HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12761, 3 October 1919, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

“ There is going to be a tremendous move in stock in the Argentine and Brazil in the near future, and we have got to be prepared for it,” said Mr Reynolds at a conference of A. And P. Associations held at Auckland recently. Recently, he said, he had received inquiries from the Argentine for first-grade Lincoln and Romney sheep, second-grade sheep, and flock animals, and dairy Shorthorn bulls. He was able to get the stock easily enough, but could not get the shipping space, and had to reply to that efieet. It was imperative that something be done in this direction, so that we could open up a bigger trade with fc.i3 tw. countries. Armours, lie cmfc'ant'd were erecting m-ezirg winks in Brazil at a cost of £3,000,000, and there should be great possibilities,.for New Zealand in the export of stock to this country and the Argentine. In preparation for a kinematograph production of a drama depicting tho deeds of the Kelly Gang, the Southwell Picture Play Company, of Melbourne, erected a wooden structure in a paddock outside the town of Coburg, to represent the famous Glenrowan Hotel, in which certain members of the ganjr were burnt to death. All was ready for the drama, and on a day allotted tho building was to have been the scene of a desperote encounter between the Kellys and the police, to culminate in the complete destruction of the Glenrowan Hotel by flames. The arrangements, however, were upset by the fire occurring at the wrong end of the drama. In the eatly hours of th 0 morning the scene was to be filmed the building was burnt down. There was evidence of kerosene, having been applied, and it is believed that the fire was* caused by vandals with % perverted sense of humour.

In the course of a lecturing tour in America as a representative of tho British Ministry, Miss Helen Fraser crossed the continent from the Atlantic to tho Pacific, and everywhere she found decided and successful efforts to simplify domestic life. The maid servant is now practically an unknown quantity. Housewives have to do their own work, and so methodical. aro they, and so well supported hy builders, and particularly plumbers, that the task is not so hard as it might appear. According to Miss Fraser, the American plumber is proud of his work, and the consequence of this pride is realised in the home- In a house of six of seven bedrooms there is usually a bathroom for each. In living rooms floors are of parquet or hardwood, with nigs. Miss Fraser does not recall a single carpet covering a floor throu chon t her stay in hotels or private houses where she was a guest. The lack of * the pre-war supply of Scandinavian Insh maids has compelled many an American woman to do the cooking for her establishment; hut the stoves are of the most convenient description —frequently electric ondj J camn*>nlv gas. Where coal is used it is specially prepared for domestic purposes, andrendered much cleaner than in its natural condition. Central heating j n the houses does away with much of’tho dust that has to be cleaned up everyday.

Discussing the relationship of elcc-tric-ity to the domestic service problem and the coal question, Mr W. S. Vernon in a lecture at Auckland said it seemed highly probable that the introduction of electricity to the homo would provide the solution of the present domestic help difficulty, for then the conditions under which the housewife would have to labour would be so much more agreeable that domestic nglp would in many cases become tinnecessary. He mentioned that it now cost approximately £125 a vear tor wages and £SO for keep, an amount winch would go a long way towards buying electric labour-saving devices and electric current. Considering tbe subject from a national point of new, no said it was almost criminal that coai should be burnt in the house at all. Every day large quantities of valuable by-products went up the chimney and were lost. There was, he said, probably enough nitrogen in the form of ammonia wasted in . Auckland alone, through ou r inefficient way of burning coal, to supply a large part of the pro! vmce with nitrogenous manures. This however, was only one by-product, fop there was also tar with its countless derivatives. I n England this was being realised, and .n ,rder to conserve her coal, the source of her wealth large c.e-tnc powerhouses were being fZf• co * 1 , ttus burned in its most efficient form and electric current supplied at reasonable rates.

‘I Employers in the north of England and Scotland are greatly perturbed \nth the industrial unrest, and are afraid that the demands of the workers wall cause them to lose export trade, ’ remarked Mr M’Pherson tho Victorian Treasurer, who returned from America recently “They fear that the factories will have to close down, and that means that their export business will become disorganised. The employers have firmly made up their minds not to do anything vindictive in the way of a lockout, fearing that such action would bring about a revolution They realise, too. that the workers’ conditions can never revert to what they were before the war. The manufaoturers point out that, should tho worst come, and they are forced to close down, the workers will then realise the seriousness of the position, and eventually set to work to produce on unprecedented lines. To regain lost trade, however, the manufacturers say, is an entirely different proposition to securing new business. It is much more difficult.”

The loss of tonnage during the war owing to the submarine campaign has had the effect of enormously stimulating efforts of ship builders to replace the missing vessels. Freights are still high, but the rate at which ships are now being built should ensure an ample supply of carriers for the world’s commerce within a reasonable period. In the TJnitetf States particularly has attention been paid to the work of producing more tonnage with all possible The following extract from Export,” an American trade journal," gian idea of the thorough way in which the work has been undertaken. In September, 1917, Hog Island, just south of Philadelphia Navy Yard, was a vast swamp. As a result of the war that island to-day is,the sit© of tho greatest shipyard in th© world, where 30,000 men are employed, and fifty mammoth shipways line ‘the river solidly fee more than a mile. JBeyond these are another mile of docks, where vessels receive th© machinery and finishing S touches. Back of the ways and the docks a magical city has been built. Six hundred uniformed policemen guard, the plant, and bands furnish music at all hours of the day. The whole of this great transition work has been done under the administration of Air Charles M. Schwab. In the construction of Hog Island twelve million cubic feet of tinw her were used, and there are seven piers, each 1000 ft in length, stretching into the Delaware. Seventy-five miles of railway are required to reach all parts of th© yard. All this has been accomplished in two years on what, on September 15, 1917, was a morass of tangled weeds', mud, and stagnant water. »

The few British firms who manufactured typewriters before the war are now making big efforts to produce sufficient machines for the home demand' which is very large- Before the war about 95 per cent of the typewriters came from America. The war has in many ways' assisted British firms who turned their energies to making ma-chine-gun parts. “ For this purpose,” said _ the manager of a British typewriting firm, “it was necessary to increase our plant to a very large degree. In doing this we had in view a return to our pre-war work, and wo are now in a position to start manutypewriters on a vary large