Grey River Argus TUESDAY, January 10, 1928. THE TOTALISATOR BAROMETER.

Grey River Argus, 10 January 1928, Page 4

Grey River Argus TUESDAY, January 10, 1928. THE TOTALISATOR BAROMETER.

Rcgtirded in some quarters as an economic barometer, there might he a disposition to draw Hie conclusion that the Dominion is retiii iiing to a more prosperous condition from the holiday returns on the lotali.sa.tor. In view, however, of the undoubted growth of unemployment, it might be as reasonable to infer that at best any recovery is confined to but a section of the population, and that, at.worst; a section is spending on betting an increasing proportion of its money. The West Coast, certainly has shown a. decrease as between the turnover during the eleven days of its carnival on. this occasion and the corresponding ones of last holidays, from £103,375 to £99,609 10s, while there has been a £lO,OOO decrease at Marton, a similar one at Canterbury Park, and a smaller decrease in the case of Wairarapa and one or two minor trotting meetings; but on the whole there has been an increase. Thus the racing clubs this tine had a total of £979,864, compared with £934.712 previously, an increase of £45,152., On the other hand, through the Grey mouth Club only racing on one day, instead of the customary two, the figures for the trotting clubs show a slight decrease of £BO7 3s lOd, from £368,551 to £360,477 10s. The various holiday meetings during :

the past fortnight or so have seen a total of no less than £1.340,341 10s pass through the machine, against £1,303,263 last year. The holiday meetings of two years ago. however, were responsible for a turnover of £1,414.117 10s, or £73,776 more than the latest total. Tlie Auckland race meeting witnessed the greatest increase—£3B,062, while the Manawatu and Stratford races also exhibited a substantial growth in speculation, and the Auckland trotting meeting saw the total advance by £17,191. Waipukurau Racing Club nearly doubled its turnover. The Canterbury Park Trotting Club had a substantial reduction to the extent of £12,767, due to adverse weather. The West Coast saw an increase only in the ease of the Westport Trotting Club from £1.8,262 10s Io £20,088 10s. The Westland Racing Club declined from £17,832 to £15.431 10s; Greymouth Jockey Club from £31,137 to £30,726 16s; the Reefton Jockey (lull from £16.948 to £15,226 16s; the Greyinoutli Trotting Club from £12.59.1 to £11,964; and the Westland Trotting Club from £6569 to £6172. So far as the West Coast is concerned, the figures, whilst they represent probably the maximum to be expected in view of the fact that the weather was uniformly fine for the meetings, do not give any gorund for criticism,

the public are well warranted in being more economical at this juncture. While there is the general hope of an improvement in industry, it has yet to be realised It might, indeed, be wise for the clubs, in their own interests, to distribute their racing days better over the year. The Trotting Club will probably lose nothing in the long run by its variation this year, and the local Jockey Club might do as well if it had two days’ racing in the autumn instead of three at midsummer. At any rate, those who consider a

tote increase in the aggregate for the Dominion a favourable sign, are able to draw some little consolation, but when it is recollected that 632 men are unemployed in Christchurch, some of then recently having been without food for three days, it is hard to see how the situation is any better than it was a year ago. There are in Wellington from seven hundred to one thousand men out of work. There are at least as many idle in Auckland. The unemployment position, indeed, is no better this summer than it was last winter. The soup kitchen era is back in Christchurch, where meals are being provided by charity workers for men in considerable numbers. The indications are that while the volume of money available for betting is increasing in proportion to the growth of population, the extent of poverty and want is now inclined to grow in a relatively greater ratio.