IN THE NEWS.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 458, 16 June 1937, Page 4

IN THE NEWS.

DIPHTHERIA MENACE. The anti-diphtheria campaign started in Hamilton by the Health Department before the-schools were closed through - infantile paralysis recom-; menced to-day. The treatment offered • by the department is optional and is ' open to children attending school and I those under school age. Children at the Hamilton West School will be ' treated first, other schools following. HON. SEMPLE IN HOSPITAL. Strain following on months of arduous work has been responsible for the Minister of Transport, the Hon. R. Semple, entering a private hospital in Wellington Tor rest and recuperation. Mr Semple went into hospital last week, and. although the state of his health does not give cause for alarm, his doctors have advised him that a period of absolute rest is essential. Mr Semple expects 1 to resume his Ministerial duties in a few days’ time. MEN AND MACHINES. “Go into the factories and you will find that all the men who cannot measure up to 100 per cent efficiency j are being made to go and are being replaced by labour-saving machinery, because the Government has made it impossible to employ them profl't-j ably,” said Mr W. A. Bodkin. M.P., in an address at Kaiapoi. Employers of 1 labour were getting rid of as much hired labour as possible. Teams were 1 being sold by the farmers for the ' tame reason.

THE RULE OF THE ROAD. “It may not be generally known, but a motorist must give way to cyclists approaching from his right," pointed out Mr D. Mann, Hastings borough traffic inspector, when a motorist was fined 10/- and costs by Mr J. Miller, S.M., in the Hastings Magistrate’s i Court for failing to give way to a bicycle approaching, from the right at !an intersection. Defendant pleaded ; guilty. The inspector agreed that de- . tendant “was probably dazzled by the Sun at the time. SLIPS OF THE TONGUE. I am afraid I have rather got into the habit of using this term,” said a local body officer in Wellington, when apologising to his board for saying he had received a letter from the “infernal" Affairs Department. It was. he said, just a slip of the tongue. A little later the chairman of the same body thanked members for electing him chairman of the “Harbour” Board, although he was actually referring Ito a much smaller body. A facetious member remarked that the chairman was evidently “at sea.” THOSE RUNNING SHOES. When the Minister of Transport, the Hon. R. Semple, decided that sharp-pointed radiator mascots must i be removed from motor cars in the interests of public safety, motorists with a. decorative turn of mind were , probably grieved, but at least one has | managed to comply with the regula- | tions without dispensing with his j mascot. This motorist drives a truck, . and his vehicle was seen on the street I m Wellington last week with a pair of ! running .shoes neatly tied to the top I of the radiator.

AMBULANCE SERVICES. j Donations of £2O to Messrs. Klee- | n I n ano Bishop and of £5 to .the St ! John Ambulance, Stratford, in recogi nition of ambulance services were ! made by the Stratford Hospital Board I at yesterday’s meeting. | HOSPITAL ROOF REPAIRS. I Repairs to the hospital root and ;tlie> processing of the roof timber Co I exterminate borer were approved by I the Stratford Hospital Board yesterI day. The work, which will be done on the lines previously suggested by the board’s architects, will cost about £2OO, provision for which has been made in the current estimates.

UNIQUE METHOD. The explosion which occurred in the basement of the Auckland Electric Power Board's building on Monday evoked a humorous reference from the Hon. T. Bloodworth, M.L.C., lat the board’s annual meeting in the afternoon. It was a unique method, he said, of carrying out alterations. The board, he explained, was on the point of making alterations so that I people could pay their accounts on the ground floor, and certain windows

had to be removed in the process. It was strange that the only windows that were not broken by the explosion were those that it was necessary to take out in the scheme of alterations. LIKE A FOOTBALL. When addressing the Timaru Presbytery recently, the Rev. T. H. Roseveare, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church' of New Zealand, likened Jiis office to a football. “A moderator is like a foot- s ball. He is placed in position in his home parish, kicked off, and then continues to be kicked all round the country,” he said, referring to the fact that although he was the supreme head of the Church, his itinerary in visiting the various presbyteries was arranged by a committee. That explained why he was unable to spend more than one day in Timaru. WHY NOT “KING’S DAY”? “No King, notwithstanding his high rank, can have two birthdays in a year. Therefore it is absurd when talking of June 9 to call it the King’s Birthday,” remarked a prominent Wellington business man. He added that it would be far more sensible to talk about the day and its holiday as “King’s Day” rather than call it thi King’s Birthday, which it is not. Confusion with the real birthday date in December would thus be obviated. “King’s Day” races and other holiday fxture should figure on sporting programmes, rather than the present, appellation. Australia, he added, had , adopted “King’s Day” instead of the fictitious “King’s Birthday.”

LIGHTS OUTSIDE HOTELS. A reminder of the days when large and curiously wrought, lanterns hung outside every hotpl or inn was given before the Christchurch Licensing Committee When Mr A. J. Mailey, for the solicitors appearing for licensees, applied for the usual permission for “lights which may be extinguished after 6 p.m.” The permission was granted (states the “Press"). The explanation of the application brings out an oddity which probably escapes the notice of most people. Hotels in the city, where there are many street i lights, have no light hanging outside, j but in most country districts every i one has a lamp outside the building, ! burning all night. The provision of a ' lamp is ordered by statute presum- | ably to guide the wayfarer to where ; he can always request shelter. ! DANGEROUS PENCILS. I A recent legal case in England has drawn attention to the possible danI gers associated with the use of copyJing ink pencils, and the matter is of ; sufficient moment tor the "Education Gazette” to record the fact. It states . th»,t the dye constituent of the pencils. methyl violet, is essentially ; poisonous in its effect. Its action is said by some authorities to be so lasting and ineradicable that only the total removal of affected tissues can avert the danger of permanent injury. One specialist said that the dye dissolves in the organic fluid and spreads throughout the body, resulting in tumour, or open sores in places oilier than where the injury occurred. No treatment of any jab from such a pencil, it states, should be regarded in a casual manner, while if the penI oil breaks in the flesh medical advice i should be sought immediately.