PATRIOTIC QUOTA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 45, 5 February 1943, Page 5

PATRIOTIC QUOTA

EFFORT FOR THE NEW YEAR BOROUGH PROGRAMME DISCUSSED "I would like to place on: rev cord' the deep appreciation of the Central Committee for the - manner in which the ladies Red Cross Committee have assisted towards finding the quoita for ' * the Whakatane Borough," said the Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, at the public meeting called to •- consider ways and means of meeting the new levy this year. Mr Barry went on to say thait the ladies had undtertaken to find £500 but had actually found no Jests than £914—nearly twice as much, while the Ohope ladies had also madte a splendid effort in finding £191. Discussing the method of raising "ithe money Mr Barry said that in ' the Borough there had been 45 collectors: appointed, hut the greatest difficulty had been encountered in .that, number. Incident- • ally fourteen had intimated that they would not be available this year. He realised that many were not built the same* way and could not take a 'knock back,' but on the • other hand those who had persisted in their collections were to be congratulated. Similar Amount This Year Word had been received l from headquarters that there was •every likelihood of the alllocattion being of similar proportions, this year, and the committee "had been advised that it would be likely to- become heavier as the war progressed. It was for the meeting to consider how the town was. to set about a-aising the sum of £2306, and the sooner it was grappled with the better. There were two methods, the fair one by whiich every body gave - according to their means and the other by going bald-headed for the 'big marks 1 and getting as much as -possible from them. That might be easier, said Mr Barrj r , but to his mind it did not spread the burden. •Collectors in every section of the town was definitely more desirable though a weakness last year had been ilhat the man who gave £5 straightout was actually giving -much less than the man who un.deritook to pay 10s or £1 per month. Offer From Ladies Mrs Winsitone for the Ladies "Committee said that her executive had agreed to raise the sum •of £750. She pointed out that her organisation had a triple role to fulfil in the collection •of fund's, firstly to the N'.Z. Red Cross, secondly to the Patriotic •Committee and thirdly to the : Soldiers Farewell Committee. Mr W. Sullivan as chairman of (the men's committee, thought, that the same, procedure as last year should be adopted. He emphasised however the need to ca«vass the business section of the town which he said had been -overlooked to a large extent in the past. Candidly he had been disappointed at some of the donations, -which could .only be described as rpaltry. He suggested thatl a special /Committee of 3 or 4 should be set vup to canvass the business section Mr Brabant thought that if the ladies undertook to find; £750, the "men should make an effort, to raise the outstanding balance of £1500 by finding 504) who would give £3 each or 400 who would give £4 each or :.say 300 who would give £5 each. Not Enough Enthusiasm "Mr S. Shapley said that a big 'fault lay in the. fact that there was not enough enthusiasm in .last year's • campaign. Whakatane's little war effort had not. been fully appreciated and many of the town's public men had slipped badly. They should have done much more than they did. The committee had been far too ■silent regarding its effort. Some of the town's multi-millionaires should have played a more prominent part in the effort. It was their war Just as much as it was the committees, and <to be blind to that was merely to be living in a fool's paradise. New Zealand wasi making a -big effort to look after its boys better than any other nation engaged Sn the war, and Whakatane hajl to realise that it had to do its bill as •well. 1 J Mr Warner whose comments frequently provoked laughter suggested that the town's accountants could give the collectors a guage as to the financial position of some of the

■citizens. Then (they would have, some idea of. what they could expect to get. He quoted a case of a donor who gave lOd per month and added "Some of these donations' are brutally revealing and I'm waiting to know the facts' so 1 can put in the boot! Mr Hayden suggested a Queen Carnival as a means of raising funds and also as an idea of giving 'John Citizen' a little value for his money. Mr Barry said that this with Mr Sullivan's suggestion would be referred to the men's committee. It Avas decided to call the men's committee together on Wednesday, February 10 when each man present would be asked to bring another.