ONLY TWENTY CITIZENS TURN OUT TO DISCUSS ORGANISATION OF APPEAL IN THIS DISTRICT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 2, 1 October 1948, Page 5

ONLY TWENTY CITIZENS TURN OUT TO DISCUSS ORGANISATION OF APPEAL IN THIS DISTRICT

Little Interest In Cancer Meeting J '• ■ { ; : ‘ • •

The meetiiig was convened by the of Whakatane, Mr B. S. Barry, and the County Chairman, Mr J. L. Burnett, at the instance of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society. Mr Barry presided. He said the Society had branches throughout the Empire, and a national campaign was inaugurated in New. Zealand to raise funds here. Radio broadcasts had been given. The object of the Society was to give cancer authorities and doctors the means to combat cancer. A Trust Fund had been formed" and a Board .•set up. Their aimjs were: First, to educate dhe public generally, and, second, -to supply the means to provide re- - search to find a cure. Medical View 4 Dr E. T. Dawson presented the medical point of view. He told the meeting that in New Zealand there were 2000 deaths annually from cancer—about one in 7 of all deaths. Heart disease was first <on the list of causes of death, ean<cer second. In later years it had been possible to diagnose cancer with much more certainty, than say, -twenty years ago. Therefore, the increase in the statistics of deaths irom cancer might be misleading in ■that, with faulty diagnoses there probably used to be many deaths from cancer attributed to other •causes. However, Dr Dawson said that, if diagnosed and treated early, there was good hope for the control and cure of cancer. “Pretty Well Flogged” Mr Barry thanked Dr Dawson for his address, and said the question now was, what action was Whakatane going to take? The appeal was worthy of support, but there was no doubt this district had been “pretty well flogged” lately. Mr Lovelock had offered to act as ’Treasurer for the Borough, and Mr Lucas for the County. If it were decided to set up a committee it would be necessary to appoint secretaries. Why Not A Tax? Mr Prince, Taneatua, said a public meeting had been held there and a resolution passed at that meeting was to the effect that while the meeting w.as sympathetic with the

Considering the fact that it was well-advertised, and that no fewer than thirty-nine local organisations had been invited to send delegates, Wednesday night’s attendance of 20 at the public meeting to plan a local appeal in connection with the Cancer campaign was disappointing. No committee was set up, but it was decided to open a subscription list.

campaign it felt that this was a national matter, and should be financed by the Government through taxation. He added that/the feeling was that by taxation the raising of the money was equable, whereas by individual appeal the person most able to pay was sometimes less generous. Mr D. Wilson, representing the R.S.A., said his organisation had not held a meeting since the receipt of the circular, but he was sure his executive would support whatever ‘decision the meeting made. Mrs A. W. Winstone said that the local branch of the Red Cross had not had a meeting either, but the Society as a whole supported the campaign, and she was sure local support would be forthcoming. Mr R. S. Buttimore suggested opening a subscription list and asking for limited donations, such as £1 per -family, or 5/- for an individual.

Rev R. T. Dodds said the Presbyterians would do their share. However he felt also that it should be on a national basis and could well be financed by taxation. Rev J. C. J, Wilson said it appeared by the very poor attendance that people were unaware of the meeting. Would it not be advisable to have further publicity, and call another meeting at a • later date? They Knew About It Mr Barry said the meeting had been advertised in the local paper for four issues, there had been six radio addresses, and invitations had been sent out to thirty-nine local organisations. In addition the Society had been in operation for about twenty years in New Zealand. In reply to a question from Mr Prince, Mr Barry said Jo make any suggestion to the Government at this stage that the fund be financed out of taxation would be detrimental to the present campaign. Apparently one could not expect the support from county and local organisations that had been received during the “Save the Children” appeal, said Mr Barry. There was no motion that a committee be set up, and in the absence of such a motion he felt that the only thing to do was to open a subscription list, and to write to local organisations inviting assistance.