TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11029, 18 March 1914, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

LNCOG.NTi'O. -While the.■ newspapers were full of the Zabfcrn troubles, two grave personages in evening dreSs were se&t-ed. on a night at a table in one of Faris's most fashionable nocturnal cafes, conversing qiiietly. in German. Their appearanoo attracted the attention of another reveller. who,.,after staring at them with an insistence that seemed to make them Veryuncomfortable, came across and said- in a distinct voice: When you gt't baclv to Berlin you might tell the Kaiser to treat the Alsatians a little better; what has been going on at Zaborn is disgraceful." . Without answering, 'the two men hastily called for their bill, and, making "a sign to two detectives seated behind them at another table, quitted the establishment as quietly as possible. The two Germans were Prince Adalbert, son of the Emperor, and Prince Henry of Prussia..

A SINIv OF INIQUITY. j Each day, writes Herbert Corey, two fiersons in New York walk out their i'ont doors, perhaps turn to' wave goOd-bye to. someone in the window, and are never heard of nor seen again. is as though they melt into the air." said Sergeant Grant Williams, of the bureau of missing persons. "About 3500 people .disappear from their homes each year. Approximately 800 of them are gone for good. They never again come to the surface of our metropolitan whirlpool." . There is no doubt that a certain proportion of these are girls who are the nrey of the so-called white slavers. That is to say, there are shrewd men who make the capture mid riiin of you he: women a business. The Chicago Vice Commission, composed of intelligent, nonhysterical citizens, reported' thnt beyond' Any Question there exists in that city such a a pusintss which .spends millions pf_ dollars pwl consumes thousands of'lives every year."

| ! .BULLET WOUNDS. Br O. .Laurent has given. to the s French Academy , of Medicine some | curious information on the effects of j bullet wbunds during the Balkan war. | He says that in modern war, .where I the soldier 'is fighting from trenches, I he is usually hit in the head or on the i left hand. The right hand is protect-. i edi by the rifle, and so Dr Laurent

: suggests' the uso of a metallic shield | to protect the head and another to protect tho hand. A third shield might be placed' over the heart. Ho says that many soldiers were saved by the chance presence in their pockets of papers, and even of cigarette cases, which shows the importance of cigarette smoking. Shrapnel wounds were more likely than rifle wounds to produce infection; but the number of wounds cured without any complications at all was about 7o per cent, certainly a very creditable showing for the medical service. Shrapnel bullets had a much less penetrative power than rifle bullets. the former being often found embedded in the clothes, but the latter never.

MR TAFT'S 'VIEWS. I Ex-President Taft 011 January delivered before the. Literary and .Scientific Society of the University of Tr:onto an . address 011 " Popular Gov rumen t." Canada, he said, with e millions of people, had the advantage of profiting by the. mistakes of the United States with a. population of ninety millions. 111 the past Canada had exhibited discretion in studying the effects that the United States system had developed and in seeking to avoid them. Popular government should pot bo made a fetish. 7t was a means to an end. Dealing with woman suffrage, -Mr Taft said that the gentler sexin order to prove their case, must show,-either that they are suffering as a class: be'eause they have not the right to vote, or that, if added as part of the electorate, they would so improve the wisdom and patriotism of the electorate that it would be better for all the people. Militancy, he characterised as " hysteria, and a lack of a sense of proportion in those who participated in it does not commend them as a wholes.ome addition to the electorate." In the end. he believed that woman suffrage was inevitable.

ANGLO-SAXON PEACE. Lord Courtney, of Penwith, in a recent speech, said*:—The peace which ha« lasted for 100 years (between Britain and the United States) ought to be unbreakable in the ca?e of two nations who Speak the same language and who cherish the same traditions. In this connection 1 crave leave to refer to an act of statesmanship which I believe is without a parallel in the history of civilised communities"-that iitty..

the Rush Convention, under which England and the United States agreed that neither country should place any I armed force on the Great Lakes ot Xortli America. I would like very much to know' who originated that proposal, but this I have never been able to discover. In any case, I think the idea might, be extended, in other directions. The Sums Cimal has been neutralised. Ts it not time that all the groat waterways of the world should be neutralised also? I put it to the American AmbnsMulov whether it would not be a crowning glory to that great work, the Panama Canal, tho construction of which redounds so much to tho honour of the American people, while it illustrates their power.

