The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1910. THE HOSPITAL BOARD.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 March 1910, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1910. THE HOSPITAL BOARD.

To-MORitow is to be held the election of two trustees to represent the Horowlteiiua District on the remodelled District Hospital Board. The ratepayers of this important district are evincing an interest of more than usual degree in the election and its problems. To some extent this is due to the largeness of the issues newly raised, but it is due also to an appreciable extent, to the clearness and .insistence with which, on the public platform, the candidates for election have been placing the position before the ratepayers. Tho "Chronicle" uotod with- satisfaction that the Mayor of Levin, Mr B. R. Gardener, receiv«d a. vote of confidence at his local

meeting last Saturday, and no doubt this vote may be taken as an augury of Mr Gardener's reelection. That will be only li'is due, for he it was who in Wellington first publicly referred to the shortcomings and extravagance shown and practised in connection with certain hospital matters, and quoted figures to prove the ext-i----ordinary leakages of revenue that, have been permitted tlnoaji looseness in methods of collecting debts from patients. Assuming that Mr Gardener's re-election is sure, there remains to be filled one other position, and for this three candidates offer. Taking their names in alphabetical order, they appear as Messrs A. H. 80110, W." Tompsitt and F. W. Venn. All three are men of public repute and proved abilities, and no matter upon which one of them the public choice falls, it may be anticipated that a good ir-presen.tativo will be secured. That representative, however, must be firm (in the city meetings) to his protestations made at the district halls, and refuse to be sidetracked by special pleadings. The city representatives' contentions are that the general hospitals must be of necessity expensive institutions, awl that these expenses should bo borne equally by country and by city ratepayers. But this is fallacious reasoning. Quite apart from the question as to the too great expensiveness of tho city institutions, there is tho point that the city provides very gmit proportion of the hospital patients, and therefore should also foot a greater proportion of the bills. As an off-sot to this contention, a city trustee once argued that the healthier country districts .should be glad to help their less fortunate neighbours. To this there is a good answer. It is not so much tho case that there are fewer instances of indigent sick people in the* country as it is that Flie country people frequently succor, in their own centres, the class of cases that are, in the- city, generally rushed off to the hospital. And. further, though there are smaller percentages of poor in the country districts than in the cities, find less acute stages of destitution, it should be remembered also that the extremes of wealth are greater and more frequently occurring in tho cities than in the country. These last few noints have never been put to the Wellington District Hospital authorities, so far as the present writer lfnows, and it might be timely and profitable for this district's dw representatives to make thorn when the new board first discusses the general subject.