LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1205, 14 August 1911, Page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE DEMOCRACY VERSUS MILITARY ORGANISATION. Sir,—We now have what would be an amusing spectacle, if the matters concerned were not so intimately interwoven in the foundations, upon which the security of this Dominion, and its inhabitants, must rest. A miscellaneous collection of men, some of whom are admittedly good judges of cattle, propose to discuss the regulations drawn up by the military authorities, for the government of the defence forces, but for what purpose? They surely do not suggest Hint they nre qualified m tho slightest degree to undertake tho task' of revising the regulations, with an intention of making them nearer perfection from the military point of view, so one can only suppose that they wish to introduce a democratic leaven, which will insidiously set up an unwholesome ferment, which will ultimately disintegrate the new system, and restore the defence forces to tho former chaotic condition— fnUitary in name only.—l am, etc., 8.8. 'Wellington, August 12, 1911. . NEW ZEALAND'S SLUMS.

Sir,—Mr. Chas. C. Reade's lantern lectures on the slum areas, or potential slum' areas of Auckland and Wellington —and there is little doubt that the pictures thrown on the screen could be readily- matched in Christchurch and Dunudin and other centres—reveal the existence of deplorable, degrading, and demoralising conditions such as emphatically ought not to exist in "God's Own Country." The people of New Zealand are responsible lor the existence of such elum conditions, and for tho credit of their country and the safety of their , children, and in the best interests of the race, it is high timo that they seriously studied' this problem so that they may discover the vast' economic causes of slum conditions and by the removal of these causes provide the only adequate remedy. These root economic causes are not far io seek. (1) A'o house can be built unless a site be first secured to build it on, and sites are made far dearer than they or.ght' to be as the result of land monopoly and land speculation. ((2) The same- influences make the land from which the raw material for building purposes; are derived far too dear, and thus niako. building materials much dearer than they ought to be. (3) In addition to this, the Customs taxes on timber, cCment, corrugated iron, nails, paints and varnishes, lead- piping, etc., make houses • cost, roughly, one-third more than they ought to cost to build, and thus make houso rents at least one-third higher than they ought to be. (4) Our local rates, lo the extent that they are levied, wholly.or in part, on the homes of the people, tend, IS n • w .°J (ls ot ' l ' he Minority Report of the British Koyal Commission on Local .taxation, "to make houses fewer, worst and dearer." liven in Wellington, Christc^ nrc . h \ /J 1, " otn « r centres which have adopted the rating on unimproved values men rates as hospital and charitable aid board rates and gas and water- rates are stilly levied on tho homes of tho people In the case of Wellington to replace these rates, would require an additional rale of TT ab °ut t ld. in.the £on land values. Until tho great slum-producers—land , monopoly and land speculation—are abolished, and until we sweep away all slumproducing rates and taxes, the slum problem can never bo solved. This cannot of course be done all at once; But, in Si Of the editions revealed by air.-lteule, we have a right to aSl 05 ? ™, n,raum first step that the abolition of all rates now levied upon the homes of the people shall be made compulsory and that .all local rate-rev-it would otherwiss be. And, thirdly, it wi]l.,make the .resumption, ;of slum areas nnneoessarjvfor ffii condemnation of slum W?'*i» ■ tha ' l l »P rents can'be obtained from them while the.raie on land values f i r T On ' mll -™& it to the interest of the slnm-owner to pull down his'hovels' ami put up decent houses in their place. Tho-truo way to'deal with dum areas, in short, is to make such areas expensive, to the landlord, instead of to the public, while at the same time encoura»,n P,.>* e "building of decent houses by abolishing all taxes on houses.—l am, etc., ARTHUR WITHY,' ' Gen. See. N.Z. Land Values League. •August 9, .1911.'

