A HELPING HAND

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 103, 3 May 1943, Page 4

A HELPING HAND

One of New Zealand's greatest needs is increased population. While a policy of immigration must play ah important part in bringing this about after the war, the best type of immigrants are children born to New Zealand parents. The true foundation of a country's prosperity is in the homes. Measures to encourage family life are therefore an important feature of social planning. In New Zealand there are several such measures, and their effect will, it is to be hoped, become, increasingly apparent. But there are other directions, apart from legislation, in which people can be encouraged to accept the full responsibilities of the married state. There are many mothers whose husbands have had to enter the Armed Forces and serve overseas. They have thus had to accept added burdens and responsibilities, and it is important that they should receive the greatest consideration, not only from the State but from their fellow-citizens as a whole. This consideration can be shown,.. in many

ways. Today,- owing -to - man-power difficulties and the necessity to conserve transport, housewives can no longer have essential household supplies delivered. This means that they must make at least occasional trips to the shopping centres, and, in a great many cases, they have no one with whom they can leave their young children. Recently several mothers wrote to "The Post" pointing out the difficulties they experienced, especially in wet weather, and in at least one case the correspondence resulted in an offer of assistance being made. One of. the chief problems with which young mothers are faced is in securing accommodation on trams for perambulators. Generally speaking, tramway employees do their best to assist, often under difficult conditions, but in spite of this complaints are made, as instanced by correspondence which we publish today. It is here that citizens generally can assist by giving a helping hand to mothers who have prams, children, and parcels to care for and by. cheerfully accepting "whatever inconvenience results from the loading of prams on the .back of tramcars. If the. majority of mothers had their own way they would probably avoid going to town with children, but, with their husbands away and owing to the difficulty of securing help in their hohies, they have no alternative. A little thought and consideration on the part of other passengers would help considerably in lightening their burden