WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

Observer, Volume XL, Issue 11, 15 November 1919, Page 4

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

GOVERN the country and settle State affairs as you settle the affairs in your trade union arid co-operative (society — by majority rule. Don't rely upon applying force to an unfriendly Government, but elect a Government which will be Friendly, and show you that they are equal to the task of governing the nation better than others.—London "Sunday Pictorial." h< * * The war has produced a new middleclass, taught by war service the advantages of acting together, and it wants only a little more to produce a revolt against revolt. The middle class is tired of being the whippingboy of the Bolshie element in Labour. —London "Sunday Herald. ,, * * * Since the war has ended there has arisen in England a number of folk who declare that the stage was never so low, so vile, as at present. A pleasant English actress named Ashwell is admitting that "it is rotten, low, and futile." And the British Drama League adds "That's so." The stage is a mirror, and reflects its period. If you don't like what you see in the mirror, change your face —don't break the glass.—Melbourne "Table Talk." * * * The whole trouble really lies in the fact that no one in Melbourne knows anything about the Northern Territory, and it is from Melbourne, and by Melbourne officials, that the attempt is made to govern and direct the affairs of the place. What does Patrick McMahon Glynn know about the Northern Territory ? What does Atlee Hunt, the Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, under which the semi-official supervision of the Territory comes., know about it? What does the average member of the Federal Parliament know about it.—Melbourne "Punch." * * * The part played by owners of newspapers—particularly by owners who are not capitalists only, but are also journalists—is now becoming a very remarkable phenonomen of life hi these latter days. During the war, Lord Northcliffe, because of the numerous newspapers that he owned, was looked upon in the British Empire—and in many other countries—as "the power behind the throne." There is no doubt that Lord Northcliffe had much to do with the making and unmaking of governments. Great power is wielded in the United States by Mr. William Randolph Hearst, as the late Mr. W. T. Stead showed in the account of Tammanyism which he called "Satan's Invisible World Displayed." Up to the present, the "machines" have been too powerful to enable Mr. Hearst to establish for himself a commanding position in the political life of America, just as they were too powerful for the late Mr. Roosevelt to win re-election to the Presidency as the candidate of a new political party ; but ex-President Roosevelt did not own a chain of newspapers. Hearst does.—Sydney "Truth." ■ • • * A unique experiment in municipal government is being mad© by the New Plymouth Borough Council. The town clerk has been appointed general manager of the borough, at a salary of £800 per year. He will, have complete control of the administration, subject to the supervision of the Borough Council. In other words, the borough is to be run as

a business concern, under a business manager, with the Council filling the position of a board of directors. Presumably the experiment is permissible under the Municipal Corporations Act, but whether it is prudent is an entirely different matter. There is a tendency in many municipalities for Borough Councils to usurp the functions of the engineer and overseer, and to give instructions for work which may not be urgently required. With a general manager in charge, this would be impossible. At the same time, it is questionable whether an elective body is justified in delegating its administrative responsibilities to a single individual, no matter how capable and honourable that individual, might be. The door is opened very wide for personal prejudice and patronage.—Masterton "Age." * • ■ As we do not set up to be prophets, we cannot pretend to ccc December or January, or to say whether prognostications of a post-election labour trouble—tuned to the manner in which the political cat has jumped —have foundation or not. But it is evident to any observer that the situation is sufficiently delicate that to need constant attention, and that any plans for the reconstruction of industry, designed and elaborated by the employers, cannot come too speedily to the barest public opinion.— Wellington "Post." * * * Much will depend on the choice of the Chief Judge and his subordinates. It is too much to expect that troubles will not arise, but the foundation principles of British justice may be relied upon, under sympathetic treatment, to gradually impress the Natives with the benefits of British rule, and should form a strong contrast to German methods. On the whole the new constitution for Samoa should be found satisfactory and productive of results that will uplift the Natives and secure the prosperity of the island and its people.—New Plymouth "News." * * * A fair indication of the trend of Labour affairs in Japan is given in the news that large numbers of workmen at Yokohama sought to prevent the departure of Mr. Masunioto, who has been appointed to represent Japanese Labour at the International Labour Conference. This can only mean that the demonstrating workmen consider that th are being saddled with a representative who will not reflect their views. Available information goes to show that in Japan the Government and employers, though they are making a surface show of concessions to Labour, are in fact pursuing a shortsighted policy of evasion and suppression.—Wellington ' 'Dominion.'' * * * There is in America a very. large section of the population of foreign origin and extraction, a. people to whom the use of beer and wine has been as natural, before they became American citizens as that of water, and there are those who contend that a strict prohibition law in practice, will be found impossible.—New Zealand "Free Lance." * * • Of the good intentions of the, British people in regard to Ireland there is. now no room for the slightest doubt. An overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of England, Scotland, and Wales not only have no desire to oppress or coerce their fellow-citizens in Ireland, but are genuinely anxious to pass on the main responsibilities of Irish Government to its proper depositaries—the Irish people. They are substantially all Home Rulers, but they recognise that there is a strong dissentient minority in Ireland rtself. Their practical difficulty is to devise such a scheme of Home Rule as will apply the principle of self-determination not merely to Nationalist Ireland, but also to tho.se parts of the country which, whether rightly or wrongly, would regard it as a betrayal to a dangerous enemy.—Wellington "Poet. ,,