LIBEL ACTION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 125, 23 November 1944, Page 8

LIBEL ACTION

EVIDENCE FOR V.M.C.A.

BOARDERS' OPINIONS

Evidence by present and former boarders at the Wellington V.M.C.A. occupied the hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon of the association's claim against "Truth" (N.Z.), Ltd., and the publisher, William Calder Crisp, for £5000 damages for alleged libel.

The case is being heard before the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) and a jury of twelve. Dr. O. C. Mazengarb is appearing for the plaintiff, Mr. H P. O'Leary, K.C., with him Mr. J. H. Dunn, for the defendant company, and Mr. G. G. G. Watson for Crisp.

Continuing his evidence for the plaintiff, Alan Harris, a boarder at the V.M.C.A., said that the toilet facilities adjoining the main lounge were satisfactory except on occasions when there had been a number of servicemen through that part of the building and before the cleaners got to work. He had been confined to bed through sickness on one occasion while at the V.M.C.A. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, and milk in the afternoon had been brought up to him. He could have had his tea in bed also if he had wanted it. The residential secretary and matron had visited him while he" was ill, and one of the housemaids had offered to do any shopping or anything else he wanted.

Dr. Mazengarb: What do you say about the statement of the V.M.C.A. being a hotbed of discontent?

Witness: From what I know there are a few of the chaps who are never contented with anything, but the great majority—l never heard any discontent about the institution at all.

He had never seen any form of gambling in the building, witness continued. The food was certainly different from that served in one's home, but it was quite good as far as he was concerned.

( To Mr. O'Leary, witness said the "Truth" article was correct in respect of a short period in saying that the stench from the garbage tins in the alleyway was appalling. As to the allegation of breakfasts being inadequate for growing boys, there were some young chaps who had probsfbly been used to big breakfasts at home •and it would be correct to say that the breakfasts seemed inadequate to them. It was also correct that the boarders had been given one cup of milk only on four mornings of the week when porridge and toast were I served. Now, milk was served at every meal if the supplies were sufficient. !He had never heard of a boy losing all his money in gambling at the V.M.C.A. and haying to leave. As to the duckboards in the washing-rooms appearing slimy, he thought the explanation was that when boards were left underwater they became slippery and might seem to be slimy. RETURN AT NIGHT. Witness said he had never had anything stolen at the V.M.C.A. One boy had, had a watch stolen when the building was crowded with service•men. The boarders were allowed to come in at any hour of the night There was no one to stop them. On occasions when he had come in about midnight or half-past 12 he had seen the matron in the passages, and sometimes the residential secretary was also about. He had never been told that it was too late for him to come in At one time there had been some discontent because the boys did not seem to fancy the new residential secretary but afterwards they got used to him. Witness ( s^d he did not know of any cases ?i ?;^i etc' s foot" bein S contracted in the V.M.C.A. To Mr. Watson, witness said there ere, b?^ een 110 and 120 boarders at the V.M.C.A. Before the "Truth" article appeared there had been a meeting of the residents to discuss the question of better breakfasts and more cups • m. llkl He had heard visitors talking in the building about horses. He had never seen any card games being played among the residents. The discontent over the breakfasts arose among some boarders who would always have "a good go" at complaining n they could find something to complain about. Henry Dunn, principal of the New Zealand College of Pharmacy, Wellington, said that during his residence at the V.M.C.A. from January to September of this year he had nothing whatever to complain about. The lavatories were always spotlessly clean alter the cleaners had finished with them about 9 a.m. each day, the sheets wen SrecL °lean> and his room

