THE VOICE OF THE PRESS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19827, 29 April 1927, Page 10

THE VOICE OF THE PRESS

WHAT THE PAPERS ARE SAYING

BRITISH INDUSTRY. There has come a general conviction at Home thiat Britain is by no means upon her last legs, nor are' her sons less efficient than formerly. Those who have gone to America and taken part in the great industries there', the Australian delegation found, were well in the lead as the most efficient workmc'n. Hampered as Britain has been by disordered financial systems hbroad and internal strife at home, she finds she has to make a tremendous struggle to regain her lost tradd. But to her credit she is doing it, and her people are realising that great things can be accomplished if labour and capita] but bury the hatchet. An strap a and New Zealand, once they accept the same solid truth, must undoubtedly move forward to greater and greater prosperity. —Poverty Blay Herald. THE TOTAUSATOB SHRINKAGE. Totalisator investments show a progressive decline in Auckland, and the same thing is happening in Canterbury. If this were an indication of a slaner attitude on the part of the people it would be all to the good, but candour compels the admission that, so far as betting with the totalisator is concerned, New Zealanders arc really no more moral than they used to be. What has happened is that the community has suffered a shortage of ready money, And this has been reflected in the totalisator returns. In the bulk, moreover, the reduction is due' to the curtailment of the resources of laxge “punters.” It has been a common remark in Christchurch that men accustomed to bet in fifties have had to be content with tens and even singles, and simultaneously no doubt there has been a more modest disposition on the part of the general public.—Christchurch Star. LEARNING FROM AMERICA. There is much, in America’s business methods for the business men. of Britain to learn, and much, in the methods of American Labour which British unions might copy to advantage, and it is a very hopeful sign that representatives of both classes arc endeavouring to inlake this knowledge available A British Industrial Mission will soon be reporting on lhe results of its investigations of American conditions. The Australian Mission must also be near the completion of its task. A

country in which the employers believed in high wages and the Labour Unions recognise the dependence of high wages on increased production and “the right of the employer to manage his industry, to control it, and to receive a fair profit from his investment,” is surely a 1 better subject for imitation than for ignorant and envious detraction.— Evening Post (Wellington). A COSTLY POLICY. The Prime Minister is dragged in because on the evidence of his own eyes and cars he condemned the Dairy Board’s policy, and to charge him with, responsibility for the ultimate misfortune is a gross libel. But the Labour Party inferentially condemns lhe whole course of the Board’s action. With, an assumption of wisdom that it does not possess, and in pursuit of its Communistic phiantasy, the Labour Party lays it down that the only means by which the dairy industry of New Zealand can be put on a sound basis is by co-opcraHvc buying, transport, and distribution. That means, if it means anything, the establishment of co-operative stores all over Britain for the marketing of New Zealand dairy produce. It is a great scheme, but it involves an enormous amount of capital, and no effort is made by its propounders to show where the money is to come from. That is a detail that does not trouble the Conimunistice Labour Party.—Oamaru Mail.

LABOUR RULE. If it were true that the Labour policy is so skilfully designed that it is capable of furnishing tho solution of the problems that, vex society, how is it, it may be asked, that it has not been attended with this beneficial result wherever the party thlat has accepted it has had tho opportunity of putting it into practice? The Australian Com monwealth and several of the Australian States, notably, have had their experience of Labour rule. Yet the problems that admittedly present themselves for solution in New Zealand are' not less perplexing in New South Wales and Queensland than they are here. In Queensland many of the' Labour devices for effecting the economic emancipation of the people have failed miserably. It requires some hardihood on the part of a public spearker, in face of the notorious record of Labourgoverned countries, to make the boast that the Labour Party offers a programme through which the economic evils of the Dominion, including that of unemployment, may be cured.— Otago Daily Times.

THE DAIRY BOARD. It (the Dairy Control Board) was not stampeded by alarmists or outmanoeuvred by Tooley Street intriguers. It was brought up against a stone wall because the men who had been financing its operations, for their own protecton, reduced advances and warned the board that even more substantial reductions might be necessary. They had been told, there would be no reclamations, and naturally declined to stand the losses they believed to be inevitable unless the policy of fixing prices at an uneconomic sales level was reversed. There are the facts, revealed from official corrspondence. The lesson to be drawn is that whatever the board can do to increase returns to the farmer it cannot mould the London market to its will. The sooner those who demand price-fixing at all costs realise what the cost might have been had there not been a retreat in time, the better for the dairy industry, which is now shown to have narrowly escaped from an overwhelming disaster. New Zealand Herald.

NATIVE LANDS.

FIRE RISKS.

