STREET APPEALS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25300, 6 September 1945, Page 6

STREET APPEALS

ALLOCATION OF CAYS

NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS A scheme for assisting public welfare, sports and other organisations from a "community chest" financed from the proceeds of an annual city gala was not favoured for immediate adoption by representatives of the organisations which met in the Town Hall council chamber yesterday. The meeting was called by the City Council Public Safety Committee to enable the organisations to make submissions supporting applications for permission to hold street collections during 1946. The scheme was suggested by the chairman of the committee, Mr F. G. Farrell, who presided. He said community chests were established in various American cities, the money being raised by various organisations combining in the conduct of a gala or carnival over a week or a fortnight. If the scheme was adopted in Auck-i land allocations could be made to vari-| ous organisations on the basis of the .average amount they had obtained through street collections in previous years. After these allocations wore made tho residue could be distributed among smaller organisations which did not have a chance of having a street day j allotted to them. .Opposition to the scheme was expressed by several speakers. Major-Gen-eral P. H. Bell, for the Red Cross, said it would centralise the community's humanitarian work and the services of manv people would be lost. Another speaker said the special appeal of Poppy Day and Hose Day would be lost by adopting the scheme. Mr Farrell agreed that more details were desirable of the success or failure of community chest schemes in America. In deferring tho proposal ho said his committee might make further inquiries. Of 29 organisations which applied for permission to hold street collections, representatives of 21 wore present and j made submissions. Mr Farrell said it might be necessary to allocate for two years in order to meet as many as possible of the applications. Of the 14 days allocated last year six were taken by the Auckland Provincial Patriotic Council which would not bo making any further appeals. It did not seem desirable that these days should bo reallocated, for about eight collections in the year would bo preferable. Mr A. C. Johns, speaking for the Suburban Local Bodies' Association, said a reduction in the number of collection days was desired in the suburbs. Few women were available to make collections in the outer suburbs and they wero being overworked. Rather than allocate over two years, the meeting approved a suggestion that specific days be allocated the larger organisations and that smaller organisations make combined appeals on other days. The submissions and suggestions will be considered by the Public Safety Committee which will formulate a schedule of collection days for approval by tho City Council. AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION SYDNEY. Sort. 5 Australia's population in Juno, 1944 (excluding full-blooded aborigines) was 7,306,637 or 76,773 more than in 1943, and 274,276 more than in 1940. Figures published by the Commonwealth Statistician show that in 1944 tho total was made up of 3,670,213 males and 3,636,424 females.