MISTAKE MERCHANTS. •Many curious trades and professions find mention in the Ixnidon Directory, but therein is no mention of the " Mistake. Merchant." A "Standard" representative, however, has found a member of this queer .trade. He is a Swiss with a speaking knowledge of most European languages, living and dead, and a vast fund of literary and general information accumulated in his world wanderings. Just now is his busiest season. lor be is searching all the. new 1914 reference books for errors, mostly in connection with any foreign data. The mistake ho neatly tabulates on a. foolscap sheet, and sends it. to the editor of tho publication, leaving it entirely to him as to whether lie is compensated for his trouble. Editorial generosity at any rate niav be gauged bv the fact that it provides the merchant, with his general translation work, with a fairly satisfactory living throughout the year. "T first began this job." he said, "by pointing out to tlie publishers of a popular reference book a great many inaccuracies —in this case they took a fortnight to collate!—and then T followed on with corrections, _ especially in the etymological section of a new dictionary. ' Tn each rose T received remuneration for mv trouble, aild now T work for practicallv all the publishers of reference books.' k

DAYLIGHT SAVING. The late King fedward, according to a pamphlet, " The jWaste of Daylight," just published, himself practised daylight saving on lines similar to tlio§e proposed in the Bill presented to the British Holise of Commons. For many years at Sandringham lie caused his clocks to be advanced thirty minutes during tluv summer months, and in the last two years of his life lie caused the same rule to be observed at Windsor and Balmoral, and said that he was! favourably , disposed towards the Bill. The pamphlet shows that Mr William Willett is making headway in his long campaign in favour of the, Bill. Up to now 285 members of the House of Commons have expressed their approval, including Liberals (Mr Churcliill, Mr Lloyd George and Mr Birrell amongst them). Conservatives (Mr Balfour, Lord Charles Beresford and Mr Austen Chamberlain), Labour members and Nationalists. Fifty members of- the House of Lords have also said "Aye!" including .Lord' Roberts, Lord Roseberv, the Dulcc of, Devonshire, and the Bishop of London. Many railway companies support the Bill, while favouring resolutions have also lieeh passed by four county councils, 655 city corporations and town and district councils, 78, chambers of commerce and innumerable other important bodits. On the third Sunday in April it is proposed that standard time shall advance sixty minutes, and on the third Sunday in September recede sixty minutes. This would niean a yearly gain of 154 hours of davljght, equivalent to seventeen holidays of nine hours each. In artificial light alone Mr Willett estimates that there would be a saving of at least £2,000,000 a year. 1

• MEAT COMBINES. Two of the largest British firmsi in the meat trade, with a capital between them of over £1,000,000, havo amalgamated, in order the more effectively to fight the invasion of the Homo meat market by American syndicates. -These two firms arc the Itiver Piute Fresh Meat Company, Ltd., with a capital of £550,000, and Messrs James Nelson and Sons,; Ltd., meat -importers, Avith a capital of £500,000. The manager of one of the largest "stalls" in Smithfield Market, stated that for a considerable time there has been a great deal of competition between the British interest's and the American " ring," which seeks to dominate the central markets as it has dominated those of the United States. More than once, he said it had forced the price of meat so low that British dealers had had to sell at a serious loss. The amalgamation had been foreshadowed for some time. The two companies monopolised tiio frozen meat trade in Britain, and it appeared that the fight for the control of the British market was to be keener than ever.

e « BEYOND THE RANGE. Professor John Adams, who is delivering a series of University Intension lectures to teachers, under the auspices of the Sunday School Union, related a curious, incident the other week. Two of his friends, both clergymen, came to London when Spurgeon was at tlic height of his power, and heard him in si groat .hall—-not tho Metropolitan Tabernacle. They had to be content With corner seats ,in the top gallery, and they said' afterwards that, though they were enthusiastic admirers of Spurgeon, they were quite unmoved l>y his sermon. They listened coldly and critically, yet they maintained that .i.s they looked on the vast audience below they saw a /.one within which Spurgeon made himself felt, and beyond which his influ'encc did not extend. l)r Adams c.vlls this " a tempting phenomenon/'- and wonders whether one's personality can only extend' a certain distance from one's person. Parliamentary speakers, however, told him the other day they thought it resulted from the mere fact that the men were abore the, level of the preacher.

RETIRED BY HAY FEVER. The London " Sketch" lias the following note with regard to the projected retirement of Lord D.enmau: — " It has been heard with considerable regret that Lord Denman, who lias been (iovcrnor-General of Australia since 1911, is about to retire owing to ill-health, and it is said that this illhealth is represented by that very trying complaint, hay-fever. According to tlio Birmingham 'Post,' Lord Deunian, who is not forty until November, has suffered for many years from hay fever, ' which is very discomforting in slightly high temperatures, or when the aroma of flowers permeates a room. When Lord Dennnin became Colonel of the Gentlemen-at-Arms, flowers were always conspicuous by their absence from the dinner-table at the mess. As sure 9$ could be, if a vase of .flpwers were near him, he would be seized with an attack of sneering. At Baleombo Place, his Sussex seat, it was not au unusual thing for him ta retire to the cool of the cellars of the house whenever, the hay fever< symptoms catno upon him. He. would spend hours theve reading, until the fever had subsided.' "