Sir,—No one who listened to Mr. Eeade's interesting lecture on "Slums" could fail to be impressed with tho fact tliat here in "God's Uwn Country" we have all the elements that have made some of the cities in the Old Country a byoword and reproach. With Mr. Beade's condemnation of these places we are all agreed, but ■with, his conclusions as to tho means of. prevention, I part issno with him. Mr. Eeade advocates the purchase of tliess slum aTeas, as he' put it. "regardless of cost," by the municipality. In plain wonls, that is, ho urges the ratepayers to buy, no doubt at the present fancy prices for urban land, these areas, and to. assume the- burden for the rehousing of those evicted. Now, sir, tho owners of these properties are well known. Somo of them pose as.philanthropists. ■ All of them have for many years draivn big profits from these slums. Now, forsooth, they are to bo rewarded for despoiling the 'poor, by being bought out at full present values by the ratepayers! At this rate, it would pay the landowner to create slum areas. So, sir! The root cause of these slum areas is laud monopoly. It is the land monopolist, and only he, who, by confiscating the unearned increment, created by the community, in the shape of increased, rents and monopoly values, forces the poor to live tinder these conditions. By buying him out at his value, and placing the burden on the ratepayers, you reward him for his spoliation, and but make the noor yet poorer. No, this is bo remedy. Taxation of tho communitycreated value to tho last penny is the one and only remedy for slum areas." Till this is done, all so-called remedies aro bnt aggravating tho evil.—l am, etc., X. Ngaio, August 8, 1911. . . . PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. Sir,—At the annual meotinp of the Victorian Neglected Children's Aid Society, Melbourne, the Chief Justice, Sir John Madden, said: "There was a'greatbody of the community who brought children into the world without the least vestige of parental regard, and with no desire to give them affection—if it were possible for such a class to foster that emotion— or any help whatever." The evils, he also Baid, were extremely and rapidly growing. . The figures ho quoted need thinking over by all who liave the good of tho community at • heart, and hero • in Wellington' we may well pause and ask, if we do not also need to do some thinking, on this question, which is as vital a ono for us as for Australia. Tho Chief Justice pave.statistics as to what the Stato was doing to cope with the evil; but he also ■said: "That in a country where wages were high and ample opportunity existed for citizens to bo good citizens, this stato of. things should not be." At present tho tendency of our Government is to assume much responsibility id this direction, and it is doing a great and a good work; but the community has also a responsibility in all, these social questions, and I' think it would be a good thing to have statistics published every year showing us plainly how tho State is burdened with neglected children, and also what is done for them. Carlyle, in his trenchant, style, said the laissez-faire system of government was "the shabbiest gospel that had been taught among men"; but wo have no such gospel now, neither in theory nor practice, aad our duty is to see that by a wholesome public opinion we strengthen its hands, and do not add to its burdon. A better knowledge of this work might enable sympathy to be expended in a right direction, and save interference sometimes witli a just sentence. A ease in point at present, is tho case of tho girl who received so much sympathy when leaving her child out.sido the. Homo of Compassion. The mother applied to romovo her child from its foster-mother, as she was going to keep house with her brother, and could look after it herself; professed entire satisfaction as to how ths child had been cared for, and took it away (as one hj-sterical sympathiser said ia a letter) to mother it.

Strange mothering indeed. Tlib sequel was its exposure and an attack of bronchitis from which it is now recovering, thanks to its foster mother's care. Much sympathy was shown for the mother—l did not see ono word said for tho child, the true object of charity in this caM. Now, wlten feeling has cooled down it would be well to look at the truth. The mother could earn from 15s. to JCI a week; she was not deserted by the father of her child; ho was willing to marry her. , Had she any fault to find with (ha foster mother, she could remove it to the rare of another, so that in no case did silo need to desert or expose her child, and we as a community are sadly lacking ourselves when wo almost exalt into a martyr anyone who fails in love for her child. We have been accustomed to idealise, as above everything, a mother's love. Are we to lower even this, the highest" ; ideal? Justice Madden seems to cast a doubt on these erring ones possessing love for their offspring, but there are many cases where young mothers show much love- and self-sacrifice for their children, and these cases are truly deserving of one's sympathy and help. But it would Iμ well to take the Justice's vjords to heart, when ho says: "They should not stop at approval of tho work done by the State, but go into the larger question." Tho work of the State will hot be helped by interfering with the courso of justice by indiscriminate or mistaken sympathy. False sentiments "tend seriously to obliterate or diminish the real difference between right and .wrong," and no greater calamity can bqfa.ll a nation than a weakening of the righteous liatrcd of evil. -I am, ec, OBSERVER. SIR, J. WARD'S CHANGE OF ' OPINION. Sir,—Would some military expert answer this question? If a general had a battle to 'fight, and he had the choice of two armies, one composed of volunteers, and the other got together by threats of fines and imprisonment, which would fie choose if he wished for success? would he not choose the volunteer army?—even if not so superior in point of numbers to the other—on the principle of one volunteer bein" equal to three pressed men. Evidently Sir Joseph Ward had faith in the volunteer system when ho'spoke in Invercargill only some two years ago. When fighting the elections in 1907 he siid .that New Zealand had more men under arms than any other part of the British Empire, and he eulogised our volunteer system. Was tha dangling ot a baronetcy" before his eyes the tempia'tion to change front? We know that on all vital political questions, such as the land question, he invariably chooses the lines of least resistance. He was angling for distinction; did he display his usual cufoKss in landing the Dominion in an annual expenditure of half a million , n this way?—l am, etc., KADILAii.

. COMPULSORY TRAINING. Sir,—l have been reading the papers frequently lately, and have been greatly, interested in the disputes of compulsory training; and I cannot seo for why a great number of people should go against it as we are all sons of tho Empire, and should be only too willing to take our stand, and do our duty for our King and country, to uphold our Empire, and maintain our own. independence. Why should we sleep while other nations aTe training their men, just for the sake of a few "boobies" who have not left their mothers' apron strings yet, and who would bo useless to the country unless they were drawn out Cy compulsory training? It is a pity there are such people in our midst to discourage those who are loyal to their country, and willing to take their stand to maintaia freedom.—l am, etc., Waipukuraii. THEATRE FIRE RISKS. Sir,—On Monday, August 7, the occupierof the Zealandia Hall, Palmerston North, was fined 10s. and costs for refusing to provide to the satisfaction of the superintendent of tho Palmerston North Fire Brigade sufficient safeguards against fire, namely, a in 'uniform. , '~,., Tho"Manawatn- ''Evening'' Standard" on August 8 published the following extraordinary letter, written by Mr. John Fuller, jun., a member of the Wellington City Council:— .

