PUBLIC OPINION

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20693, 31 December 1938, Page 9

PUBLIC OPINION

A* expressed by ©orrefipondenLa whose letters are welcome, but for wboM views we have no responsibility. Correspondents are requested to write in ink. It Is essential that anonymous writers enclose tfaoir proper names as a guarantee of good faith. Unless this rule is ©omplled with, their letters will nol appear. UNEN FLAX INDUSTRY (To the Editor) Sir, —l was interested in the artlele appearing in your Issue of Thursday referring to the attempt to start th# linen flax industry in Canterbury, as it revived memories. Over 50 years ago an effort was made to establish the industry in that province. A company was formed, and many farmers, notably In the Ellesmere district, were induced to put areas under linseed. The soM proved satisfactory and the crop was of good quality. A factory was established near Southbrldge to deal with it. if my memory is not at fault, the company concentrated on the linseed and did not treat the fibre, but I on that point I am not positive. The | company did not have a long career—it was evidently born out of due time, I and it went into liquidation, the buildings later being converted into a bacon factory. If the industry is again launched it is to be hoped that it will have a more successful run than was the case half i a century ago.—l am, etc., CANTAB. Hamilton, December 29. CONFUSION OF TIME (To the Editor) Sir.—We have been told that time and tide wait for no man. I am prepared to tak«* King Canute’s word for the uncontrollability of the tide, and Hamilton is doing its best to demonstrate that time is equally out of hand. 1 refer to time as indicated by the clocks that adorn the town and mislead its inhabitants. The only public timepiece I have seen, apart from the watch at the post office, is in the steeple of the church near the courthouse. That impressive piece of mechanism visible to only a small area of the town, is so uncertain about the time that it even argues with itself and presents different times with different faces — and none of them correct. In the streets several public-spirited citizens have placed clocks where they may be seen by the public, but unhappily they also are In intense competition and never agree. It may be possible to get the correct time from the post office if one seeks out the clock in its obscure perch in the lobby, but owing to the bad light It Is almost impossible to read the time from the other side of the street. If one can afford a watch that will keep the time he is to a constant fever lest it should be wrong, for a walk along the street will give him half a dozen shocks. He either races to work to find himself far too early, or he dawdles and gets the cane from his employer. If he wants to catch a bus he has the pleasure of seeing It disappearing half a mile down the street, or lie has to waste time waiting for it. Can there not be some co-ordination of effort amongst those well-meaning people who display clocks, or. better still, cannot the municipal authorities meet a great public need by providing a clock in a conspicuous place, preferably the new post office, which wjH strike decisively and give Hamilton's thousands of people a definite time to work to —even if it is wrong? A master timepiece Is needed in a wilderness of warring clocks. The matter is of economic importance, for there Is no doubt that at present much Dm- 4s lost to business because members of ifaffa arrive at work according to Brown or Robinson time, and according to the indisputable time of Ihe town clock. Time is money, and often peace of mind as well. Will somebody please do something about il ?—I am etc., VISITOR. Hamilton, December 30. BIRTH CONTROL (To the Editor) Sir, —ln reply to Miss Mary Watt I w'ould say the question she has raised Is only a side Issue, or an excuse, to support birth control. The first Instructions to humanity Included the dictum, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” As humanity advanced the law was proclaimed, “Thou shalt not kill.” There Is, therefore, no excuse available to cover the breaking of Divine law, or refusing, in the case of woman, to carry out the primary' duty conferred upon her by Providence of producing young. Our Blessed Lord would condemn all those who break His laws. “Woe unto him by whom the offence cometh." That Is the answer to the questions put by Miss Walt. The crux of ihe whole question centres in woman. John Buskin, when lecturing upon war. staled that the women of England could stop any war. It is not many years ago that women

presented while feather* to brave souls who refused to fight. In New Zealand to-day our women are tlie essence of selfishness, arid all they 4 think about is bridge, Joy-riding iti ! cars and all the pleasures possible. As for homes and families, economic security and serious matters of everyday life, these are only secondary •natters. So our statistics of birth, of divorce, • of illegal practice*, etc., of the burden of taxation, etc.—how many women, especially the young modems who disfigure their bodies, think of these tilings" The race can die out; men can fight; the visionaries can dream: the prophets can warn. The day of destiny draws closer with certainty, but mirth must rule and cradles go empty until it is too late. Then the weeping and gnashing of teeth. As ye sow, so ye reap.—l am, etc., MARCUS ST. B. JAMES. .?■ Hamilton, December 20