The Star. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12055, 10 July 1917, Page 4

The Star. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

THE TRAMWAYS. 'The movement which is afoot to hold 'a "stop work" meeting of tramway employees on Sunday morning, is, to think, a. mistaken one, and the men and the union to which they belong will be well advised if they at once take steps to put an end to the proposal. .We have no doubt but the men havte : grievances—there are, indeed, few classes of the community which work under ideal conditions —but the method proposed to improve the position is -i primitive one and is not such as will appeal to the general public. A " stop work " meeting on Sunday wo r ald have the effect of holding tip the whole sys- . tern for a couple of hours or more, to the- great inconvenience of the travelling public, and such procceedinga would unquestionably antagonise a large section of the community, thereby possibly raising up barriers against the improvement of the conditions of which the men complain. Although bearing another name, a " stop work " meeting is in reality a strike, inasmuch as it lias precisely the same effect as far as the public are concerned, and it is acknowledged by the intellectual leaders of Labour in all countries that the strike method of settling disputes is a disastrous one. Only a few days ago there was published in th 0 newspapers 6ome illuminative figures showing tho loss of time and wages resulting from .* strikes in the Commonwealth during the past year, and it has yet to be shown, , ; .-that strikes undertaken without sufficient reason, have in the end ever proved beneficial to those instrumental in . bringing them about. We do not contend that the conditions as to hours or wages under which the employees of the Tramway Board perform their services are ideal—tjie millennium is still ft vista of the far distant future—but „ methods are provided for bringing the ; pen's views under the notice of *he

