HAMPERS FOR THE POOR.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20736, 22 December 1932, Page 10

HAMPERS FOR THE POOR.

ROTARIANS BUSY AS PACKERS. STREET APPEAL TO-MORROW. '•A job for every man and every man at his job" was the order of procedure when the members of the Christchurch Rotary Club were engaged at Kincaid's bacon factory last evening in packing the Christina 8 hampers tho club annually distributes to the poor. By 9 o'clock over hampers had been packed, and it was hoped that before the evening was out tlvc whole of the 1100 hampers the club intends to distribute this Christmas would be ready for delivery. This year the club has had to anticipate the goodwill of the public in its effort, for in previous years the annual street appeal to raise funds L° r tho hampers has taken place much, earlier, and the funds havp been hand when the work started. However, determined that the annual effort should in no way be curtailed because the street appeal does not take place until to-morrow —the day before tho hampers have to be sent out to the recipients—the club has gone ahead its good work, sure that the publi response in such a cause and at s uc a timo will in no way -be stinted. The amount of work involved in tne annual distribution is considerable. The clerical work involved before the hampers begin to be packed is no generally realised; its extent is shown by the fact that a team of typists lias been working constantly. One night twelve typewriters were going in <■' office of the secretary of the club getting the preliminary work done.

Getting the Hampers Ready. First of all the names of people deserving tho club> gift are _ supplied bj cho various social organisations, a r ard being prepared for every name. Then these cards— bearing the essential information—are sorted alphanet - cullv to eliminate duplication, hrom them tho final lists arc prepared according to the siae of the familyBread lists, meat lists, and other lists according to tho class of hamper to he given, again to suit the siao or the family, have to he got ready. The hard work of the club members, apart, of course, from the street appeal, begins with the actual packing of the hampers. From tho experience of the past few years an unusually efficient organisation has been worked out. Tho various supplies —flour, sugar, a Christmas pudding, tea, raisins, currants, jauij jcllv crystals, baking powder and butter—are ranged in ordered stacks about the packing room. Then the various jobs are allotted. One man has care of the sugar sacks in which the groceries are placed, another has special charge of tho bags of flour, another of the sugar, and so on in order, to those whoso job it is to tie tho sugar sacks to tho men at the top of tho chute, the Others sit the foot with a hand truck, and finally tho workers in tho storeroom. Triumph of Organisation. Last night the packing room was. an example of what ordered industry should be. Each man was in his place, aud a circle of men moved steadily round, beginning by receiving a sugarbag, and ending, after receiving the appointed article as each stack was passed, until the bag was full, by handing it over to be tied up and passed down the chute. There was no unnecessary hurry, but everything went as smoothly as clockwork, and the filled bags came down the chute at the rate of about eight or nine a minutf?. White-collar jobs might have been the ordinary occupations of most <?£ the 40 Rotariang who had temporarily bpcome packers —they jested about forming a new "Packers' Union" —but they had tijken their off to it with a will. The measure of skill they showed in their .temporary occupation was a tribute to the adaptability of Botarjans.

A looker-on at one stage of the evening was the* Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.), who called to see the way the work was done, and to thank the Kotary Club for its consideration for the needy of the City. Introduced by the president of the Kotary Club (Dr. H. Q. Denham), Mr Sullivan said that no work could be more calculated to promote tho right feeling among men. It was in the true spirit of Christianity, and if the understanding and willingness to help that was shown in what they were engaged in doing were more widespread there would be far less trouble in the world. Distribution on Saturday.

The final stage in handling the hampers will come on Saturday morning, when a fleet of cars will work together in carrying thfl Christmas gifts /to all parts of the City. A traffic inspector will act as marshal of the cars, and tl>e driyers will each have a small district to cover. Each provided with a list of tho houses he is to go to, the drivers will know how many of each of tho three classes of hampers (one for houses where there are up to five members of a family, another for up to seven, and the third for those of more than seven members) they will need to take. Last year the cars were sent away from the factory at the rate of three every fiyo minutes. But the best time will be on Christmas Day, when the good eheer contained in the hampers will bring brightness to homes which have known too little of happiness in the past twelve months.

bridges, highways, the metalling of roads and much of the road formation are let on % contract basis, and gome earthwork is done by co-operative contract, this method being necessary and particularly suitable for tho unemployed. " , The question was raised as to wnetnor the Department could be still further reduced by the adoption of a policj o decentralisation, enabling more of J topartment's work to be undertaken by tho local authorities. . Mr Coates replied that a certain amount of work now being carried ou by the Department could be handed over as suggested, but there was sucn a multiplicity of local bodies and their respective areas of control were so limited that it was difficult to see how eeon omy of administration jrould result unless the amalgamation of many of the smaller counties was first of all arranged. If larger local bodies could be established much greater responsibilities could with advantage be handed over to them.

Reorganisation of Head Office Staff"Opportunity w r as taken," concluded Air Coates, "when the necessary staff adjustments occasioned by the recent retirement of Mr F. W. Furkert were in hand, to effect a general reorganisation of the head office staff. This mainly affects' the senior advisory engineers. Formerly six senior engineers were employed, This number has now been reduced to three, including the JSugin-eer-in-Cbief. Certain amalgamations of branch divisions within the head office have also been brought about which will result in a general tightening pP of control and eeenowy of administration-"