THE CARNIVAL

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 49, 26 August 1933, Page 12

THE CARNIVAL

QUESTION OF COLLECTIONS

(To the Editor.) Sir, —May I congratulate your correspondent, ''In Earnest," on his courage in [Hilling himself in the unpleasant position of being the one who protests against a charity collection. It is up to the many of us who agree with his protest against an immense collection at the Confidence Carnival to come forward in his support. And in seconding his remarks, I wish to add that not only will the introduction of this extensive collecting ruin the carnival from the general public's point of view, but also it will come close to ruining the entile Christinas trade for the local retailers. And let me make it quite clear that I, in common with the retailers of this city, have the greatest ■ sympathy for the poor, have made myself a positive nuisance upholding them, and have given every penny I could spare to them for the last three difficult years. But we also must make a living, and it is coming to the point in the city when there won't be enough cash left to the people to do any ordinary shopping. Solidly all this year the collecting has gone on —each carnival, fair, and party leaving its depression mark in our takingsbooks. An interesting change has been noticed this year, however, in that hardly any poor have come in to ask for work or help, leading us to believe that at least our sacrifices for the collections were resulting in everyone being looked after. And now suddenly we are told that £15,00t) is to be collected from this city just before I Christmas. I wish to protest very strongly against | the way this Confidence Carnival has been misrepresented to us until we were definitely committed to it. The business people who expressed alarm at the idea of a huge carnival just before Christmas were definitely told that it was quite all right, there was to be no collecting or money-making whatever—just a self-sup-povting bit of fun to chase the gloom away. We should have had our suspicions aroused. I see now, by the solid turning | aside of experienced men's advice that a carnival of that type is only a success here in I'ebruary or March —it wasn't going to be a carnival "of that type." No, when | arrangements and commitments have been I definitely made, it was announced that money would be made for the Mayor's Fund and that as other cities have been known to collect £10,000, we would have to pet £15,000 to beat them. But must we beat them? This is not a game, you know, but a matter of people's livelihood. After all this year's endless procession of fairs, carnivals, and collections—from the latest of which local trade has not yet recovered—l think we are entitled to ask for someone in authority to explain in detail why it is absolutely necessary that £15.000 be put out of circulation in this city at Hie only time of the year when the retail trader now has a chance of making his trade up a bit.—l am, etc., LOXG-SUFFEKING RETAILER.