board, for removing grievances, and for improving conditions. We have yet to learn that the Tramway Board is not prepared to sympathetically considor the position of the employees, and as members are elected by tho people using the cars and are in daily contact with the large and efficient staff which, runs the system, we think the employees should pursue other methods than those now suggested. The employees of the board have every right to make representations regarding wages and hours of work to that body, and the chairman has declared the readiness of the board over which he so ably presides to meet the representatives of the union in conference and discuss the whole question of the conditions under which the work of running the service is conducted. Knowing the members of tho board as we do, wo feel satisfied that ; if tho men will adopt this course they will receive a "square deal." It may I be that tho financial position of tho board will not allow members to do all they would like to improve the working conditions of the staff—it will be remembered that the surplus on last year's operations, considering the large amount of capital involved, was much smaller than would moot with the approval of the ...directors of a private company—and maybe a substantial advance in wages may be out of the question at present. However, we feci tfiiro that if the employees adopt a constitutional course, and abandon the bludgeon tactics which have been suggested, they will be well advised. Wo hope to hear within the next few day 3 that the proposed "stop work" meeting has been abandoned, and that the employees har e decided to adopt other means of bringing their grievances before the members of the Tramway Board. FOOTBALL AND BETTING. Betting on football matches was, i'n the past, confined to a modest, side wager between friends and was looked upon more as a joke than a means of making money. But. judging by tho open remarks mndo at the LinwoodAlerivale A match on Saturday last, the modest {shilling has been supplanted by the moro overbearing sovereign, and the attitude of those who indulge in this vice has become correspondingly objectionable. Open boast was made that a score by the team they fancied made their money sure, while tho advice given by those who looked liko losing their money wa s calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. That the evil exists has been known for some time, but it was kept so quiet that to the great majority of the spectators it was'as good a* non-existent. Lately it has made little or no apology for its appearance, and in some cases has become openly blatant. Not only is it confined to tho play of grade matches, but from tho most reliable source information comes that it is sometimes openly practiced at the primary school games. Our informant states that he heard men surrounded by schoolboys openly betting on tho results of the hoys' panics. There can be no excuse for the evil among men, but to transfer their nefarious practices whore they can Influence children i.s nothing short of criminal. For these pariahs -iiwappear before a magistrate -and t'cV 'receive a salutary lesson from a subs.tautijd term of imprisonment is a .result -hoped for by every citizen of healthy mind and morals. DiiFcrenec of opinion may arise as to the extent, that players are influenced by the betting on the matches. Whether the outbreak of ruffianism that characterised some of the matches this season ha s been tho result of somp of tho players having "something oil" would be very difficult to prove, but it would be easy jind fairly safe to assume that the financial risks of the gambling parasites of clubs have helped to stir up unsportsmanlike feelings among -the players themselves. If the half-demented appearance of some of tho loud-mouthed section at last Saturday's Linwood-Mcrivnle match could be taken as an indication of their mental state, one would not be surprised at them encouraging murder for the sake of half-a-crown. That the majority of tho players are free from any suspicion of gambling on the matches will be readily accepted by all, but there are disquieting rumours of the " load " carried by one or two players of promtrent teams. There may be little truth in tho rumours, and whether the establishment of the fact that some members of teams do gamble on the result accounts for the rough play is somewhat problematical. Certain reams have a natural antipathy to one another that can be traced to other sources than betting, and" r ' playin'g the man" h the dominant idea when they meet .solely on account of this hostility. To analyse this difference and to state it in plain words would be sufficient to make sensible men ashamed of their childishness, but the feud Is kept alive by deep curses and muttered t-h'reatenings that take form in bodily violence on the football field. It is tho duty of the police to make somo efforts to free Ikigby football of the presence of the undesirables who make betting on matches an open practice. The Kughy Union has jurisdiction over its players only, and to make rumour into certainty is a difficult matter. Still, it would be well advised to make some inquiries, and endeavour to discover whether players are guilty of gambling on tho results of the Saturday games. To sheet home specific charges against individuals would not be easy, but the well-wishers, of the game and the public generally would feel reassured were, tho union to tako some active steps to combat what is now recognised as a growing evil. It needs no inspired prophet to state what results must follow in any athletic sport where betting plays any prominent part. Activity on the part of the Rugby Union at this stage may act as a deterrent and prevent the evil from assuming alarming prominence. REPRISALS. The half-hearted methods which have characterised the British policy in respect of aerial warfare will surely be revised as the result of the latest enemy raid upon London. The insistent demand for reprisals has reached a height that no Government can ignore. Tho country will no longer be satisfied with the usual evasive Ministerial replies to questions, nor will it becdntent with tho customary Ministerial declaration that the anti-aircraft defences are being placed on an effective

