SALVATION ARMY APPEAL EXTEA ASSISTANCE DYEING THE WAR. '

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 150, 22 December 1914, Page 4

SALVATION ARMY APPEAL EXTEA ASSISTANCE DYEING THE WAR. '

10 TH« EDITOR. Sir,' — The Salvation Army authorities in New Zealand have decided to organise a national appeal in connection with the war, to be known as. the Salvation Army New Year War Emergency Fund. As your -l-eaders are already aware, the conditions obtaining as a result of the European War are of a very serious character. The ordinary income of the Salvation Army, upon which it depends for the carrying out of its philanthropic and other operations, as well as its support of its missionary work overseas, has become critically strained. In fact, the -General Has announced that the ordinary income which flows in annually to international headquarters has ceased to come. A moment's reflection will satisfy, any ordinary mind that where, the manifold ramifications of an organisation ■ are depen dent upon help from the- centre, the sudden ceasing of supplies ■ must of necessity jeopardise the work of those agencies winch, by virtue of their peculiar needs, must depend upon outside assistance. t Apart from these considerations, many and varied institutions in the Homeland, meeting as they do the needs of thousands of homeless people and persons out of work, have had extra demands placed upon them through receiving hundreds' of refugees from abroad Ordinarily the income to meet the demand has been Barely sufficient to make both ends meet, and now, seeing > that an extra , burden has been imposed upon their resources; the whole , critical situatioiß can be readily It is unthinkable in the nature of things that* the General^ should have to close any of these philanthropic institutions and turn out Upon an already overglutted market a huge surplus body of indigent workers, but this is a, contingency that' may arise if funds are not' forthcoming to keep the doors open. In- connection with the war, it should be pointed out- that thousands of Salvationists have flocked to 'the standard, many of them being engaged in Red Cross work at the front, besides fighting, in the trenches. Hundreds have volunteered for ambulance work, joining various Red Cross units. To meet the i extraordinary demand for ambulance work, the General has purchased and . equipped five Red Cross motorambulances 'manned by Salvationists. These have been despatched to the scene of activities. Already £3000 has been sent to' the General from New Zealand, and -we are aiming at raising in this Dominion over £5000. We, therefore, feel sure that help will be forthcoming from the generous people of New Zealand, whose ready response and patriotic sentiments have already been manifested in money and kind to meet the needs of the Motherland. — I am, etc. ' HENRY' C. HODDER, Commissioner.