LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1102, 15 April 1911, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

FURNITURE TRADE DISPUTE. •Sir, —In your issue of yesterday you publish an article under tho above Jioacling, not ;i single statement of which is according to fact. 1. You st;lto tliat tho award under which we aro working ran out two years ago. As n matter oi fact it is tbrco years this month. . . -. "As the award wr.s considered satisfactory, it had bren renewed from time to time." It has never been renewed, as special provision is made whereby an award continues in operation until superseded by another award or an industrial agreement. The reasons why we have not obtained a new award during the last three years is a matter lor the Court to deal with. 3. "Arriving at an amicable settlement to this dispute" (so ran the circular issued by Sir. D. Moriarty) should have read "Arriving at an amicable settlement of this dispute." ■1. "The union appointed five delegates and informed Mr. Gronfoll, secretary of the Employers' Association, that it would be pleased if the employers would appoint a similar number for'the purposes of a conference, preferably with an independent assessor." . Such a request was never made. Tho employers and the workers aro tho best assessors, and tho only assessors that the union would consent to. Your sarcastic reference to the union, "graciously" conceding a certain point conies with very bad grace from" you. So that the public may understand the spirit in which tho union viewed the conference, the following is tnken from tho letter written by me to Mr. Grenfell:—"My union shall bo pleased if you would endeavour at your earliest to "arrange for the holding pi a conference with us, so that if possible we might settle the dispute in that manner. I may ■mention "that the union has appointed five delccates to meet a similar number from the Employers' Association, and perhans it may be as well to mention, so tliat tho employers' delegates will bo similarly instructed, that tho union's delegates have been given a free hand to settle the dispute as they think fit."

5. "Mr. Grenfell, on receipt of this curious notice, convened a meeting of employers, who decided that either Mr. Grenfell must he included, or both Mr. Grcnfoll and Mr. Moriarty must he excluded." One would think from this statement that all the furniture employers refused to meet their employees. Nothing of the sort. AVlicn Mr. Grcnfoll told me, per telephone, that ho had bnsn appointed an assessor by the employers, I asked him if ho had ever worked in any capacity at the furniture trade. On renlving in the negative. I told him that "the union objected to bis apoointmont as an assessor, and would refuse to meet tho emnlnyers on such a condition. Now, you hold this to be a curious contention. Well, then, what did your paper sav a few weeks ao;o when the" saino Mr. (ironfall had the secretary of the Tinworkers , Union removed from the position of an assessor on the Conciliation Co'uncil because he had never worked at the trade? There were no sarcastic remarks from you then about "graeiouslv conceding" or "curious contentions." Though your paper is biased' asrainsl Labour, and as a result we ciiinot exppet favours from you, yet at the same time, give us justioc. To proceed with tho case. It plight lie news to you to know that atthe meeting of employers, who imposed the conditions, there were only six of them present, out of a list of* just on ono hundred and twenty names'that I submitted to Mr. Grenfell. Before eoneludinp: I should like to point out that when this matter is referred to the Conciliation Council 1 will be allowed to act as an assessor on that council. Mr. Grenfell will not be allowed to eo act, therefore- I r.sk in all fairness why do you condemn our action, in objecting to his bciiij allowed to sit on a private conference, and, further, why have you referred in a sarcastic strain to our consenting to his being allowed at .1 private conference, for purposes. of reference? As my union has always been a strons believer in the principle of conciliation. I trust you will insert this letter, so that the publio can see that it is through no fault of ours that wo are now forced to fight our case by legal methods.—l am, etc. DAN MORIARTY. Secretary, Wellington Furniture Union. Wellington, April 7, 1911. [Mr. Moriarty's "corrections" amount to little- mors than straw-splitting. We agree with him that employers and employees aro the best assessors when they approach n;.*iostions in dispute in a proper conciliatory spirit. In the present case tho employers, we understand, wauled the assistance of someone ex-. pevienced in such negotiations, presumably to balance the. experience, of so skilled a campaigner as Mr. Moriarty himself is said to be. This desire doe's not seem to us to be an unreasonable 1 one.] PHYSICAL TRAINING IN SCHOOLS. Sir,—Being much interested in the recent discussions about physical training of school children, will you allow mo space to add some remarks upon this interesting subject? As an instructor with Eom<! 11 years' experience in this direction, and a≤ 1 am at present "putting through" some 500 pupils each week, my ideas may Ijo worthy of consideration. I cannot agree with the suggestion that the use .of apparatus tends to "stiffen tho limbs" of school children using dumbbells or clubs weighing about half a pound, and I have never found this during my e.xperieuco. Of course, temporary stiffness often come.? as 11 result of any initial physical exertion, after playing cricket i'or the first time in a season, for instance. Perhaps the Commandant is confusing this kind of stiffness. At present there appears to bo no proper j-ystem of physical training laid down for the guidance of school tei\chcT..s and they have very little real knowledge of tho subject. 31 any of them have a disinclination for the work, because of this. A movement manual was issued to them two or three years ago, a great many movements of which are superfluous considering the time allowed. But. it is no more possible to acquire an efficient knowledge of practical ■ or theoretical phj-iical culture to be able to teach others, from ;t book of movements, than it is to learn to swim or skate from a book.

