BASIC SLAG BAG WANTED.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 October 1915, Page 7

BASIC SLAG BAG WANTED.

To the Editor. • Sir,—The Defence Department has authorised me to appeal to all patriotic committees in the North Island to collect empty basic slag bags from the farmers of the districts. These bags are almost the same proportions as the regulation sand bag, and for that purpose the Defence Department will ship tliem away in any quantity to the front. As the basic slag bags need no alteration, there is practically nothing to be done but to pack them for transport. For this purpose we are calling on the various centres to appoint depots, and advertise for farmers to send their boys there. I have written to the Patriotic Committees of New Plymouth, Stratford, Hawera, and Waverley, asking them to arrange depots in their respective towns for Taranaki. By canvassing the whole of the No||th Island simultaneously, many thousands of empty basic slag bags, now lying uselessly on the farms, may be converted into a valuable shelter for the soldiers. Will you be good enough, through your paper, to aid the patriotic committees of the towns mentioned to get in touch with the farmers in Taranaki t—l am, etc., M. E. BARKER. Daanevirke, Oct. 18, 1915. BRITISH WOMEN'S HOSPITAL ! i (To the Editor.) Sir, —I crave the publicity of your valuable paper to make an appeal to British women and our sisters overseas. Though many British women are giving all their time and money to running either their own private hospitals or public ones, we feel that there are still a great many women of means who—in spite of the many calls —wish to cooperate with their less wealthy sisters in supporting a hospital specially known as the British Women's Hosiptal, the first unit of which Is for our French ally. With the knowledge of another winter campaign and some of tlio severest fighting of the war still in front of the troops, we feel that this is a particularly favorable moment for British women to show their sympathy for their sisters in France, and—as a token of gratitude at being spared the horrors of invasionoffer a worthy tribute to the French for their sick and wounded soldiers. We are appealing for £50,000, of which £25,000 is to he set aside for one year's expenses for the complete unit of 250 beds for France, the other £25,000 towards our second unit for one of our other great Allies, and a Convalescent Hospital for our own soldiers. Wo feel that the spirit of the gift is of as much value as the gift itself, and all contributions will be most gratefuly acknowledged, but we know that our sisters overseas—for a great object—will give gladly and freely.—l am, etc. GERTRUDE FORBES-ROBERTSON. London, Sept. 8, 1915. "OTHER matters:; To the Editor, Sir, —Mr. W. R, Wright, writing on "Binoculars for Troopers, and Other Matters," is evidently aiming chiefly at "Other Matters." It happens that today's mail brought me, among other things, a copy of "The New Republic," of U.S.A., in which is an article that replies very pointedly to Mr. Wright's foot-note. He (Mr. Wright) tells us what Lieutenant Oakey says (not Okey; one of that family would not write in that way); and then he gives his own notion about the Russian prohibition of vodka. To this the following, from "The New Republic," is a very telling reply It is under date New York Citjj Sept.

11, and reads: "The Russian newspapers that come to this country confirm fully the stories that American correspondents have cabled from Petrograd regarding the beneficient results of the prohibition of drink in the Tsar's domain. 'The Niva,' Petrograd, of July 18, prints a letter from a Russian soldier on the subject of temperance. The following is a translation of the Russian soldier's letter: 'I love my country, but, without being in the least prejudiced, I think I am justified in Baying that temperance was sent to us by the Lord as a guarantee of our success in this great struggle, because we are in the right. My ignorance and my poor control over the literary style will not permit me to state clearly and logically what I have in mindi Still, I cannot help saying a few words about temperance. It is only here, in the army, that I really understood that temperance is the foundation of all our successes. I am firmly convinced that in the future we can be happy only as long as there are no wine-shops and no kabaks. If you only knew with what joy and gratitude we all, or at least 99 per cent, of us, realise this miracle of our liberation from the Green Serpent. All through the mobilisation and the movements of tho troops all of us soldiers were sober. And we are sober now. Sober, we took leave of our families; sober we left our homes; sober we faced our foe, and calmly bear our heavy burden.'" If not superfluous, I would point out that the Russian prohibition began with the mobilisation at the very beginning of the war, and was in force (as it still is) during the early advances they made, and long before they had to retire before the overwhelming German artillery; and I would ask, how do our Russian Allies stand now!— I am, etc., GEO. H. MAUNDER. 19/10/15.