NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26608, 3 November 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

A Wet October

Weather records taken in Dunedin from 1930 onward show that last month’s rainfall of 7.20 inches was the heaviest October fall during the period. Only 11 days of the month were free from rain, the biggest fall for one day being on October 1, when 2.75 in was recorded. In October, 1930. 3.70 in was registered and that total was not eclipsed until last month. Relief for People of Crete The Consul-General for Greece, Mr T. E. Y. Seddpn, has received a translation of recent messages to the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, expressing the gratitude of the residents of Crete for help in the form of clothing and relief goods sent from New Zealand. The messages state that the Cretans will never forget their benefactors. Northern Centenary In brilliant sunshine hundreds of Aucklanders beseiged Howick on Saturday for the opening of the centennary celebrations there. The township, which was gaily decorated, had been preparing for months for this red letter day in its history. In the morning the outstanding event was a pageant depicting 100 years of progress.

Fillings in Teeth “The replacement of decayed tooth structure by a metal filling cannot be considered a successful method of treating dental decay,” said Dr C. D. Hearman, lecturer in preventive dentistry and dietetics at the Australian College of Dentistry, Melbourne, in a broadcast talk last- night. “The dentist cannot save teeth except by mending them. The task of saving teeth rests with the people themselves.” Diomede to be Scrapped The cruiser Diomede, which served in the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy from 1924 to 1935, is included in a list released by the Admiralty of 154 warships which have been handed over to the British Iron and Steel Corporation (Salvage), Ltd.. for scrapping. The Despatch and the Dauntless, two ships of the same class, have also been scrapped. The Dunedin, which was the flagship on the New Zealand Station during the Diomede’s service here, was lost during the war. Moral Values

“ Our national sins of to-day are love of ease, pleasure and idleness,” said the president of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, Mr C. A. Smith, in an address to the Canterbury branch of the society. “If we do not recognise that we earn our bread by the sweat of our Jarow, we will not be able to withstand any change in the economy of this country,” he said. People to-day relied too much on material values and not on moral and spiritual values. New Zealand’s chances of weathering an economic depression depended on the people’s moral and spiritual values. Departments Save Petrol Good results in the saving of petrol had been achieved by several Government departments as a result of the direction over a month ago that the general consumption by the departments should be reduced by 33 1-3 per cent., said the Minister of Supply, Mr Nordmeyer, on Sunday night. It was appreciated that every branch of the Public Service could not make an equal cut in its consumption and that some branches might well save more than 33 1-3 per cent. Each department was required to make a monthly return of the petrol it was using, and some of the returns which ly)d already been received were very satisfactory. Accuracy of Radar “The wonderful thing about radar is the accuracy of the range measurements,” said Professor T. R. Pollard, speaking at a meeting of the Science Teachers’ Association in Christchurch on the subject of electronics. “ Oboe,” the code name for a war-time radar project, was so accurate that by it the position of an aircraft could be measured to within 10 or 15 yards at a distance of 170 miles, he said. It was so accurate that pilots could not hold courses on it, and on high-level experimental bomb drops, with an aircraft guided from a ground station 120 miles away, the operators were worried if any of the bombs landed outside the 100-yard target circle. Milk for Schpols At a meeting of the WoodhaughLeith Valley branch of the New Zealand Labour Party held recently the following resolution was unanimously carried:—“ That we are deeply concerned at the suggestion made by the Head Masters’ Association whereby milk in schools be dispensed with as assistance in the Aid to Britain appeal. We strongly protest at such a suggestion, and feel- that it is in conflict with the ideas of school committees, and would not, we believe, give any’great assistance to the Aid to Britain campaign, but would rather inflict a definite imposition on the school children of the community, who are, after all our major consideration. Such a sacrifice would not, we believe, be welcomed by our British comrades.”

Airways’ Anniversary Just 20 years ago the first PanAmerican Airways service was opened on a 90-mile route between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. Since then the company’s clippers in the three divisions, Latin America, Atlantic and Pacific-Alaska, have flown more than 7,000,000 passengers, carried more than 465.000,0001 b of mail and air express and covered more than 540,000,000 miles. The first and present president of the company, Mr Juan Trippe, started with 300,000 dollars, an air mail contract, three tri-motored Fokker aircraft, and a handful of employees. The company now has 200 multi-engined planes and a staff of more than 25,000. Last June regular round-the-world services were inaugurated—a far cry from that first route of only 90 miles.

For rings, watches and Jewellery, try Peter Dick, Jewellers, 30 Princes street Dunedin.—Advt.