The Week in Review.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 12, 22 March 1911, Page 1

The Week in Review.

NOTICE. The Editor will be pleased to re•eire for consideration Short Stories *nd Descriptive Articles, illustrated frith photos, or suggestions from coatributors. Bright, terse eontrmutions ere wanted dealing with Dominion life and ques* (ions. Unless stamps are sent, the Editor eannot guarantee the return of unsuit* able MSS. Free School Books. FREE school books have been a failure. That is the universal opinion of teachers and parents alike. They save no money, as nearly all parents continue 'to buy their own books. They are potential means of spreading disease, and as such are a Bonrc-e o£ danger to the whole school. Masters are put to an infinity of trouble in dealing them out and collecting 'them after the lesson is over. The children are wot allowed to take them home, and Bo their use, at best, is limited. If they tore worn out there is no provision for replacing them; if they become obsolete (there are no funds available for ptirebasing more modem manuals. Education Iboards are stinted for money for the purchase of essentials, while 'they have to buy the free books that nobody wants. No good is done to any single human ■out by the grant for books, and much irritation is caused to parents, pupils and teachers. The whole thing is simply a farce, and an expensive farce at that.

A Suggested Substitute. Why should the State supply free books rather than free meals or free klotliing? If it is consumed by a philanthropic desire to provide something for nothing, why not provide free drawing land copy books and stationery and ■writing requisites? These things constitute • heavy tax on parents* pockets; they involve no fear of contagion, and do not vex the souls of the teachers by the necessity of attending to their distribution and colteetion. They also do • not become obsolete. Children in the higher standards use a large amount of stationery, and parents might reasonably ask the State bo provide all necessary writing materials just as it provides deoks and blackboards and chalk. This would be a real assistance to parents. But free books, whioh cannot be taken home, which are pawed and fingered by all and ■undry. which must be used long after they have ceased t'o be of practical ■value for educational purposes, can only be a waste of public funds. Parents

are getting to demand more and more from the State. There is a cry for free medical and dental treatment. This will be followed by an agitation for free lunches, and a bun and a glass of milk •t 10.30 a.m. A “Father of Six” and a “Mother of Eight” will write to the daily Press for free boots and a State grant to patch Tommy’s knickerbockers. With the elections approaching, it is hard to refuse any demand; but the free book system hias been such a conspicuous ftulure that our legislators might well pause and see if the- money cannot be more usefully employed in free stationery bnd other requisites that would confer a real boon on parents and scholara.

Something for Nothing. It is doubtful if we ever appreciate at its full value that which we get for nothing. Does anybody ever read with any zest the numerous papers and pamphlets distributed free throughout the colony? Experiments have been tried from time to time of issuing .papers free of cost and relying on advertisements for the profit. They seldom pay. The Britisher has a profound distrust of such things. He suspects some form of confidence trick, it is the same with a public lecture—unless he pays for admission he ithiifire the lecture cannot be any good. A most classic instance of contempt and dislike for free institutions was evidenced in the ease, of an Englishman in Tahiti. The visitor had sampled too generously the vintages of sunny France, and two stalwart gensdarmes conducted him tenderly and carefully to the calaboose. Here be was given a cool room in which he might repose, and as much cold water as he required. When, the time came for him to leave he demanded, with all an Englishman’s love for Habeas Corpus, why he had been shut up without triad. ■‘What is the charge?” he indignantly demanded of it he goldlaced official wiho was making minute entries of the case in a book. The Frenchman looked surprised for a mo ment, and then said with 'his most engaging smile: “There is no charge. It is all free.” The Englishman spoke, and spoke volubly. But he did not speak words of thanks.

A Question of Dynamics. Mr P. A. Vaile has seen fit to deplore the self-satisfaction and the ns-umptcon of the Englishman. In this respect the English afford a striking contrast to the majority of the New Zealanders. It is touching to notice how frequently our own people have to break through their natural diffidence and self-distrust in •order to get other nation’s right. Mr Vaile devoted a large book to the denouncing of the American men, women, and children. We have every reason to believe that his book has borne good fruit. The London Daily News is already exhorting the British to mend their ways, lest they too fall under the censure of the New Zealander. At present Mr Vaile thinks the. English are false, ■narrow', and selfish. This applies to their home life, as well as to their business life. They lack ideas and ideals. As an instance of British conceit we may mention that Sir J. J. Thomson, in a lecture before the Royal Society, had the temerity to differ from Mr Vaile on a question of dynamics. Sir James is regarded in England as the greatest living physicist, and seeing that his friends rank him with the late Lord Kelvin, wte may assume that he knows a little about mathematics. 'But, what Mr Vaile has called “the self-satisfaction and assumption of the Englishman” is shown by the fact that this comparative tyro has dared to differ from Mr. Vaile himself. Quite a controversy has arisen between the two men, but there can be little doubt that the Hector of the Royal Society must eventually go down before the Achilles of New" Zealand.

