THE VOICE IF THE PRESS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 91, 5 July 1930, Page 4

THE VOICE IF THE PRESS

CHANCING HABITS. Tho influence of the motor-car and the express train in sending, people out-o. doors for their recreation m most marked ml.vadays in the ease of voung people of both sexes, " 10 think nothing of donning mountahneering kit and nndei taking tho hazards of alpine (exercises that were simply a closed book to past genornjfcipns. We la.ip, indeed, becoming more strenuous . men and women, and it .is well that tho inactivities winter motoring, or long train journeys should culminate in the sharp contrast of a ski-ing party in the keen air of the mountain regions, or ice skating on an alpine tarn.—“Cirri stchurcli Star’ ’.

THE POLICE FORCE Most people will agreed that ri would not bo a. bad thing to go outside the Police Force for the next commissioner, but we think it wtuld bo a mistake to appoint a military man. Training in the Defence Department is distinctly unfavourable to the tackling of nice problems that the head elf a criminal investigation department would bo forced tol consider. If a highly experienced magistrate is not available for the job, it would be better to promote / a man who has bad experience in the Force itself. In that connection, it is time some specially qualified men were available ’fbr immediate concentraiou on baffling crimes in any part of the Dominion. Frst-class brains must be matched against modem criminals with their special facilities fdr the commission of crime.— ‘ ‘Christchurch Star’ ’.

MAKING THE ROADS SAFE The recommendations of the Traffic Conference, referred to by the Minister of Public Works, in a long statement issued to.day. are opportune. The intention is evidently to terminate haphazard control and to bring all parts of the Dominion under the same regulations. The toll of the motor car ojti human life is an increasing quantity, and there is no reason in the (world why this should be the case. The law of av•eragos demands a certain number of fatalities, even in a world where discretion reigns, hut, when all rcsponsihility is cast aside, and the law is drafted in a manner which sees no offence except in case of accident, the unsatisfactory condition of affairs will undoubtedly continue. The motor-car or lorry is not essentially a menace to the .‘driver or M other ndividuals he meets on the road; the danger is in careless use and it is this tendency to take the risks that must bo chjcckedl., The Conference suggests rates of speed which must bo considered reasonable, and if these 'were observed, probably 75 per cent, u/f the casual dies would he avoided. If, is only when the car is out of control that the unexpected becomes a really serious matter. —“Souhland News”.

“SOUVENIR OF THE MATCH”. For the liondnr, or dishonour, of our province it- should bo ascertained from which side of the Waitaki River came the player who on Saturday at Timaru presented a British forward with a souvenir of the fcyothall p;:uiio in the fd m of a “perfect set of teeth marks’ on the arm. The identification sliould not be difficult. Auiy (competent (mechanical dentist could net in wax an impression of the “bite” of each member ojf the Combined Fifteen and compare it with the ‘souvenir’ bite. 'The incisors and canines of man surely shoy as great variations as do the thumb, marks or finger-prints, to) which the police .departments of the world trust so implicitly for the purposes of the identification of criminals. It woluld not he incumbent on the Rugby authorities to publish the name of the offender, when ascertained, for it seems to ns that subsequent proceedings should interest the police, and that prior inquiry by a, union or sub-union conun ittee bight prejudice court proceedings. But, as we stated hefplre, it would he very desirable to know whether it was an Otago or a Canterbury bite which was inflicted. Probably, however, owing to Nature’s healing subject, the original (unless photejgraphed at its grand climacteric) will have become. too blurred for purposes of comparison with sample impressions in wax.---Dunedin “Star”.