ROBBERY OF MONEY SUBSCRIBED BY PUBLIC

NZ Truth, Issue 1200, 29 November 1928, Page 1

ROBBERY OF MONEY SUBSCRIBED BY PUBLIC

■.-•■- ; "•'■". — * < FO.R a considerable time past complaints have been lodged with the. staff of this, paper about the administration of the patriotic funds. It has become. a by- word m the city that there has been a serious leakage, and the diggers who are especially in- \ terested and the public generally are asking m no uncertain voice Syhat the facts of the matter are., „ • / " Little satisfaction has -been given them, and there seems scant prospect of the officials and "heads'^ of the concern enlightening the publi.c on the subject. .:.■'.''.',_ It is common gossip that a sum . variously estimated at from £1000 to £1500. has been filched; from the coffers of the fund, but. by whom? No public . denial has been issued with the object of silencing the rumors as unfounded, and m view of inquiries made by the staff of this journal thei*e is y little; if any, doubt that , somebody has helped himself* to i a big slice of i money that does not belong to him. When "Truth" representatives, called ' upon Kay -at the offices of the association with a small questionnaire they were received with the utlllll!!lllllllllllllllllllllil!!lllllll!!lllll!l!llllilllllllliilliil!l!)!llllllllllllll!lllllilillll^

Amazing ReticenGe Of Patriotic Society Officials, In Refusing To Explain Rumors Of Peculation WAS SHORTAGE MAD^ "N.Z. Truth's" Questionnaire That Must Be Answered ' From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.

Whose pilfering fingers have been robbing the funds of the Auckland Patriotic Association and incidentally, the necessitous ex-soldiers to the tune of several hundreds of pounds ? v , ' r / : .... ■<*aj'-7t *L"'k ™ ' Having failed to elicit any satisfactory) reply to this question from prominent members of the association, /V. /S. I ruth has no hesitation in repeating the query in^public. Whose pilfering fibers fobbed the "Diggers?" < . , The public who subscribed the funds administered ] by the ass^daUonare entitled to know the full facts, and this journal has no Mention of allowing the blanket of silence to cover up what beqrs^ry indication of being a scandalous episode m the history of a body that should, above all others, be beyond reproach. ;■ ' ■ *.'■''. • •'■'. '■ ■

he was asked. Craig declined to admit anything, and gave the same reply to the question that had been , put to Kay earlier. ; .' 'The '; tyrids are :inf ormatibn t h a t ■\vaa" iorthcomirig. "Is it a fact that defalcations have since been made good?" . was the next query. Craig refused to answer this question. . When asked if he would affirm or deny the- rumor that there had been a serious defalcation he would do neither. "The funds are intact," he repeated. "Well, if the suggestion is put to you that they were not intact a fe« r weeks ago, what would your answer be?" Craig smiled enigmatically. You put it very diplomatically," he said; "but I will be just as diplomatic m my reply. The fund is intact." And from that standpoint Craig refused to budge. It will be seen readily that there is something beneath the surface of replies made by Messrs. Kay and Craig to "Truth." Naturally, nobody connected with the administration o f the funds desires any publicity that might tend 'to throw discredit on anyb o d y connected with it. But m spite of their guarded answers, neither Kay nor G.aig was entirely successful m concealing the fact that something of an unorthodox nature had occurred m regard to the funds. Were it otherwise, ,why the need for all the evasion and

8o perplexing was the political situation a few days ago that many people thought that Coates didn't know whether he was on his head or his heels. But now, having decided to call Parliament together on December 4, he is evidently preparing to doff the top hat and the frock coat of office.

(5) By what process of reasoning does the association arrive at the conclusion that the matter is not of public interest and should be hushed up? • . -.'".'. (6) Will the Association, to allay the public dissatisfaction, make public without delay a full and complete statement of the finances of the fund and all information relative thereto? The whole matter should, be thrashed out m public. If the funds have been the prey of thieving :fingers the thief should be brought to justice, and art explanation should be forthcoming <of what right the Association, the custodian of publicity-subscribed funds, has to keep the : matter sub rosa. .- The Association , officials have not the slightest right to keep it dark, and the sooner they understand that fact the better for all concerned. 'Let the culprit, if there, be one, as seems certain, be brought to justice, and' let the Association give the; public the full arid ungarnisned truth. ■ \ For the people who subscribed . the funds have ah absolute right to be fully informed of the' facts. : ilrltnilltrfflttttliirillfltlrttMlfiiltttntilrlillftitfriilliilitliitililiiiiiiiiniilfiiiiiiiiitiii

