PATRIOTIC FUNDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 August 1941, Page 4

PATRIOTIC FUNDS

TAXATION ON DONATIONS MASTERTON COMMITTEE’S VIEW. GOVERNMENT'S OBLIGATIONS. Although a previous resolution by the Masterton Patriotic Committee urging the raising of patriotic funds by taxation was not supported by a conference of interested bodies in Wellington, the Masterton Committee, at a meeting last night, adhered to its original decision. The Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, presided. Mr H. J. Brass, president of the Wairarapa R.S.A., said that expenditure could be looked into to prevent certain items being paid for by the Patriotic Council when they should be a charge on the War Expenses Account. Mr Jordan said that endeavours were continually being made to make the Government face up to its obligations. Mr Brass considered that the Government should pay for recreation huts in military camps. Mr Jordan observed that the patriotic funds were not being used to pay for them. In the Wellington province the patriotic- council had adopted the principle of spending money not on the men who were going overseas but on those coming back.

Mr G. T. O'Hara Smith said that it would be wrong to describe the present method of collection of patriotic funds as voluntary. “Money was extracted by all sorts of ways and means —legal and otherwise,” he added. A resolution was passed indicating that the committee was still of the opinion that funds should be raised by taxation.

Wairarapa Transport, Ltd., advised that the company was quite prepared to provide free cartage for parcels for patriotic purposes, in particular woollen goods, to and from the Masterton Railway Station. It was decided to send the company a letter of appreciation. The secretary of the Wellington Provincial Patriotic Council, the Hon Vincent Ward, advised that following complaints he had taken up the matter of the lack of information given to towns through which the trains passed with sick and wounded men. It appeared that there had been a duplication of control, owing to the Army and the Department of Health doing the same job. In future the Army Department would alone deal with their transport. A special transport officer would be in attendance at the Wellington Railway Station whose duty would be to find out the number of men travelling, their destination, and then “do some quick telephoning” and advise the local military officers at the various towns that the trains were passing through with,sick and wounded aboard. The military officers’ duty would be to . immediately advise the mayor, town clerk, Patriotic Society secretary, Red Cross Society secretary, R.S.A. secretary and any other persons oi’ institutions who should be informed. The names of the men would not be taken before they went on the trains. To try to do so in advance would only cause disappointments, as no one could compel the men to travel by the train for which arrangements might have been made for them.

“We all know what happened here,” commented Mr Jordan. He said that what had happened was past history. “Even this is a pretty poor scheme,” said Mr E. M. Hodder. The letter was received.

The following were appointed a subcommittee to deal with rehabilitation matters: Messrs T. Jordan, H. J. Brass, H. M. Boddington, J. C. D. Mackley, A. P. Bennett. Messrs E. W. Cheetham. and H. G. Groves were asked to act on the committee when cases from their districts were concerned.

It was decided to apply to the Wellington Provincial Patriotic Committee for £ 100 to increase the impress account to meet possible calls.