In the News

Southland Times, Issue 24760, 3 June 1942, Page 4

In the News

“We’ll Be There” “It is very difficult for us New Zealanders over here to picture New Zealand under a direct threat of war, and it makes us very angry,” wrote FlightLieutenant R. D. Yule, D.F.C., in a letter thanking the Invercargill Rotary Club for a Christmas gift parcel. “We all feel very deeply against the Japs, ’ he added, “and if there was an imminent danger of invasion—well, we would be there, by hook or by crook.” FlightLieutenant Yule’s father, Dr G. J. Yule, is a member of the Rotary Club. Christmas in Prison Camp Proof that New Zealand prisoners of war in German prison camps are being well cared for and are obtaining parcels sent by the Red Cross Society is given in a letter received by Mrs Stanley Brown, from her son, Sergeant Rutherford Brown. Sergeant Brown who is a prisoner of war and a dispenser in one of the German hospitals, writes: “On December 23 we received 40 cigarettes and half a parcel, on December 24, 50 cigarettes and a special Christmas parcel and on December 26 another half parcel. Great, wasn’t it? For Christmas dinnei- we had tomato soup, salmon, roast pork with forcemeat balls, butter beans and gravy, Christmas pudding with lovely custard followed by milk, jelly and fruit salad. Needless to say we did not need to eat for two days. The wards all had concerts going. It was the same on New Year’s Eve when they had steak and tomato and Christmas .pudding again.” Wind Displaces Sandbags The intensity of the southerly gale in Wellington last week is proved (says The Dominion) by the displacement of earth-filled sandbags from many shelters in different parts of the city. At the Central Fire Station, where sandbags had been placed on top of the wooden bays built around the windows, many bags were blown down. Those who filled bags and helped to place them in position, the paper adds, know the weight with which the wind had to contend.

Transport Zoning “There has to be a complete Domin-ion-controlled and planned zoning system. for transport,” said the Minister of Transport, the Hon. R. Semple, in an interview at Christchurch .last night. “In my opinion all commodities carted to the people’s homes will have to be zoned. We cannot single out any one commodity and let others play the game under rafferty’s rules. In a nutshell New Zealanders will have to choose between rationalization of transport and a scientific method of zoning or no services at all in a few months. The alternative is inevitable if we continue with the old system.”—P.A. Curtailment of Sport

“If I had my way, some of the drastic curtailments already imposed on sporting activities would be relaxed,” said the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry), when addressing a deputation in Hamilton. Mr Parry contended that race meetings, provided they were not held every week in the same district, did more good than harm, in that they gave much-needed relaxation to a large number of people, and, if run for patriotic purposes, considerably benefited the war effort. Mr Parry said he thought all forms of sport should be continued during the war so long as there was no interference with the main object, that of winning the war.

Hospital Taxation Replying to a deputation from the Wellington City Council, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, said he could hold out no hope of an adjustment being made during the war to the system of hospital taxation so that the whole of hospital costs would be met by the State. He assured the deputation that consideration would be given to the question whether it would be possible to increase contributions from the Social Security Fund for occupied beds.—P.A.

Lying In! . In presenting the case of a reservist to a man-power committee in Auckland, it was explained by counsel that the reservist, running a one-man dairy farm, worked from 4.30 a.m. to 7 pan. every day for most of the year. Anxious that the committee should not get a wrong impression, the reservist interjected: “These mornings I don’t get up until five o’clock.” “Lying in, eh?” suggested his counsel.