most courtesy, but Kay is not a firstclass exponent of the poker face type of secrecy. True, he said nothing of : any great importance, and certainly made ho damaging admissions' concerning the affairs of the association, but it- was what he did not say that v was significant. . When ;:aske^if; ! -hl cared^t£jgi^_£n:^ .iexpian^itfri^f-th-e^tnTi^ circulating, he Informed the. Interviewers that he had nothing to say on the matter. "Is it a fact that there has ; been a serious leakage by defalcation m the, patriotic funds?" he was asked. Kay was quite ready With his answer. . , "All I. can tell you," he said, "is that the funds of the Association are intact." ~ , . "Well, ■. how do you account for the rumors that are going round?" Kay made no attempt, to explain the rumors. He had nothing to say except that the funds were intact. His insistence on this point prompted another question: — "Is it not a fact that th,ere has been a big defalcation and that the amount .. , — — : 1

has been made good?" But the secretary refused to be drawn. "I have already given you the explanation, and I have nothing further to add," he said. Naturally, from the Association's point of view) assuming there had been a defalcation/any publicity would not be m the interests of the fund, suggested "Truth." ■'•■■;■ Kay did not think it was a matter for public discussion. He was politely informed that the public could hardly be expected to agree with ' that view of the matter. Trie view taken by this! paper, ' he was told, was' that as the patriotic funds had been subscribed by the public, m the first place, for '•' the purpose of giving benefit to necessitous ex- soldiers, the matter was one of vital public concern. Kay, .however, refused to discuss the, matter further, except to i-epeat that he had- told the interviewers that the funds were intact, and that the audit-oi-s "would confirm that,; if confirm-, ation were desired. Thus closed the interview .with the secretaryA call was then paid on E. Craig, a member of the committee. "Is it a fact that, there has been a big leakage m the patriotic funds?"

their refusal to discuss the matter openly? If there has been no serious defalca-! tion, neither Kay nor Craig had any object m talking m riddles, .as both of : mv i v (; ' (i ' : ?' < -«-v v.'.? . R^inbyi" -so •a lying' jJide, can effectively be suenced by candor and the revelation of the real facts. But 'no : attempt, whatever has been made to silence the rumor. .Concealment, under cover of. a •cloud of airy, vague words, which meant nothing, could have no aim or purpose if everything cpn-< cernirig the funds of the Association was above board. If there was no truth m the suggestion that somebody ' had helped himself to a large sum of money held m trust, as it is, it would have been to the interests of the Association to come out m the open with a full and frank statement. A flat denial and >a complete disavowal of" the truth of the rumors would perforce have been accepted, < and the public disquiet as to the position set at rest. . .; There, seems to, be not .the slightest doubt that somebody connected with the fund was m; a position to exploit it to full personal advantage and, renarkable to -relate, 'j?et away with. the proceeds of his. crime. i - That the money has been made good to avoid a public scandal there nrtn be no possibledoubt. , Evidently 'somebody has put his t hands m his pockets and made good the'' defalcation. If this is so, the culprit is a

lucky knave, who .is '.being- treated with a mercy and consideration the facts do not merit. .' ■ Whatever the measure of publicity an exposure of the thief would involve, he should be brought . to book, if for no other reason than to emphasise the fact that patriotic funds are a sacred • trust,; and,. ar.^not;:ta-: l b.p-'--'tlie: '/.dipping ''pool pf thieving . fingers; ■'.' ; ' " - It is very difficult to arrive at an approximate estimate of the . defalcations, but they may be set down at a conservative figure of several hundreds. : '. This alone tends to', show' up. grave laxity m the administration of , the funds. That such a sum is invoiyed implies peculation over a lengthy period. ■ ' ■ i The secretary explained when asked about the system of audit that there was an audit, every month—"practically a continuous audit." And yet, ir spite of this, it is possible, as on the facts seems quite evident, for the funds to. be "soaked" to the tune o! several hundreds of pounds at least. This does not say much for the system of, supervision — always . provided

of . course, that the money has beer stolen, though since made good. But the facts seem too strong tc ■stand the test of an emphatic denial. And no such denial , has been forthcoming. .. , . ; ' v The evasive replies to "Truth's"" questions were the reverse of satisfactory, no matter how satisfactory they may have been deemed to be by Craig, and Kay. The public, is entitled to the- full facts, ; and the , Association m duty bound, must come out m the open and make a complete a^nd comprehensive statement as tp/the actual position. That those m .'con tror may be guided m, preparing that statement' "Truth" submits the following questionnaire: — (1) Is it a fact that a sum variously estimated at from £1000 to '.£ISOO has been' stolen from the .funds? 1 (2) If so, what is the exactamount and who is the person responsible? (3) Is it true that the, amount of the' defalcations (if any) has been made good? (4) Why, if the funds were stolen, has the culprit not been prosecuted, and- is it a fact that; the reason why there have been no criminal proceedings is because of a certain amount of social pull enjoyed by the culprit?-