footing. Tlie audacity of the enemy attack upon the capital betokened a. contempt for the British defences and a belief, apparently, that the amazingly long-suffering British would continue- to refrain from measures of vengeance. The- extraordinary reluctance of the Government to exact a- fitting punishment for such raids has very evidently bred in. Germany a conviction that Britain never will be roused to reprisals, and the; silly utterances of dignitaries of the Church a.nd of certain members of Parliament have strengthened and confirmed this belief. Much of the British opposition t*> reprisals had- its origin in the ability of some speakers and writers to distinguish between tha reckless slaughter of women and children and the destruction of places of military importance. They have imagined, seemingly, that an air raid of vengoance would necessarily involve a murderous attack upon civilians and undefended towns. Military leaders, howover, whoso advice alone should bo taken at this time and who arc the only people thoroughly qualified to express an opinion, strenuously advocate the bombing of enemy strongholds, garrison towns and munition works as an indispensable branch of warfare. The French have shown us the enormous value of skilfully directed measures of air reprisal. They harbour no foolish scruples about the uso of bombs on the foe; their airmen are no more skilful or courageous than ours, but they are permitted an even freer hand in the air than the Navy is permitted at sea, and they achieve results which should stimulate their tardy ally to similar enterprise. An example of the thoroughness with which the French execute these aerial dashes of revengewas supplied in our cable messages yesterday. Eighty-four machines engaged in a series of brilliant operations on Friday night in the enemy country, as reprisals for the . German bombardments. Some of them penetrated hundreds of milts into Germany, attacking towns and military establishments and dropping many tons of bombs. One daring aeronaut bombed the Krupp i.works at Essen, which are reported to have suffered considerably, and elsewhere great military damage was inflicted. This is an example of the enormous importance of carrying tho air war into tho enemy's territory, and we may well imagine that such raids frequently repeated and in great force would appreciably help to shorten the war. Tt is assuredly time thatl the British entered as earnestly and thoroughly into the aerial campaign as they have into the war by land and water, nnd extracted the maximum of military utility from the Flying Corps. The hour fortunately appe.ir-s to be at' hand when the commanders will be released from tho crippling interdict imposed by an utterly mistaken notion of philanthropy toward* an unscrupulous, murderous antagonist, and will be permitted the opportunity to put in execution tho greatly reeded measures of righteous vengeance upon the enemy. AMERICA AND IRELAND. The sentiment in the United States, so largely peopled by Irishmen, is practically unanimously in favo'ar of Home Rule for Ireland, and the latest mail advices contain many references to the strong ffoling which prevails in America that Britain should not let slip the present opportunity for settling the troubles of the so long misgoverned country. A British correspondent in New York, writing to a leading London newspaper, says that after sounding American opinion in many quarters, he is ablo to declare confidently that the people of the United States, from President Wilson down, feel tho present is the time for solving the Irish problem, not only in Ireland's interests, but in the general interests of the Allies and specifically in the interests of the most effective- possible help by America in tho war. " Until the Dublin revolt 90 per cent of the Irish in America," he writes, " were ardent supporters of the Allies, but after that event they adopted a passive- attitude | of tolerance toward Sinn Fein activities. They did not sympathise with those activities, but they felt that they were excusable or explicable, and they refused to denounce them. They called themselves pro-French, but- antiBritish and anti-German. T happen to know of one pro-Ally Irishman who tried to indue© leading Irishmen throughout the country to sign a manifesto accusing of treason tho.se of their race who were associating themselves with German intrigues and plots. His efforts were in vain, not because the vast majority of pro-French Irishmen did not abhor the pro-German conspiracies of the Sinn Feiners, but because they were profoundly disgusted and disappointed by the aftermath of the Dublin rebellion. Politically the Irish are one of th e most powerful voting factors of the Democratic Party. They control New York and New England, to mention but two of their strongholds. They constitute on G of the great living prejudices to which the Hearst newspapers cater. Yet with the exception of the small body of Sinn Feiners they are all solidly in favour of war." The correspondent, after describing some of the methods which the Germans have skilfully and unscrupulously used in turning Irishmen's feelings against the British Government, says that, happily, the activity of tho panGermans is now virtually at au end; and if Irish animosity to Britain were now to be abated by a process of conciliation the cause of Britain and her Allies would be helped forward enormously. " All resentment would disappear," he believes, "if the present/ golden hour were employed for the settlement of tho Irish problem. I have been approached not onco but many times during the past few weeks by Irishmen who eloquently inquire why we cannot in this supremo hour in tho fate of the world do the big, generous-hearted thing: in a dramatic way that would fill with enthusiasm every section of the American people, with tho exception of the Germans, and make them welcome without scruple or misgiving a still closer co-operation between tho British Empire and tho United States for the purposes of tho war. Americans who are without bias in the Irish matter are profoundly conscious of tho benefits that would accrue to their own nation from a [settlement of the Irish question.' While

many of the. Irish-Americans think they are especially endowed with the qualities of statesmanship to decide how th 0 question shall he solved, these unbiassed Americans do not ttrge counsels of perfection. They realise that perfection is impossible of attainment and would he satisfied with any solution which was even temporarily satisfactory to the Irish people,." These, timely words should not be lost upon English statesmen and English writers, and shoMld particularly be home in mind by the anti-Home Rule members of the convention now about to open in Ireland.