PAYMENT OF OFFICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 June 1920, Page 2

PAYMENT OF OFFICE.

To the Editor." Sir,—Like a ray of sunshine through the gloom of winter, or a whiff of fragnance from the ointment which ran down uJLn Aaron™ beard in the days of long ago, cornea the announcement that at the recent conference of hospital nilers the chairman of our Taranakl Board alone voted against the proposal to make the position a paid one. No one who has followed the work done by those gentlemen who devote bo much of their lime to administering charitable aid and controlling our institutions for the care of the sick ami decrepit will say that they do not, taking them all round, deserve such recognition but the Incident shrtvs that we have yet one in the community who holds the old-fashioned notion that the honor of a public position is In itself some compensation for service to the community. Time was when of all such appointments only mayors and chairmen of county councils drew modest sums Intended to recoup them for out-of-pocket expenses, but things liavo changed, and in these progressive days only the chairmanship of hospital and charitable aid boards remains an unpaid office. When one thinks of the Invaluable honorary work of such men as the late Mr. Jaunes Bellrlngetf, the late Mr Thomas King, and of some others who harolly, are still with us, it must be admitted that once upon a time we had some bigger souled citizens than the average public man of to day, But liata off to Mr. Fraserl.— I am etc., i OLD TIMER. '