Citizens Say—

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 849, 18 December 1929, Page 10

Citizens Say —

j (To the Editor.)

1 . t THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS n Sir,— i The Parthian shot fired by the Rev. l. Charles Chandler is long overdue, i- Prisons in the year 1929 seem an I anachronism. At present the history g of our penal code must make every Briton’s flesh creep. The treatment of oonvicts in Van Dieman’s Land inspired => Marcus Clark to write “For the Term e of His Natural Life”—an awful revelation of the manner in which human t beings can be reduced, by a system, _ to the limit of degradation. And there is still an atmosphere of this bygone system in the treatment of B these unfortunate beings. We have >- progressed, I admit. But there is yet . much reform needed. Lombroso tells a us that the line of demarcation separatmg insanity and crime is very thin. ’ “The Hand of the Potter” takes heed " of no man and our treatment of the Forgotten Legion should, Lombroso ' c 2 l lt e:nds : be left entirely in the hands t 9fthe scientist. We are all conversant I with the power of environment and homo sapiens being at the apex of the animal pyramid is more influenced (since his environment is more sound and complex) than any other animal, e n ° longer put little children to r ? ea f h for pett Y breaches of the law. ' And °ur experience teaches that with Li our present social system we shall >, always have crime, just as we have y mental and physical diseases. Should > w ® not all contribute our share toward L . forming our present social system? v HERBERT MULVIHILL. n —— 5 “TOO HEAVY A BURDEN” e e Sir.- >- reference to the letter signed Zeta advocating- the compulsory insurance of workers’ wages, will vou . permit me to say that the proposed .1 innovation is one to be strongly coni' demned. To begin with, who would S P a >' the premium lor the insurance’ „ The employer I presume. There is a d growing tendeney on the .part of worki ers all over the world, and especially in this country, to shift their burdens on to shoulders other than their own " Th e employer (called by the good olde fashioned name of ‘'master” in my n young days) is expected to play father il and mother and guardian angel to his >- work people nowadays. This coddling s is destroying the independence and Q spirit of our working classes. Let the worker practice thrift, and he will not s need to fear sickness. If he pleads that his burdens have been too heavy d to allow him to save, I am of opinion h that it will be found upon investigation that habits of intemperance, or

some act of folly such as a too early marriage, are at the root of the trouble. This unfortunate habit of trying to get something for nothing is a sign of the times. It savours of Bolshevism, and we want none of that in this country. jno. McKenzie. Edendale. SICK PAY Sir, —• In your issue of the 16th, one of your correspondents has, I think, struck a right note. In very large establishments there is often among the staff some scheme of insurance against sickness, but in small shops and offices that is not the case. As your correspondent points out, it depends upon the generosity or prosperity of the employer whether the absentee gets bis pa..y or not, and there is even a possibility of favouritism. There is one custom rather prevalent in the 5 city which is likely to cause discontent among workers, viz., where no substitute has to be engaged in the sick person’s place, his salary is paid in full, but where a substitute does have to be engaged the sufferer loses all or part of his pay. At first sight this seems reasonable from the employer’s standpoint, but it is really a very unsound economic principle. The slacker, whose work does not count tor much, can recuperate at his leisure free from anxiety; but the good, capable worker, whose absence makes a gap that must be filled at once, has a heavy loss, and often, from sheer necessity, returns to work while still physiC^=t y This ls really a pernicious system, because it puts a premium on slacking and a penalty on hard work. Some scheme such as your corres--1 injustice su ° s ' ests w °uld obviate this | OBSERVER. 1 ' “MATRICULATION PIFFLE” r Sir,— » lam not desirous of annoying the . advocates of the matric. examination; tile y are Plainly asking for the r - C. S. Allen is to be congratulated on the sound common--3 sense of his letter, but “Matriculated” [ ? ee T>s to think that this examination l % hfU-mark of efficiency, in some - of the foremost nations, examinations , have been ...dished, and it would be a = good thing 9rr New Zealand if all trade - examinations were confined strictly to I i the actual everyday requirements of I - thevtrade. r J' should a more slowly maturing

personality or youth be taxed to P*£j vide cheap university education for racy variety whose chief asset j? mushroom-like growth of memory blooms early and peters out eariv. As with mankind, so with the ve = table kingdom—the early maturin peach and apple is not to be.compa with the Quality of the slower matur \ fruit. Even in skilled trades, it - found that the highest diplom* members are outshone by the tn e . f bers who barely scrape through necessary qualifying exams., whll J our men who lead our Empire the great men of the past, most of tn J. were men who had the greatest a culty in mastering their sixth sl^Vl, p j r work. They matured slowdy a n ® minds were not attuned to such P* as “educationists” prate today. . p Soon the time w ill arrive whel l w-t brainy men of our country will owjj* to pay taxes so that the mus " l^ > *j 4 developing variety can be educated will refuse to allow their children be denied the right to learn *** , trades just because they have matriculated. rAH*