GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1918, Page 3

GENERAL NEWS.

A private letter from an Auckland er who is visiting the United States refers to the prevalence of influenza all over t'he Cafifornian coast (states the Star). This was written before the last trip across of tho Niagara. Amongst other matters the writer states that in one camp 17/100 American soldiers \Tere attacked with influenza on the same day. Two men named Ales McLean and Gordon Wheeler, while working on Mr W. Stewart's survey party, have been lost in the bush a few miles from Kaetihi. Tho men failed to return to cajnp and a search party discovered certain portions of clothing, but no tools at tihe scene of the place they were last working. During -the past six days, searchers, under Constable McCowan, have scoured the adjoining country, but no trace of tracks of the missing men can bo found. This affair seems nothing less thaa a mystery. "No single thing," says a southern contemporary, "can do so much to arrest tihe epidemic as a determination on tiie part of the individual to take the utmost care to avoid becoming infected or infecting others. The most dreadful laxity is reported in this connection. People who are plainly in the early _ stages of the disease are still going about their business and spreading infection. It is not practicable to prosecute people who cougih or sneeze otherwise than into their handkerchiefs, but if it were practicable it would do much to check the epidemic concerning which not mue'h is certainly known, except that its main lino of communication is from mouth to mouth."

A story of censorship methods is related by a Christcliurch business man. He represents a large Sydney firm, and one day he received a code message. He could not make out the tenth word, and ho asked tlie telegraph office for a "repeat." The message came in exactly the same shape- Another "repeat" had no better result- He explained to a high official of the Censorship Department that there must be a mistake, because* the message could not have been handed in as received. The word in question was not. English or in cod?, and, therefore, the Sydney censor should not have parsed it. He thereupon decided that he had better cable his frrm a?lsng them to give him tlie right word, but the censor refused to pass his message because it contained a word not in the codes.

Some military prisoners (says the Wanganui Chronicle) think thai now peace is near at hand they will bo released from gaoi. Perhaps before long,

however, they will realise that they will I have to servo their full sentences. It is the "after war" period that will be hardest for the conscientious objectors and Red Feds to bear. Lately, at the Waipukurau camp, which Is an offshoot of the Wanganui detention barracks, there has been a tendency to kick over the traces. Men are sent there for such useful work as road-making to :c----turned soldiers farms. One day, a week or so ago, a squad of men took it into their heads to refuse to inarch to work. A conscientious objector was the ringleader. The scene which followed must have been somefTiing like a Wild 'West drama. Argument being of no use, the guard pulled out hi 3 revolver and fired into the ground behind the xnan. He jumped about i.v;o feet into the air, and thereafter his conscientious scruples troubled lilm no more. All the men, however, wcro railed back to Wanganui, where they quickly came to their senses and were sent to camp again. On Wednesday e-.'ev.i/ig four other men arrived back l'or havW declined to do ccrtxV. work

The exlt-ne Kiev? of the seriousness of tlw yellow i>tvil taken by some people was referred to by ill - A. S. Malcolm, Mi'., in aa address ao Invercai'gill a few day:; ago, w£en lie assured his audience li'at the dangei' was not as real wa< generally imagined. His opinion was that Franc? and .Britain in tho centuries gone by could time after time have dominated tho -world, and ho asked what was it that saved tho world from such domination. Instead of those two countries combining they flew at cacli otW and opent their best blood and treasure in tho moot desperate war upon one another, 'because they were such cioso neighbors their interests vera constantly clashing. He though!; it. would be the j»ko witli Japan mid China. They were two great peoples very mueli alike, whose interests were bound to clash. They were clashing alrendy cr.d the ..:atioM referred to would'find all then' etforts'taken up vrith their own relation 1 !. It b stated that fotar military deserters from Cliristchurch who were recently arrested in tho Lakes district went into hiding with about 0 worth of food in their possession, and that supplies having fallen short, tfcey were on their wry to) replenish their larder if possible when' takca into custody ,(rays the Southland .Times). . Theyjmd no 'firc-avnw to iiieir reduced to scaring rabbits and c-.'.teiimg fish, presumably trout, from - I-oke Mavora, to eke out an existence, Taey were \er? careful about and when they did so. they made lavee quantities and smoked fish for future use- It Li stated that when tbey visited outlying shepherds.' but:, .hey were very eaTeful not to take flour ana other necessaries in anything like noticeable quantities, hence their raids passed unnoticed. On one occasion a party m search of the men were very close to their quarry, but neither party had ar.v suspicion of the proximity of the other. The. Iwots of the wanderers had given out at the time of their capbut thev had ample funds with tfaKS to replace fliem if they could have done so safely, as they possessed funds to the amount, of £4O when they fell into the hands of tlie authorities.