DISTRICT NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3572, 7 September 1920, Page 4

DISTRICT NEWS.

EUROPE’S STARVING CHILDREN i ' I I UTIKU BLAZES THE TRAIL. | (From Our Own Correspondent). I Utiku has given a lead to other places in the inauguration of a scheme to assist the'starving babies of Central Europe, and the first venture took place on Sunday night, when despite the downpour of rain that set in just before seven o’clock, the attendance was of a gratifying nature. The Rev. W. Lea. of Taihape, pre- ; sided and Mr D. Jackson opened th<* ■ programme by singing “A Voice From i Paradise,” followed by Mrs Arthur > who sang “Nazareth.” 1 After Mr R. B. Smith, of Taihape, had sung “My Task,” Mr Lea gave ! an address. He said it was because 1 all on earth are of one family that wo : should show practical sympathy, for truly an awful problem presents itself in Europe to-day; for something like 5,000,000 children arc actually starving in Europe .while 13.000,000 are in dive distress. There is not enough food for all the children so that it has become necessary to select those to be saved, while the others are abandoned to starvation and death. Contlhuing, Mr Lea said, that at .the start o£ the famine, children would cat scraps of bread at the tables but now they have to search in the gutters for food that was unfit for human consumption. Thomas Hood had said: “Oh God! that bread should be so dear, and flesh an blood so cheap”; and surely in our hour of victory we never dreamed that such an awful situation should arise. After dealing with the awful condition >of the Armenians, Mr. Lea pointed out that in Servia, 500,000 ! children were fatherless, and half of :hese were starving’. Hundreds of ■chi’dren die daily, and babies who are not. fed by their weak, half-starved .mothers, have only frost-bitten potatoes to exist on. In closing, Mr. Lea said that 2/- per week would keep omchild, and be pointed out what other towns were doing. He appealed to them to assist the Fund. Mr. Smith :hcn sang “A Dream of Paradise.” Mrs. Arthur sang “Ora Pro Nobis.” and the singing of the National Anthem and the Benediction brought the meeting to a close. Mesdames Arthur and Prime (Ohutu) played the accompaniments. xTr. C. S Arthur,' the. hdtl treasurer of ‘he fund, has approximately £4 in hand, and it is hoped that this sum will be added to by donations Mud - of the credT P— the success of Sunday night’s gathering is due ! o the ®ev. W. Lea for Iris energetic interest.

and entliusdasm, while thanks are also due to th<? vocalists. NOTES FROM UTIKU. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The weekly euchre evening took place on Thursday night and fully maintained the excellent reputation that these evenings have gained. Mrs Curran and Mr Hardy of Ohutu) were the prize-winners. “Your Own” could not get the name of the ladies booby prize winner, and Master Bcb Limon won the gents booby. The High School Girls Hockey team came down on Saturday morning and in a game with the Kiwis Hockej Club proved victorious by five goals to nil. The goals were secured by Hilda Wapp (2). Annie Buckley (2) and Marjorie Sexton (1). Messrs Dunbar and Wilson were referees. Mr John S. Stowell, ’whose death is announced in Wanganui, was for many years a resident of Utikn, where he was well and favourably known. Had be a good education the late Mr Stowell would have made a name for himself; for he was g'fted in many ways, was a keen student of human nature, and of an observant nature. The late Mr Stowell was an interesting conversationalist, but it was as a-writer of verse that he was best known. Fourteen years above the allotted span, he has now passed on, thus adding another name to the great hand of pioneers who helped to carve out the foundations of our national life. May the earth rest lightly over the remains of Mr Stowell. The late Mr Fred Simpson was also well-known here, and many expressions of regret and appreciative remarks were passed when it became known that he had “crossed the bar.”