SATURDAY, JULY 23,1966. Meal Tax For The Hungry

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 14

SATURDAY, JULY 23,1966. Meal Tax For The Hungry

The Government in India is currently facing the task of finding food rations for about 125 million people—in round figures, a quarter of the country’s population. United States grain, going to Indian ports at the rate of over a million tons a month, is helping in that gigantic task. But even aid on such a generous scale does not mean that sufficiency is assured. Given fair distribution, it merely means that for millions of men, women, and children the worst pangs of hunger will be allayed. Nor is hunger alone to be contended with. Thirst accompanies it. For the failure of the monsoon means drought; not crop losses alone, but also the drying out of wells and pools and other traditional sources of water supply. Last year’s drought in India was the worst for over 70 years, and the peak of crisis is being reached now. The 100 days from May to the end of July are the worst This year’s monsoon came in on time this month, but fell away. If it does not recover there will be worse to come in the way of famine disaster.

This, then, is the background against which the Christchurch Junior Chamber of Commerce is seeking to help the C.0.R.5.0. Freedom from Hunger Campaign, with Indian relief as the major objective. The “Penny a Meal” scheme is an admirable conception. The meal-table- contribution box, it is certain, will be welcomed in every household, where it will be a reminder, amidst our customary plenty, of want patiently endured by millions of the world’s less fortunate. From August 1 to September 2 the boxes should claim, without cavil, their modest meal tax of a penny a head; and the end result, in a city the size of Christchurch, must be a substantial sum for the purchase of milk powder. The calculation is that over the month a household of four will contribute about £1 12s, £1 being sufficient to provide a milk drink for an Indian child every day for a year. The Junior Chamber is taking care that none but its accredited representatives have a part in the scheme —the delivery of the boxes and their collection. There are many households of more than four persons, and many also where the daily levy will exceed the penny minimum. The sheer magnitude of the Indian problem, relative to our own fortunate circumstances, should guarantee the handing over to C.0.R.5.0. of a cheque of heartening size.