General News

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23962, 1 June 1943, Page 4

General News

Dams Dry in Pareora Ridings After Crs. A. S. Elworthy and Stowell had spoken of the serious effects of the drought in the upper Pareora and lower Pareora ridings, where dams were dry for the first time in history and stock were dying through drinking the worm-infested water in the bottoms of the dams, the Waimate County Council, at a recent meeting passed a resolution urging the Government, in the interests of production, to proceed with the Downlands water supply in the Waimate County. Cow’s Artificial Teeth A cow with artificial teeth of stainless steel was one of the curiosities seen by Mr J. Roberts, of the Christchurch Trades Hall, during his tour of Russia. When he first heard of this cow at an agricultural show, Mr Roberts told members of the Businessmen’s Club at luncheon yesterday, he thought it was a joke. Personally, he saw little sense in giving such an animal artificial teeth, but he was told that in the case of a pedigree cow it was worth while. Crete 4000 Years Ago The capital of ancient Crete, in point of comfort, hygiene, and opulence was more like New York than any other city in the world before the nineteenth century. This was • the opinion of competent authorities, said Mr L. R. R. Denny, when addressing the Society for Imperial Culture in Christchurch on Saturday. Mr Denny’s subject was “The Mediterranean as the Cradle of Civilisation.” Russia Abolishes Tipping What he termed “the pernicious system of tipping’’ had been abolished in Soviet Russia, declared Mr J. Roberts, of the Christchurch Trades Hall, when addressing members of the Businessmen’s Club yesterday. The first surprise he received on boarding a So-viet-bound vessel in England, said the speaker, was when the boy who took his luggage refused a tip. Later, on arrival in Russia, he found that tipping was not permitted. This was in striking contrast to other countries that he visited during his tour abroad. Mattresses for Soldiers Wire mattresses are available in limited supplies, but these are being reserved for returned soldiers. On the production of a certificate from the Returned Services’ Association that the applicant is a bona fide returned man and that he is setting up a home, the firms concerned will consider a sale. This scheme has been directed by the Factory Controller. Soldiers’ Passes The extension of the 28-day soldier’s privilege travel pass, where the holder’s movements are interrupted by illness, will be urged by the Christchurch Returned Services’ Association, following complaints that wounded n en had been deprived of their privilege after being delayed in hospital. It will also be asked that the passes apply to buses between railheads. Queen Victoria in Russia "If the Russians were the vandals many of us had been led to believe they were one would have thought that they would have destroyed all representations of monarchy,” declared Mr J. Roberts, of the Trades Hall, when addressing the Christchurch Businessmen’s Club yesterday. Mr Roberts recalled how surprised he was to find when visiting one of the late Tsar’s palaces near Leningrad a magnificent room containing portraits of crowned heads, several of whom were contemporaries of Nicholas 11.- Among them was a life-size portrait of the late Tsarina's grandmother, Queen Victoria. State Forest Scheme The extension of the State forestry projects at Hanmer Springs to absorb returned men, and the provision of an adequate housing scheme for the district, were advocated by the Hanmer Springs branch of the Returned Services’ Association, when it sought support of the Christchurch branch for the proposal last evening. A special committee will discuss details of the scheme with a view to placing it be-, fore the Government. “A Children’s Charter” “This is an encouraging indication that the teachers as a body are now convinced- unless education has a spiritual foundation it must fail in its true purpose,” states an editorial in the latest issue of the "Outlook,’ the official organ of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. The writer was discussing a manifesto, entitled the “Children’s Charter,” approved by the annual conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute. “The education of children in our State schools,” continues the article, “has in practice swung between two aims, both of which have been utterly inadequate. The first has been to teach children how to get a living, and the second to teach them how to pass examinations." After criticising the principle on which the New Zealand educational system was originally founded, the writer adds: “Religion is not an ‘extra’ to be taught. It is a spirit which should lie behind the whole curriculum and which should give it direction. What our educational system needs is not a spiritual formula, but a spiritual directive force.” Germans Puzzled The story of a German prisoner, who, when asked if he would care to go on fighting, replied, “Yes. if I could have British food, Russian weapons, and Italian opponents," is related by Lieutenant-Colonel K. W. R. Glasgow, D.5.0., headmaster of Scots College, Wellington, who was previously on the staff of the Otago Boys' High School, in a letter to Mr F. H. Campbell, who for some time was acting rector of the school. Colonel Glasgow said that, in his opinion, this remark showed that the German was a bit disillusioned about the super status of Germany, but was still anxious to be a superman provided other people would allow him to do so without giving too much trouble. The manner in which the New Zealanders kicked a football about even when there was shelling going on nearby had amazed and occasionally infuriated the Germans, wrote Colonel Glasgow. They could not understand it. They said openly that they regarded war as the most serious thing on earth, and they felt hurt and snubbed to find that their enemies could play games even when a German attack was imminent in a near sector. Enlisted at 13 Private Norman E. Hinson, a 14-year-old boy sent back to the United States to school after serving since December, 1942, at a south Pacific base, is 6ft tall and weighs 1561b. He was loader and checker in a quartermaster company on the docks and in munition and ration dumps, and even volunteered for combat duty, but-was turned down by his lieutenant, who, becoming suspicious of his real age, wrote to Georgia for a copy of his birth certificate. The one that arrived showed he was 20 years of age, but a check up revealed that it referred to another Norman Hinson in the same county. Actually, the lad had enlisted at Fort McPherson when 13 years old, though a friend had verified him as 18. Treat for Wellington Boys Nearly 200 boys, who are members of the “City Camp” sponsored by the Wellington Boys’ Institute, visited a United States naval depot in the Wellington district. Under the guidance of a naval officer, the boys were first shown through the recreation room, galley, sleeping quarters, and renair shops of the depot. They were then taken to a ramp where they prepared for a trip in an invasion barge. They were given a brief talk on this type of craft. They were told how most of the barges they saw had been used by the U.S. Marines for the first landings on Guadalcanar and Tulagi; how many men the craft could carry; and where the machine-guns fitted. They were shown a larger type of barge that could carry a tank. In groups of 40, the visitors were then taken for a short trip in an invasion barge, a privilege that can be claimed by few civilians.