The Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1925. MR J. L. GARVIN’S WARNING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17647, 21 September 1925, Page 6

The Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1925. MR J. L. GARVIN’S WARNING.

Political events in the Old Country are likely to become ' Ol - v interesting in view of the remarkable compromise made by the Baldwin Ministry in the coal crisis, a compromise that has been hailed by the miners and trade unionists generally as a complete victory for strike methods. And the amusing part of it, from a Liberal point of view, is that the Government’s best friends, like the “Morning PostA have become so utterly disgusted with what they regard as a climb-down to Labour that there is a distinct possibility of Mr Baldwin’s deposition. Mr J. L. Garvin, in the “ Observer,” has been sounding a friendly warning that the country s first faith in the present Government has gone, and that if developmental work on a very large scale is not undertaken by this Government, ihe Liberal and Labour forces will step in and carry it out. The position of the Government is distinctly unenviable. What it has agreed to is a subvention in aid of wages during the nine months ftom August 1 to May 1. Wages in this period will be paid on the. basis ol a 1924 agreement, and the arrangement is equivalent to a guarantee of wages and profits, to operate while the problem of the future organisation is discussed. This subsidy plan, which has been described by Mr Lloyd ileoige as the wildest and most foolish commitment ever made by any Government, has the one outstanding demerit that it provides a precedent for subsidies to other industries, and already a subsidy for agriculture has been asked for, and the suggestion is being made that an extra duty of a penny should be placed on beer to pay for the coal tax. As things are at Home, too, a similar claim might well be made lor the iron trade and for ship-building and engineering. Certainly, a stoppage in the coal industry would have been one of the greatest misfortunes that could have befallen Britain, but the danger has been so .long foreseen that the Government is being blamed, quite rightly, for its failure to look ahead and to take suitable action, instead of waiting until it was stampeded into a policy that apparently is only going to postpone the evil day. The great weakness of its position is that it has no guiding principle, and no safeguard against the spread of the subsidy system.' If half as much interest could be aroused in the general health ol the community as is aroused periodically about the conditions of prisoners at Paparua—men who, for the ?uost part, are living under far healthier conditions than they have ever known before—there would soon he a rapid diminution in the statistics of disease and a general toning up in the health of the individual. Those who have launched Health Week to-day are following the example set a few years ago in the Old Country, where the need for educating the public in health „ matters has long been recognised. I nfortunately, there are many factors that tend to shorten life, particularly in the big cities, where the speed of living brings high nervous tension without giving the bodily exercise that was enjoyed by our ancestors. The motor-car, which may have a very adverse effect on the health of the community on account of the growing unpopularity of walking that it begets, has the advantage of taking people out into the open air and inducing a spirit of healthy recreation that they might otherwise lack. But, for all that, the motor-car represents one of the easy forms of living, and there is need to guard against its seductions. A very interesting note on this subject was recently made by Dr C. .T. Gcddes, secretary of the American Osteopathic Association, at the annual conference in London. “ Since we evolved from our tree ancestors,” said Dr Gcddes, “ and insisted on proudly walking on our hind legs we have had many troubles. When we had to spring and struggle for food and existence, exercising regularly every muscle and tissue of the body, we got along very well. But now we must have air cushion jobs. We seek the soft places in life. Wc ride instead of walk, have things brought to us on a platter and take our ease. The result is that part of file circulation is caught and the drainage interfered with. In certain parts stagnant zones are formed, fluids hardly move, and toxins gather. These poisons stimulate the normal cells to abnormal growth, and there you have the -beginning of ulcers, tumours, and cancers.”