Citizens Say-

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1060, 26 August 1930, Page 8

Citizens Say-

(To the Editor.)

DOES TRAINING MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN MODERN WARFARE? —A CENTRAL STATION FOR PARKING CARS IS SADLY NEEDEDSOCIAL ORGANISATIONS AND THE CHILD WELFARE ACT.

DESTRUCTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE Sir. — The secretary of the women’s branch of the New Zealand Labour Party invites criticism of a constructive nature where the Child Welfare Act is concerned. The criticism that has so far been made has been termed destructive. Surely the S.P.W.C. and the women’s branch N.Z.L.P. can plainly see that such criticism as has so far been brought forward against the administration of the Children’s Court has not been made with the purpose of destroying the good that is in the Act, but to make the entire Act a working success. Mrs. Cassie says this is progressive legislation. I entirely fail to agree. If the different social organisations do not see fit to advocate a drastic overhaul of the Act, I predict that it will not be destructive criticism that will ultimately destroy it, but that the Act will “eat itself.”

THE RED SHADOW. WAR AND TRAINING Your readers should be indebted to you for the amount* of space you devoted to the report of the Parliamentary debate on the Defence Amendment Bill. The general public cannot sufficiently judge the pros and cons of such an important measure except through the medium of extended reports After reading your account of the debate, I assert that none of the most telling arguments for, or against, the measure were put forward, but what “nous” there was, was certainly on the side of the Government. The contributions from members of the Labour Party seemed to be stilted—wavering opinion in their electorates no doubt cramping their style. The measure, we are led to believe, was introduced on the grounds of economy, and I venture to say that the majority of your readers believes that there are far more cogent reasons for it than that. But it is apparent, even without the clinching proof adduced by the Minister of Defence, that an enormous saving will be made. Mr. Waite, the member for Clutha, seems to have been the chief critic from the Reform Party, and he commenced very badly by his ill - chosen remarks on Mr. Forbes’s trip to the Imperial Conference. By his following remarks it would appear that Mr. Waite is die next

war with some gusto. No other construction, it seems to me, can be placed on his words, and I am asking the favour of a little of your space, sir, because I am convinced that Mr. Waite’s swashbuckling talk is contrary to the spirit and opinion of the present time. He seems to have laid particular stress on the training received by territorials in New Zealand, and I car'-'-'f but think that his particular unit, being a specialised arm. has warped his judgment. He was in the Engineers. I do not assert that, apart from specialist arms of the service, training was a waste of time. Mr. Waite, of course, had in mind the territorial forces, which, when all is said, means the infantry, and anyone who has not an axe to grind knows that it does not take more than a month or two to impart the elementary knowledge necessary to this arm. Mr. Waite has said in another place: "My only aim has been to put the case to the people of New Zealand as it occurred to soldiers serving overseas.’* Now, sir, I hope you will think it competent for me to say that, in the foregoing paragraph, the word “major” should be substituted for soldiers, because I know that the whole business irf viewed from different angles by officers and the rank and file. This is proved by comparing Air. Waite’s “New Zealanders on Gallipoli” and Osmond Burton’s “History of the Auckland Regiment,” and I do maintain that this commissioned bias permeats Mr. Waite’s remarks in the House. Let me remind Air. Waite of August, 1915. Sari Bair. I say, and he cannot deny it, that he could take any mnn in New Zealand, without any training at all, and that man would do the same as the boys did there if he had the spirit, and that does not come through training. Air. Waite knows full well that a total lack of text-book training and a little common sense at vital points would have made all the difference at iSuvla Bay and at Krithia.

In the same debate Air. W. P. Enaean made the unfortunate remark: Alen without scientific training would 5® led like lambs to the slaughter.” )\ he , n . the 6th battalion attacked from Steeles Post on August 7 and were shot down before going two .-tops; hen ( olonel A\ kite, waiting to attack with four waves of men each 150 strong (000 men), at a system called the chessboard,” said: “Boys, you have ten minutes to live”: then “Tliree minutes to go”; then “Go,” the first 100, including the colonel, was wiped out; the second 150 followed to death;

the third was blotted out before getting half-way; the fourth was sayea from useless slaughter. Would tn fact that these heroes had rec€ the scientific training of lield-marsna have made the slightest difference. * a quarter of an hour more than *> men were killed. There was not on Turkish casualty. Not one foot oi ground gained. Will Mr. Ende answer that? „ CHAS. BAILET.

“NO PLACE TO GO" Some months ago it was announced that parking cars in the City wOU be a breach of by-laws, but reasonable time was given citizens to £T° accustomed to the notion. I thin* was arranged that the new tegui tion would not come into force u. «* the beginning of the year. So tar have not heard of the formulation ’ any scheme calculated to relieve position which will arise when • motorists are informed that they leave their cars on the spot m»rK “X” and walk to business. I‘‘ thought that some enterprising P® " son or syndicate, or possibly council itself, would have arranged y* a skyscraper parking building s . ul l rtr , r to those in America, where each n would be devoted to housing the ear* of businessmen. In these building?is possible to park hundreds of Tho motorist simply drives his ear the main entrance and receives ticket for it. The car is then dn r( j on to a specially-designed lift * • whisked away to the space set ap for it, corresponding with the nun. bered ticket. This is one wa> solving the difficulty, and it would possible to erect such a building w in reasonable distance of. . actually in, the business area oi Clty ' gadget.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENT J. D. McK.—According to the Auckland Harbour Bridge Association, the «» tance across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from pylon to pylon, is l» feet. —Ed., The Sun.