quick despatch, and a good start on Saturday—but those who thus reckoned iorgot tho far more important event—trotting races!

Sir, there is no organisation, and the Government- so far has made no attempt and we must not wait for them. Will the 'commercial community not take it in hand, and ask Government for the necessary authority when their plans are ready? There is no time to be lost. A Government which runs picnic trains when it knows that both in tho interest of economy and in the interest of the householder such is against the publio good cannot yet have risen to the occasion, ihere is a lamentable want of organisation lhe people are willing enough, but the fact of New Zealand having temporarily benefited by the war is likely to blind us to what is taking place, and to the ultimate result. I use the word "temporarily" for this reason: that the Empire is one, and the transfer from one pocket to another is not a permanency until the war balance is struck which will not be until some years atter the war. The Tax Commissioner will take 45 per cent, of excess profits now for interest on money already expended, and beforo we are finished ho will take the balance. Meantime it is as well to remember that money- in itself is not wealth The lajbour of every man at the front has for the tune being been lost to the dominion and we are short of the combined production of our soldiers plus tho cost of keeping them. Every acre untilled and every business (collectively) which ie- not organised so as to produce the best is an affront to our men who are doing their best Sn the trenches. The Chamber of Commerce has taken action, but talk of Government too much; it is tho rulers who have to be relieved of tho organisation, and there is no timoVJo lose.—l am, etc., Duncdin, January 27. Bond Street.

"SCIENCE IN BUSINESS." Sir,—As one interested in business science I take strong exception to the letter of •Victim No. 2," in which he makes insinuating statements which may be accepted without question by your readers to the detriment of business science. ■ His remarks—vague and indefinite, are of a suggestive order, and are sufficiently open to be capable, of the most disparaging, interpretations, and would, if allowed to pass unchallenged, most certainly mislead the unwary. His knowledge of what he writes is small, and his ignorance of this science is of that typo which confronts us daily. In the absence of Mr Andrew Deer, who is at present in the Auckland province, I feel I cannot let tliis letter of •' Victim No. 2 " pass without calling upon him to exclain at what he is driving, and show how he associates short weight fruit with business science circles. If "Victim No. 2" had any knowledge of what he is talking about ho would know that short -weight and other sharp business points aro the very antithesis of tho principles demanded by the Sheldon course of those who seek success in business. The late Marshall Field, the great Chicago retailer, is quoted in the course as saying: "The man who tells lies to sell goods is a fool," and the reason commercially why he is a fool to lie is because lying, deception, in all its forms, bo it short weight or poor quality, or indifferent service tends to destr'oy confidence, and confidence is the basis of all trade. " Victim No. 2" asks if there is a local business circle. I have pleasure in stating that, there is to be such a society in Dunedin. Mr Henderson, the lectuTer-elect for the dominion circles, has been unavoidably delayed, but in tho meantime Mr Deer is to personally conduct the lectures. This is no disadvantage.'as all those who have had the honour of his acquaintance and who recognise his great ability in business -will readily agree. I can heartily recommend to "Victim No. 2" and "Victim No. 1" the business course referred to, and am confident that if they give it earnest considera tion they will surely study it and eventually become members of the business circle, and if they can persuade the fruit-growers of Otago Cental to do likewise there will be no more mismarked fruit cases.—l am, etc., Percy A. Holmes. Danedin, January 27.

THE MILITARY APPEAL BOARDS. Sib, —I was pleased to see a letter in today's Daily Times signed "Red Cross," and, being present at the Clinton Appeal Board, can verify all that is said concerning the questions put to Mr Reid, and also to more than him. I personally know a couple in Waiwera who have only one son near them. Tho father has been laid aside for over three years, and the mother is now in a precarious state of health, and only a few weeks out of hospital. The son appealed on the ground of hardship, and in filling in his appeal papers made tho unthinking mistake of writing that he was their sole support, and not mentioning that his parents got 11s aid. He is the only support outside of that, that I can vouch- for, but this mistake 'was taken advantage of, and ho was asked the following questions, that had no truth in them whatever; (First) You have a weak heart, and is it not a fact you raced' the express on your motor cycle from Waiwera to Dunedin, and also from Waiwera to Clinton. (Second) Axe you against the military? Yet this lad had attended all camps, even to tho Wingatui camp, which was voluntary, andi I know for a fact that he is laid up after every camp. He also drills the men hero free of charge, and at anvthing military he has done his share, yet. like Mr Reid, the above is his thanks' Another appellant was asked: "Isn't it a fact that your sister is tho best man on the farm ? Doesn't she look after tho sheep while you ride in the motor car?"l ask is it right that outside evidence that is not taken on oath and has not an item of truth in it, should bq listened to in -a ease where human life is being conscripted ? Yet another item: A man who has an only sop appealed to have his son loft as his wife had liad :i paralytic fit owing to worry over her boy being called up, and had read to him tho law that an only son can only be left where tho parents had already lost, ono at the front. Yet a man up north who appealed to have his son loft as ho had had one killed at tho front, and ono sent home an invalid, while he. himself, was 78 years old, was told _ that someone olsp could look after him: his last son would have to go. So ono wonders, as a correspondent wrote has tho Appeal Board a.ll the say? It is the general opinion of everyone hero that attended the Appeal Board in Clinton that things aTC cut and dried, and a lad standing trp m front of a crowd easily gets flustered at the questions put.—l am, 'etc., Axso Victiji. Waiwer* Sooth, January 27.

