CASE FOR “TRUTH”

Grey River Argus, 30 November 1944, Page 3

CASE FOR “TRUTH”

AGAINST Y.M.C.A. Allegations of Further Witnesses p.A. WELLINGTON, Nov. 29 Giving evidence to-day in the action by the Y.M.C.A. ciaiming £5,00u from “N.Z. Truth” for alleged libel. Harry Cedric Edmonton, said he haa lived at the Y.M.C.A. between eighteen months and two years. He haa been secretary of the Residential Committee, which had in March, complained about the inadequacy or the breakfasts. There had been no improvement at all as a result of the complaint, but an improvement had followed upon “Truth’s’ article. Witness said that he attended the hospital for about two months as an outpatient suffering from an athlete’s foot. This disease, he believed, he had caught from the duckboards ot the showers. Cross-examined witness said he had repeatedly gone back to the Y.M.C.A. because he had nowhere else to go. He was now staying in a room for which he paid £1 a week with breakfast. Mr. iMazengarb: “A cooked breakfast?” Witness: “If we liked to ask for it.” Mr. Mazengarb: "But do you not want cooked breakfast?” Witness: “Sometimes I do.” Mr. Mazengarb said witness had made a great hullabaloo about a cooked breakfast at the Y.M.C.A.. He had signed a letter from the Resident’s Committee. Witness said he was acting on behalf of others. . , Witness: “If we liked to ask for it.. John Mark Hoggard, clerk, aged 19, said he had lived at the Y.M.C.A. from December, 1942, to February, 1944. Towards the end of his stay he had acted as night porter, and assisted also in the office and cloakroom. Residents cam e in at all hours, but not generally after 4 a.m. He had no instructions about reporting residents who came in late. The basement, used by soldiers-, was usually very, dirty and had a foul smell. Bath showers and other washing facilities on the third floor were not properly cleaned. “I would not say that all the meals were inadequate,” said witness, “but usually there was something wrong with all the meals.” John Davidson Watson, cadet in the Civil Service, said that he had seen gambling on the premises. He found meals in some respects insufficient and considered the premises not clean. REPORTER’S STORY. Trevor Jowett Lane, journalist, said he had been employed by Truth since J’une 19. He had had journalistic experience in New Zealand and in England, being in England in 1937 and 1938. In August of this year, he was shown by’, his editor a letter signed “Airman”, which had been received at the office. Part of the letter, published in the article, was a definite complaint against Y.M.C.A. conditions. He knew of previous complaints-. He decided to make investigations. He knew Cross and Shaw, who had been residents, and Goddard, who was still a resident. He, at that stage, had no knowledge of the premises-, but went there on August 19, having made arrangements with Goddard to meet him. He went through the building, starting on the ground floor, going up to the top through various floors, and then back to the basement. On the third floor the lavatories were definitely dirty. The top 1 floor was somwhat better. On the third floor, he picked up and examined a duckboard in the showers. They were definitely slimy. They had no appearance of recent cleaning. Both on the top floor and the floor below they were slimy. He saw the third floor plunge bath. There was no light bulb in the room. The window was broken and a part missing, and the bath was definitely dirty. He looked into four bedrooms. One of them had a small piece of carpet, two or three feet square. Others had bare boards. Three of the rooms- had windows. The other had ventilation and light source through a trellis, and there was a skylight which would not open. The furniture in Goddard’s room was very scratched and dilapidated. The hand basins were very grimy. Paint was peeling from the walls and ceilings of the ablution rooms-, and they were definitely dingy. All the bedrooms were shabby. In the basement, he first went into a room with concrete walls, showing signs of dampness. There were two windows, at ceiling height, opening on to Willis Street. The windows- were so dirty tha-1 practically no light came through. _ The concrete floor was damp and artificial lighting was very poor. It was one of the most depressing and cold rooms he had been in for a long while. The one lavatorv, nearby’, was in a considerably worse state than those upjtairs. In an alleyway, there were several garbage cans. They had very little refuse in them. The evidence he had given so far was of his own personal For other matters he had relied on the word of others. He -had written the article, but was not responsible for the heading, sub-heading, or heading of certain paragraphs. In London, witness had visited dosshouses. H e saw St. Martin’s Hostel, run by Rev. Dick Sheppard, which accommodated down and outs and unemployed. The Y.M.C.A. basement compared most unfavourably with that accommodation. There was no charge at the London place. Witness said h e had known Shaw for some years, and Goddard for some months. Before writing, he saw Shaw on the Friday, Perfect and Goddard at the Y.M.C.A. on the Saturday, and Cross on Saturday evening. Persons, with whom he had talked had told him that the average age at the Y.M.C.A. was 18 years. He had not intended to convey to readers that it was young boys who stayed there. The age wa's important, in view of the lack of supervision and the matter of meals. Mr Mazengarb: If the average age was- 24 years, would you consider the question of supervision important? Witness: Not so important. ■ You had not taken steps to verify the number of 17-year-olds living- in the Y.M.C.A.?

