NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 98, 19 January 1921, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

New Zealanders have a vivid recollection of the gallantry of little Belgium in resisting the might of Germany in the first flush of war. In the part they played the Belgians afterwards suffered cruelly, and the whole world stirred to aid them in their distress. This country gave generously, and Belgium has desired by an act of international courtesy to express her gratitude. To this end M. Henri Segaert, Belgian ConsulGeneral for Australia, the highest Belgian functionary on this side of tho world, has made a special journey from Sydney to convey to our Prime Minister the Order of the drown bestowed upon him by King Albert. Too often there is little significance to be attached to the giving or- receiving of stars, orders, and medals. In this case it is different. Tho cerem,ony which is to take place to-day is a sincere and graceful tribute from one people to another. Belgium is a far cry from New Zealand, and our intercourse with her has not been great. But the part played by this small nation, beginning with the heroic defence of Liege, was of a quality that thrilled us across twelve thousand miles of sea. When her neutrality was violated, Belgium would have fulfilled her duty had she made a formal protest against the passage of the Hun legions. She would have saved her country—but the Allies would have been lost. The delay to the enemy which her resistance caused was invaluable to France and Britain. Even with it Paris and the Channel ports escaped only by a hair’s breadth. If Belgium comes to us to pay a debt of gratitude, how immensely greater is the debt that we owe her?

A new "go-slow” movement is reported to have been inaugurated in the coal mines throughout the Dominion. If it is continued the public can look for a recurrence of lighting, tramways, industrial and domestic coal supply difficulties. Still more coal will have to bo imported from abroad, and as this is very expensive by the time it arrives here further additions to the cost of living must bo expected to result. The whole community is to be punished, and hardship is to be inflicted in all sorts of from one end of the country to the other. It will fall indiscriminately on workers as much as capitalists. There must be grave reasons, a stranger would think, for the miners thus to penalise their comrades in other industries. How grotesque those reasons are our readers know. The whole country is to suffer because of a petty squabble that should have been settled in a Magistrate’s Court. If the miners want justice it can be obtained without upsetting the life of the country. Mr. Massey has gone to the unnecessary length of offering them a special tribunal to investigate the very clouded merits of their grievance. If they reluse it we shall know it is not justice they care about,but simply haring their own way and dictating their will like spoilt children. Let us remind them of the advice the Prince gave the childreni Always remember other people’s interests when pursuing your own. Plav lor the side and play the game. ■x- * * * The Education Department is spreading abroad the information that white bread is a very imperfect food, the use of which is reflected in dental disease, a high susceptibility Io inf'etion, and other defects prevalent in children. If these contentions are as generally accepted as they appear to be by medical authorities. it hardly seems right that the correction of a mistaken dietetic practice should be allowed to await a slow process of popular awakening. Parliament in these circumslancM might very well bo invited to pass an Act altering tho gristing standard of the whole, or a considerable proportion of the (lour to be used in breadmaking. Presumably some objections would be raised —indeed it is by no means certain that a majority in Parliament would support such «

measure. Yet the arguments in favour of altering the standard of bread by express enactment seem to be quite, as cogent as those adduced in favour of existing legislation against the adulteration of some other foods and food constituents. As the position is emphatically stated by an Australian authority: "Modern science demands that wheat should be milled whole.”

One of to-day’s cablegrams gives rather vague accounts of an apparently serious revolutionary upheaval in Persia —such an upheaval as the Russian Soviet authorities are not unlikely to have stirred up for their own ends. Britain, of iieces eity, is at a heavy disadvantage in attempting to counter Bolshevik conspiracies in Persia. .She has an agreement with that country under which she engages to assist its development financially and in other ways, but Persia is riven by internal dissensions, and so offers ready openings for Bolshevik intrigue A small British force is or was stationed in Northern Persia to oppose a Bolshevik advance. Its impending withdrawal was reported months ago, but no announcement of an actual withdrawal has yet been made. With Persia in a state of internal chaos, the Bolsheviki, of course, would be advantageously placed to foment trouble in Mesopotamia and on the approaches to India, and this state of affairs could hardly Ire remedied otherwise than in an extremely costly and arduous campaign. Should it prove that the Bolsheviki are playing such a part in Persia ns seems likely, one result naturally will be to wreck the negotiations for the resumption of trade between Britain and Russia which recently appeared to be within measurable distance of finality.

AA’ith two contracts let for daily* air mail services a start has been made with the encouragement of commercial aviation in New Zealand. It will now rest with the public to give the new enterprise their support. We do not know that from the commercial standpoint the routes chosen are likely to develop any exceptional traffic. Whangarei has a population of under -1000, and demands for urgent communication with Auckland cannot be numerous. The southern service from Christchurch to Timaru covers more populous territory, but neither service will do more than demonstrate the practicability of air mails from tho mechanical point of view. For this they are well adapted. Tho southern flight is over land the whole distance, under climatic conditions as favourable as anywhere in the Dominion, and with an ample selection of landing places in case of breakdown. On the Auckland-Wha-ngarei route a seaplane will Ire employed, and a comparison thus afforded of its relative efficiency with the land machine. These two projects will enable us to discover whether our local airmen can provide us with regular and reliable services. Not until there is connection between two of the principal centres shall we have a fair test of the possibility of making commercial air transport a. profitable undertaking with our present population and local conditions.

Two thousand stewards are on strike iu Australia. Twenty-four thousand other workers, seamen, wharf labourers, and the like, are necessarily unemployed through the laying up of the ships. In addition, establishments all over the Commonwealth aro closing down, and i. was estimated a week ago that 34.000 workers who have not the least concern or interest in the strike had then been thrown out of work. The stewards were conceded an eight-hour day, and the point at issue was the "spread” of hours. The stewards demanded that the eight hours should not be spread over a period longer than from 6.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The shipowners wished a spread of 15 hours, that is, from 6.30 a.m. to. 9.30 p.m. The original difference was thus not as to the number of hours to be worked in a day, but as to the period within which they were to be worked. On this point there was a difference of an hour and a halt between the parties. As the hours in the main would be worked at sea, the inconvenience of ' a slightly longer "spread” could hardly amount to a great deal in practice. After the strike the owners withdrew their offer, and -announced that if the men wished to return to work they could do so on the Arbitration Court award, which is considerably below the owners’ original ofter. There the position stands, and in the meantime 58,000 workers throughout Australia are being forced into the ranks of the unemployed. These people pay the piper. It might be interesting to know how many of the 2000 stewards have picked up jobs as waiters ashore and made themselves secure while others suffer.