Dr. Mazengarb: What was your exPenences of the meals?-Well,l never ■j™ffd them I did not dine out I should say the diet was satisfactory Witness said he had never seen any gambling in the building either among the residents or fi public rooms. Once when he had influenza sent up to him and inquiries were made as to whether he was all right Witness told Mr. O'Leary that he YaMT n A eVe£ ad .bre akfast at the YM.C.A having given up the habit years ago. He knew no instance of money having been stolen but he had heard of two cases of theft' hlf^^ CaSeu^f residential secretary ■n n^ L % Sh lrt or-a pair of Pyjamas sa£ l d hS Sr r ' , ln + dustrial chemist, said he had lived at the V.M.C A for the past year. He thought ' the premises were quite sanitary and the meals quite adequate for boys Cross-examined, witness said he would not say that the V.M.C.A. was bright and attractive, judged by normal standards, but neither would he say that it was shabby or depressing. He was not one of those who had requested a better breakfast. He did not think he had ever joined in any request by the boarders for improved conditions. "MUCH EXAGGERATED." ! Frederick Vincent Brittain, civil servant, said that from his experience ?u Ov£ r H?f cc y.ears at the V.M.C.A., the Truth" article was very much exaggerated and did not fairly set out the conditions. The residents appeared to be well fed and well satisfied To Mr. O'Leary, witness said he supplemented his meals with his own particular kind of bread and citrus fruit His salary was £320 a year. Most of the other boarders got much less and would not be able to supplement their meals as he did. He had had a couple of toilet articles and a watch stolen during his residence at the V.M.C.A. It was normal to find cracked cups and plates among crockery. He would not agree ' that the tablecloths were usually in a filthy state.

To his Honour, witness said that his financial position was quite good enough for him to go elsewhere for board if he wanted to. He was quite satisfied with the V.M.C.A. and had been throughout his stay there. Keith Simcock, staff supervisor in a city establishment, said he was fully satisfied with the food and conditions at the V.M.C.A. He had lost a suit of clothes, an attache case, and a wallet from his room. He did not think the total amount of petty thieving he had heard about made it a common practice.

Lawrence Cheyne, Income Tax Department inspector; said that during vwnT S- hl had stayed at the V.M.C.A. m the past 18 months he had- had a clean, comfortable room and had found no complaint to make about the meals. The meals were equal to, if not better than, those provided in the majority of the secondclass hotels in the South Island districts in which he usually travelled He would not agree that until recently, at any rate, the so-called hotels in Invercargill were the worst in New Zealand, though they were not up to the standard of hotels in other towns that had licences. He thought that the basement where soldiers slept was "not so hot," but did not think there could be any objection to using the bedroom accommodation upstairs which had only "borrowed" ventilation, having regard to the accommodation problem generally. Another boarder, John Barrie Kidson, said that from his knowledge of the V.M.C.A. he thought the "Truth" article rather unjust. It was definitely wrong to say that the building was insanitary. The variety of food was good, meals were kept hot for late arrivals, and early breakfast was available when wanted. He had never heard of anyone ill being

neglected. About two months ago he had lost about £6 worth of clothing, and he had heard of minor cases of theft from boarders. So far as he knew the culprit or culprits had not been traced.

Colin Athol Watkins, radio announcer, living in the V.M.C.A. annexe, said he thought the attack in "Truth"' should not have been made and definitely did not fairly represent the conditions. About eight months ago he had heard that some half-dozen residents used to say at breakfast that they had been gambling all night playing poker, but a stop was soon put to that. He understood the gambling took place in the bedroor.* He had never seen any gambling in £ c °S?5 parls,of the building If boys did gamble in their rooms they would know it was a breach of the conditions under which they were accepted as boarders. Boarders were fa?fh aS men and cx Pected to' keep

