NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 261, 3 August 1942, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

The explanation of the Minister of Supply regarding the necessity for sending a special envoy overseas to endeavour to arrange for the supply of rubber and rubber goods for this Dominion indicates that the Government officers overseas who ordinarily would be expected to attend to such matters are already too fully occupied to undertake the task. It is satisfactory to have the ministerial assurance of this point, for on the face of things it does seem unreasonable to maintain these costly departments of State overseas and at the same time be so constantly sending ministerial and other representatives abroad on similar errands. So far as the selection of the envoy to be sent on the present occasion is concerned, the Government, is to be congratulated on the choice made. They have been fortunate in securing the services of a representative of the rubber industry eminently well fitted for the admittedly difficult task which lies ahead of him.

The adoption, when it becomes necessary, of what is known as "austerity clothing” should be looked upon as a very minor hardship to the people of this country. Indeed, it is a pity that so forbidding a word as "austerity” .should have been associated with simpler styles in garments. The elimination of unnecessary ornament from both men’s and women’s clothing was begun in Britain more than a year ago, and has resulted in considerable saving of labour and material, with little if any loss of smartness and distinctiveness. In Australia more simple designing and cutting has also been introduced, but in this case complaint lias been voiced about the quality of the material made available under the Commonwealth plan for standardization. It is to be hoped that the authorities here will not compel the trade to adopt a similar, penny-wise-pound-foolish policy. Besides being simpler, the new garments should be as durable as possible. • The purchase of shoddy clothing of all descriptions—which takes approximately the same amount of time and labour to produce yet will require replacement after a few months of wear—should lie discouraged.

it. has become all too apparent in the last few days that earlier reports of Japanese brutality in occupied areas were not exaggerated. The British Government’s disclosure, live months ago, of conditions after the fall of Hong Kong, was received with horror by the civilized world; but since then, notwithstanding similar reports from the Dutch Bast Indies, a reaction amounting almost to disbelief has spread in certain overseas circles. I'or example, a writer in a well-known American periodical published at the end of May went so far as to advise his readers that conditions in Hong Kong after a brief interval of excited looting and some violence were probably quiet and orderly, though irksome for captives. This sort of attitude is now shown to lie another form of dangerous wishful thinking. With the escape or release from various occupied places in the Indies and on the China Coast of such reliable and experienced observers ns Mr. O. Tolisehus (of the “New York Times”), any doubt which may have been created as to Japanese barbarity has been removed. Civilized rules of warfare have been disregarded, and the enemy has shown a vindictiveness toward white people which it .would, be foolish to ignore.