THE OITY COUNCIL. Sm, —I notice at its last meeting tho City Council discussed a resolution from the Potono Borough Council in connection with raising soldiers' pay to 10s per day. I think the council had best commence to put its own house in order. How is it this matter comes up only now after 24 years of war? Aro councillors looking for civic honours? When we look back at the advanco guard and tho Main Body there was no mention of soldiers' pay or pension, ihoso wero tho men that tho country ought to be most proud of, and as far as the Now Zealand Government is concerned, it has done its duty to tho soldiers and their dependents. But as to tho Dunedin City Council, what are they doing for tho soldiers de-pendents? Why, tho Government gave them a Financial Empowering ' • ( L n ??. ,, , n S thcm to purchase trawlers and establish fish markets. Are they doing anything towards it? I hopo the workers will seo that tho present council is replaced oy one thnt will follow Auckland's footsteps by getting trawlers and market places and one that will wipe out tho butchers , ' and bakers carts. It is of the utmost iuthrC!tA O t ho - workers of Dunedin to have the best brain power in the City Council It the councillors were to go in for better organisation it would be beneficial—l am Ct< k' ~ Wobkbr. ' Dunedin, January 27. FRUITGROWERS' WEIGHTS. Sib,—Permit me space in your columns to reply to Victim." whoso letter appeared m your issue of January 25, under the hoadT ng fi r ' l : rU, , tgr % ers ' Trad in& Methods." in the first placel" Victim" would do well to put his own house in order before he launches out in an endeavour to straighten up the affairs of others. He savs it is a common and everyday occurrence in any sale room to find cases marked overweight in respect to contents. I quite agree with him, but the fault is not with the fruitgrowers. I don't visit town very often, but when I do I always make it my business to vwit the various rooms, and in every instance this is what met my eye—a number of buyers who had, from all appearances stopped too long in bed to be able to partako of u decent meal, and had come ; to tho sale rooms to satisfy their appetites. A choice line -was opened up out went a number of hands, and tho sampling continued; rarely was the fruit returned to the case, and when the bona fide buyer gets his purchases home to his shop he finds, as " Victim " says, shortweight, and naturally his wrath turns to the grower. I once casually mentioned this state of affairs to a gentleman in Dunod:n, and his answer was quite beyond what I expected. He said: "That's nothing.. I've gone along to the rooms often myself, loft a handbag and called for it a little later in the day, and always got it filled with the best of fruit for nothing." He has now turned his attention to fruitgrowing, and it is quite possible this little practice has stopped. Another example of leakage might be cited in respect to the private order trade. Last season I had complaints from two parties respecting short weight of contents, but in both instances the parties admitted that the cases had been carefully opened and portion of the contents removed, which is quite likely to happen in transit to the rooms. In rrspect to the tare of cases I have nothing to say. The white pine 7-inch case rarely weighs more than 61b in a dry state, and red birch up to 91b. I make'it a rule to weigh a number of cases before the season starts, and strike an average. Now, I think I am safe in saying that most" of tho crowers use platform scales, which invariably bear the Government stamp, and that no. amount of legislation will stop leakage in transit or sampling in the rooms. Let "Victim" see to it that his end is thoroughly washed up, and I can safely say that the fruitgrowers can be relied upon to do their part of tho business honest!v.—l am. etc.. Fruitgrower. Earnscleugh, January 29. THE DUNEDIN ATHENAEUM. Sir,—With regard to the above institution, I see that "Subscriber," in to-day's Times, advocates more liberality to the membere in the way of books. May I suggest to the committee at the same time tkat it does away with tho penny post-card system, by which one has to pay to have a book retained? I maintain that every book, as it comes in, should be placed on the table for the first-comer to take. As things are, unless a member is constantly pennies, in addition to the: subscription , , there is no chance whatever of getting any new book until it is about two years old. Every, one as it come in goes on to the reserve list.—l am, etc., Another Subscriber. Dunedin, January 29. TAXING WEALTH ■