QUOTAS EXCEEDED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 136, 10 June 1940, Page 11

QUOTAS EXCEEDED

HEAVY CALLS ON FUND

-Appreciative, comment upon, the spectaculgi; achievement ...0f.., haying raislcl £250,000 for the .sick and ■wounded in less than four weeks was given; by Mr. J. Abel, honorary. Dominion organiser of the ,appeal today. He surveyed the response of. the various provinces; and said that on account of the changed situation overseas, greater amounts than, originally estimated would probably be required for" carrying on the splendid work of the New' Zealand Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John.

While the original amount .of a quarter of a million had been exceeded, he said, there were still several provinces in which major 'schimes were still "in operation, including a number of large;scale art unions which. would not be completed until about the end of this month. The Auckland figures could not be taken as any serious indication of finality, as the northern city had set itself a quota of at least £75,000. The big effort was a queen carnival with nine queens, and most of, the money from this scheme would naturally not be handed in until the last minute. . ,

The Nelson Province had only, rer cently come into the scheme. Previously, in accordance with the wishes of the local Patriotic Committee, the province had not taken part in the campaign, but the helpers of the Red Cross and- the increasing need for Its efforts had induced the, committee and the Nelson City Council to "enter the appeal. The Nelson field included Westport, and while no quota was set, he 'was confident the people would contribute their full share towards the fund along the lines of the" other provinces.

On his recent visit to Southland, Mr. Abel went on, he was instrumental in persuading those concerned to make a start in assisting the appeal, and although this was not being conducted on a full provincial basis like the other provinces, the chairman of one of the patriotic committees . took the matter up and headed the list with a personal £100.

The Gisborne Province, on account of having done so well in the previous war1 purposes appeal, had not got properly into what might be called top gear in.'the Sick, Wounded, and Distress Fund appeal, and"*some returns were still to come from that area.

In Otago the response was remarkable. While not aware of the exact figures, Mr. Abel said Dunedin alone must have raised from' £10,000 to £12,000 in the last week, while the whole province of Otago achieved the remarkable total of £28,000 in 'the week. . Without wishing to overshadow the efforts of other provinces, he- declared that Otago, by already doubling its original quota of £25,000, had. set a lead to the rest of New Zealand, and he expected that at least some of > the other provinces would set the goal of doubling theirs. Some were, in fact, already well on the way towards this objective.

In suggesting a continuation of provincial efforts, Mr. Abel said that when the appeal was. originally launched there had been no invasion of Holland, Belgium, or France, and in aimingjat £250,000 the organisers had considered this amount sufficient. Now, owing to the serious situation that had developed, in Flanders, and elsewhere, and. to the fact .that the Lord Mayor's Fund in London had appealed for more medical stores and. ambulances, it was realised, that greater amounts would be necessary.

Relatively speaking, he went on, New. Zealand had not yet felt the full pressure of the war, except in those homes where husbands, sons, or brothers had gone ■to serve overseas. It was sincerely hoped that the conflict would never reach these shores, but he' felt that while the Dominion was comparatively secure from the direct effects of' the war, those who were staying at home were setting aii admirable example by giving generously of their cash and resources to assist the sick and wounded.

"After all," he ad.ded, "in the last \\-3~ New Zealand gave more than a

million and a half to the sick and wounded, and if we raised a half-mil-lion in this appeal it would not be too much."