NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25565, 19 June 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

“ T TNLESS the elders of the community can extricate the youth of the Dominion from the mass thinking of to-day youth will lose its future power of initiative and responsibility,” said the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr \V. E. Parry), when addressing a youth rally at Epsom, Auckland. Mr Parry said that the Physical Welfare and Recreation Branch of the Internal Affairs Department, which he- had established, had to be pushed along vigorously. Resolutions condemning youth for certain activities did not help, and it was not the slightest use surveying the position through spectacles of past years. Mr Parry recalled the past when children were music, dancing, and singing, not only for their own recreation, but for the amusement of their parents as well. Few parents to-day worried about their children being taught these arts. By touching a button they ootained all the amusement they wanted. It was recreation by mechanisation, in an age of machinery and mass production. Thousands of young people* were brought together in factories and in industry generally, and mass thinking was created as the result of their work.Costly Cowsheds Increased building costs as they affected the erection of cowsheds were discussed by Mr A. Wood, giving evidence before the Taranaki Land Sales Committee at New Plymouth. Some years ago, during the sittings of the Mortgage Adjustment Commission, he said, the figure had been put at £l7O, but the same shed to-day would cost £370.

Patriotic Pennies A donation of £2 11s 8d to the Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Fund by a Christchurch resident took an unusual form. He called on the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) and left 620 pennies, explaining that he had saved all the pennies he had received over a period. Every evening, he bought a newspaper, paying with a threepenny piece and adding the penny change to his collection.

Issue of Patriotic Parcels A copy of the N.Z.E.F. Times for April 17 records the issue of patriotic parcels to all units of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. in Italy. The newspaper says the distribution would normally have been made in March, but delivery had to be postponed because of operational demands. This was the second distribution since the New Zealanders went to Italy, and the N.Z.E.F. Times says a third issue would be made near the middle of the year.

More Time Lost The Wallsend mine, in the Grey district, was idle on Friday as the result of a request by the men that some timbering at the top of the shaft should be renewed in the interests of safety. The men returned home after making their request.' It was arranged to renew the timber during the week-end, and it is expected that the mine will resume to-day. The Liverpool State mine, which was idle on Thursday, resumed on Friday. Army Medical Grading “Don’t you believe the army medical grading; I don’t believe it," said a witness before the Auckland Manpower (Industrial) Committee, when the chairman, Mr J. O. Liddell, remarked that the man who was the subject of the appeal was grade 1. “My own cousin escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy and was returned to New Zealand,” continued witness. “ He was graded 1 by two doctors here, and the following day he had to be operated on.” “ Even doctors can make mistakes,” Mr Liddell. Mayoral Robes Before placing the mayoral chain round the shoulders of Mr W. Appleton at the installation ceremony in Wellington the retiring Mayor, Mr T. C. A. Hislop, said the chain and robes were no empty, gaudy decorations but of real historic and vital significance: the traditional garb of mayors of British communities handed down over the centuries. They were the emblems of the office of chief citizen—-not chief magistrate, a silly term which had no application to the mayoralty in New Zealand. National Party’s Task

“And this must be the main task of the National Party—to sift solid sense from soft soap—to point out the fallacies of Socialism," declared Mr K. J. Holyoake, M.P. for Pahiatua, when addressing a party gathering at Palmerston North. He declared that, when peace came, our way of life might be in greatest danger through insidious propaganda which could be combated only by political education. Not so long ago those who advocated Socialism stood for humanity, equality, liberty, and justice, but New Zealand has seen experiments which gave the lie to those who had spoken those phrases. Telling Fortunes “We can only describe this class of woman as mischievous,” said Detectivesergeant Alpin in the Police Court at Auckland when outlining charges against two women of undertaking to tell fortunes. Complaints resulted in policewomen paying visits to each defendant, and for a small sum they were told the usual nonsense, he added. In these times there were, unfortunately, numbers of people with relatives overseas who sought these women in an effort to find out the future. “ I am not altogether sorry for people who ,go to these places,” said the magistrate, Mr J. H. Luxford. Each defendant was fined £1 and costs. Apprenticeship Laws

Consideration to the making of representations to the Commission of Inquiry into apprenticeship is urged upon members in the annual report of the Wellington Employers’ Association. “ Owing to the demand in the Dominion for labour and the high wages that have been offered and paid to lads to enter unskilled industries, it has been found, generally speaking, that very few apprentices have offered their services or shown any desire to enter into apprenticeships in most of the skilled trades,” states the report. “This has raised in the minds of employers, educationists, and others the question whether the apprenticeship laws of New Zealand should be amended.” “ Ramp ” in Court Procedure

“ This restitution business is in danger of developing into, indeed it has developed into, what is colloquially called a ramp,” said Mr Justice Callan in the Supreme Court at Auckland, when hearing a petition for restitution of conjugal rights. "This brings the whole conduct of the lav/ courts into disrepute, and the court is bound to try to set its face against it if it can. But the court is pretty powerless, because people come here and swear that they want the other party back, and then in a few months they are back again for a divorce at the earliest possible moment.” Commenting later in the day on the number of similar cases his Honor said; “The thing is becoming a public scandal. Something ought to be done about it.”

Potatoes for Americans Complaints of a serious shortage of potatoes in many North Island centres apparently trace back to huge orders placed by the American Supply Mission in the South Island. This is said to have interfered with the forwarding of the usual consignments from the South to the North Island. For weeks past Christchurch merchants have had scores of grading machines working at top pressure to supply local and overseas requirements. Special attention is being given to supplies for the American forces. It was explained by one merchant that potatoes that would easily pass the New Zealand test of “ fair average quality ” have to be picked oyer by hand to satisfy the American specification. All tubers with the slightest cuts or blemishes have to be removed. The reason for this,.. he said, was that such tubers would deteriorate quickly in a warm climate and losses would be enormous.