Standard V, sa.v, in a given school, will have Indian clubs; Standard IV, wandsj Standard 111. dumb-bells; and so ou— one year. Then tho next year perhaps the order is changed. Perhaps such exercises arc arranged without, method or knowledge of harmonious development. Most pupils like them, the teachers have a vague idea that they arc- "doing them good," and in this way the pupils are only benefited incidentally, or, I might say, accidentally. Practically no attention is paid to carriage or bearing, and tho result is that 75 yer cent, of tho pupils passing on to the secondary schools are round shouldered and flat chested.

Under these circumstances I think that the proposal to teach "free movements" is a step in the right direction, but only a step. The advantages of frco movements are that they are simplo to do, easy to learn, and if performed properly have a direct effect upon the muscles aimed at by the exercise. No lime is waste. , ! by learning llio movements as with Indinn clubs, for instance; and thus (if Ihe '"sson is properly conducted) the pupil v.*.l get l.he full benefit of tho small amount of timo. given to this subject in the school syllabus. But; free movements will ho of little use if the. teacher is not very alert to prevent any shirking by the pupils. These .movements, bcca'iise of their simplicity, become tiring and monotonous, therefore, a capable teacher is necessary for gcod results.

If, us i;i some schools, tlw subject is only taught once a week, perhaps twice, a smart, pnersetic lesson of free movements or Swedish drill, with , breathing exercise Hbtefcaytii BWld bs best;

hut if, say, 15 minutes was allowed each day it would ha advisable to vary the evolutions, and include deportment, marching, anil perhaps wand exercises but the free movements should predominate. Of course, deep breathing exercises are also necessary, and should not only lie given in the le&ons but a few movements every day as well. 1 thoroughly believe in school games. One. of the hest; for boys and girls is basket-ball or hand ball. This game has a tendency to develop the chest, is not too rough, ami can 1)0 played by any number, from - 12 to !SG, at one time, and can bo played on a limited space, such as a tennis court. The. ideal system would bo lo appoint a physical director, as is done by education boards in various I owns in England and America. He should bp a thoroughly capable man, able to arrange a concentrated system of physical training for school children, consistent with Iho lime nf. their disposal; to impart, such system to claffos arranged for school lonchers to lpcturoto them ou anatomy and tho physiology of exerei'p; and to visit their schools and supervise thorn at their work; and, in fact, have full charge of this important subject. The teachers would not only tomtit themselves, but they would hnv'c the satisfaction of knowing that they were conducting this subject in a practical manner. I wonder if the Commandant's proposed instructors arc efficient in this direction? —I am, etc., ,7. W. M. HARRISON. April 8.