Are Soup Kitchens Coming ?

Hokitika Guardian, 11 February 1922, Page 1

Are Soup Kitchens Coming ?

(Lyttelton Times). The principal Government organ, the Wellington “Dominion,” prints, for the encouragement of its readers, a little article headed “Hard Times—How the Man on the Road Views It.” It tells the story of a “tall, sunburned and solidly-built” individual who was tramping the country looking for work he could not find. He had been on active service, and after his return he had lost his job on the farm on which he was working. According to the “Dominion,” this individual was perfectly happy. He thoroughly realised that lie could not expect his employer to keep him on in such “hard times” as New Zealand is at present experiencing, and, of course, he was solidly in favour of “Bill Massey,” and waxed eloquent in his admiration of that great statesman “fighting hard to keep a lot of fools from wrecking the country altogether.” We think the “Dominion” is well advised to enshrine this incident in print. It is so extremely unique. Incidentally its admission that the, country is at least partially wrecked is informative, and the caption “Hard Times” is quite reminiscent of the last time this country had a Tory Government in power. The only thing required to complete the touching story is a concluding paragraph relating how the tall and sunburned one at last found relief from his sufferings in a soup-kitchen.