The Smith Family

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 109, 1 February 1935, Page 13

The Smith Family

Sir, —Many relief workers have requested me to seek the following information per courtesy of your columns: — As the Mayor’s fund relief committee has published annual balance-sheets, showing details of income and expenditure in a proper business-like maimer, therebj’ allowing the public to inspect how the funds it provides are administered, why is it that the Smith Family has not, since its inception, adopted a similar businesslike procedure? A persistent recurring query reaches me as to whether any of the Smith Family administrators or staff are in receipt of payments from the publiclysubscribed fund which tliey operate upon, and as I have not yet seen a balancesheet, the question cannot be answered; and I think it would be beneficial to the Smith Family if this matter could be publicly cleared up. —I am, etc., D. McLAUGIILIN. Wellington, January 30. [The above letter was referred to the secretary of the Smith Family, who stated that the balance-sheet of the society, which was a private -organisation, was audited by a chartered accountant, and had been presented to the annual meeting and passed. Any member of the Smith Family was at liberty at any time to inspect the statement of accounts. The salaries paid to officials of the society, he said, were very low.]