THE CALIBRE AND DUTIES OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17533, 27 January 1919, Page 3

THE CALIBRE AND DUTIES OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

I do eay that the time has come for sane, healthy, unpretending men like mo to make a stand against this conspiracy of the writing and talking and artistic lot to pot us in the baofc row. It isn't a faob that we are inferior to them. We ran toe schools for them, and all the thanks we get 33 to be told that "generally school committees were made up of men ol medioore intelligence, who met together at regular intervals to indulge In occasional squabbles, or perhaps arrange for the payment of the charwomaa who cleaned out ti» echool under their oontrol." The time has come to put' * stop to tfceir nonsense. Perhaps if we had nothing better to do Uian talking or writing, we could do it better than them—-With apologies to Bernard Shaw. 3D THB EBITOB. • & S' _^ ni ? grakntous and uncalled-for insult tendered by the highbrows of the ■Now Zealand Educational Institute to the school committees of the dominion is simply another proof and instance of a fallacy belonging and common to men and -women of academic culture—viz.. that an opinion expressed by some so-called qualified authority, especially- wiih letters after the name, is more than enfficient to wipe out an ignorant or so-called less qualified view. But school teachers should remember that, just as tho evidence of one doctor can always be conteadicted by that of another, so with quakned teachers, -who for the most part Know only what they have imbibed at school or college—that is to say/ they are without original ideas, and, therefore, to suit their own ends, require to repeat popu--4.^r ao { es -' "^J O * l ar© Quite harmless except to then- owners, and never compulsory except to those attending schools and colleges. An absolute belief in learned men and women, who form a sort of walking encyclorjaadia, is by far the worst of all human fallacies. This indubitable fact was entirely overlooked by the delegates of the JNerw Zealand Educational Institute at the last conference.

• Agam, if mere book learning improves the brain, then learned, scientific men and women, outside ;of their element or subject, should show up better than those possessing only an elementary education do out of theirs. The experience of the average person bah not found .this to be the case. Ueorge Savage Fitzboodle states a point that should be remembered by all school committees: "What is it make yon literary persons so stupid? I have met various individuals in society who I was told were writers of books and that sort of thing, and, expectmg.to be rather amused by their oanyersataon, haw invariably found them dull to a degree, and, as for information, without a particle of it, sir. I actually asked one of these fellows what was the nick- to and he stared in my face and said he didnt know."—l am, etc.,

„, . „. ' I>. WiSHAET, OhamnanHigh Street School Committee JDunedm, January 2Z.

THE UQUOR TRADE: THE GOTHENBURG SYSTEM. TO THE BDITOB.

• f?-' — an outsider-who feels interested in this great question, I. shall than kyou if you will permit me to express a few of my views upon it, which views I feel assured will be endorsed by thousands throughout In the first place allow me to say that education has been the great factor in bringing about, withm the past century, a wonderful reduction in drunkenness. of the Boys' High School) education was P rt a °^-« iu S- Was Bolvhl S and would solve the difficulties attending the control if 5 ™ T owdWly endorse this viewof the as, even now, intoxicaof° n the by bnn s about a better state of things and make New Zealand a happier and more prosperous dominion I think than it is at the present time I would suggest that the' Government should adopt tEe Gothenburg system and control the sale of all hquors, the profits on the sales being set apart for beautifying purposes. This step notified that after a currency of, sav one or two years, the Government would ter™rw^ boe £ Se ? withont compensation, Z ■}£?% . busmess State contro on the following conditions:—All houses taken over by the Government to be valued, and, if approved, paid for accordingly managers to be appointed for all places for of %l,«t of liquors, and all Uquors to be £ t St; - of tliese houses to be the occurrence of drunkenness so that their positions being held on such an understanding there would be a tboroiigh cessation of, intoxication, or SO per cent, of it as there would be no inducement on the managers' part to further the drinking habit The foregoing is an outline of a scheme W«T U^^ tainly tend to repress dZ kennes?, : and, lam convinced,, would aooeal to all temperate people, and favour with a great number of prohibi? tiomste The dominion would be benefited W^ y ' a i? d he P?P« Ia «on made moraUy better thereby, in spite of the oft-expreWd opmion t that_legislation would neverTuS in ameliorating the condition of the pS ' Hi. J.. TEE SOLDrERS' MEMORIAL CLTJB TO THX BDITOB. Sib,—One cannot h,-]p contrasting the eagerness with which the citizens of Dun edm urge upon its manhood the duty of bearing arms nr defence of King and country with their apathy not only Si welcoming the warriors home again, but also in supporting practical measures for the welfare of the returned troops. When one recalls the dark days which began in the closing months of 1914, the plenitude of promises with which every appeal for men was supported, the means adopted to induce fat, men to see and do their duty and. the sacrifices which many of them made to do it. It is a matter for congratulation that there are some men in our audst who are old fashioned enough to think that promises should bo respected, and who have at a great deal of trouble and loss to themselves, provided a means by which the public may show its appre- °^ 1 ° a . of ™ e manner in which tho soldiers did their duty in helping to beat the Hun, and also for the splendid way in which they represented the dominion. These men have taken upon themselves the task of collecting sufficient funds to build and furnish a Soldiers' Memorial Club. The object is a very worthy one, which is bound to be appreciated by every returned soldier and though it cannot be regarded as the end of our obligations to the returned men. it will nevertheless prove that our previous protestations of eternal goodwill to the soldiers were not merely what the Americans call "hot air.' Ln order to furnish the memorial the promoters of the scheme desire to raise some £700, and it is proposed to raise tho amount by a "Sweet Pea Day" on January 31. It is to be hoped, therefore, that every one will do his utmost to make the day a success, and all should remember that the men in whose interests the appeal is being made did not measure in trouble or pence their sacrifices on our behalf. It is to be hoped also that this is only one of the appeals for the soldiers we shall be asked to support. We must .never be allowed to forget that wo can never adequately repay them for ,what they have done for,us.—l am, etc.,

Well-wisher. South Dunedin, January 25.

POTATO BLIGHT. TO TUB EDITOU.

Sie,—l see by your paper that blight has appeared on the potato crop. I beg to suggest the following treatment:—Take a pair of sheep-shears and cut off every black leaf on tho stalk. Where the leaf is a little soft,.cut all the soft part off. This will not stop the fun growth of the potatoes as long' as the main stein is left standing. The plants will grow as well as if tho leaves were r»t cut off. I have followed this plan and have done no spraying, and have never lost one potato. There is no need to be alarmed if the stalk looks bare. What i« in the ground will have all in the roots.— I am, ©to., „. ~ . . ~ Jas- Black. WaikoTtarti, January 25.