THE RED JERSEY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 193, 4 May 1918, Page 9

THE RED JERSEY

STREET COLLECTIONS TOTAL £600 £13,000 SUBSCRIBED TO DATE RED AND BLUE ARTILLERY BATTLE BEGINS The Citizens' Committee of the Hed Jersey appeal were fortunate in having nne, crisp, sunny weather yesterday for their recruiting day, and for the firing of tlio first shot in tho battle of tho Ilea and Blue artillery. Thousands of recruits for each aviny were enrolled by the simple process of buying a badge from an irresistible seller in the streets. ,'Xhe value of theso badges ranged from Is., the plain red nnd blue, to £1 Is. for a silver one, with the words "Eed Jersey Appeal" in gold letters, on a maroon ground. Aβ an intermediate cloico there was 5 striking blue and whito or red and whito badge, with a similar' legend upon it. The Btreet collectors nnd stalls realised over .£6OO. From an early hour of the forenoon lintil darkness canio, tho sellers of badges and the_ stall-holders kept their stations.' Rum time to time fresh supplies were brought to.them in motor-cars, with red and blue flags fluttering, and the money they had amassod was taken away to No. 1 committee room in the Town Hall, where Major Page, the Eed Jersey treasurer, aided by willing assistants, kept 'account of it, crediting' each stall and etation with the amount tar;eu. iThrco soldiers, back from the war, Cor. poral Paltridge, Trooper Boss, arid Gunner Brown, gave valuablo assistance. They carried a Nfcval ensign, lent by Messrs. Richardson Bros., of Cuba Street, into (which they invited citizens to throw coins, many responding to the invitation. Miss Miller, of tho Fisk Jubilee Singers, nlso vendored valuable assistance Although there waa no striking demonstration, thero wan an air of business about the streets, and tho rcsponso by the public was quite remarkable, considering fho jnanv calk which have been made upon Its pockets lately. "Some day there will be an end of giving" runs tho Eed Jersey Blogan, "but that ond is not jot." Ample evidence of tho truth of thin maxim is to be found in tho splendid results achieved by yestorday's workers. In practically every busy placo in the city, there was a stall. Opposito the j Government Buildings was one, staffed ! by the Lady Liverpool Guild workers, | nnd presided over by Mrs. T. Hamer. Here were sold flowers, fruit, produce, cakes, badges, etc., and a good business ■was done, tho takings for the day being nbdut c£s6, as nearly as could bo cal- j pulated lest night.

The Women's National Eeservo stall, in chargo ot Mrs. 1. 0. H. Tripp, was at Lindsay's turner, and tho result achieved by the sale of floweTS and badges amounted in current coin to .£3O 10s., this #gure, like the others being approximate. Across tho road, under Kirkcaldie and Stains' verandah, Mrs. Campboll, Miss Birch, Miss Lawson, and otners formed a busy band of helpers from the Y.W.C.A., whose stall was well placed in the reckoning up of the day's toll, .£37 9s. lOd. standing to its credit. The St. John Ambulance stall at the General Post Uffico was in charge of Mrs. Preston and Mre. Spotswood, tho dav'a business yielded 13s. The Press stall, situated at Kelburn 'Avenue,. was in charge of Mrs. C, W. Earlo, with Jto. K. Kirkcaldie, Mrs. Darling, and Mrs. Geddis. It comprised iwo long counters, where cake?, produco, poultry, and huge quantities of flowers were Bold. Very heavy business .•was.transacted, and tho stall's tally waa a little under .£BO when closing time came. The other Press stall at the corner of Boulcott Street, in charge of Mrs. W. Blundell, Mrs. C W. Tringham, Mrs. Diggis Smith, and others did exceedingly well, while stock held out. When everything was sold out—early in tho afternoon—ovor S3O had been realised.

The stall at the Bank of New Zealand cornor was provided by the Commercial (Travellers' Association, Mrs. Carlton being in charge. This busy corner produced •*C67 Vs. ,'i'ne Letter-Carriers' Union was in evidence at Mercer Street. The total of this stall was not available lastnight us the collectors were still out at a late Jiour. Winder's corner was the Ration occupied by the etall of the Citizens' Gift (League, where was taken. At Voitch 'end Allan's the Natives' Association, represented by Mrs. Rountree, realised £A Jss. Mrs. Clarke wae in charge of the Suburbs' stall at Courtenay Place, which paid in .£l9 10s., and the Onslow Borough Etall at Thorndon, in charge of Mrs. Dale, gathered in money, too, the total being Mi -10s., -with ono more box to .come in.

One of the features of the day was itle firing of the first shot in the Red and Blue artillery battle by the. Mayor (Mr. ',7. P. Luke, C.M.G.) at the Bank of New Zealand corner, in the presenco of an enthusiastic feathering, which included ■Mts. Luke, Mr". L. 0. H. Tripp, cliairjnan of the Citizens' Committee, Captain Monro, and others interested in the campaign. In a brief speech, Mr. Luke eulogised the work of the Salvation lArniy, both in times of peace and war. ffhe present appeal was one; worthy of fche widest recognition and assistance. He 'appreciated being asked to fire the first phot. "One cannot lightly estimate the value

lof this appeal," said Mr. Lute. "To-day ami for some tiuio to coino a war will bo waged between Ike Ked and Blue forces. Tho sum of JE2500 has been contributed on behalf of the Blue Army, and to-day it ia my privilege to lire tho first (shot for tho Blue Army. (Cheers.) "To tho Eed Army I would say: 'Do not feel dispirited. You will probably exceed this with your iirst shot. I now ask the man at the gun to firo tho shot for mo as Mayor of Wellington." The shot was fired, and is now registered in the target on tho Lank. Adjutant Hoslring stated that tho Hed Army's total was nearly ,£2500, and a return shot was expected to bo fired at any moment. Mr. Luke announced that the Wuirarapa total to date- was .£IO,OOO. Cheers woro given for tho Eed Jersey and for tho boys, and inoro cheers for Mr. and Mrs. Lnko.

Tho baby competition campaign, tho proceeds of which (tho amount collected was not available last night) will ho devoted to tho Red Jersey appeal, was carried out during yesterday and last evening, when two motor lorries paraded tho streets. On ono of these was a party of clowns and players, who collected from £ho crowd. Tho other lorry was one of the Post Offico vans, carried the Salvation Army Bnnd, and attracted an oven larger throng, doing business in proportion? During tho day refreshments were provided in the Town Hall for workers in the campaign.