Radium and X-ray appeal launched

We publish in this issue an appeal by members of the honorary medical staff of the Dunedin Hospital for funds for the extension of the equipment in the radium and X-ray department of that institution. The account given of what the staff has been able to accomplish on behalf of patients through the use of radium and the X-rays furnishes conclusive evidence of the great value which the equipment so far available has possessed. It was public sympathy and generosity which supplied this in the first instance, and the public is now asked to again show its practical interest in the hospital and in the cause of humanity. In the appeal by the doctors the present position is set forth very clearly. It is vitally important that the Dunedin Hospital, the efficiency of which is largely bound up with that of the Otago Medical School, should be able to supply the sick and suffering with the best and most modern treatment.

Cargo pillaging rife

There is probably no better reason to offer for the thieving which is at present going on all over the world than that it is an aftermath of the war. The cargo that is shipped to New Zealand is only a very small part of the world’s turnover, and yet the amount that is pillaged — before it reaches the boat, on the boat, or while it is being landed, must in the aggregate represent a considerable sum. And, as stated, New Zealand is only a small spot in the world. A Dunedin merchant states that within the last two months goods for him to the value of £463 have been stolen. Some of the articles pillaged are as follows: 120 lb of almonds, one case of sardines, two cases of pineapple, one case of schnapps, half a dozen tins of Clever Mary, four cases of whisky out of 150 cases, 10 tins of peas, 14 bottles of bitters, 10 tins of honey, etc.

Huge fire in Oamaru

Oamaru: One of the largest fires ever seen in Oamaru, and certainly one of the most destructive in merchandise difficult to replace, occurred at three o’clock on Saturday morning, when the North Otago Farmers Cooperative Association’s fine addition in stone was completely gutted. The premises destroyed consisted of three floors each 97 by 75 ft, and contained a great quantity of hardware and grocery reserve stocks, besides farm implements and saddlery, tools of all kinds and a large quantity of paints, oils and varnishes.

— ODT, 6.9.1920.