A SOLDIERS' CLUB

Otago Witness, Issue 3430, 9 December 1919, Page 22

A SOLDIERS' CLUB

! STREET COLLECTION ON SATURDAY, ; SUM OF £403 REALISED. 1 The "diggers'" of Diuiedin converted their rifles into collecting boxes on Saturday, and thus armed they sallied forth O'l _ a campaign to the fund which is to 'be devoted to the erection of a -soldiers' club- in the city. The weather conditions proved eminently suitable for their operations, and throughout the morning there was heard up and down the streets the rattle, not of machine guns, but of silver coins striking on a wooden surface. Genially and persuasively the soldiers preferred their requests for assistance, in the practical form of hard cash, and few and far between were the instances in which their appeal failed to be rewarded ■- by the click of a coin, small or large, dropping into the box. So numerous and so enthusiastic were the collectors that the passers-by had no chance of escape, and from an early hour till late in the day the soldiers took a heavy toll from large numbers of willing contributors. It was a sort of final, rally to achieve a definite objective, and the men were obviously out to make the most of their opportunity. An art union, to be drawn on December 15, is being conducted in connection with the raising of the building fund, and tickets giving the purchaser a chance of becoming the owner of a number of alluring articles found a ready sale. Mr R-. S. Black presented 1000 copies of a new song entitled " to the men, and these were freely disposed of, prac-* tically the whole number being sold out during the day. A few members of the Otago Women's Patriotic Association lent valuable assistance to the effort by selling art union tickets, baskets, curios, and other articles, thus augmenting the day's takings to an appreciable extent. In the afternoon n. small procession consisting of returned soldiers mounted on lorries, several of the well-known Hillside banners, and the six city bands formed up at the Triangle, and proceeded to the Botanic Garden;, which presented an exceedingly attractive appearance in their riot of summer colours. A fairly large number of people followed the procession to the Gardens, where selections were played by six- bands in turn —the two bands of the 4th (Otago) Regiment, the Kaikorai, St. Kilda, Salvation Army, and Pipe Bands. Here the boxes of the uniformed collectors soon became very increasingly heavy, and the art union tickets sold "like hot cakes," everyone apparently being quite willing to do something to help the men to attain their heart's desire. The service performed by the bands was of the greatest assistance, and the Returned Soldiers' Association is extremely grateful for the help which they so readily contributed. The result of the day's effort must be re'j pardeVl as highly satisfactory, the sum of £4OO being realised.