CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 290, 2 May 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE QUEEN'S VETO. The bobbin skirt and its sister abomination are doomed. The Lord Chamberlain, so says a cablegram, lias warned dressmakers that the "leg-rope" variety of garment will not be permitted at Court. That ia to say, Queen Mary has vetoed the garment, and has consequently saved the women of the Empire from making themselves ridiculous. The influence of British Royalty on the people's dress is very marked, and although the late King was not exactly god-like in build or appearance, he was able to insist, without meaning to, that the men of Europe conformed to his taste in the matter of apparel. There is a story to the effect that in a thoughtless moment King Edward once appeared at Biarritz wearing a scarlet tie. A Parisian outfitter subsequently averred that in the course of two weeks there were sold in Paris alone a million and a half of "King Edward ties" of that color. It is well known that in his younger days King Edward amused himself as an amateur carpenter. In fact, admiring scribes assured the public that if the then Prince of Wales were cast upon a cruel world to earn liis living he could get a job as carpenter anywhere. One day Ili.s Royal Hishness planed a piece from his Royal thumb. Next day he was called upon to review troops, and it was noticed that the Royal soldier wore only one glove and carried the other. Even to this day "dressy" men, even though they do not possess sore fingers, favor the princely method. It is notable that Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary bave always deprecated excess in apparel, and it is especially notable that the present Queen, who possesses the practical common-sense of the Teck family, has stronger views on the subject that either of her predecessors. With King George's and Queen Mary's dislike for expressing wealth by clothes, society necessarily follows suit. We are all very imitative, and the servant <*irl loves to be mistaken for a duchess. That is why the clothes builders have to keep busy' inventing strange devices that Mary Ann cannot afford to copy.

UNIONIST AND BLACKLEG. In the strikers' vocabulary, there is no epithet that rouses so much venomous opposition as "blackleg." During almost all strikes it is not only the endeavor ol "organised labor," not to labor, but to prevent other people doing so. This phase is common to all countries. The ordinary innocent worker who accepts a chance to feed his family suddenly becomes a "blackleg" or a "scab," who is considered to be the basest of all persons. In .Sydney at the present time united wharf laborers apparently have power not only to disorganise work in the handling of cement, but to prevent those who are willing to handle it from doing so. This has called forth from Mr. Carmicliael, Acting Treasurer, the assertion that it Ls the Government's duty to see that, where a body of men refuse to do specific work, they shall not prevent other men from undertaking it. Organised labor, which assumes a right to destroy or cripple an industry that feeds it, naturally expects a Government which holds its power as a gift from organised labor will sympathise with its grievances, and a Ministerial threat against any section of the ruling class in New South Wales will prolia'bly be received with much anger. There is no doubt that the attempt of the Commonwealth Labor Party by means of the referenda to obtain control of industry in Australia has inspired sections of organised workers to make greater demands and to become even more "pernicketty." The. failure of the referenda (from the Commonwealth Government point of view) will possibly act as a sobering influence. One of the chief reasons for excessive aggression in New South Wales is tho extraordinary prosperity, not only of the Mother State, but of all others. The presumption is that while Australia is in a prosperous condition attempts will be made to wrest more benefits from the "capitalist." During a period of hardship labor would cease to care whether cement was put into barrels or sacks, provided money was paid for handling it. Tn the meantime, it will be interesting to observe how Mr. Carmicliael intends to prevent the Average striker from making it impossible for the "blackleg" to work. If i i is true to the "ticket," he will decide tnat non-unionists are a race apart, and

should not be allowed to work under any circumstances. But even in Australia there are those who are waking up to the fact that the non-unionists and their dependents have stomachs to be tilled.