In the News
Potato Ration Cut A general instruction, which has been issued to all armed forces in New Zealand, reduces the potato ration to 3oz a man a day. In addition, all potatoes must henceforth be cooked in their skins. The reduction in the ration is from 16oz a day, and service medical authorities are now considering other items which should be included or increased to make up the general daily ration. Such increases or new items have not yet been listed. Pockets Afire Two pockets caught on fire when a box of wax matches ignited in the greatcoat of a soldier travelling on an Auckland tramcar. The fire spread to the suit coat pocket of a civilian seated next to him before it could be extinguished. £20,000 Lost in Greece The loss of money when the New Zealand troops were serving in Greece last year is referred to in the annual report of the Controller and AuditorGeneral. “In the course of the campaign in Greece,” states the report, “some of the New Zeaalnd field cashiers I were made prisoner by the enemy, and it became necessary to reconstruct records lost there and in Crete. This reconstruction has proceeded as far as possible, and the results haVe been audited. The monetary loss ascertained to date, which it will be necessary to write off as representing cash unaccounted for or destroyed to prevent its falling into enemy hands, amounts to approximately £20,000.” Lost Coupon Books When it is necessary to supply new clothing coupons to replace a ration book that has been lost four coupons are deducted from the new book for each month of the rationing period up to the date of replacement. This information was given by Mr J. E. Thomas, Food Controller, when a complaint was referred to him. Mr Thomas said it might seem hard to do so, but some sort of penalty had to be imposed when a coupon book was lost. In this particular case the owner had been penalized eight coupons, covering the two months from May 29, when the coupons first became operative. Mr Thomas pointed out that if no penalty existed people could come along just before the six months were up and claim they had lost their book, even although they had traded in all their coupons. Pears Thrown Away Hundreds of cases of pears were thrown away this year as a result of the stipulation that the minimum size should be 2Jin, said the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association in a note to a remit considered at the annual conference of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation in Wellington. : These pears, the association added, were a total loss to the growers, as well as to the Internal Marketing Division, as they would have realized from 12/- to ; 14/- a case. The Director of Horticulture (Mr W. K. Dallas) said that in future pears of a minimum size of ; 2 l-16in would be accepted. Danger of Open Trenches Liability for accident was discussed by the Director of National Service (Mr J. S. Hunter) when replying to a letter mentioning that a young man had been injured by a fall into an open shelter trench during a black-out. In his reply, quoted in the E.P.S. Bulletin, the director stated that the EJ?.S. or local authority might well be liable if the trenches were left so that they were a potential danger to public safety after ; dark. In general, he would say that a Ideal authority was running a risk if it permitted dangerous conditions on a highway without providing adequate safeguards to protect the persons lawfully entitled to use it. Well-preserved Biscuits Two field service biscuits, each more than 40 years old, which were issued to New Zealand troops in the South African War, were exhibited in an almost perfect state of preservation at the annual meeting of the South African War Veterans’ Association at Wellington. One had been sent to New Zealand from South Africa in 1900 to the Misses Seddon, daughters of the late Mi- R. J. Seddon, the former Premier. The other biscuit, which measures 4in by 4in, and is an inch thick, was sent by Mr A. Mansford, Wellington, to his father in Melbourne as a “Christmas card” in 1901. Peeling of Potatoes A test made by the Whangarei Primarmy Production Council, acting under arrangement with the military authorities, is interesting in view of allegations that potatoes are wastefully peeled by Army cooks. Fifty pounds of potatoes after peeling were reduced to 441 b. The potato ration is one pound daily for each soldier. The council has expressed to the National Production Board the opinion that potatoes should be boiled in their jackets after the ends have been cut off for seed purposes. Apart from making a saving of 10 to 12 per cent, in the quantity of potatoes used, the potatoes would be of greater nutritive value to the soldiers, and there would be made available seed for next season’s crop. A Library Tourist
“Most people think that Hervey Allen, author of the best-seller ‘Anthony Adverse,’ was a much-travel-led man when he wrote that book,” said Mr' E. J. Bell, Librarian of the Christchurch Public Library in an address to members of the Christchurch Business Men’s Club. “But in 1933, when I was in Chicago, Mr Allen gave an address to a librarians’ congress and he told us that he had written most of that book in a New York public library. All the descriptions of the countries came from Mr Alien’s reading of books, and not from his first-hand experience.”
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Southland Times, Issue 24831, 25 August 1942, Page 4
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933In the News Southland Times, Issue 24831, 25 August 1942, Page 4
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