TEMPERANCE UNION

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24084, 1 October 1941, Page 11

TEMPERANCE UNION

COMMENT ON GAMBLING LIQUOR IN CAMP CANTEENS A detailed review of the work of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and of its aims and ideals, was given by the Auckland district president, Mrs. Hugh Kasper, when addressing delegates at the annual district convention yesterday. Mrs. Kasper deplored the fact that the authorities had allowed strong drink to be sold in camp canteens. The increase of juvenile crime she attributed to the fact that parents allowed their children to see unsuitable pictures and read American gangster magazines, and encouraged them to gamble. They were also neglecting to send their children to Sunday Schools, some of which were almost empty. The rising generation, she said, constituted a challenge to every right thinking man and woman. Bible teaching should be instilled in the mind of the child.

Referring to gambling, Mrs. Kasper said the air was lilled to-day with cries against waste, and with appeals for more economical and simpler modes of living. Side by side with this anti-waste propaganda, however, was inducement to gambling which was one of the most prolific sources of waste. "Just when is our Prime Minister going to face up to the seriousness of the evil in New Zealand, morally and economically?" she asked. "Will anyone dare to assert that New Zealand has not given way to the habit at the expense of other considerations involved in the present international struggle?" The social service work of the union covered a wide field, the president continued. It included aid to the poor and assistance to prisoners and discharged prisoners, while a definite field of service for members at present lay in subscribing to and helping to maintain a hostel for Maori business girls. The union had also given much time to war work. Resolutions were discussed dealing with the increased proportion of preservatives in food, the opening hours of wet canteens in military camps, the accommodation for boarders in licensed hotels, the number of race days allowed in the Dominion, and the sale of raffle and art union tickets by children. The morning session commenced with a communion service conducted by the Rev. E. T. Olds. The business included the reports of the corresponding secretary, Mrs. J. Williams, the recording secretary, Mrs. J. Joiner, and the treasurer. Miss L. M. Read. The president and committee were re-elected for the coming year.