CHRISTMAS CHEER DONATION

Taranaki Daily News, 19 October 1927, Page 10

CHRISTMAS CHEER DONATION

NO STATE SUBSIDY ALLOWED. While deploring the lack of incentive for tlie public to make voluntary subscript ions to hospitals, and urging the hospital boards to encourage donations as far as possible, Dr. T. H. A. Valentine, Director-General of Health, has forwarded a circular letter to all hospital boards with a view to making it perfectly clear that there will be no subsidies paid on donations for extras for the patients at Christinas time. There appeared to be some doubt on the subject. he says. The letter, which was the outcome of a communication from the Otago Hospital Board on the subject, added that it would readily be understood that Government money should not be available for purposes for which ratepayers’ money would not be available. Generally speaking the rule to be observed was that the. public funds should be used only for th.? purpose of providing the necessary medical and nursing attention, and adequate and' appropriate diet for the patients. There were other avenues for expenditure, however, such as gramophones. wireless and Christmas cheer, the objects of which were quite admirable, if not essential, and might well be the subject of an appeal to the public for voluntary contributions. In such cases there should be an incentive to the public to subscribe when it was known that the expenditure could not otherwise be incurred. Such an incentive was generally lacking in appeals to the public, who considered that there was no reason to give as the money would be forthcoming in any event out of levy and subsidy.

Voluntary contributions formed a very small proportion of a board's revenue nowadays, and far from agreeing that the public would not subscribe if no subsidy was forthcoming. Dr, Valentine considered that the reason the public did not'give more in voluntary contributions was that hospital finance was assured by other means. He thought, therefore, that if an appeal were made to the public for funds for Christmas cheer they would -find that there would be a ready response.