Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATERDAY JULY 24, 1920. THE WEEK .

Hokitika Guardian, 24 July 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATERDAY JULY 24, 1920. THE WEEK .

In the last week or two th<? Minister of Finance lias been taking it more optimistic view of the Dominion, finance, and as Premier Mr Massey, has been re_ qej.yiog and dealing with deputations seeking [large, expenditure in a more acceptable'way. ' Nyxt wpek the Financial statement is promised, mi Fill be revealed the atrongth and of the position. One thing is certain with all the present demands on the State, there can be no possible reduction in taxation—nor little variation of the incidence apparently. Cabinet is not disposed to go into a revision of the tariff diis session, that task being reserved tor next- year. It is not unlikely that there will lie ’nercases. This sappears .to be inevitable ji ,the country with any degree of comfort is fp i) ipet all the obligations ahead of it. The statement which is pxpccted to be delivered next Tuesday promises to be one of the most important put- before the country. Mr Massey appears to be preparing for the task with a confidence which indicates that he has the position, weil in feand.

The House dealt wprcifully with the bookmaker after all. lnstyafi of ejectjpg him in a summary way, a more .expensive and round about method is to be adopted, and fjiis course will afford gome breathing spage, so that th,e bookmaker will be with us still though not able to carry on so ostentatiously. It remains to be seen wliat effect the new legislation will have, or rather how will it be administered. The present ) a " ' s probably rigorous enough, but it js not applied with that constancy and enthusiasm which is necessary for effectiveness. The administrators of the law can “go-slow” as well as other people. It happens so in the administration of other branches of the law, and judging by wliat has taken place in the House tliis week those administering the law might take their cue from the views of members and temper their ideas of justice on the matter with merciful action, which is likely to he of the- spasmodic order. Certainly the bookmaker will have another “life,” and as he is a very resourceful individual he will find means of circumventing the taw, and so his “lifo” will not be without the pleasures and excitement of renewed unlimited flutters on important sporting events.

The fact that up to the present tho House is not disposed to admit the legal introduction of the “double” event totalisator or the publication of totalizator dividends, suggests that the majority pf members still feel tho bookmaker needs some “security” to carry on his avocation. Both these proposals were designed to lead to the dis-

comfiture of the bookmaker, both remain. Even Mr Isitt who is an uncompromising opponent of the totaiisator had come to realise that both proposals in effect would have restrictive results on the volume of bookmaking business, but other and more “sporty’ followers of the turf did not seek the restrictions, which were lost. It is believed they will come forward again ill another shape when the Bill designed to increase the number of days on which the totalise tor may be used is before the House. That measure is to be introduced by a private member, and the House will feel at greater liberty to deal more freely with its provisions than with a ministerial measure. In the end it is not unlikely that the proposals will be redebated, and there is the belief abroad that acceptance will lie inevitable as a means to an end—tho greater securfciy for the sporting public.

Sih Thomas Lii’ton has experienced the truth of the saying that there’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip. The second race for the America Cup was in the first instance awarded the British yacht, ;11 d the news flashed all over the w»r'd 'l'hen came in leisurely fashion the announcement of the correction giving the race on time allowance to America. Since then the Resolute lias won the third race on a time allowance. The cup is more properly called the America’s Cup, after the schooner which ! first won the trophy in 1851 hut the title is ungraceful and the apostrophe i has been dropped in many quarters. The only previous occasion oil which the British representative has won a race was in 1871, when Mr James AshIjvjtv’s schooner Livonia won. the third event against the Columbia, which was disabled. On that occasion five races were held, and after the defeat of the Columbia the Americans changed their yacht and substituted the Sappho, which beat the Livonia in the two succeeding ices.

