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Otago Daily Times, Issue 17428, 24 September 1918, Page 4

A Press Association message states that the hospital ship with draft 175 arrived at Wellington yesterday morning. The southern men left for their homes in the afternoon.

His Excellency the Governor-general (Lord Liverpool), accompanied by his A.D.C. arrived in Dunedin by last night's express from Christchurch, and is at present staying at the Fernliill Club. His Excellency will hold an investiture of the Order of the British Empire this afternoon in the Art Gallery at 3.30, and at 7.30 p.m. will present military medals in the Kensington Hall to the next-of-kin of soldiers who have distinguished themselves on the field of battle.

At a meeting of the Protestant Political Association and friends in North-East Valley a motion was carried protesting against the action of the censor in banning certain books which aro claimed to be educative for Protestant readers.

At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Otago Harbour Board yesterday afternoon an application from tho Education Board regarding a site oh the Lake Logan reclamation area for tho projected new Albany Street School was referred to a committee to bring up a report. A sub-commit-tee was set up to confer with a sub-com-mittee of the City Council regarding the measures to be taken to beautify the Anderson s Bay inlet, and Mr Dickson and Captain Sundstrum were appointed to represent the board at the conference called bv the Expansion League to discuss tho question of hydro-electric power. The board decided to erect a shed at the Portobello wharf for the storage of cheese, etc., and to make an annual charge for the use of it. A letter from tho Marino Department drawing attention to the alleged lack of a fire preventive service at the wharves was " received."

As the result of a raid made by the police on his premises on Sunday afternoon, the licensee of a city hotel will be called on to answer a charge of permitting a game of poker to bo played by a party of boarders. -It is sajd that the occupier of the room was having a little " nap" on the sofa whilst his friends were indulging in a game ot poker, and that he was awakened by the intimation that there was someone to see him. The-wit he has displayed on the vaudeville stage did not desert him as his Mini.-, ing eyes discovered the figure of a policeman looming in front of him. " What, again?" he ejaculated as he swung his feet to tho floor.

A meeting of shareholders in the Dunedin Starr-Bovvkett Society was held last night. Mr Dempster occupied the chair. The 175 th appropriation in No. 2 group was disposed o£ by -ballot, and was drawn by cluster 162, held by two shareholders. The sixty-seventh appropriation in No. 3 group was also disposed of by ballot, and was drawn by cluster 95, held by one shareholder. The Chairman stated that applications for only 200 shares in No. 4- group were required before operations would be commenced.

At a meeting of the Canterbury Printers' Machinists and Bookbinders' Union last week it was stated that information had been received to the effect that recently m.any advertisements had appeared in Australian newspapers offering situations in New Zealand to journeymen in all sections of the printing and bookbinding industries. As a result the following resolution was adopted: '1 his meeting of printers' machinists and bookbinders strongly protests against the action of the master printers of New Zealand in advertising in no-con-scription Australia for workers to come to New Zealand to take the place of conscripted printers, especially in view of the fact that the Master Printers' Association has refused tho workers a conference to discuss a readjustment of wages on account of the great rise in tho cost of living." Details of a "lightless nights" order recently published in tho United States were received at the American Consulate in Auckland by the last mail. This order, issued by the Fuel Administx-ation, restricts in a drastic manner the use of the outdoor illumination so populax in America. All advertisement displays, announcements, and external ornamentation of buildings are to be entirely discontinued for four nights a week in all Eastern States, and for two nights in the rest of the count'ry. Street illumination in all cities will be restricted to tho hours between sunset and sunrise, and the amount of public lighting in any city will be reduced to that necessary for safety. It is estimated that about 500,000 tons of coal per annum is used in the United States for advertising purposes, including display and show-window lighting, and tho enormous war demand for fuel now makes it imperative that the efforts of the Fuel Administration and the miners be supplemented by tho elimination of every wasteful or unnecessary use of coal.

A South Australian farmer, Mr Joseph Nykiel, has reached London, after being interned in Germany sinco tho outbreak of war. He was in Germany, visiting friends near Posen. He was kept in solitary confinement for four weeks, and was then taken to a prison camp at Zerbst, in Prussia, where there wero 12,000 prisoners. Tlie treatment was very brutal, and the dieting was on tlic most meagre scale. During 13 months at Zerbst ho witnessed dogs being set upon prisoners, and one 70-year-old Frenchman was badly mauled by the animals. Tho prisoners wero frequently told that they would bo shot as spies. Many were lashed to posts for hours, with their feet. just touching the ground Tho dirtiest camp work was given to tho British prisoners to perform. When Mr Nykiel told an officer that he was an Australian, the officer remarked: " The Australians are too democratic; that sort of democracy won t answer here." He was removed to Ituhleben in 1915, where the treatment was much better than at Zerbst The attitude of the Germans towards prisoners changed greatly in 1917. Tho German soldiers often searched tho tubs for food or begged for food from the prisoners' parcels. Beceipt of tho latter was regarded by the Germans as proof that Britain was not starving.

