The Chronicle LEVIN: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1916.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 November 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1916.

The phthisis death-rate has been niarkerly higher throughout the whole of r.melon (luring 1915 than for any of the proc; diiug years. The same has been true of the general death-rate from respiratory diseases, and in an interesting preface to Ms annual report Dr .Sidney Davis, medical officer of health of Woolwich, attributes sonic part of this heightened mortality to tiro efFccts of the Lighting order interfering w.ith ventilation.

How many steps does the average person take to the mile? The pact' of Britflsh infantrymen is said to be the longest of any infantrymen in the worldi. The Russians' pace is the shortest, being but 27iin, the French. Italian anil Austrian pace-is 290n, and the Germans do 31in. But your own pace, what of it? It depends on your height, say scientists. Take your eyebrow height, halve it. and that represents your pace. You w/.1l find it to be somewhere between 30in and 32in so that you will need between 2000 and 2100 paces to the mile.

A Mokoreta- lad, the son of Mr William Beange, farmer, did useful serv&e to the district, when the "last two snowstorms occurred (says the "Wyndham Herald"). While tlie ground remained covered with snow he saw his opportunity for making a raid on small birds. A bag of sorrell seed, refuse from the seed-cleaner, was hfe bait; and a sieve of small mesh, with a long piece of string attached to a bag which propped up the sieve on one side, was the trap. By this prianiitive method the boy accounted in two diays for 887 linnets, sparrows, etc. His biggest haul at a pull was fifty-Bix.

It is understood in Wellington that the first ballot to fill shortages in the 23rd a,nd 21th Reinforcements will probably be held on Thursday. The Wellington quota of the 23rd Reinforcements went to camp sixty-two men short. Mrs 11. P. Henton. eldest daughter of Mr and Miv, F. Purcell, of Levin, died at Auckland on Thursday after a long illness. Deceased was 34 years of age. The funeral took place at Auckland on Saturday.

Clutha county councillors were all on "the wate)r-waggon" recently (states an exchange), or at all events, they were proof againt the blandishments of a ratepayer who had come to the council C.-1 to ventilate a grievance, and ended by offering to "shout" for all hands. Accordingly he produced a bottle of whisky and placed it Jn front of the chairman, exhorting h.im to ''drink hearty," but the chairman politely declined. Nothing daunted, the ratepayer went the round of the table with lvie whisky bottle, but all refused the proffered "refresher." Then he tried the Press table, meeting with like refusals. At this the hospitable one seemed depressed, and he sat down heavily, muttering: "Not a one," at the same time taking a long swig at the bottle himself. Thus refreshed!, ho made another attempt to get councillors to "stop one," but without avail, whereupon he took his departure, humming "Tipperary."

The footprints «f babies are now

being taken in many countries, says the Daily Express, as a sure means of identification. Footprints are as goo'J ns thumb prints, wliicli have enabled the police to br ng many a criminal to justice. The system is so simple that any mother can adopt it for herself. All that is necessary is to cover the sole of the child's foot with pi inter's ink by means of a roller and then •transfer the impression to a sheet of paper. The ink .can be cleaned off the foot with alcohol. Care must he taken not to disturb the imprssions before they are dry. There will then exist for all time a record of the baby's ndentity which would carry weight in any Court of Law ill after years. No matter how much the feet grow, the lines grow with them, and their patten will not be changed. If such re-coi-ds of the Tiehborne and other claimants had existed, judges would have beeu saved much anx'.ous thought.

A movement is on foot among Wellington school teachers to prevent the summer holidays for schools commencing before December 21st. The leason (says the "Dominion") is that it is considered advisable to have as much vacation as possible after Christmas. One big factor is the weather, and experience has shown that it is always more settled: after Christmas than before it. "All prisoners are fools,'' said his Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert ■Stout) at the Wellington .Supreme Court this week. "When I said so a few years ago I was contradicted, but I am more convinced than ever of the correctness of that view. Only a fool would attempt to escape and tlierejby -lengthen his term of imprisonment." * ■'Your Arbitration Courts notwithstanding." said Mr Andrew Deer, at the Wellington Y.M.C.A.. "it would seem that the man from his c.hin downwards is worth about 8s a day. But from his chin upwards—-or rather from his mouth upwards for some work their mouths to much—lie is worth anything he likes to make himself worth by developing his ability, his 'reliability. his endurance, and his activity." (Applause.) "The number of men who can measure up to a £300 or £350 a year job is fairly large," he said, "but the number who can measure up to £1000 or £1500 a year job is small : and there is room for a great many more in that class til this and in every other country."

Tlio X'ew York "Evening Mail," in an editorial article, has the following account of an interesting and successful experiment ni the scientific use of criminals: "Quietly, with no blast of trumpets ifnd no writing of text-books, Henry Ford lias performed the great modern achievement in sociology. The Ford factory to-day employs 36,000 men—nearly <in entire army corps. Among these are (500 p.ckedi men. They are picked convicts. They are mainly men who came di'rect from prison, paroled by the authorities to work for Henry Ford. Six hundred of them! Everyone said that it could not be done Ford was crazy. But of the 600 only one lias failed' to make good and has had to be sent back to prison, and. that man was sent back not for being criminal, but for being immoral. There is no fuss and talk about it. None of the ex-convicts' fellow-workmen, and not five perscins in the Ford plant, know who any of these 600 are."

If tli* expenditure of France on the war should continue to the end of 1916 on the same scale as diurang the last nine months, the total since the commencement of the war wUI have been £2.520.000,000, in addition to near Iv £80,000,000 advanced to Allied countries.

From the beginning of the war till August 21 Canada's losses have totalled 37.8(51. Of these, 5998 have been killed in action ,2,248 succumbed to tlioil* wounds, and 398 <Med from various sicknesses. In addition thereto, 732 are presumed to have died because they have not been heard of for more than six months. The wounded totalled 27,212. and the missing (including prisoners of war) 1282.

The question whether a police constable has a right to enter business and make prolonged enquiries was involved in a decision given in the Police Court of Petty Sessions on Augu«e 29, when' Alfred Abrahams, of Elizabeth street, Melbourne, was fined 10s with costs, for having obstructed Constable Mackay in the execution of his duty. The facts were that on Aug-

ist 2 the constable went into Abra-

ham's shop for the purpose of making enquiries in reference to the sale of a pea rifle, said to have been sold to a youth 18 years of age. Abrahams, it was stated, came up and ordered the constable to leave the shop, and the

latter then went away. Argument on the case took place a few days ago, and Mr .Justice Hood now delivered his reserved judgment. It was held by his Honor that the opening of a shop was an invitation to the public, to enter. At the same time the proprietor had a right to order any person off tho premises. In th!ls case Mackay was

told to leave the place. As a constable he had no right to be there, and was therefore not obstructed in the execution of his duty. The appeal was allowed and the conviction in the Court below was set aside.

In view of the war, India made special efforts to increase its I'ls-lG rice crop. The final figures show 32,877,000 tons, an increase of 21 per cent, over the year before, and the largest crop that India ever raised.