NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 62, 7 December 1920, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

A feature of the police reports presented to the Licensing- Committeo yesterday tvas the references to the increased number of women frequenting- publicholies, in eomo cases taking children in with them. Women drinkers aro a common enough sight in public bars in Britain, but the state of things existing there is not one to bo encouraged in New Zealand. Women have an equal right with men to frequent hotel,bars, and their atsence from them in New Zealand is purely in conscquonce of their own feeling on the subject ajd the efato of public opinion. At the same time 110 one, man or woman, should have ail}- right to take children into the public rooms of hotels in which' liquor is served. If an amendment of the lawis needed to effect this it should not be difficult to secure, as it would have an overwhelming majority in favour of its passage and its strict enforcement. Thoso licensees who aro reported as running their houses laxly are very foolish in their own interests, and will have only thomselves to thank if they find the voto for no-license growing in their localities. * • # » It ia difficult to believe that tho Im. perial Government seriously contemplates the appointment of Jtr. Winston Churchill as Viceroy of India. Mr. Churchill has brilliant qualities, and although it is quite possiblo that most of his colleagues and tho greater portion of the British public would be more pleased to see Jiim in Calcutta than London, it is possible to pay too high a prico for this relief. Mr. Churchill's rise to eminence has been due mainly to his audacity. Throughout his career ho has been a political plunger and speculator. Sometimes his speculations have come out on the right side. 110 claims that he had tho Fleet ready when war broko out, and there is no doubt that it was ready. New fiealandcrs have nothing to thank him for in the part he played in tho Dardanelles campaign. Evidence is now accumulating to indicate that it was Admiralty interference, under Mr. Churchill, that tied up the Commander. in-Chief in the Mediterranean and resulted in the escapo to Constantinople of the Goebon.and Breslau. This was a decisive factor in bringing Turkey into tho war on the German side, with its result of closing the Black Sea. isolating Russia, and leading to tho downfall of the Russian armies. The exact responsibility for that affair and its long train of consequences still remains to be definitely allocated. In tho light of his somewhat lurid political past, India, ono would think, would be the last placo in tho world to hand over as a field for experiment by Mr. Churchill. « i * » What Bolshevism lias done for Kussia is shown by the announcement this morning that a decreaso of 10 per cent, in tho population is revealed by the preliminary census returns. The first complete Russian census was taken In 1897, and showed a total population of 120,000,000. In 1915, eighteen years later, the figure was 182,000',000, an in-

crease of 53 millions. . This rapid growth was duo (o the Irish Russian birth-rattt, the highest in tho ntfrld, and standing- at ii per thousand of pupillatton, The conversion <Tf this great increase into a decrease of 10 per cent, give? a glimmering of the welter of misery into! which Bolshevist tyranny has plunged Russia. Since 1917 Russia has not only experienced privation hut tho shadow of fear has been ncross tho land. Bolshevism has in its pay many of tho most notorious agents of tho old Russian secret police, hut its secrot police and spy system litis been developed to an extent undreamt of In the worst days of Tsardom. Lenin at his headquarters, even if ho desired to do so, is apparently quite incapable of controlling the excesses of (he agents of tho Extraordinary Commission throughout tho empire. A sccret denunciation by u spj is sufficient to secure tho nicest of any man, followed Tiy imprisonment or death, accompanied with tnrturo or not as the mood of the local commissar dictates. Entiles? scope is given for the working off of private grudges and hatreds by such a system operating in tho dark, and a man scarcely daro trust hi« neighbour with his thoughts. Not for centuries has. Europe seen such a tyranny throttling the life of a nation. The tension between Japan and the United States will not lie decreased by the allegation that a largo concentration of Japanese troops is' taking place in (lie southern end of Formosa. The distance from Formosa to the nearest port of the island of Luzon is about 230 miles. Luzon is the largest island of the Philippines, and at Manila, in tho Hvnthei'n -portion of it. is tho soat of government. The number of Japanese troops concentrated in Formosa.'-is put at a gues? at 30,000. According to the

"Statesman's Year Book." the United States has SGOO regular troops stationed in the Philippines, and about OCflO native scouts, with provision for embodying the native population in a militia. Tho proximity of Japan to the Philippines, and the possession of an efficient army and navy should mako, it a fairly easy matter for her to take possession of the group if by some unfortunate turn of ovents war occurred with the United" States. Her dielodgment by the United States might not be so easy, ,I)Ut 100 million Americans would be hardly likely to submit to defeat by 56 million Japanese. This war scare is revived periodically, Japan being usually credited with sinister designs of aggression. What tho Japaijpsc could expect from so unequal a conflict is not easy lo see. It is possible that tho great expansion of their armaments is due to a belief that adequate, consideration by i'orsign. nations of the Japauoso viewpoint is obtainable only if Japan-is in a position to mako herself an ugly customer to tackle.

I'rom tho figures regarding the cost of hydro-eloctric development supplied by the Minister of Public Works, it is fairly plain that unless the people of this country make special efforts in economy the development of a power supply which would afford a great stimulus to prosperity, besides adding notably to the comfort und convenience of life, is likely to !>» retarded to a somewhat serious extent. The educative campaign which tho Minister advocates with a, view to fostering i demand for power for domestic purposes -might very well go hand-in-hand u-'itli systematic efforts to induce peoplo to invest in power supply loans. Tho successful inauguration of a widespread 6ystom of small continuing contributions might appreciably lighten the financial problems involved in giving the Dominion an adequate supply of power for use in industries, sorvices, and in the home. Although the figures of the Post Office Savings Bank in this country mako a good showing,' there is ovidenco on nil sides that the possibilities of practical economy are very far from being exhausted. A sclicnio of concentrating oven small savings on the onterpriso of power development might bo forwarded and popularised by arousing a healthy emulation between different parts of the Dominion, and would servo as good a purpose in fostering national thrift as in facilitating a great and promising national enterprise.