WOODROW "WILSQX. AVhen "Woodrow "Wilson became President of the world's greatest republic his enemies asserted that he was a weak man, but'. lie has already given proof of his strength—a real strength in that it displays his individuality and his power of winning tributes even frdnl thinkers in other lands. His actum in regard to the Panama, tolls elicited world-wide admiration and unstinted approval. Some likened h to that of Lincoln and others, while it was also compared with Roosevelt s to the disparagement of the latter. But Roosevelt never did understand the real secret of strength and could never develop into "a still, strongman via a. blatant, land," -:Hk cwaa-siwjasi.

more of the demagogue than of the statesman, and already his reputation is chiefly duo to tho fact thnt like Nimrod of old, ho is a mighty hunter. He lamentably failed to fulfil his promises, and during his rule the. Trusts bee nine stronger than ever. A 1 ready President. Wilson lias the satisfaction of knowing thnt the nations of the earth approve- of his action in collection with the great Canal, and that his tariff legislation has inflicted n hoary blow on the Trusts.

FKEXCH AVIATION SERVICE. Extraordinary revelations have been made in tho French Senato in the course of an interpellation by Senator Emile Reymoiid, from which it is learned thut young officers and recruits who are specially fitted for aviation are systematically barred from it, and others, on the contrary, who have no aptitude for the service whatever, have the greatest facilities in entering it. Senator Hevmond is the mast competent man in tho Senate to speak on aviation. Me is an excellent pilot himself, and has made flights i from Paris to his constituency in tbo South. His comparative review of the condition of aviation and of the airship service in tho French and German. Armies is particularly interesting. Ho says: —" Germany possesses fourteen dirigibles, of which soven are Zeppelin airships, capable of being used as destroyers. France has, only seven dirigibles. The German dirigibles have motors of 600 h.p. and 800 h.p. Tho German airships have a speed of 80 to j ( J5 kilometres (about fifty to sixty miles) an hour; the French airships scarcely have a speed higher than 45 kilometres per hour, and only one of them can attain a speed of 55 kilometres per hour. Seven of the German destroyers are powerfully armed and can be used effectively in offensive operations. They can each carry twenty-five persons, in addition to a crew of twelve men and eight tons of weight, together with one ton and a half of' ammunition. They have already thrown projectiles of 010 kilos without slackening their speed, and they are about to make experiments to throw projectiles of 800 kilos. On tlio other hand, they are provided also wit-h means, of protection. Tlio car is supplied with'-machine guns, and on top of the balloon there is a gangway supplied with machine guns that can fire 600 shots a 'minute." M. Raymond's denunciation of military routine is no doubt in a large measure justified., but it may be said that it is a grievance, not only in the French Armv, hut the world over. In spite of M. Reymond's statements, it must not b.e taken lor granted that French military aviation is defunct, or even behind'that of any other nation. ' At the last manoeuvres, in 1913, thp aerial Squadrons rendered excellent and even brilliant service, and the information they supplied ,to the opposing commanders was such as to transform entirely the strategic character of tlio campaign.

REMINISCENCES. .. The Napier " Telegraph'» indulges in reminiscences Some time ago Sir Joseph Ward, was in office. A ' lieform " meeting was being held to condemn him, Parliament being sitting at the time. A prominent supporter of Mr Massey was addressing the meeting on the corruption and general wickedness of the-Lierals. Wlifen the meeting was nicely Avarmed up somebody shouted " Let's march to the House." The gathering poured itself into the street. its numbers were there swelled by other rowdies, and in a trice a yelling army was marching upon Parliament House. Rapid warning was given by telephone. • The gates of the' House grounds were shut. A small body of constables were rapidly got together, with some of the Permanent Force to assist. The mob tried to scale the fences, and had to bs beaten back with batons. It was, in short, a disgraceful riot. The " Dominion " did not/ condemn this. It found in it a growing. proof ; of the righteous; indignation of the people against Yuirdism. Then, later, Sir Joseph Ward resolved upon a trip to England, is thero any need lor us to recount i how an anti-Ward mob invaded the wharl, in spite of hastily erected barricades and a strong force of police, ' and shouted out its intention of throwing Sir Joseph W.-ird into the harbour. Did the "Dominion" condemn this? On"the contrary,, it found in it yet, another proof of the 'righteous indignation of a befooled people. Later there was a general election. A howling mob surrounded Sir Joseph Ward, his wife and some of his family in the public streets, and followed him, raving, and threatening, to the vfery gate of his ministerial residence, which only with great difficulty lie entered uninjured, assisted by the police. Did the " Dominion " condemn this? On the contrary, the signs of the tinles were again illustrating the virtuous .refusal of a.vast body of citizens to be any longer beguiled by a shaiti Liberalism. So, according to the "Dominion," it seems that if " Red Feds " are rowdy, they are criminals, but if an anti-Liberal mob is more rowdy, more violent, it is—to its own words, "quite another matter."