MEN GAMBLING ON SUSTENANCE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 134, 23 June 1937, Page 5

MEN GAMBLING ON SUSTENANCE

— Ovra Correspondent.) -

Magistrate's Coupon 4 Plan Meets Mixed Reception PREVENTING ABUSE

(By Telegraph-

AUCKLAND, This Day. Suggestions |iade by Mr "Wyvefn Wxlson, S.M., that sustenance men should be paid in non-negotiable coupons have had a mixed reception by Auckland soeial workex's. Opinions vai'y, some giving support to the suggestion on the groun.d that mueh BUSteUance nxoney is helping to fill the poekei's of hotel and gambling school propfietdrs, While others holfL that there are few inexi who squattder their money and that the present system should not be abolished becanse of a few wasters. "The incrOased sustenance pay has not been a help; generally speaking, it has beett a cuiise/' Said Mfs N. M._ Molesworth, inspector Of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children. "We have had dozens of caees of men spending their sustenance money in drinking, playang pakapoo, betting on racehorses and playlng two up in gambling schools. There is ixo doubt that Bustenance payments have been abused both by husbands and Wives. ♦ i A system of non-negotiable coupons, said Mrs Molesworth, would prevent abuse. It would induce men to find work. While men had money in their pockets they did not worry about looking for jobs. An old saying, but a true one, applicable to many sustenanee men was "The devil finds mischxef for xdle hands to do." Many an Auckland family had been found on the verge of starvation because sustenance money had been spent on drinking and gambling. "But I am sorry for these men," added Mrs Molesworth. "So many of them are fine men who feel their position keenly. The greater percentage of them are worthy men, but there are also a lot of wasters. If there is no alternative, the suggested coupon system would 'be better than allowlng the men to squander the money as many of them do at present. " Disagreejnent wdth the suggestion that sustenance men should be gxven coupons was expressed 'by the Rev. T. Halliday, Presbyterian social worker. "I don't like the suggestion at all," he said. "You can't take their liberty away from them. I don't think the present system shopld be altered for a few rotters. My candid opinion is that there are few who spend their money gambling. Most of the sustenanee men are really genuine fellows who would take work if they could get it. I think too mueh fuss is made about a few who are found gambling." Admitting that he occasionally encountered instanees of men spending thexr money on races, Mr Halliday said the number was very small in comparison with the number who were receiving sustenauce. "But there is a tremendous amount of drinking and a great deal of money i's spent in the hotels," he added, "I hold the view that if the men were found work, drinking would be minimised." "Who doesn't have a little flutter," asked Monsignor Holbrook, parish priest of Grey Lynn. "So long as a man's betting does not bring hardship on his family, why shouldn't he have a little fun occasionally? I cannot see why all the sustenance men should be penalised for the delinquencxes of a few. But if there are a few men who abuse their sustenanee money, the money should be paid direct to their wiives and families. There is no need to stampede the lot."