The race has not been without its little unpleasantness. It is on reem that the America won the first event ty running inside one <)f the buoys on the course; while in 1885 .rave the American yacht Detendm a walk-over ii) the third event because her ballast has been altered, contraiy his interpretation of the rules or o the spirit of the mips, He pever bu.lt another cup challenger, It was not till 1899 that Sir Thomas Lipton recommenced the series. His Shamrocks have contested tlm event in 1899, LXU, W and 1920, and Sir Thonms lias the honour of being the most persistent olialtemror in the history of tlie race. His vaciits have iiow the course a dozen times. He W speflt hu«#eds of thousands of pounds in the biulduigaiuf racing of tl.e four Shamrocks, and no yachtsman lias ever shown better heart in che face of Should he tjfkc the cup back to ijkland it will ho Iptmeidiffg b< f ’’ P ' the Americans fare undpr thp Rule 4: “The vessel must proceed under sail oil her own bottom to the place whm r flip contest is to take place. ’

A new department for thy wplfaiv? pf children is about to operate m the Ooinltilou, No" Zealand having without difficulty found Millions yvar niav be trusted to fed it fey HWf bullions for the calls of humanity as iilfe-G ing the welfare of children. The Minister in charge (Mr Parr) has made Ml important statement, ill the course of which he has said;—"l am interested in the l’lunket movement as Minister of Education, because it concerns the chili i.l Its’ earliest - jears. A new era has dawned far 'preventive nWicjne. I wjnh you wo,uf d all read fog i?P 01 't of Sir X.cwinan (Chief Health Officer for Vlreat Britain) tp Dr Addison tin this subject. What- d-lT mean by preventive mpdicine? In a WPl'lL I mean preventing disease by education as opposed to curing it with a bottle of medicine. No modern State system s of any use unless it has a branch for eduoafivg nj?d preventive medicine. We must aim at giving O,W .di.Udren strong, healthy bodies, capably ol foe strong; "ililp resistance against disease. If we otii do ihk we can largely eliminate our medical school inspection and free dental treatment. These tilings then would not he necessary. I say I am interested as Minister of Education. If you were to see the reports that I iret from school njedipa) officers you would he surprised at the lingo percentage of children, even in this favoured community, »•)>« are suffering fr.om bad teeth and all sorts of disorders due largely to malnutrition and neglest in the earliest years.”

Not one in seven children in sum. 1 in some schools has sound teeth. This ovij ii almost entirely due to malnutrition in infancy. esc are chddren who survive the iniancy p.eiyod, yabout the childreji that die? Do you know that during the war period nearly .15,000 children idled U) New Zealand, jligt about as many as the men wo lust on the battlefield ? ouf of this 15,000 59 per cent died In file first year after birth. I am sure that many of these deaths arise from preventible causes, again, look at it another way. We spend three million ponds per annum in education ot children from the ages of six to sixteen. We iuifdly spend a penny-piece on the period from one to six, when wo ought to be looking to health .of ih,;i child. What is the result? From the figures of inspectio.nal reports we see that a. large number of our school children are not in a fit state of helaih to get the fullest benefit from the education we give them at so great expense to the State. The fimires in England were even worse. \ recent census showed that over one million children jn Britain were physically unfit to benefit adequately from State education. I am afraid ’’at the pre-school period is treated ns a period of ignorance. Many young mothers do not know how to bring up children. Many others are careless and indifferent, and the results are seen today in having so many young people who are only fit for the C 3 camp.

“Now I come .to the remedy for these eviis. The remedy is the creation of a bureau or Department of Child Welfare. This is not an expensive matter. It is a. matter of education and lectures and propaganda. We want a capable man to go through e country and preach the gospel of health to mothers and expectant mothers, and young people. We want balls to be filled with fathers and mothers of young children to he told the simple truths and principles of physical health. After

ill the health of our young ;ieople is he greatest of all our interests. Now 1 mm we get a man with the "-essary 1 enthusisasrh to direct this campxign and ; launch this Department of Child Welfare? I think we can. The man is with us as well as the hour. Dr Truby King is the man for this job. I should tell you that I have already asked Mr Massey (Finance Minister) to spare him I fgroni his present work, so that he may become director of this Department of Child Welfare. It rests with the Prime Minister. He w” T belicve 1,0 will help us. Wo. must oo> quer ignorance by implanting e nov.ledgo- of motbercraft and infa ‘ bm.nent 111 the breasts of our girls and womenfolk. If we can do this I feel assured that you will achieve important results. First, we will sensibly reduce the present death-rate by saving the lives of hundreds of children who now die from ignorance. Second, we will decrease a°nd minimise the cost of inspecting and treating our school children or ha teeth, adenoids, rickets, etc., from which to-day they so prolifieally suffer. Third, we will reduce the huge cost of hospitals, because fewer people will need them. Fuorth, we will double the working power and effectiveness o every citizen.” These idfcals are all worth attempting, and their attainment is surely “worth while.