LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2363, 20 January 1915, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A STRAIQHt TIP! Sir,— Assuming that the people attending the races on Wednesday (or anv other day) take out with them £8600, and i>ut £6000 on the totalisator oh eaoh race (on the'supposition that there are eight races), all that they will bring back with them ,of that amount will be £4000, leaving behind them £4000 to oover the cost of transferring £4500 from the pockets of certain individuals to the pockets of others. This equals 47 per cent, of the total amount invested for one day's sport, equal to 17,156 (seventeen' thousand one hundred and fifty-five) per cent, per annum. Seeing that the banks, for transferring moriey from one person to another between Wellington and _ Trentham charge not more than otie-eighth of one per cent., giving out £99 17s. 6d. for evory £100 they receive—whereas the totalisator, as shown, above, returns (on the fair basis outlined), only £53 out of every £loo—it is not surprising that the people complan of robbery. It wll be conceded! that, from the point of view of the totalisator, that the investment is NOT TOO GOOD. Wellington, January 19,1915. OABL£ CO&ES. , Sir,—l am sorry to worry you again but this censor business is a farce. You can send a coded message A.8.0. code to Sydney or London, and not to -Napier, about 200 miles away.—l am, etc., ARTHUR M'OARTHY. THE ST, JOI-jN AMBULANCE BRI" CAbE AND THE WAR, Sir, —It has appeared to me that the nu'elioof our City and the surrounding districts have not yet come to fully jeulise the very important. and most humanitarian part which the Order of St. John of Jerusalem is taking in connection with the present great wan The Order has, in conjunction with the British Red Cross Society, the care of the sick.and wounded soldiers, and to enable it to fulfill this important trust it some time ago made a general appeal for assistance, in pursuance of whioh the local St. John Ambulance Brigade at once instituted a branch of Quepli Mary's Needlework Guild for the preparation of the necessary articles of olotlliilg, eto,, and also took steps in the direction of helping the Order with funds to carry out its laudable work. A considerable amount of success has attended ..which have, been, put forth ..the.bri-; ■ gade and their friends, but when we pome to consider the nature Of tho object in view, 1 am forced to the con- ' elusion' that wo. have : not .done one- ; fourth of what we should do for the i Cause. Although we are here far removed from the scene of battle, many of : us have friends and relations amongst 1 those who have gone from our shores to ] assist in the Empire's need, and who i will no doubt ere long be in the firing i line, It will no_ doubt happen that I some of them will be. amongst those i who pass into the. hands of the hospi- i tals organised and equipped by the Or- < der of St. John. That being the case i does it not behove us to make an extra < effort to do something substantial at ' the present tltoeP I admit that we have . had many claims upon us, but this claim possesses merits whioh must appeal strongly to all of us. I feel sure that any desiring to assist .will be supplied with full information upon applying to Mr. H. H. Seed, the officer m oharge ■ of the brigade.—l am, oto., ' RED CROSS. ' January 15, IDIS.