The Awakening of Britain. It is an interesting question as to whether the English are really as narrow, selfish and false ns Mr. Vaile imagines. We •re so prone in New Zealand to take a broad, wide, cosmopolitan view of men and manners that other people appear narrow by comparison. We study foreign polities, we know all about M.

Briand, and we thoroughly understand the complications, that have arisen over the Bagdad railway. Our interests are world-wide. But the Englishman sees little beyond his Veto Bill, and Home Rule, and Naval Estimates. To us he naturally appears narrow. But by comparison with other continental nations we believe the English are fairly broadminded. They take'far more interest in their colonies than the French do in theirs; they have no illiterate peasantry like Russia; they are not sunk in superstition like many of the people of Southern Europe. Since Mr. Vaile issued his celebrated “Wake Up. England,” the people have been less lethargic. Perhaps we can expect a yet greater awakening when Sir Joseph Ward confronts them with his bewildering statistics, and Dr. Findlay instructs them with his fine-spunsubtle-ties. The dense pail of ignorance will be lifted.

Twin Orators. Imagine the delight and wonder with which the inhabitants of the British Isles will learn from our Premier that during the month of December no fewer than 3314.123 eggs were laid by the fowls of the eolony. That of these 1,187,92'* were laid down in pickle by our industrious and thrifty housewives. .That no fewer than 983,428 eggs were weed for eakes and puddings, and that of the remainder 347,589 were fried for breakfast, and the balance were either boiled, poached, or scrambled. They will learn how a wicked opposition tried to make out that, poultry farming was ruining the large landowner and driving capital from the country. Ami Dr. Findlay will regale them with a delicate and polished speech on the evolution of the top hat. He will trace its origin from the feathers of the Indian, through the women’s headgear of the middle ages, down to the shiny, glossy product of to-day. He will compare the hat to the progress of humanity. First the crude animal stage and animal adornment. Then the narrow apex of kings and nobles resting on the broad basis of the people. Finally ttie completed article when every part reflected alike the shining sun of unfetterel intellect and freedom. We look forward to great things from the visit of our -Prime Minister and our facile and clever Attorney-General.

American Justice. The cabled reports of the Schenk trial afford much food for reflection on the methods of administering justice in America. There is often a good deal of betting on the result of famous trials in England and even in New Zealand, but it is seldom that professional book-

makers make a book on the event. We are, however, told that in the Schenk case the Sheriff’s men were for some time engaged in clearing the bookmakers from the precincts of the court-house. Montague Williams used to complain that the effect of his best speeches was always spoilt by the judge’s summing up. In the case under review the judge had the consideration to sum up before counsel made their speeches. Mrs. Schenk was allowed to be interviewed before the trial, and the interviews were published. Counsel were allowed every latitude in the matter of vituperation. One lawyer described the prisoner as “a foul-mouthed harpy with a heart of flint, incapable of love, of sympathy, or of affection of any kind. Urging a verdict of guilty, Mr. Handlan exclaimed, “My God, gentlemen, you know this woman is as guilty, as hell itself.” The Americans certainly do- their best to make a trial sensational.

Japan and the Pacific. Considerable interest has been excited of late by the reported movements of the Japanese. Stories, more or less well authenticated, have been current of Japanese spies visiting different islands in the Pacific, in the guise of fishermen. There are rumours of unwonted activity on the. vessels of the Australasian squadron. There is an uncomfortable feeling abroad that something is in the air. The American papers persistently deny that there is any fear of war between Japan and the United States. A new trade treaty between the two countries han been ratified, and Japan has "pledged her honour” to prevent the influx to the United States of undesirable coolies. So far all seems well. But many thoughtful Americans consider t.hwt sooner or later Japan must aim at supremacy in the Pacific. On this subject General Homer Lea speaks with conviction. He says that the future of Japan depend* basically upon the” posceacion of • sufficient number of positions, so distributed in the Pacific that, they command all trade routes to and from the East and West. Failure to secure these, he says, will in time relegate her to the environs of her rocky island*, and, “like Egypt, though twenty-nine dim centuries shall pass, she shall rise up not again forever.”