OVERDOING THRIFT. To be thrifty with time or money is, no doubt, a good thing; but, like other good things, it is possible to carry it to extremes. The time spent by so many people in reading modern novels, for example, might be put to much better use; but, after all, people must have their relaxation, mentally, as well as physically. Of what earthly use is the saving of a hyphen if one comes to a full stop? Still, the professors will go on telling us how to save our time and energy, whilst wasting their own in ways we could tell them about. It is like the old story of the smoker who was asked by his non-smoking friend how many years he had been a devotee of the fragrant weed. “Thirty,” was the reply. “Thirty years!” exclaimed his friend—“do you know that you might have built a fine stone house with all the money you have spent on smoking?” The smoker quietly lit his pipe, and then he said: “Come and show me your own stone house!” But the friend had spent his money in other ways. And that is the trouble with most people. If they give up writing hypens the chances are that they will balance matters by putting in some extra commas.—Waikato Times.

Some of tho natives have proved themselves good farmers and good workers, and if all made proper use of their lands there would be no call to question the operation of the Treaty of Waitangi, Unhappily such is not the case, and the value of native lands is deteriorating at a more rapid rate every year. Besides the valuable lands that have never been cultivated are now overrun with noxious weeds and rabbits, the holders of a large number of leases which will shortly expire are not conserving the natural fertility of the land, not knowing what their position will be when a fresh valuation is made. This may be a selfish or short-sighted policy on the part of the lessees, but it is human nature. There are scores of reasons why a thorough stocktaking of the position in regard to Maori lands should be undertaken. A commission to carry out that stock-taking can do as much for the Maoris as for tho Europeans. The fact remains that the native-owned lands are dwindling in value; they are a menace to adjoining settlers; and the country is losing a large volume of production owing to these lands being tied up by a treaty which is not alone retarding progress but is a distinct handicap to the farming community—King Country Chronicle (Te Kuiti.)

LABOUR AND THE LAND. The new land policy of the Labour Party, like its predecessor, the “usehold tenure” one, bears unmistakeable traces of amateur craftsmanship in its construction. Coming to details of the new policy, it is simply a re-hash of the old leasehold policy which the Liberal Party inaugurated a generation ago, a policy which did much to break up that party, and one which the leaseholders themselves have reversed whenever the opportunity of acquiring tho freehold came our way. Conservation of Crown Lands is another item in Labour’s new policy which has a familiar sound, but there is nothing to indicate what the new idea of conservatin really amounts, to. The graduated tax on unimproved values, which is also urged, is a system already in force, as is tho power to acquire estates for closer settlement, while the betterment clauses in the new policy give no indication of the manner in which the principle may be applied without injustice to the individual. The whole imposing statement of policy shrivels upon analysis into a collection of ill-digested theories. When tho utmost a party that hopes to govern the country can declare as its policy in regard to unoccupied lands is to urge their development and settlement “by the most advantageous methods” its appalling ignorance of land matters is thoroughly well displayed.—Taranaki Daily News.

The public lias grown to look upon fire as one of the risks which must be taken so long as people live and work in buildings, but if by adopting simple safeguards the risk can be reduced, there is every reason why those whose business it is to study the best means of preventing and fighting the ravages of fire, should be encouraged in their desire to give the public the benefit of tficir experience. This is not a question for the metropolitan centres alone, as the fire losses lor a year demonstrate. In 1924, the latest year for which statistics are given in the Year Book, the gross loss totalled a few thousands over £1,000,000, and the four centres were responsible for only a little over half of that amount. Taken •at their face value, these figures mean that in 1924 the smaller towns of the Dominion suffered damage running into ■half a million through lire, and as it may be taken for granted that the dwellers in the provincial centres are mo more intelligent or careful than those who live in the cities, we may assume that the inspector’s remarks regarding the need for some form of propaganda to awaken the people to the unnecessary risks they run, are as applicable to tho people living in towns of 5000 population as they are to the inhabitants of cities of 1,000,000. If Captain Hugo’s suggestions are acted upon in thn four main centres it will be prol>ably found that the smaller municipalities and fire boards will be more than willing to co-operate in the campaign to spread knowledge of the first principles of fire prevention.— Hawera Star.

lIERE'S A SHAVING SOAP THAT SATISFIES REXONA THE NEW TRIANGULAR STICK. Here is a new idea in Shaving Soap —another Rexona triumph—one this time which will be appreciated by men I wherever beards grow. Rexona Shaving Soap contains the same Oils and Essences which have made Rexona famous the world over, and is made on the Rexona formula and thus makes a Shaving Stick which is a soap and lotion combined. It makes for comfort and hygiene in shaving, and tempers the skin against wind and bad weather. REXONA SHAVING STICK (Medicated) is Rexona Soap specially treated so as to produce a thick, creamy lather, which will soften tho beard, and im prove the skin at the same time. It ri delicately perfumed, and medicated ou the same principle as Rexona, and not only produces a lasting lather, but purifies and leaves the skin in perfect con- i dition. Being an antiseptic Medicate 1 . Soap, it has a tendency to quickly neil ■ any cut you may have the misfortune : to get, and, if troubled with pimples or I blotches of any kind, will daily tond j to remove them. Rexona Shaving Soap, the New Triangular Stick, is sold in pure aluminium containers at 2/-.