THOUGHTLESS WASTE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 259, 2 November 1932, Page 6

THOUGHTLESS WASTE

NEW ZEALAND’S HABITS SOME ENGLISH ANOMALIES ■IMR. K. McILVRIDE INTERVIEWED 'I .... . ? H ‘ 'l'oughtless waste of materials . I is tar more prevalent in New Zealand I I- a . n , ”* s * n observed Mr. I Keith Mcllvridc. of Wanganui, when speaking to a “Chronicle” representa- , |.ive last evening. Mr. Mellvride haa ’ ?i? L ’ n a isn ’ l ' from the Dominion during . the past, five years. He spent the majority of that time in England where he passed the qualifying examination lor Associate Membership of the Institute ot Electrical Engineers. He also travelled extensively in England and Scotland and on the Continent. “In England everything that can possibly be used up is carefully colected and even tram tickets are not thrown away to drift around the streets as they are in New Zealand. On the other hand, they are collected when the passenger leaves a ear or bus, placed in a box and collected to be made into more tickets. Cigarette butts are used to make smoking material for the poorer people and so on. There are dozens of instances of this class of saving which I could give you,” he ontinned. Iho other day I noticed an irjn spike rusting away uselessly in a telegraph pole, while a few yards further |on I came upon a pile of bricks which nad been left to gather moss. These are two cases which would be regarded as waste in England. Both the spike an< the bricks would be collected and utilised. While this thrift is more pronounced in England than in this country it is carried to even greater lengths on the Continent. The Swiss are particularly careful and the habit has resulted in their becoming the richest country per head of population in the world.” A Contrast. The contrast between the saving of small materials as compared with ih» apparent waste of the larger was pointed out by Mr. Mellvride when he retererd to the giant airship RlOO. Th s huge vessel, which, he says, cost nearer nnn )o ?’ o0 ° than tho est imated £1,009.000, has been stored in its hangar ever since the disastrous flight of the RlOl, Rinn h i‘ CraS - he<l in v France - The airship KlOO lie a in its hangar and is kept in n pair by a large staff of mechanics whose duty it is to see that the shin does not deteriorate. Opinions still differ in England as to whether a policy of promoting an airslMp service should be continued, says Mr. Mcllvridc. Ono section is firmlv convinced that England should not continue while the other contends to the contrary. As the weight of the argument is almost equally balanced the position is really at a deadlock, Rloo testing undisturbed in its hangar evidence of the fact. Mooring masts erected in various parts of the world at a cost of many thousands of pounds each have never been utilised. Efficient Air Force. Although numerically Great Britain’s air strength ranks only fourth in the world Mr. Mellvride is of the opinion that it leads the world in efficiency, both in the design of its machines and the training of its pilots. The men in the Royal Air Force are put through a thorough course of training over h period of five years, and arc most capable airmen. The training includes mimic warfare in the air, in which bombing planes, carrying as many as 42 men. arc used. A counter attack is carried out by machines which can travel at the maximum speed of 300 miles an hour. So efficient are the machines that orders have been received for th?m from foreign countries. In the event of war breaking out Britain’s air strength could quickly be built up to take the first rank. Commercial aviation, says Air- Mellvride, has not made advances in England in the same way as it has in Australia, for instance. All the planes used in the commercial service at Home are built in such a manner that they can be converted into lighting machines should the occasion arise.

Leading aviation authorities are dealing with methods for repelling uud countering attacks from the air and much useful data has been store.) up as a result of recent “warfare,’’ which took place over London. It is thought th..:, future cities will be designed on I'a?.- that will be both offensive and uefinsive. Houses will be built r<» allow aircraft to descend on them and also be fitted with an armour which can be damped on the roofs in the event a raid Building Held Up. Mr. Mellvride referred to the delay in completion of the 72,000-ton liner which had been commenced in John Brown s yards on the Clyde with a view to regaining the blue riband uf the Atlantic, until recently held by England but now possessed by Germany. It is estimated that the huge vessel will cost in the vicinity of £6,000,000. It was hoped that the Government would assist by subsidising the cost of building it but this had been refused and present economic conditions had resulted in the Cunard Company being handicapped in the construction of the great vessel The hull lies in the dockyard and requires an army of 250 men to be constantly attending to it to prevent deterioration. The work of deepening the Clyde, which had been carried out in order to allow the ship to be launched, was abandoned as soon a* work on the vessel stopped and the whole plan is now more or less in abeyance. Qualifications Essential. ' ‘ Qualifications are regarded as essential when applying for a position in England,” he said. It was almost hopeless to obtain a position of standing without them. He instanced the case of three men aged 60 years who, in spite of the fact that they were to retire on superannuation in live years’ time, had been told that unless they obtained their qualifications they would be dismissed and would receive a lower return in superannuation than if they had completed their service. Two of them succeeded but one failed. Another middle-aged niun, with a family of three children had sat for an examination live times and had not sue* ccedcd in his ambition until the sixth attempt. New Zea laud, he says, is regarded in a highly favourable light in England and the country and its people are well spoken of. He met many people who were very anxious to visit New Zealand and to see for themselves the scenic beauties for which it is so well-known.