A BLACK LIST

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 249, 17 July 1931, Page 11

A BLACK LIST

Imposition on Food Depots CHECK APPLIED Officers Visit Homes Those in charge of the food depots in Wellington for the poor and hungry have had to black-list certain applicants, who have been imposing on one or more of the food and clothes-distributing places. As far as can be ascertained, not very much of this sort of thing is going on, but there are instances where imposition has been practised, and members of one family have been supplied at different depots at about the same time.

This practice is being checked as far as possible by an interchange of names and addresses of applicants between the central depot in Dixon Street, the Rev. Fielden Taylor’s rest house, the Salvation Army, and the various district committees. In view, however, of the large numbers who are receiving their daily supplies of food from these sources, it is almost impossible to detect all such cases. Some offenders have been discovered, and their names have been inscribed on the black list.

In on instance two well-set-up men were supplied with ample provender of various kinds, and being watched, were seen to drive off in a motor-car, presumably their own. The number of the car was taken.

There is one rather remarkable ease on record of a man, with seven children, who made successful raids on food and clothes depots in a certain town not 150 miles from Wellington. Subsequently the man was found to be the owner of a motor-car, and when the house he occupied was burnt he collected £l5O insurance money on the furniture. He then left for the south, and in a city there had another “burn” and collected £250 from an insurance company. , He and his family are now in Wellington, and have been known to make collections from the depots, but that has been stopped by placing them on the black list. A form of check now being practised is to send someone round to the addresses of people supplied with goods to report as to the genuineness or otherwise of the cases. One officer visited twentyseven homes on To Aro flat yesterday morning, and of that number he only considered two to be “doubtful.” The honest poor have no need to fear anything from such visits, but those who are found to be imposing on the Mayor’s fund and on benevolent citizens will receive short ghrift from the authorities concerned.