There arc two ways of canvassing for subscriptions to patriotic and other funds and two members of the executive of a certain fund undoubtedly took the wrong way. Having inundated a local body with a mass of typewritten matter, they waited upon the clerk and further set forth the claims of the fund, and, forgetful of the fact that all the members of the body concerned were farmers, soundly berated the man on the land for his failure to give to patriotio concerns. However, good nature and patriotism prevailed. The indiscretion of tho canvassera was forgotten in the cause, and a substantial donation was voted.

Tho next English and American mail is expected to reach New Zealand about the end of tho month. Tho Duncdin portion is expccted to arrive hero about October 4.

Referring in conversation with a Now Zealand Times representative to tho rabbit nuisance in the South Island and the noxious weeds question, the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald (Minister of Agriculture) stated that Dr Ite&kes now had in hand the reorganisation of tho wholo department. "There has been an impression," said tho Minister, "that there lias been a lot of over-lapping by the different inspectorates; and, with a view to preventing that, we will make tho districts a little smaller and have one inspector as far as possible doing most of the inspection work. The intention is to see to it that the regulations are strictly enforced, and we shall endeavour to get put through Parliament this session a slight amendment of tho Rabbit Act, which will make the regulations very much more stringent in the future." The noxious weeds inspectors a'nd the rabbit inspectors would still be the same, added Mr MacDonald, but they would be called stock inspectors, and would be under the control of tho Live Stock Division, instead of the Fields Division of the Agricultural Department. Tho reorganisation was likely to be completed by the end of tho present month, and tho new system would bo got under way as soon as possible.

\ arious directions in which women and girl labour could well be employed to make up for tho shortage of men arising from tho war were mentioned by the president of the Auckland Employers' Association' recently. Mr Spencer suggested that it could have been utilised to avert the need for curtailing the suburban train service and for shortening the postal delivery. The results of the employment of women inside the post office had been so satisfactory as to justify the further experiment of utilising them as letter-carriers, as had been done elsewhere with complete success. The attitude taken up by the postal authorities on the question was characterised as absolutely scandalous and unbusinesslike. There seemed no good reason why women should not also be- tried in the tramway service.

Discussing in his annual report the influence of locality and of travelling in regard to cerebrospinal meningitis infection, Lieutenant-colonel R. H. Makgill (Assistant Director of Medical Services) says: "It was shown in last year's report that at various periods the epidemic was prevalent among men from one district, although they might belong to separate units. To a much less extent, the same feature was noticeable in the earlier part of this year, when of the first six cases five came from the Ot-ago-Southland district. Thereafter it became more generally distributed. During the year five came from Auckland province, six from Otago-Southland, one from Canterbury, and one from Nelson. None came from Wellingtoh or Hawke's Bay. Regarding the prevalence among men from Otago and Southland, some evidenco was obtained as to the influence of travelling, since in three cases the disease developed a few days after the men had arrived at th eir homes while on leave. The close association together of a number of men in railway carriages must give moro than at any other time an opportunity for the carrier to distribute infection, while those constitutionally susceptible might readily bo mado more receptive by the development of catarrhal conditions which are so apt to be contracted in railway journeys, and more especially, doubtless, among men accustomed in camp to an open-air life and freedom from ill-ventilated conditions."

The chief source of the world's information about the red terror in Russia has, up till the present, been Mr Arno DoschFleurot (now in Stockholm), who was correspondent in Petrograd for the New York World. Mr Fleurot himself had to leave the doomed country to a.void death by assassination, to which it was feared so many foreigners in Russia have been victims. Visiting Wellington at the present time is Mr H. W. Russell, an American commercial man, who, up till November last, had made his headquarters in Petrograd. Messrs Russell and Eleurot are personal friends of long standing, and the former, in the course of an interview with a Dominion reporter, gave the assurance that complete reliance c-ould be placed on messages sent out to the world under his name. Mr Fleurot, said Mr Russell, was one of the most reliable and accomplished journalists located in Petrograd, and would not be inclined to exaggerate the position in the slightest degree. The Now Zealand Expeditionary Force Masonic Association carries on its work despite the war conditions. A brother, writing from France, says:—"l have just had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the brethren over here when they held a practice lodge. It all seemed to me to be so strange, held under the conditions it was. Picture to yourself an old French estaminet in a village right in the war zone, with the usual heavy war traffic and thousands of soldiers passing by and guns barking within easy distance. The lodgo was a truly representative military one, from a colonel down to a private. One hundred and fifty signed the attendance book, and all were ' tried' before the lodge opened. The ceremony was gone through very well, and whep they sang the various hymns I can tell you they made the rafters ring. A flashlight photo was taken after the ceremony, and I hope I shall be lu'cky enough to get hold of one."

