ART UNIONS AND HOSPITALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20931, 22 July 1931, Page 12

ART UNIONS AND HOSPITALS.

Sir, —As the so called art unions are merely lotteries, the Government should wako up and run tho " lottery" themselves and sell the tickets at any post office. The Minister of Internal Affairs is responsible for these lotteries being held. It is common knowledge that there are closo on 100 permits being asked for, and they will in all probability be granted in turn. Although the various concerns who ran tho last four big art unions were more or less deserving of some help, I think the Government could run tho lotteries and make grants as they thought fit, and not forget the hospitals. It was my lot to be an inmate of the Waikato Hospital recently for six weeks, through no fault of my own, and I cannot cease singing the praises of the nursing staff and doctors. I met during .my stay there some eighteen nurses, and I can say without fear of contradiction that they were as fine a body of young women as one could wish to meet. The sad part of it is, they were working for practically no remuneration, as the Hospital Board was reluctantly compelled to cut their salaries to keep expenses down. As my injuries consisted of a crushed hand I was not confined to bod for long and I was allowed to walk about and talk to the other less fortunate patients. I took the opportunity of getting _ their opinions of the treatment they received and I did not hear one complaint. Now, Air. Forbes, what about a lottery in the near future in aid of the hospitals, and run under Government control, and thus reap a little benefit for the country. Putaruru, F. WiiSOW.