Fire Board Superintendent's Powers. AN EMPHATIC PROTEST. Mi. Jno. Fuller, jun. (of Messrs. John Fuller and Sons), a member of the Wellington City Council, has, on his own initiative, thus, written to the local manager of Hayward's, Ltd., under dato of August 7:— "As you know the Fire Board Act gives tho superintendent most extraordinary powers over licenses of place of amusement, and against which there appears to Ixs no appeal. There is an exaggerated idea in .New. Zealand re theatre panics, and-yet, according to statistics, only about 200 people have perished in British theatre panics and fires in the last 100 years, whilst in Chicago over 500 people lost their lives in a fire-proof theatre. The-safety of the public lies in having sufficient exits ■ and hydrants, and •an ordinary common-sense theatre start, and if the Fire Board requires a qualified fireman, they should boar the expense, as they are protecting a large body of ratepayers. However, I hope you succeed, if only as a protest against.the un-British-like powers given to tho fire superintendent, against which the'ro is no appeal. (Signed) John Fuller, jun." It is to be hoped that other members of our.council hav.e a - keener sense of. their responsibilities than Mr. Fuller appears to have. According to Mr. Fuller "only 200 people have perished in theitre panics and fires" in England. The public will probably consider that this fact is sufficient reason for the' Government passing an Act which places in the hands of the superintendents of our fire brigades power to provide safeguards against fire in .public places of amusement.—l am, etc., '. Wellington, August 10, 1911. RAILWAY COMPLAINTS. Sir,—lt ts a notorious fact that tho officials of our railways, when an accident or delay occurs, are ever ready to thrust the binuie on the staif. A glaring instance of this lias recently come to light by way of a notico conspicuously placed on the various ■ engine sheds throughout the Wellington-Napier-New Plymouth section of railways, stating that (hiring the past fourteen mouths there were one hundred and twenty-one engine failures on that section, whereas there were only sixty-two, failures for the whole of the South Island, running a greater mileage, and requests the staff to reduce the excessive number of engine failures.

Obviously, the author of this circular is not cognisant of the fact that ho and some of his colleagues are much to blame for this wretched comparison with tho South/ Island. But probably these few facts should suffice to-enlighten them why ■thero arc so many'failures ou this section. Of.course, tho fact that tho head of this important Department is expecting the advent of his superannuation, which is not far distant, may to a certain extent prevent much stir on this question. The greater drawback to tho Wellingtqn-Napier-Now Plymouth section is the inadequate engine power, antiquated, I must say, and badly in need of repairs. Most of these engines >were obsolete in the South Island after doing between twenty and thirty years there, and were, after being replaced by more powerful and up-to-dato engines, bundled up to this part of the globe, to bo "eyesores" to thu public, travelling and otherwise, ami curiosities for stock in tho vicinity of the line to snigger at. To say nothing of the chaff that drivers aro subject to, when .crawling up heavy grades, overloaded and wondering whether they aro ever going to reach the top. and irritable pas. sensors shouting out: "What's the matter, governor, do you want a push up?" Another contributor to those failures is that "mechanical absurdity," Pearson's dream, which has been given so much limelight recently. ltete is' another instance of official shrewdness: instead of allowing this "colossal white elephaut" to remain at Cross Creek, where no public press could bother with it, they bring it to Wellington to ridicule the railway management and those poor devils \yjio were unfortunate enough to be put on her. Then then! is tho new class of engines, styled "W.G.'s," that arc causing considerable nnxiety to the drivers ami nrcmen. and the general public. Splendidly built, they reflect great credit .upon

the workmen, but .the ideas—that's where, the failures exist—good workmanship gone to naught, because the ideas are Jiot what are wanted. Here we have a piston valve three limes the dimensions necessary to distribute the power required, ami not proportionately strengthened for its size—looks as if someone had another dream. Result—ensiue failures, and discredit on management and men. I (limk I have stated sufficient to show that experimenting with locomotives is getting a very cosily' item, and is greatly increasing expenditure. It can very well be discontinued, and tho old and successful ideas reverted to. Another matter I wish to touch ufioii. [•ml that is, if the engineer responsible lor the control of this section was Jo insist on having new and. up-to-date machinery, and instruct his locomotive foremen' to give more attention to their repairs, and lc~s to harassing the men, who, as a body, are quite capable of holding their own end up, less failures would occur, and adverse comment would be greatly minimised.—l am, etc., LOCOITE.