The Court adjourned until today i When the hearing was resumed fo--sft t?TiP u MS F,^ rland. civil servant, said that he had lived at the V M C A for two and a-half years. The cafeteria system instituted last year gave a quicker service. A change was also made in the breakfast menus because of meat rationing. With those exceptions, conditions at the V.M.C.A. had not varied during his term of residence, lney had always been of a hi^h Si* 11?!™ • i T£ e meals were adequate, the tablecloths were clean, and there were few cracked or chipped cups. As an office worker he found the breakfast sufficient. It was not true that gambling was rife on the premises He had never seen any evidence of it but he had spoken to boys at the breakfast table about eight months ago who said they bad been gambling all, night in a bedroom on the fourth floor Witness did not inform the authorities As soon as the authorities heard of the i matter three of the boys were asked to leave. He had not heard of any gambling since then. Witness said he had never had any- I thing of his stolen. His Honour: We have had it over and over again that there have been I thefts on the place. Dr. Mazengarb: We will get it in any I hotel. | His Honour: I am not commenting upon it. I am only saying, is it necessary to ask the same question of I every witness, because it is proved by your own witnesses that there have been thefts? Any inferences are another matter. The witness said it was ridiculous to say that the V.M.C.A. was a hotbed of discontent. The "Truth" article was entirely unfounded. Mr. O'Leary: Do you say there is not a word of truth in the article? — I do. It was true that there had been petty thieving on the premises, said witness, but he thought that people coming in from outside were responsible. Mr. O'Leary: That may be so. I hope so. Witness said he knew of complaints about breakfasts after meat rationing came into force. To his Honour, witness said that before meat rationing came in they had meat for every meal. When rationing was introduced meat was served for dinner and tea but not for breakfast except on Wednesdays and Fridays. There had been some talk of substituting meat for breakfast for meat at tea, but that had not been done. GAMBLING IN BEDROOM. Kenneth John Cram, civil servant said that to his idea the "Truth" article was entirely incorrect. He had lived at the V.M.C.A. for about 18 months, and always found the meals adequate. He had no complaint to make about the conditions generally. He had actually seen gambling one Sunday morning in a bedroom on the fourth floor of the main building. There were about four boys taking part Witness did not participate. The door was locked and the key on the inside was partially turned so that if the authorities came along there would be time to get the evidence of gambling out of the way. Witness did not report the matter to the authorities. He had no authority in the building and did not want to be an informer. His view was that if the boys were foolish enough to gamble it was their own business. Some time afterwards the boys concerned disappeared from the building. Witness said he had always found the personal attention of the matron and staff of the best.

To Mr. Watson, witness said about five or six times he had heard boys discussing at the breakfast table the gambling they had indulged in the night before, but they took care that none of the authorities were about Poker was played in the bedroom on the occasion he had mentioned. He read a book while the others played the game lasting until lunch time. It had taken him five minutes to get into the room. The boys inside had to put the cards away, unlock the doors, and see who he was.

Mr. Watson: Apparently they did not think you would strongly disapprove of a little gambling?— They knew my attitude towards it and that I would not go down and tell the authorities about it.

Witness said it would be a fair statement that a very large number of boarders had had belongings stolen. He knew of two boys having caught "athlete's foot." They did not actually .claim to have caught it in the shower rooms. One boy said it was his own fault for not drying his feet properly. Witness had attended one meeting of residents which he thought was in connection with breakfasts. No one had dissociated himself from what was said about the breakfasts.

The latest he had come in at night would be about 1 a.m., said witness. He slept in the annexe, where there was a book to sign, but he did not sign it that time. The book had been put there since the "Truth" article appeared.

To his Honour, the witness said that the boys he had heard talking about gambling five or six times at breakfast were the same boys he had seen playing poker.

Lester James Thomas, soldier, said he had not seen or heard anything about gambling in the five months he had been at the V.M.C.A. The meals were excellent and the staff most helpful and courteous. Once when he was in the Trentham military hospital with influenza the matron of the V.M.C.A. ! went out to see him. The V.M.C.A. compared favourably with soldiers' hostels he had visited in other parts of the Dominion. GENERAL, SECRETARY'S EVIDENCE. Dudley Ronald Wills, general secretary of the Wellington V.M.C.A. since July, 1943, said he had previously been secretary of the New Plymouth V.M.C.A. for a year, V.M.C.A. secretary at Burnham Military Camp for seven months, and secretary of the Invercargill V.M.C.A. for three years. There were in all 1527 members of the Wellington V.M.C.A. The board of governors consisted of 24 members, mostly appointed because of their special interests. The board functioned through sub-committees. The general management vested in witness. In addition to the paid staff, there was a large number of voluntary helpers. The kitchen and dining-room numbered 12 and there were three housemaids. All the members of the staff except the housemaids were connected with war work and lately there had been assistance from the Army, which also provided personnel for other hostels. STAFF DIFFICULTIES. Witness said that throughout last year and early this year tremendous difficulty had been experienced in obtaining and retaining housemaids and kitchen staff. The V.M.C.A. managed to convince the stabilisation authorities of the necessity of increasing the wages by 10s a week. They had been greatly dependent upon the man-power authorities and got some staff from that source, but it was not satisfactory. The position had been represented to the Minister of Man-power in February of this year, at which time the association was seriously considering closing its residential department. The District Man-power Officer had promised what help he could give, and some women and girls were made available. There was a good deal of absenteeism among them and some of them were antagonistic to the whole place. There was no alternative but for those who were left to do more. Witness said he had seen the matron scrubbing lavatories in the residential quarters, cookinj, washing dishes, scrubbing floors, and doing many other jobs she was not employed to do. She had had doctor's advice to give up

