CHARGES FOR BOARDING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25364, 23 October 1943, Page 6

CHARGES FOR BOARDING

Sir,—l would ask the voice crying out in the wilderness why a charge of 30s to 36s per week for boarders Is extortionate in view of the acknowledgment that prices in foodstuffs, etc., are soaring. We all have to live in accordance with the age we live in. With that I may say that a certain few open our homes and give hospitality to students and other boarders blindly and ignorant of the fact that they replace the already sufficient electric light globe installed with not one, but two. powerful bulbs or globe* and also that they make unlimited use of electric heaters in rooms, and that there is no restriction on the comings and goings and wear and tear of everyday life, involving replacements that cost more than before the war, when moderate board could be had for a few shillings less. To a proud woman, who likes to see her windows giving an air of respectability to her residence, it is very annoying to have them pinned back to the wall with a medical instrument whereby a hole is made. One would expect only a thoughtless person to do that sort of thing. I would advise the voices crying out in the wilderness, and the future teachers of young New Zealand, not to preach all they practice. A reference thev other day to the long hours a student had to work, even to 3 and 4 a.m., shows further that by the excessive use of electricity it costs more to house him than in the case .of the average boarder. The poor householder does not cry out in the wilderness. In most cases she says nothing. I would, however, advise the four students to exercise a little discretion instead of complaining, and as discretion mostly comes with age, they have *till time to learn. —I am., etc., Mrs Trustfnl. Dunedin, October 21.