No. , ' . , „ ■ Witness said he knew of all other activities of the Y.M.C.A., but he was not concerned with them. What he was concerned with was the conditions'’ under which young men and soldiers were living. Witness said his information about Cross’ came from the same four informants whose statements were the basis of references to other matters in the article. He had seen the words “Patriotic Fund on bed linen. Some wag stamped National Patriotic Fund Boarci”, and some “Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee”. His Honour: You realise that the words have a sinister meaning? I recognise that you put it in deliberately knowing it had a’ sinister meaning? Yes.

ILLNESS OF YOUTH. lan Robert Cross aged 19, raid he had lived at the Y.M-C.A. for approximately two years. He left on August 16. and. had not been back since He said the first .symptoms of his illness appeared on a Thursday. He worked in the daw time on Frmay and went out with Perfect and Goddard to a private house in the evening, and was not too well. They returned at about 12.30 in the morning. He was slight-

ly worse. He had some sporting work to report on Saturday, but he did not get up. He did not remember having any meal that day, but he might have had tea. Not one of the authorities visited him that day, and he did not consider calling a doctor. On Sunday, he had breakfast. Most likely it would be Perfect who had brought it. Toward midday, he felt worsie, and asked Goddard to call a doctor. He then could not walk. Dr. O’Dea arrived on Sunday afternoon. He prescribed for witness, but witness did not learn the nature of his illness. During th e day, the authorities did not call to see him. There was no change on Monday, and he was still unable to walk. Dr. O’Dea called again in the early afternoon. In the evening, the Matron made her first and only visit to him. The Matron asked if he was all right, and he thought he said “Yes”. She said she would see he had his meals sent up. Mr Bond called to see him that night, and the next morning, with aid, witness got out of the building to go to Bond’s home at Kelburn. Before publication of the article, a week later, he was not visited at Kelburn by any of the Y.M.C.A. authorities. The day after the article, the Matron came. She immediately spoke about Truth’s article, and said she had come for selfish motive?, because she felt a lot of allegations fell on her. She said that the statement that she was aware of witness’ illness was not right. She raid Goddard was lying in saying he had told her on Saturday morning. Mr O’Leary: Did she say anything about the article in general. Witness: I think at one point she said the article was mostly right. She had remained about 40 minutes, and said nothing about coming back again. Early the next morning, the Matron and Mr Singleton arrived. Witness had not met Singleton before. He said he had come in the Matron’s interest. Singleton had questioned him about his illness, and had written down his replies. When witness was asked to sign it, he refused, saying it was incomplete and rosy,. Singleton pressed witness to sign, and eventually witness wrote a short statement himself and signed it. They were with him nearly an hour. He was in Kelburn about two weeks more, but had no more visits from the Y.M.C.A. staff. The hearing resumes to-morrow,