MAYOR DISAPPOINTED

Chronicle (Levin), 21 January 1948, Page 4

MAYOR DISAPPOINTED

Poor ResponseTo Food For Britain Appeal He was disappointed a,t the almost complete failure of the food for Britain appeal, particularly after such a heartening lead had been given by the school children and Various organisatiOns, said the Mayor, Mr. H. B. Burdekin, at Monday night's meeting of the Levin Borough Council. Special subscription lists were sent round to variOUs shops and b'usinesses, biit in most cases there was not a Single name on them. He was diffident abOut mentioning the matter in council, continued the Mayor, but it was there that the scheme had originated. He had held out great hopes after seeing such a large gathering ^of representative bodies whicfi had turned up at the original meeting, but lately there had been little activity. "I now propose to take the matter in hand and arrange for an active canvass of the town and district to raise the original obj.ective of £500. At present they are still ofily half-way to this amount. We have had a wonderful Christmas with no shortages, and should have more consideration "and thought for those on the other side. . u "There is an ever increasing need for assistance of a certain kind; We are told no one is starving and we are very thankful for that, but ' ' we are also told that there is no variety in the food." Continuing, Mr. Burdekin said that one section of Britain's community which he consider.ed most important, but about which little was said, was the young people. It was upon tliem that Britain's future depended. They must have nutritious food, and they were not getting it. He said he believed hat certain items of food should be taken ofT the ma ket so that "something extra" could be sent over to Britain. Expressing his regret that the local drive was failing, Mr. Burdekin said that it did seem wrong and so terribly selfish that in the midst of plenty the appeal should go flat. "I'm going to make this appeal a personal matter. I cannot hear it said that Levin and district have failed, and hope that at the February meeting I can tell you that the fund has been augmehted and has perhaps passed our'goal." . Following the Mayor's statement, Cr.. C. Sherwood suggested that an appeal be made to all workers to put aside a small amount each iweek from their wages so that a fund could be cr.eate'd." Replying, Mr. Burdekin said the . scheme was a sound one, but he thought that a" large drive should, come first. Cr. Sherwood's suggesr tion could be used later. He did not want to decry the efforts, but it had to be remembered that the appeal was not a new one, safd Cr. R. A. Frederikson. Other organisation's were holding such drives' and many people were already giving as much as they j could alford, in..many cases through the other organisations, or by way of personal parcels to relatives and friends. It was not altogether that the people were not giving, but that a little less was going through the larger channels. He believed that the fault lay with those higher up. ,The powers were not giving a direct lead. There was no doubt a lot in what Cr. Frederikson said. The subject } was a political one, said Mr*. ( Burdekin. There were thousands of people in Britain who had no relatives in New Zealand or the Dominions, and it was these that the committee was desirous of reaching. "If the scheme is properly organised, I think we will get there all right." * .. ' , 1 ? ' 1 ■ > 4 : V \