THE BABY BONUS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1876, 9 October 1913, Page 6

THE BABY BONUS.

GOOD FOR THE CHARITIES. A rather good story illustrating liotf tho Fisher Government's Baby Bonus Act operates in a- great many cases is told by Mr. W. H. P. Barber, who returned yesterday from a visit to Australia. He states that ho was in the company of a number of gentlemen ono night in Melbourne and happened to hoar 0110 of theiu_ congratulate another on tho latest increase to liis family. "Did you apply for the. bonus?" asked the one. "No," replied tho happy father, "but I'm going to for tho sake of tho Blind Institute 1"

Seeking to know what tho connection was between the baby bonus (£5) and tho Blind Institute, Mr. Barber learned that nearly all the well-to-do people wero applying for the bonuSf when they were in a position to do so, but as a rulo thoy donated tho £5 to whatever charity they happened to bo most interested in. The, result was that not only did tho charitable institution concerned receive tho £5, but that amount being a gift the Government had to subsidise it to tho extent of 245. to tho £. This meant that whereas the Government had to pay out £o to a working man on tho birth of a child, they wore being squeezed for £11 per head in the case of tho babes of tho wealthy. To such an oxtent had tlio practice grown that' tho secretaries of tho various charitable institutions scanned tlio papers daily for news of births in tho households of the rich} and lost no timo in requesting tho parents to apply for tho bonus in th« interests of charity. This is hardly what Mr. Andrew Fisher intended when ho brought in his monetary inducement to keep tho cradles full, but it was what was actually happening in Australia.