ANZAC ART UNION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3564, 26 September 1916, Page 3

ANZAC ART UNION.

ANOTHER STATEMENT .BY THE

MINISTER

WELLINGTON, September 25

"With regard to the Anzac art union," said the Hon. G. W. Kusscll to a reporter to-day, "I want to refer to a statement made by Mr Sutherland :•« the effect that a suggestion was maue to mc in connection with the art union that the expenses should be .limited to 10 per cent, of the total amount received, and that I refused to ho limit the-expenditure. .•■When the suggestion was made.to me my reply was: ' I do not wish to place a limit upon your expenditure; 1 will treat you as honourable men, and leave you to administer the art union in a just and fair way.' That was what Mr Sutherland regards as a refusal. He says that I refused to grant it, but as a matter of fact,-the position is that, jiicluding commission paid to agents for the saleoofl f tickets, the. expenses have run up to nearly £3500, in order to attain, a net result of £1.7,000. TKheii I compared the Daunevirke art union, which realised over £7000 at an expense of £45 only, with the Anzac art union, I was well aware of the true position. In the case of Daimovirke, they were- confined tor sales and advertising to the small province of Hawke s Bay, but the Auzac art union was given tho entire provincial district of Wellington in which to operate, consequently the comparison is very much against the Anzac people In view, however, of the excellent object ot the art union, I do not wish to indulge m further criticism of the methods adopted, bu,t at the same time I may observe that while the art union was m progress I drew the attention of the managers to the fact tha.t they were entitled to sell 200.000 tickets, whereas, as a matter of fact, they sold 387,000 tickets, an excess approaching double tho number they were authorised to sell, and thus ' reducing by nearly one-half the chance of everybody who took a ticket in the art union."