CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 281, 19 April 1913, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE CINEMATOGRAPH. The educative value of the cinematograph has been recognised by a committee of the London County Council. The committee proposes that a series of educational' films should be exhibited in the halls of six polytechnic schools. Each series will last about fifty minutes and will be given four times during the day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, it being estimated that 1000 . children will be present at each performance. An oil'er has been received to provide suitable films, to supply and iiistal the apparatus, and to furnish operators, for the sum of £l2O for six weeks, the .duration of the experiment. The committee proposes that the teachers should give instruction to the scholars both before and after the performance. INFORMATION WANTED.

There is a rumor to the effect that our Minister of Defence has submitted to the Admiralty a scheme for the Creation of a New Zealand Navy on the lines already laid down by Australia, and that the offer has been accepted. The Australian journal which publishes this statement approves highly of thescheme. It appears to us that the cost to New Zealand would be absolutely prohibitive, and that this consideration alone should prevent us from considering it seriously, but we hope that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence will put an end to any misconception of this question by laying before the country a full and authoritative account' of these negotiations with the Admiralty on the earliest convenient opportunity. —Auckland Star.

THE WARSHIP AND HER CREW. The admirable behaviour of the crew of the warship New Zealand, which is at present so conspicuous a figure in Wellington harbor, is the subject of much favorable comment in all quarters. They strike the observer as a very fine, well-conducted lot of men, who are anxious not to bring discredit on the uniform they wear. Tlicy have shown that it is quite possible to be good-humored and to amuse themselves thoroughly without being disorderly, and no one expects them to stifle the natural inclination of healthy young fellows to get all the enjoyment they can when off duty. The warship itself, as she lies at anchor in the harbor, is an excellent object lesson illustrative of the might of the British Empire. The world's tour of the New Zealand was indeed worth while. It will certainly do something to bind the Empire closer together, to foster the proper of the oversea dominions in the King's Navy, and to remind them of their duty to cheerfully carry their fair share of the burden and responsibility of Imperial defence.—Dominion.

A REVOLUTION IX DAIRYING. An invention lias just been perfected by a young Danish' engineer that bills fair to make a revolution in the dairying industry. The invention consists of a milking machine with several improvements that place it ahead of all other makes of milking machines at present on the market. The machine has combined with it a tiny separator in such a way that the milk is separated as it is drawn from the cow so that what really takes place is that the milk is delivered direct from the cow as cream and skim milk separately. The system is a very simple one and has been patented in all countries; The inventor will leave shortly for the United States, where he will make final arrangements for the manufacture and placing on the market of the invention, a work which he has been unable to accomplish in Denmark, owing to milking machines not finding much favor in that country. The advent, of the new machine will completely revolutionise the present system of dairying, inasmuch, as its general use will bring about a universal system of home separation. What this means to a farmer in saving of wear and tear and labor, to say nothing of the saving of the roads by carting and re-carting huge, quantities of milk daily, it is hard to say. The machine should prove invaluable in the hush districts where the transporting of milk to the factory is one of the chief drawbacks to successful dairying. There should, without a doubt, be a large fortune in the patent for the successful young inventor.

TO LIVE LOXC. .101 V THE NAVY. Including iill tlie accidents of peace? and war, the mortality in the United States navy is less than in civil life. This statement is made by Commodore W. H. 1 techier, I'.K.X.. in the Xavv. In support of it lie publishes tables in which the number of actual survivors of each class of the Xaval Academy since 1840 is compared with that deduced from the insurance mortality tables. There arc 21)42 survivors of the 3975 graduates, whereas the number computed from the table would be 200!). The cause of it is thus elucidated by Commodore Beehlcr: ' J 11 the first place no one can enter the armv or navv without being physically sound. The occupation is generally in the open air. on the ocean or in the Held, so that the' career itself is healthful. Medical oflicers and the best possible medical facilities are always available, ;uu l sickness is reduced to a minimum. All officers are required lo tuke the best care of their bodies, and must take a prescribed amount of physical exercise and are subject to periodical tests, so that tliev ■ ought to be superior physically to anv '

other class. . . . Those who en- [ terod after 1805 and graduated after | 1868 did not participate in the Civil War; but all those that entered before and during the war are counted as having had Civil War service, as all were officers of the navy during the Civil War. This war experience reveals the astonishing fact that out of all the graduates who served during the Civil War the mortality was exactly the same as would be expected from the mortality table. Of 000 graduates who entered before the close of the Civil War, ■70!) served in the war. Ninety-three of these resigned and served in the Confederate army and navy, of whom seven were killed. Of 010 graduates who served in the Federal army in that war, only 15 were killed in action. The navy has casualties in times of peace; but the battle-fleet sailed around the world with 15,000 officers and men without an accident, while nil equal number of pedestrians dodging trolleys and autos in New York city for the same period would have had many accidents.