The Weakness of America. General Lea shows wifh masses of figures how much stronger Japan is than the United States both on land and sea. America relies on her militia; Japan has trained soldiers. He shows the weakness of militia by pointing ont that in the civil war, 29.000 officers were cashiered and 190,000 soldiers deserted.

Japan Iws over a mill-tern men in bhe re-, gukir -army, 'the United States less than CH.tXMt. Fourteen Japanese battleships carry 132 heavy guns against 104 heavy, giitis in twenty-four American battleships. Of the population of'the States, 30,000,000 •re of foreign parentage. In New .York alone, there are 750,000 Germans, 250,000 Russians, nearly 500,000 Italians; ami another 750.000 Poles, 'Austrians, ete. America has no transports, Japan' ti'as over u hundred steamers. In the F-j.uiiis'll -American war fourteen men died of distuse to one in the battlefiehj. In tlie Japanese war with Russia,, four deaths resulted from bullets to OJie from •ickness

An American Alliance. _ But against these facts must be-set the attitude of Great Britain. Treaty, or no treaty, England could not afford to see Japan gain the mastery of the •Daeillr by establishing herself bn the Californian coast. Admiral Mahan thinks the iii'leiests of Japan, America, and England are too closely allied to admit of war. lit is of supreme importance to all three that the naval supremacy of Great Britain'should nut bo exchanged for that of Germany, ami Japan and America are the only two naval states which can afford to help Great Britain on the sea, (because they alone havc no tail'd frontiers which march With those, of Germany, ‘Any war. which. tr-p.ded to weaken British supremacy would be simply disastrous to all the ■ Powers • in• the Pacific, and' Admiral Mahaii frankly declares that there must be an alliance fidfween England and the States, ba-sed an .commercial relations-, comm unity of speech, 'and political interests arid traditions." *

Publicity and the Public. Public curiosity has been considerably excited by the 'announcement that publication of even the name of a ease tried in Wellington has been' forbidden, and the question has been revived as to how far tin' suppression of reports of eases really serves the public interest. Last year a writer in “Sharland’s New Zealand Journal” urged that the publication of the details of suicides and other tragedies of life was detrimental to the (moral welfare of the community and should be excluded from the columns of the daily papers. If the saying that “no news is good news” holds good, it follows that all news is bird news. The bulk of «all news is more or less tragedy. Take any ordinary London paper and you will "find it full of the darker side of life. Ruskin insists that we do not take sufficient notice of these tragedies. In the first chapter of “Sesame and Lilies,” he prints in Ted ink a report of an inquest that was full of t*he darkest details. If the papers do not throw any light of publicity on the dark corners of the earth, who shall say what •buses may riot go unchecked?

The Duty of the Press. Tn the “Hibbert Journal” for last April, lUhere appeared an article on “Imprisonment,” in which all the horrors of a prison were printed in most lurid colours. *The writer complained, amongst other things, that no report ever appeared in the papers of the innumerable attempts at suicide mode by prisoners. If bis story is true, then the suppression of (facts has only helped to perpetrate a Mate of Vhingt) which should be remedied. Then again we must remember that many paces of murder could be made to look tike suicide and vice versa. When a dead body is /ound the public wants to know the cause of death? Publicity has often helped to clear up a mystery, the absence of it might easily help to Conceal crime. A newspaper exists to give news. It cannot 'be edited entirely in the interests of the young person or those of tweak intellect. The editor of the “ChTistrhu reh Press” thinks there is a presumption in favour of the view that newspapers are for t'he sane population of the country. No sane person is likely to be driven to suicide or crime by reading the published accounts of Crt'her. People who are not sane should have papers specially prepared for them, or they might be restricted to one or two journals that seem specially designed to cater for people of weak mind. But it is neither practicable nor desirable that our daily" papers should print only the bright things of life to the neglect of ail that betrays human frailty and human folly.