the work, her interest in it had been too great and her loyalty too sincere to permit her to do that For witness's part, within a quarter of an hour of landing from Lyttelton he had a broom in his hand. He had scrubbed almost every lavatory in the building and washed and dried dishes dozens of umes. Mrs. Wills and he had scrubbed the mam lounge on their knees. They had all done their best under abnormal conditions.

His arrival in Wellington coincided with the peak of the American "invasion," said witness. He detailed the steps taken to provide additional sleeping accommodation for servicemen. The boardroom had already been given up to that purpose and sometimes shakedowns were put in the matron's -sitting-room. Sunday morning tea was provided for soldiers at a penny a cup, but the Sunday afternoon tea and evening meal were free. Every baturday 265 men were given beds of some kind at that time; the average now was about 140. All beds for soldiers were made up by lady helpers, the linen being changed every'time a bed was used.

He found on his arrival in Wellington that there was a substantial number of young men waiting to become boarders, and he proposed to the board, and it was agreed, to take over a building next door to provide for 21 residents. There were at present 83 civilian boarders in the main building. He would say there was fair, ventilation in the rooms that did not have their own direct ventilation. As a V.M C A secretary he would most decidedly not be justified in closing those rooms, having regard to the housing position in Wellington. It was the lack of accommodation in the city which accounted for the use of those rooms for permanent boarders. Before the war they had been used for casuals only.

PREMISES KEPT CLEAN. Witness said that the interior decoration of the building and the bedrooms was not so good as he would like, but the place was clean and kept clean. He had done all he could to have it redecorated. There had been considerable expenditure on new furnishings, repairs, and improvements to the premises. The total in the last 18 months was about £3800, apart from patriotic funds, and they had tried to spend more.

None of the shortcomings that he knew of at the V.M.C.A. were in any way a disgrace to the founders' ideals —most decidedly not, witness declared. He had striven to the utmost to maintain those ideals. It would not be in keeping with the ideals to have soldiers treated less generously in regard to meals, for instance, than the residents, or to fail to use interior or basement rooms for emergency accommodation. So far as he was aware, "give generously" had never been the slogan of the V.M.C.A. in street appeals. It had been used by the patriotic committee for its street days. Since witness had been in Wellington the V.M.C.A. had been allowed one street day of its own, the slogan being "Help the V.M.C.A. to Assist the Boys." He had had no prior knowledge of the intention of "Truth" to publish the article complained of, and no representative of "Truth" had approached him for information. He had not seen any "Truth" representative on the premises.

Gambling on the premises was forbidden, said the witness, but on one or two occasions he had seen servicemen playing for money in the lounge. He had stopped them. Once, on a Sunday afternoon, he had found some Americans playing strip poker in front of the fire. A man who was standing in his trousers and singlet was persuaded to put on the rest of his clothing and to settle the matter with the others outside, and all the men went away in good humour. Witness had never seen any gambling among the boarders. Some months ago the matron told him she had overhead a boy saying on the telephone that he had just won 10s from another boy. She said she had investigated the matter but could not get any information. Witness made inquiries and found that some boys gambled in a room upstairs. One boy admitted his guilt and said he was responsible for organising whatever gambling went on. He acknowledged that by breaking one of the rules of residence he could not expect to remain a boarder, and he left shortly afterwards. Residents were not asked to leave without good cause, and when another boy suspected of gambling denied his guilt there was no option but to let him re- j main. Subsequently he left for quite a different reason. Witness did not know of any other cases of gambling by residents. The association would not approve of any spying on the boys! to see if they were complying with the rules. Speaking generally, the residents complied with the rules and could be trusted. The policy was to trust them, and they responded. The average age of the boarders was 24. They were in all walks of life. Witness had no knov/ledge of a youth losing £8 at poker. He had since been told who the youth was. He had not been a satisfactory resident. (Proceeding.)