Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1942. THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS APPEAL.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 June 1942, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1942. THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS APPEAL.

e REGRETTABLE position lias arisen in Wellington, where, after two weeks of intense canvassing in support of an appeal for £106,000 from the metropolitan district lor the Patriotic Fund, less than a quarter of that amount was in hand at the end of last week. These facts may be or might be regarded as of concern only to the people of Wellington. It is at least a question, however, whether the limited and halting response in the Capital City and in some other parts of the Dominion does not reflect more or less serious disapproval of the conditions in which patriotic funds are at present organised and administered in this country. One aspect of the situation that greatly needs to be cleared up is that of a distinction between the provision that'is being made or ought to be made by the State for the members of our fighting forces and the provision that may be made from patriotic funds. In support of the appeal for voluntary contributions it is being urged, and that strongly, that in default of an adequate response the members of our fighting forces will be deprived of something they ought to have as a matter of right. That appears, for example, to be a fair interpretation of some observations by the honorary organiser of the Wellington appeal (Mr J. Annand-Smith) who is reported as stating:— I can only say that if we do not reach our objective of £106,000 from the (metropolitan) area, then Wellington is not only letting the soldiers down, but it is letting itself down as well. May it not be asked if it is right that the question of whether our soldiers are or are not to be let down should be allowed to depend on the nature of the response to a voluntary appeal? Is it not rather our national duty to ensure by national action that our soldiers shall not be let down? This view of the matter gains some support from currently reported particulars of the purposes to which patriotic funds are being applied. For example, a statement placed before last week’s meeting of the National Patriotic Fund Board, covering the eight months from October I last year to the end of May this year, showed that it had been necessary, in order to make adequate ■. provision for New Zealand prisoners of war, to overdraw the prisoners of war account by £44,578, this money having had to be provided from general funds. New Zealand prisoners of war now total more than 6,000. All New Zealanders worthy of the name will be emphatically of one mind.in holding that everything permitted under international law and conventions to be done for our soldiers who are prisoners in enemy countries should be done as a matter of course and a matter of right. Could this duty be better performed, however, than by the State, exercising the full weight of its influence to ensure a maximum use of the international machinery available, and meeting from taxation the outlay involved? There are other items of expenditure from the National Patriotic Fund to which similar considerations might well be held to apply. Another point to be made is that it would be on all grounds more satisfactory if appeals for voluntary contributions, in the extent to which they are legitimate and warranted, were made for objects explicitly defined, so that contributors would know what was going to be done with their donations. If the whole question were brought under methodical and dispassionate review, there is not much doubt that it would be concluded that at least a very considerable part of the current expenditure from patriotic funds might better and more'equitably be met from some form of national taxation. At least an approximate approach would then be made to universal contribution on fair terms. At present that state of affairs is not remotely approached.