The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. Gloucester Street and Cathedral Square CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26. 1930. NOT A LIVE ISSUE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19237, 26 November 1930, Page 8

The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. Gloucester Street and Cathedral Square CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26. 1930. NOT A LIVE ISSUE.

Tramway management has never been a live issue in Christchurch, and the election tomorrow is notable rather for a Labour attempt to capture control of the tramways, as part of the policy of local and general control in politics, than for the production by either side of a definite policy. The Question of a rate or no rate is being freely discussed in relation to the popularising of the trams, but' overshadowing all considerations of profit and loss is the certainty that sooner or later, nonpaying tramway lines will have to be scrapped in favour of more modern methods, and in the meantime the best hope of success with the services at the disposal of the board lies in close attention to the minutiae of management, and particularly to a reform of the timetable. The financial difficulties of the system have been caused by outlying lines that should never have been brought into the general system except under special rating areas, and it is unfortunate that the Tramway Board has never taken steps to restore or create such special rating areas in the interests of the general ratepayer, who would have to bear the burden if a rate were struck under the present circumstances. Nevertheless, the policy of the present board in disembarrassing itself of the most hopelessly unpayable lines is a sound one, and by following that policy it will be possible, gradually, to effect the transformation in transport methods that must come sooner or later. WOOL PRICES. 'T'HE DEPRESSING TONE of the opening wool sale of the season is a painful reminder of the dependence of New Zealand and Australia on world prices as far as primary products are concerned, and it is difficult to predict the course of prices in the remaining wool sales in view of the lack of confidence in the wool market. Yesterday’s prices again emphasise a fact that is of great interest in connection with the threat on wages, namely, that retail prices of woollen manufactures have not come down in sympathy with wholesale prices, and that the “worker of New Zealand should not be raided as far as his wages are concerned so long as he is paying peak prices for clothing and other necessities. RADIO TELEPHONES. / ■ ■'HE OPENING of a radio telephone service between Australia and New Zealand is another evidence of the remarkable progress of this age in transport and communications, for it is certain that just as the telephone is superseding the cablegram, so the aeroplane must supersede the steamship. And yet wireless telephony in one sense will reduce the amount of business travelling, particularly between distant countries, and from that point of view the comparatively high cost of the service may be defensible. The next question, however, is the efficiency of the service. The public will gladly pay £3 fpr a three minutes’ conversation with Australia, but not if two minutes in three are occupied in frantic efforts to make oneself heard. 'PEACHERS’ LEAVE. 'T'HE POSITION in regard to the sick leave of teachers in primary schools is still far from satisfactory, even in the light of the explanation offered to-day. If a business firm had one employee in every thirty-three absent for a week or more in every month of the year, it would view the position with the gravest concern. The president of the New Zealand Educational Institute, who supplies the amended figure for the Dominion, should realise, too, that if an employer had already given his employees ten weeks’ holiday in the year on full pay, he would consider such a sick list absolutely indefensible on any ground. It will be noted that Mr Penlinglon’s figures, in themselves, are incomplete, for they refer to persons who have a minimum of one week’s sick leave, whereas there must he many who are absent for a whole month. And he tells us nothing about those who are absent for less than a week.