Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1934. RELIEF OF DISTRESS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 148, 24 May 1934, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1934. RELIEF OF DISTRESS.

The report of the Palmerston North Central Relief Committee is a record of service on behalf of the distressed members of the community that must awaken sympathetic interest. It reflects the generosity of the people of the city in a cause that as yet knows no abatement of effort. A document of human interest, is describes in eloquent manner the extent to which the operations of the Committee have grown, and the worthy response to calls on the townspeople. From the outset the activities of various organisations were coordinated in the one relief committee, and the wisdom of the decision has been proved many times by the elimination of overlapping. From the Committee’s depot distressed homes have been provided with staple articles of 'diet, which have been supplemented with fruit, cheese, jams, etc., according to the supply. Wherever necessary foodstuffs have been purchased, but bread, meat, fruit, vegetables, and groceries have been contributed by private citizens to augment the Committee’s stocks. Children in many families have been supplied with milk fresh from the dairies, boots and shoes have been repaired at the depot, and firewood issued to homes where the need exists. What could be more encouraging to the Committee than the anonymous gifts received from time to time through the agency of a local firm, or the substantial assistance of meat and bread firms? The community gardens have brought a wealth of fresh vegetables to the Committee’s aid, and much healthy benefit and pleasure to homes. Boots and clothing, some purchased and some gift stock, are the special care of the ladies of the Committee, which has placed on record the fact that, when the huge amount of clothing is taken into account, the people of Palmerston North have done wonders in the way of assisting others less fortunate than themselves. The purchases made by the Committee last year cost the very large sum of £3700, and it is to the credit of the city that the bulk of this money was subscribed by its residents. Finance is a matter of worry, and the Committee is again planning its annual Charity Ball which assists very largely _ in this way. The organisation incidentally is assisted by other bodies in the city, and for three years its members have been engaged in a service which, in the fourth year, is stilt a problem causing anxiety. They may, however, depend upon the general public to see them through their task, for assistance to the distressed is a duty that knows no cessation of effort until the return of better days, and even then it must to some extent be carried on, for in prosperous times no city was without its workers in a cause that holds mankind’s sympathy and practical desire to help the less fortunate. Palmerston North may well be proud of the work done for three years, and of the ladies and gentlemen who _ have willingly given their time to the Committee’s task. The generosity of its citizens is a form of voluntary taxation that in the -aggregate is surprising when consideration is given to the State’s demands.