An "Ex-Main Body Man" writes to tho New Zealand Times: —" On reading a recent issue of your newspaper I noticed that the King has given his sanction to the striking of a medal, to be given to all who took part in the Gallipoli campaign. This is all right, and I, honouring the boys who took part in that memorable event, think it quite in order, but would like to know why the boys who were the first to leave New Zealand, tho Samoan advance party, are to be overlooked. Certainly, I suppose they will get the medal given to all who havo taken part in this great struggle; but why should they not receive special recognition, as well as the Gallipoli heroes? These men, as soon as war was deolared, rushed to volunteer for service, in aid of the Motherland, and left New Zealand, not knowing where they were going, but willing to face anything. They were the first, in this great war, to haul down the German flag, and occupy Gel-man territory, and though they actually saw no fighting, were just as much heroes as any in the war."

A young reservist named Hawke, who resides in tho Martinborough district, and who had been exempted from active service owing to his being the last man on the farm, stood in the witness box at the sitting of the Military Service Board in Masterton on Tuesday, and implored the board to recommend the return of his brother m order that, ho (witness) could go and fight (says the Age). The young man stated that his brother had been classed unfit for service in England, and for some considerable time had been attached to the band in Sling Camp. Ho considered that his brother should be brought home to take his place on the farm, thereby enabling him to go and fight. Tho chairman said the board greatly admired the action of the reservist, but it rested with the authorities at Home if they released his brother. All the board could do was to recommend that if uniit the brother bo sent liome. He advised tho young man to cable and ascer tain if his brother was still unfit, and the board would then know what action to take.

The lives of several Australians have been saved during the last few days by the adoption throughout the Australian dressing stations of a regular system of blood transfusion (says a London cable message to the Australian papers under date of Bth inst.). Many wounded who would otherwise have survived have died in tho past owing to heavy loss of blood putting them in a condition in which they could not stand the strain of an operation. A system has now been organised at the Australian dressing stations whereby in such cases tho blood of another man can immediately be injected, and an operation performed, where otherwise death would be certain. There is no difficulty whatever to find men to volunteer to give their blood to a comrade. Slightly wounded men with a cut foot, a small bullet wound through the arm, or any other small " blighty" wound readily offer. The Australian Press delegation visited one dressing station, where tho lives of men unquestionably wore saved in this way, while the lightly wounded, who gave their blood, walked out immediately after the operation,' whistling, to light cigarettes.

The executive of the Auckland Industrial Association decided last week to support the action being taken in Wellington and Canterbury to have a Department of Industries instituted by the Government, with a Cabinet Minister in oontrol. It was remarked, as a most surprising thing, that in this country, where there were a number of large and growing primary and secondary industries, there was no parliamentary representation of such interests, which wero of almost vital interest to the well-being of the country, and which would be called on to very largely assist the oommunity in solving the problem of the demobilisation of our Expeditionary Force after the war. There was no business to engage the attention of a magistrate at the City Police Court yesterday morning.

Senior Cadets in area 46 (Dunedin) are notified that a parade will be hold at the Kensington Drill Hall at 7 o'clock this evening. t The Knox Clnnrch Young Women's Society will hold a display of daffodils and other spring flowers this afternoon and evening in the Sunday School Hall, King street, in aid of the Soldiers' Comforts Fund. Cakes, sweets, etc., will be on sale. The half-yearlv district meeting of tha Otago District, M.U.1.0.0.F., will be held m the Oddfellows' Hall, Stuart street, on V\ ednesday, at 10 a.m. Tlie highest-grade material is used and the most-skilled mechanics employed in buildintr Harley-Davidson motor cycles.—W Stuart Wilson and Co., Dunedin. —Advt. New Goods now showing in all departments. Inspection respectfully invited. Mollisons Limited.—Advt. "No Rubbing" Laundry Help delights every housewife; Is 3d packet sufficient for seven weekly family washings.—Hunter and Etheridge (Ltd.). —Advt. For children's hacking cough at night Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Is 6d 2s 6d.—Advt. Watson's No. 10 is a little dearer than most whiskies, but is worth the money. Advt. Ladies, lighten the labour in your homes by using a "Hotpoint" Electric Radiant Grill for all light cooking. Users state: "As indispensable as an electric iron, and so inexpensive." Call and inspect.—Turnbull and Jones (Ltd.), electrical engineers. Advt. A. E. J- Blakeley, dentist, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1859.—• Advt. - Eyestrain!—Consult Mr Peter G. Dick, D.8.0.A.. F. 1.0. (London), consulting and oculists' optician.—Peter Dick, jeweller, etc., 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt.