Grey River Argus TUESDAY, November 29, 1927. A CALL FOR HELP.

Grey River Argus, 29 November 1927, Page 4

Grey River Argus TUESDAY, November 29, 1927. A CALL FOR HELP.

Aii appeal is at present being made to the people of this district to save a crusade as deserving and beneficent as any movement that ever has been commended to the public of the West Coast. It is that of the Plunket Society. If there is any voluntary undertaking whereof New Zealanders have a right to be proud, it is this one. Throughout the world the Dominion has won fame for its low proportion of infantile mortality. The birth rate may be retrogressive, and the maternal mortality comparatively high, but every civilised nation has borne testimony to the marvellously high percentage of New Zealand born children who thrive and survive in comparison with the infantile death rate of other lands. It was not always thus, but to-day the Dominion may in this particular sphere challenge comparison with any country in the world. For such prestige, such a proud boast, the credit undoubtedly must go directly to the Plunket Society. Temperate and salubrious though our climate may be, it was the comparatively high rate of infantile mortality, coupled with the devotion and self-sacrifice of a comparative few who saw and seized the opportunity, that led to a voluntary effort to save for New Zealand its most welcome newcomers—the native born; and it has been due undoubtedly to the spirit of volutaryism and selfhelp, wisely directed, that there has grown up an organisation which marches ahead of popular sentiment in saving the lives of. the young and in rearing as sturdy a generation as possibly can be

conserved under the conditions of modern civilisation. There may be some prejudice of an oldfashioned and indeed excusable sort in some quarters against the proved wisdom of modern science, but, as before remarked, the remarkable record of infantile survival and health to which this country may lay claim, as against the outside world, is an incontestable testimonial to the wisdom and success of the Plunket Society movement in New Zealand. It is, therefore, surprising, to say the least, that this movemeht is not yet as firmly established on the West Coast as it is in the other parts of the country. It is, indeed, disheartening for us to have to confess that the Plunket Society is here faced, not with the tangible approval of the people, but with the danger of extinction. Its resources are falling short of bare necessities. When it is realised that in one year alone—that ending on March 31st last—no fewer than fourteen hundred of our youngest and happiest West Coasters owed to the Plunket Society their robust health and hearty happiness, it is indeed incomprehensible that the people should be apathetic as to whether such an institution should remain active in our midst. Pub-lic-spirited and philanthropic women servo upon the Executive of the Society in Greymouth, but they meet oftener with a rebuff than with the helping hand, and even have to encounter hostile criticism in quarters where ’ ignorance usurps the place of un- | derstanding and appreciation. ! There is evidently an idea abroad that the Society is not entirely philanthropic, and that its maintenance is mainly a State concern. As a matter of fact, the Greymouth Society has. to find something like £250 a year from the public. The Government, recognising the splendid work done, provides a subsidy of £125 per annum, and allows the Nurse whom the Society provides a free pass on the railway, but this is scarcely one-third of the financial responsibility. The Nurse is a remarkably capable and enthusiastic worker, but her remuneration is only £3 weekly, so that it i is obvious her sense of a vocation for her work is the dominant influence in her ministrations. The Nurse during the twelve months ended March 31st last paid no fewer than two thousand _ five hundred and sixty-six visits to homes in Greymouth and to out stations an dthere were 1404 babies taken to the Plunket Rooms. The places to which regular visits were paid by the Nurse, in attending mothers and babies, included Hokitika, Reefton, Otira, Kumara, Blackball, Runanga, Ngahere, Dobson, Taylorville, Ahaura. Paroa and Gladstone; whilst Nurse Spring has during the past month extended her sphere to South Westland, visiting Hari Ilari and Waiho. Such an itinerary, regularly and unceasingly followed out. must mean a steady and substantial outlay, and the Society does wonderfully well when it keeps the expenses down to about £3O monthly. The public are doubtless aware that the ladies who work on the Society Executive receive nothing whatever for their services. Upon them falls the burden of making ends meet. When any of their number are delegated to attend the lectures which Dr Truby King gives for all of the Societies at any centre, the Grevmouth delegates have to pay their travelling and other expenses. This is a shame. Yet the ladies ask only that the public shall help enough to keep the Society itself alive and active —that there shall be sufficient to enable the Nurse to continue her invaluable work—and if that is asking too much, then the district does not deserve to have such a service in the interest of its mothers and babies. Everv other centre of the size of this has a flourishing Society, Westport being a ease very much in point. Instead of seeking bare necessities, the local Society should long since have been equipped by the nublic with a Karitane Home. Such an adjunct to its work is essential. This week the Plunket Society is giving the public an opportunity to lend a hand by holding a Sale of Work at the Drill Hall on Friday, as well as a Juvenile Ball. Good value is assured for every penny spent at these functions, but the people ought to spend regardless of their own immediate individual return, thinking only the Society’s goal, the saving of the most desirable newcomers New Zealand could wish for, her own children. As the Society says, it is “out to help the mothers and babies of this town —it cannot be kept going without help from the public. Come and do your bit in support of this work.” We are well aware that verbal support is very cheap. If the mothers of Greymouth, however, should unite to insist upon deeds instead of words, the Plunket Society should be enabled to face the coming year with confidence and ample resources.