The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1934. PETTY PATRONAGE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20454, 6 November 1934, Page 6

The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1934. PETTY PATRONAGE.

O MATTER what party is in office in general or local politics, patronage and nepotism will creep in. The other day the Rev J. Iv. Archer complained of tlie pressure that was brought to bear on men like himself to favour the appointment to civic office of unqualified persons, and it will require a very firm stand to eliminate these abuses and the graver abuses that may grow out of them. The London Labour Party is to be commended upon its determination that no councillor’s father, son or daughter shall be eligible for any office or situation within the gift or appointment of any council, nor enter a contract to do any work directly or indirectly for the council. It takes some courage to come to a decision that may disqualify persons highly trained for sucli office, but the decision is a healthy sign of the times, and to the extent to which political parties or candidates pledge themselves to purify public affairs in this manner they may expect increasing support from the masses. It is regrettable, in that connection, that the Christchurch City Council did not agree last night, if not to set up a formal tribunal of inquiry, at least to grant the fullest publicity to any allegations that Councillor Armstrong or others might formally lodge. The council may require guidance as to the propriety or impropriety of actions which it now regards as innocent.

THE KING’S BROADCASTS.

' 1 'HERE is something dignified, and in keeping with British tradition, in the simple declaration of the Lord Chamberlain that the King’s voice must not be made commonplace by broadcasting. The message sounds a trifle crude if not snobbish on a first reading. Actually, it represents a proper valuation of the kingly office, honestly expressed. The King, in effect, says that on great occasions he will broadcast to his subjects, but for institutes of architects and other sectional groups he will not claim the deference of the listening public. The decision, incidentally, will give the King less restraint in speech and action on these minor occasions, but its real importance lies in the emphasis it lays on the high value that must always be placed on those great occasions when the King has a direct message for his subjects.

FASHION AND FITNESS.

'T'HE CHARM of the ladies in their silks and lace gowns at the races makes one forget what would otherwise appear to be an almost spartan hardihood in chill cast winds that would have made their grandmothers take refuge in flannel petticoats. And one may reasonably assume that the slenderising fashions of to-day are an indirect result of the cult of the open air. Time was when women wrapped themselves in shawls before the gentlest zephyrs, but that was before sunbathing. It is a long step away from those fainting dolorous days, but fashion, apparently capricious in her frequent changes, has of late years impressed more women with the desit ability of physical fitness than medical education unadorned would ever have accomplished.

STRATEGIC VALUES.

OIR C. KINGSFORD SMITH did I not need his last and most amazing flight to America to vindicate the claim of his friends that hi 1 is the world’s foremost airman. One cannot help feeling tiiat he was forced into this audacious adventure by the curious ill-nature of his critics. Indeed, Australia has lost -something of the splendour of the glory that should naturally attach to her by the heroism of one of her sons through a tardy recognition of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s merits. If he had been an American he would not have had to wait so long for rewards which a wideawake Government would have bestowed upon him in the interests of national aviation. In fact, his latest achievements arc of chief concern to America, which is vitally interested in the Pacific basin.