POST-WAR NEEDS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23003, 24 April 1940, Page 7

POST-WAR NEEDS

’ THB ELD IT OS 01. TEE PRESS. is a question which will concern 'Canterbury men who have IH, 01 , w , ill yet be enlisting, and wmch Canterbury people ought to be uotv.. It is the question, “What »ml Canterbury patriotic funds provi«e, m order to assist men, after their WW service, to return to civilian life?” “teps are being taken, through patrinSL- 3 ®? 118163 ’ *.° s bPPly the spiritual, pnyacal. material, and social needs of rta ' E u S durin S their war service. The wHircnes are endeavouring to provide *P?ntnal ministrations for the men; Sggare being raised by the Red Cross *° belp the sick and wounded; money is being given to proWQe creature comforts and social amenir® s ~ a n these during the period of we men’s active service. But the quesfEmains; “What of the needs of rrg*. their return from active J|Vice? ’ And it is a question which we ought to tackle now, and not leave distant and uncertain future. e / ; ast war and its aftermath should *f u Sht us the need and the wisthf 1 Providing, before the end of for the future needs of re!S®ed soldiers. The Canterbury Patriand the funds of the South '-anerbury Patriotic War Relief Sow®re contributed before the end t i, e war. For some years - art 8 i n .. close touch with the relief ~°f the South Canterbury society, 1s sa f e for me to say that its iums were expended and are still behi&i,f x * )e^'ded carefully, wisely and fhit 1 believe without any doubt l ame may be said of the CanPatriotic Fund. Let me repeat n J" i nes ®funds were given by patriPeople before the end of that war, of 9Jf ler e is' the abundant evidence ari£^Jw e cl soldiers and their dependmat those funds were required. +i,j ..Plosions- were inadequate for all of the returned men. npirt--* sion made now for post-war inp-tirJ. 3 ? give a stimulus to recruithavo . ha tever lofty motives men may nntoii? gnlisting. it is reasonable and enroll 6 v? s k that they should be influi considerations of what their denoS^P 18 . ® nd the prospects of their reniSf be w ben they will have from their service overseas, -ft ° w is the time to inaugurate the invitf^ a i re lmf funds. We should be dicing tragedy for returned men, and , s ape for ourselves who remain in

New Zealand, if we were to put off this inauguration; the future—the post-war period—will be too uncertain. The only certainty about that period is that it will be a desperately hard economic period. Now is the time, and Otago has already recognised the fact. Out of the patriotic funds which are, being subscribed in Otago for the manifold needs of soldiers, the Otago patriotic authorities are definitely setting aside and building up a fund which will be used for the rehabilitation of soldiers after their return from their war service; Will Christchurch, North Canterbury, and South Canterbury do likewise?— Yours, etc.. AR^ HUR H NO RRIS. Geraldine, April 17, 1940. Mr H S. Feast, secretary of the Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Fund, said yesterday when he saw this letter: The Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Fund realises its responsibility to provide for soldiers after the war ‘ and though the . state of the fund so far will not permit the setting aside of reserves for that purpose, it is hoped that donations _ from the public will increase it sufficiently to allow reserves to be set aside regul3 When the letter was referred to the Mayor of Timaru (Mr W. G. Tweedy) he said that such a fund as that advocated by the correspondent had already been set up on a national basis (the National Patriotic Fund).. The funds subscribed in Otago, to which Mr Norris referred, were part of the same scheme. There was a similar fund in Canterbury and money subscribed in South Canterbury was regarded as part of the fund in accordance with the national provisions of the scheme. The Mayor, who is chairman of the South Canterbury fund, added that after an appeal for Red Cross funds was made next month, more attention would be given to the local patriotic fund effort.