THE PASSING SHOW.

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14770, 8 October 1921, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE PASSING SHOW.

COMMENT AND CRITICISM. (By Free Lance). The Government is facing the problem of economy, and it has adopted a course to which it is apparently ruaking no exemptions. The flat has gone forth that those men who have had 40 years’ service in Stale employ are to be superannuated, and they are being dispensed with in large numbers. It is economy by rule-of-thumb method, but I doubt if it will prove satisfactory cither to the public or the Department, for it means tlic loss of many flrst-class, experienced officers. * * ♦ ♦ Forty years is a long period cf service, but it docs not necessarily follow that the man who has rendered it Sis aged and incapable. It is possible for a man to have the record to his Credit, and yet be well under three /score, and as age goes now GO is comparatively young; certain it is that 11 1 ore are many over that age whose powers arc unimpaired and are menially alert and vigorous, while they arc quite capable of turning to good account the experience they have gained, thus placing it as an asset to '.the credit of Hie country. I am credibly informed that the economy campaign will mean the early loss of some of the ablest officers in the Public Service—men who are fit for another 10 years’ efficient work —and it docs not appeal to me as sound economy to dispense with tried and efficient servants when they are at the heyday of their usefulness.

That the Public Service is overstaffed I am fully persuaded, and I believe that the number on the payroll could be substantially reduced, and al Hie same lime improve the service; but tlic most effective way to accomplish ttiat would be by weeding out Hie incompetents, of whom there arc many in tlic service, as those who arc in close touch with the various Slate departments know to their cost.

A correspondent writes; "When a query is addressed lo a railway official concerning Hie time for Hie departure of a train, it is reasonable to expect a correct answer; but it docs not follow that lie gels it. 1 was a member of a parly of three who contemplated a certain trip. We each inquired at tlic railway station the time the train left. When we compared notes w'c found there was a difference between the three replies of considerably over an hour, no two agreeing. Evidently some members of that station staff could be classified amongst the “incompetents” so far as the public, is concerned.

The other day a number of French service men passed through Frankton. r fhey attracted general attention, and sonic of those on tlic platform entered into conversation with them. In a few cases the respective parties had difficulty in making themselves understood, as they did nut speak a common tongue, but tlic visitors were uniformly polite and well-mannered. Not so, 1 regret lo say, were some of the local folk. They made themselves objectionable, and addressed such obnoxious terms as “Froggy,” etc., lo our national allies, whilst one launciicd out in a torrent of “gibberish” which he evidently inherited from one of Ills ahoreal ancestors. He - must have felt squelched when, just as the train moved off, the visitor, for whose edification the turn was staged, saluted and said: “'rtxank you!”

Magistrates In the South have made some strong comments concerning tlie prevalence of pilfering and thieving, and they have expressed their determination to deal with the matter wilh severity. That there is a marked increase in this class of crime is apparent, George Fenwick, the well-known Utagon journalist, was moved to remark at a public gathering in Dunedin that “we are becoming a nation of thieves,” and a lady well known in social activities in Wellington thus expressed herself: "There is a good deal of pilfering going on, especially among the younger fry. lam told that stealing is getting so common that it will soon cease to he regarded as a crime and become accepted as a custom.”

It is evident that there is a generally marked moral laxness regarding the rights of properly. We see it on all sides. The number of municipal and Stale oQicers who have been apprehended for being false to their trust during the past few months has reached an unprecedented total, and in many oilier directions the eighth clause in the Decalogue has apparently been relegated to the scrap heap as obsolete. This possibly is one result of the teaching of a certain school, which tells its pupils to take what they want sans ceremony, but it is a course which can only end in disaster. It is not pleasant to think that Use moral lone of the community Is becoming, so low that it is not regarded as despicable to rob your neighbour, fleece your employer, cheat the community, or to withhold from Caesar the things that arc rightly his. We certainly need a moral revival to restore old-time standards in regard to common honesty. * * • » The members of the Waikato Hospital Board have paid a visit to Te .Waikato Sanatorium with the object of judging as to its suitableness for the purpose of an old men’s home. Evidently by their remarks they were impressed, and are satisfied that it would be an excellent spot for tbe purpose. Before, however, they definitely decide to isolate the old men up on Ihc hill it is to he hoped that they will endeavour to look at the question from the veterans’ viewpoint. <> * » • It. is one tiling to visit Te Waikato for a few hours on an ideal spring day. .11 is quite another proposition to be placed there from year’s end to year’s end through the spring, summer, autumn and winter. The monotony of Hie old men’s lives even in their present conditions near a progressive eenlre must in the very nature of tilings be almost deadly, thoueh they do see a few fresh faces occasionally and can keep in feeble touch with the world of affairs —but Maungakawa! 11 was too isolated for even a. consumptive sanatorium —an institution for which isolation is desirable. 1 certainly hope that the old folks will not he made to feel that they are a burden and that we as a community desire to banish them from both sight and mind. Their only crime is that they are old and friendless. hut many of !hem have served their day and generation faithfully and to the best of their ability. Should they therefore be exiled?