THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 20 August 1919, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

! j Daylight and I Coal Saving. ) A considerable amount of carresponj deuce has appeared in the city papers lof late, a number of writers urging J that the Government should pass a Daylight Saving Bill in order to economise the use of coal. The argument has much in its fa%our. It is stated by those who have gone to the trouble to prepare figures that the inauguration t of a daylight saving scheme during the | summer months would save the consumption of several thousand tons of 1 coal per month. In the cities and large ! towns, in particular, the shifting of the i clock would undoubtedly, mean a very I large saving of coal, in tiring, lights, engine consumption, etc., and in the j present coal crisis this is of tremendous I importance. The greatest opposition j to the daylight saving scheme comes i from the country, where it would cerI tainly entail hardship on many farmers, i who at present have to rise early. Howj ever, it must be borne in mind that, on 1 the other side, such an innovation would be heartily welcomed by the many thousands of city workers, to _ whom the extra hour of daylight would j mean an additional hour for recreation, j or for the following of some hobby or i pursuit, such as gardening, etc. While j most of the countries that adopted day- | light saving as a\ war expedient have reverted to the old order of things, the scheme in many of these countries was j more -drastic than that proposed for ! New Zeeland. In view- of the present , coal crisis, it would certainly seem a ’ good plan to give daylight saving a 1 trial in New Zealand this coming sum- ! mer. Sir Sidey, who has championed ; this project for many years without ! success, v.-il! introduce his “hardy ■ perennial'’ again this session, and we > hope to see it placed on the Statutes. [Houses for ! The People. | It is becoming increasingly apparent j that the Government must, sooner or , jgrer. embark on some big national •’ f chern£ P- securing housing accommo- ’ nation for the people. For many years past the want of comfortable homes at a reasonable rental has been growing more acute, until of late it hds become of the most urgent needs of to- , dav. From every part of the Dominion hear complaints fiiar houses are ua--1 obtainable. .Consequently wage-earners * are being price* ; for rent, through, the per£j*i9£? system J of giving bonuses. ehe„ and-ibe d&ng j :of houses is leading slowly and surely (to the growth of slum* In. our curies, r with all their attendant evils. Dp to * tk£ present the Government has utterly * ae££t this question fairly and " aai &«e is little hope of squarely, —*« -

better tilings in the immediate future. The Government proposes to build 200 houses, but this is merely playing with the question—these would be insufficient for the needs of any one of four principal cities. Speaking at j Feilding recently, Hr Veiteh, M.P., sug- 1 gested that the Dominion should spend at least £3,000,000 in a housing scheme. Mr Veiteh said he was against the extremists on both sides. The labour extremists should remember that they could not build houses with dynamite. The commonsense thing to do, he suggested, was that for the 00 per cent of the people who were between the two extremes to get together and put in a democratic Parliament. Mr Veiteh’s arguments will meet with the approval of a very large section of the community, we believe. The housing problem must be faced immediately on strong, democratic lines, and if the Government will not realise this they they will very quickly have to give place to those who will, • for the present intolerable conditions constitute a very grave menace to the happiness of our wage-earners, whose welfare must be considered if our country is to make that industrial progress that is so essential to the prosperity of the Dominion.