CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 271, 16 April 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE. Talking of politics, dot's any man in his sober senses imagine that our modern Mates intelligently govern themselves? Power lias passed from the kings, but it »8 still held by the strong—or by those who can palm themselves oil' as strong. The choice of the average elector is between .Tones and Brown, neither of whom he wants. .That is due to the political machinery laving grown mysteriously into something other than was anticipated. We do not generally understand politics; we cannot control polities- we must let the machine work; feed it with ballots and keep our fingers out of the cog-wheels. All machinery means just that and no more to the avcra-'e machine-minder. Jf \ew Zealand won. suddenly isolated from the rest of the world, and remained apart for a century, many tilings would happen' in addition to a fall in butter. We should stop teaching "brush-work'' to five-year-olds, ami should not think very much or the civil service 'examination We should close down the gold mines and offer a blank cheque on the consolidated leyenue to the man who could produce pig-iron from iron-sand, and copper from ore, WeslwuldpntourolectrkiioJCl eers into sanitoria, so . that no harm could befal them, but should invite

most of the "learned" professions to compote in sawing wood, writes "Tohunga," in tlio Auckland Herald. "PARAFFIN QUACKERY" What he calls the "paraffin quackery" draws an indignant letter from a correspondent of the Auckland Herald. "The theory that the human race suffers from defective drainage of tnc lower intestines is absurd," he writes. "The defects that Sir Arbuthnot Lane deals with are those arising from defective food. Give the lower intestine that function which it was evolved to perform, and it will act perfectly. Paraffin is a silly substitute for natural f oo d. The lower intestine of man was evolved to digest uncooked green vegetation, and as that has been eliminated, from modern diet, it suffers from the lack of the stimulus of natural work. Mills, transportation facilities, and intellectual selection have eliminated from man's food all those things that are digested in the lower intestine, and given to him a food that is wholly dealt with by the stomach and the upper intestine. Instead of paraffin, the human races require a daily supply of green vegetable food. Tho English spoil their salads with vinegar. The French with oil. Undressed lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, etc., are essential to health. A ripe uncooked apple is worth .TO cooked apples. Apple rind is good. Paraffin ig only a substitute for brimstone and treacle, and tho new fad is so proved that it turns with contempt on American paraffin because it contains sulphur. There is nothing new under tho sun."

GOOD ROADS CAMPAIGN. A campaign for better roads has been started in Great Britain. Engineers and surveyors are unanimous that stronger foundations can alone meet modern requirements and ease the ratepayer of a serious burden. Mr. Hipwood, the Morecambe Borough engineer, has decided to educate the members of his council by putting clearly before them notes on the principles of modern road construction, and the relation of these principles to current local practice. "Five principles," says Mr. Hipwood in these notes, "»o-,-ern good macadam road-making. Tho primary essential is sufficient drainage both of the subsoil and the surface; the second necessity is a hard and solid foundation; the third necessity is a clean, hard cubical well-broken metal of uniform quality on ; the same road; the fourth is that'of a suitable binder; and the fifth consists of careful and sensible rolling and consolidation. A macadam coat," he explains, "is laid not exactly to carry weight, but to act, as its name implies, as a ceat, carpet, or wearing surface, the load being transmitted and distributed through it to the foundation. If foundations are missing, wherever there is a weakness in the suboil at that point a pot-hole or a larger subsidence will soon show. The only real remedy, as well as the cheapest in the long run is, of course, to strip the surface and drain and rebuild the road. The stone used must be clean to bind properlv, and 'n« cubical as possible, and wel} broken with sharp arrises to obtain a good keying together and to prevent an excessive amount of voids. The smallest size of cobble which can ha satisfactorily broken and used for road-making is 'approximately Sin. cube. On the fourth essential, that of a suitable biuder." .says Mr. Hipwood, "there is perhaps more iwi than on any other subject amongst road engineers at tlm present time. There is, however, very little dissension, as all are practically agreed that a corrects proportioned bituminous biud»i- is the binder of the immediate future."