BABY CLOTHES SHORTAGE

Chronicle (Levin), 15 April 1947, Page 7

BABY CLOTHES SHORTAGE

PLUNKET SOCIETY RBVIEW A'umerous appeals liave been reeeive. !y the Plunkot bucrety irojn nurses i; ,'harge oi' ante-natnl ciinies seeking Lh society 's assistauce m coping with tn Jesperate position of expectant xnotlier who are forced to tranip the street looking for llannel cot olankets, ba I >t knitting wooi, and ' light-weight gar nients, oftcn without' success. The Ifominion .sOdrqtary of the societ, (Idiss Ii. P. Kapp.sj said that these ai> peais were eonung frota all paris oi A'ew Zealand and emphasis was laid oii tlie fact that with, winter approaching the pliglit of inany young mothers avus sei'ious. • A letter was reeeived from the secrv tai'y of the X ew Zealand Woollen liii Owners,Assoeiatioii ( Alr. A. S. (.'ookson stating. that one of the ehief dilliculties of the mills was tlre shortage of labou which was even more serious tlian tli> public realised. The shortage in th' number of personnel was in itself des perate, being many hundreds all tohi but in addition many of those eonsti tuting the present staffs had not the ex perience of those the industry liad lost This faetor alone caused a furUim diminutiou in output. Oontrarv to public belicf, how-ever substautial quantities of knitting wools flannels, and bl'ankets were being pro dueed but tlie demand was so great ato make it appear that nothing wa being done. The manufactur-e of a! white goods, flanuel, knitting wool, anblankets was frauglit with technicu difficulties which very considerably al fected the volume of production an 'vvhile the mills were so heavilv presse for production in other directions therc was a natural reluctance to undertaki work entailing a distinct produ'ctioi. loss. " Tn spite of all the difficulties it ha encountered," said ' Miss Rapps, " tli Plunket Society has no intention of rc . laxing its efforts to improve the prc sent situation which has beeome vir Tuallv a -national emergency and fur ther action will be decided on at : Doniinion council meeting to be licld in Wellington at tlie end of the month."