Trouble brewing
If human nature is human nature in Germany as elsewhere, the one thought at the back of every German mind is - Revenge! Quite credible are evasions of the disarmament clauses in the Peace Treaty, secret drillings, hidden “plants” of machine guns and held artillery, new achievements of German chemists in poison gases; Marshal Foch and Colonel Repington couldn’t be more convinced of all this if they had seen it with their eyes. An identical belief should be ours. If the Great War were about to revive in a Greater, the League of Nations’ utmost would be to wave a white handkerchief. Nor is there comfort in talk of a Peace Pact to which Germany would be a party. The Germans have only to persuade themselves that their hour of opportunity has struck; - at once the Peace Pact is “a scrap of paper.” From the principle ‘‘inter arma silent leges” there is no escape. The one sure defence of peace is a ‘‘hands all round” guarantee, America joining in. And that we are not likely to get. America, alas, for all her bigness is too parochial-minded. - by ‘Civis’
Fire engine shown off
A public demonstration of the powerful new Leyland pump recently imported by the Dunedin Fire Board from England was given on the waterfront yesterday afternoon. The demonstration was very successful, and showed what a valuable addition to the Dunedin Fire Brigade’s plant the new machine is. Shortly after 4pm the machine was placed in position on the wharf. The 6-inch suction hose was then lowered into the water. The pump was then set in motion, but there was no resulting flow, and a delay occurred while the brigade’s motor mechanic and Leyland’s expert investigated the cause of the stoppage. The defect, which was caused through a wheel or spindle slipping, was soon remedied. At a signal from superintendent Napier the pump was again set in motion, and the purring of the engine and the bulging of the two lines of hose indicated that everything was working smoothly. Two solid streams of water were thrown to a height of fully 65 feet, and some idea of the tremendous force utilised by the pump may be gained from the fact that the combined strength of the two able-bodied men on each lead was needed to prevent the branch from being wrenched from their grasp. The next test was made with four lines of hose, using various sized nozzles, and once again solid streams of water were thrown skywards. When the leads were thrown directly skywards the water reached a height of fully 70ft. The final test was made with the deluge set, two lines of hose being coupled up to a 3-inch nozzle. This was secured in an iron triangle stand, and with one man directing its action a solid stream was thrown outwards to a distance of 70ft or 80ft. This was the crowning test of all, and gave those present an idea of the tremendous pumping capabilities of the machine. - ODT, 7.3.1925
- Compiled by Peter Dowden
