NATIONAL ECONOMY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3091, 23 May 1917, Page 6

NATIONAL ECONOMY

AND SOLMKRS' VALEDICTORY" • ASSEMBLIES. Sir,—"Loyalty's" letter , in to-day's .UoiiLNio.N" demands a roiily. i'or obvious reasons the Mayoress and tho other ladies who arc responsible tor tho entertainment of our soldiers, in the acceptable and much-appreciated manner to which objeetiou has now been made, winnot spare time to answer criticism. May I, therefore, suggest in reply that it can never bo economical to do away witii anything that is worth far moro tlmn it "costs. The cost of these manifestations of sympathy and goodwill is not great., and tho exnonses have been met by some twenty ladles, substantially assisted, each time, by donations of butter bv Mr. David Nathan, and of milk by the Halt Farmers' Association; so that the general community has not bcon heavilv drawn upon for this purpose, nor hiivo tho finances of tho Government been imperilled. But allowing that the cost might have bcon 6aved and tho amount placed to the credit of some other fund, which it- could not very materially affect, could the money be better ox'ponued? t doubt it, and anyway those who give the money may reasonably be allowed to direct its expenditure. , , I shall not attempt to say how much wo owe to tho men who are going to fight for us. We all feel our indebtedness to them, some more, some less. Manifestly some feel it much less, or surely "Loyalty" would have refrained from' casting a slur upon a largo body of onr men. and from seeking to punish others—for it -would amount to that—because one or two, under the influonce of

alcohol did some, not considerable, damage. These valedictory gatherings are mucK appreciated by the men; the military, authorities approve- of them, and have congratulated the promoters upon the benefit conferred thereby; besides which, they afford the men a valued opportunity of fraternising with relative! and friends, and provide a means of expressing the sympathy and esteem of the community. Under the circumstances surely the expenditure is justifiable, even in the eyes of those "who are not contributing towards it? Economy should never be lost sight of, but it is not everything, and other considerations shotild prevail to the exclusion of all spuriosis varieties—l am, etc., S. SPJUGG. Goldie's Brae, May 22, 1917. [Most people, we flunk, will heartily endorse Mr. Spragg's defence of the entertainment accorded our soldiers by the ladies of Wellington, and would do so even though it cost, a great deal more than it does.]