NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24505, 14 January 1941, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Acts of .vandalism are difficult to understand at any time, but when they are of a kind that endanger life, they can only arouse a desire for the harshest possible treatment of the offendex-s. Yesterday morning the' cord on the life-saving, reel that is left out all night at the St. Kilda beach so that earlymorning bathers who may find themselves in difficulties may be rescued was discovered to have been cut in a dozen places. In spite of the numerous warnings that have been issued in respect of the possible dangers that may follow interference of any kind with these reels, reports of damage to them have been received from all over the country The knowledge that there are people who have so little appreciation of the services of life-savers is discouraging tc them fct a juncture when war-time conditions, which have reduced their numbers, have added to their responsibilities. .

Capped With Snow The Taieri district derived much benefit from the recent rain, though the cold wind that followed was not welcome. Early risers yesterday morning observed a light coating of snow on Maungatua, V Public Health Returns During the week ended at noon yesterday, one case of whooping cough was discharged from the Dunedin Hospital, only one case remaining At the Logan Park Hospital there is only one patient with scarlet fever One case of measles v was admitted and there are now two with this complaint in the institution. As one patient was discharged. there are now no; cases of chickenpox. A Partial Black-out Napier is being subjected to a partial black-out. The measures are being taken by the authorities to-restrict visibility from the sea of the strings of bright street lights and ornamental lamps which normally turn night into day on the half-mile Marine Parade The parade runs parallel to the seashore, and it is considered inadvisable to allow it to be brightly illuminated, as in the past, to such an extent that its line is visible many miles out to sea The globes of the street lamps are being provided with semi-cylindrical shades on the seaward side, while cluster lamps on standard poles are being painted black on the seaward face No Shortage of Teachers Though the Education Department has lost a number of male teachers because of military service, there will be no difficulties in the staffing of schools when they reopen next month. The assistant director of education, Mr A F McMurtrie, stated recently that the department had a surplus of young teachers who had just completed their three years’ training and were available to fill vacancies “We expect that for the first part of the year at least there will be a sufficiency of teachers for native as well as the other schools, he added “ But there may be a shortage of male teachers towards the end of the year because of retirements and men being called up for military service.”

Theft from Railway Van A theft, which was probably committed more out of thoughtlessness and mischief than for any possible profit, recently took place in the railway yards The ambulance box which is part of the equipment of every van was broken open while the van was in the yards and a quantity of bandages.' boracic lint and other first aid materials was removed The van had been previously checked over and was scheduled to go out on a run early in the morning, and it was almost by chance that it was noticed that the seals of the box had been broken It is believed that the act was the work of youths or boys, but the necessity for such supplies to be left strictly alone should not require to be stressed in view of the ever-present possibility of some sort of accident occurring on a day’s train running The matter has been reported to the police

Seed for State Use The seed testing station at Palmerston North is now engaged supervising the mixing of 180 tons of pasture seed for use by the Lands Department in sowing about 6000 acres at Te Kuiti. As the sole purchasing medium of the Government the seed testing station buys about £120,000 worth of seed each year for use by State departments, and the concentration of 91 lines from various parts of the Dominion and overseas for the present mix is but a small part of the station’s activities The main users of seed purchased by the station are the Native, Lands and Survey, and Public Works Departments. When a department requires seed, no matter how little or how much, the seed testing station is the source of supply. Only certified seed is considered, and it must have been tested for germination before it is purchased. The station is the largest individual buyer cf pasture seed in New Zealand

Lighted Match Causes Fir® A lighted match accidentally thrown amongst some wrapping paper caused a fire which resulted in the City Brigade being called to the Horseshoe Crockery and Toy Shop, 139 Rattray street, at 4.5 p.m. yesterday. There was some damage to the stock, but there was no structural damage to the building. “ Loot ” from Egypt The stationery used by a gunner of the New Zealand Artillery in Egypt provided his parents with a thrill when his letter reached them in Auckland last week, for it proved to be part of the “loot” of the Italian Army which has left so many little things behind it. Of excellent texture, the paper of both envelope and writing sheet, the latter of foolscap size, is blue tinted, and the writer says it is portion of a quantity of equipment captured from the enemy. Bearing Italian letter-head captions, which indicate that it was used for army orders, the stationery naturally had no place in British headquarters, and as useful souvenir material it became the “ stuff to give the troops,” especially the letter-writing New Zealanders. Letter-writing Fame New Zealanders have the reputation of being among the greatest letterwriters in the world, and there is every indication that this repute tion is being upheld by the members of the fighting' forces from this country now overseas. A postal officer in Wellington confirmed this view He said that certainly a very large volume of mail was coming 'from the New Zealand troops in the Middle East and from those stationed elsewhere as well, and there were also heavy despatches of mail for the forces from New Zealand, so that their friends and relatives appeared to be playing their part well, too. The introduction of the air-mail rate of 9d to soldiers overseas had increased greatly the volume of air mail by the Tasman flying-boats. . Another index of the attention members of the fighting services are paying to their correspondence is the great amount of writing paper supplied by the National Patriotic Fund Board and several institutional organisations. Some idea of requirements is to be gained from the fact that an order was given by the National Patriotic Fund Board just before Christmas for a supply of writing paper for the armed forces running into 1,000,000 octavo-size sheets.

Whiskers in Fashion 9 Growth of whiskers has been enormously stimulated, both in New Zealand and abroad, by the war. Certainly in Wellington (states the Dominion) there have been more moustaches about the streets in the past 12 months than at any time since the armistice And there are many evidences that the beard, symbol of manhood, is again coming into vogue The smart military moustache, which has been favoured by army men since the last war, has become very popular in recent months. Young men going into camp have thoughts perhaps to screen youth and Inexperience behind a formidable appearance Even among civilians there has been a notable increase in the number of moustaches this summer Similarly, beards, have returned to fashion among naval recruits. ratings, and officers. Bearded sailors, both of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Service, have been increasingly frequent in Wellington streets since the war. Photographs from England indicate that this _ trend is even stronger on the other side of the world. And . messages and photographs from Sydney recently indicate that an unexpected effect of German “ranerce raiding in the Pacifln has been to promote the popularity of beards among their ex-victims. Recalcitrant Shearer*

Factory owners are not alone in the troubles caused by the non-appearance of employees. Speaking to a Dai y Times reporter yesterday, an upcountry station owner, who has between 20,000 and 30,000 sheep, recently had his shearing held up for over a month. A board of nine shearers was engaged under contract to start on a certain date and arrangements were accordingly made for provisions and for the shed staff, On the set date two shearers arrived and, after some trouble, a third man was obtained. After a month, on December 22, six more shearers arrived and, of course, had Christmas Day and Boxing Day as holidays This spell made them dis : inclined for work the following day and, after shearing a few sheep, the men ceased work on the grounds that the sheep were wet. On New Year’s Day a vote was taken in the shed on the question of whether a further holiday should be observed and on this vote, which included the votes of boys of 14, work was futher held up The station owner was put to considerable expense and trouble by these delays and the whole work of the station has been thrown out of order, but, apart from this, he emphasised the seriousness of this interference with what is undoubtedly a part of the nation’s war effort. “If the union secretaries do not get to work and look into matters of this kind,” concluded the station owner, “ our affairs will soon be in a pretty fix.”

We acknowledge receipt of calendars from the Westport Coal Company and the Graham Coal Company. Coffee for breakfast. Order from your grocer a tin of ” Bourbon,” the coffee of quality. Instructions in every tin. Prepared oy Durie’s, coffee specialists 32 Octagon. Dunedin.— Advt.