RETURNED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3048, 9 April 1917, Page 6

RETURNED SOLDIERS

PENSIONS AND EMPLOYMENT. Replying to some points raised by a , deputation at Dunediiij Sir James Allen, Minister of Defence, said that the discharge of a soldier was purely a medical question. The only regulation in existence was that no soldier ought to bo left undischarged for longer than six months. Why did the lJepnrtment ask that the discharge should be as early as was fair? Because, in the iirst place, so long, as a man wore this uniform he was not able to do even light work. The best way to "get a man back to health was to remove' from him the feeling that he might have to go to the front again. Thatrwas one of the reasons ,for the enrly discharge. Tho other reason was that it was better for a man to be in light and partial employment as soon as possible, becauee if left to drift his position got on to his nerves. There were dozeus of known instanca3.-r-.fc which men .who were given considerate and light employment, in which they could lie down for a little if tired, had heen brought back to health. When a man was discharged as incapacitated in any way he had a right to a pension from the date of his discharge. The break occurred in this way: The Department gave a man three weeks' final leave, and he got in advance the whole of his pay for those three weeks. If he w.as sensible he kept this to cover the three weeks. If he was careless he spent it in the first week, and had nothing for the other two weeks. If the deputation wished to argue that it would be ter not to pay the men in advance he would carefully consider the matter, but he did not know whether the men would like it.

The Hon. J. T. Paul had said that there wae insufficient care on' the part of medical boards in passing men who were going into cainp. This was a -difficult problem, said Sir James Allen, but the information 'to hand showed that the practice in that respect in New Zealand was better than in the Old Country. It was practically impossible to prevent men being turned down in camp. ■' Men who were keen on going to < the front refused to disclose physical weaknesses that were known only to themselves, and they were not found out till revealed by the training. The Department did Jiofc want men turned down in camp. Such a thiug weakened the forces, compelled a greater number of men to be called up, and disorganised the plans. The Government were doing their best to avoid it. At the first he was blackguarded by people who said that the medical examination was too stiff. He did not agree with that,' and he only lowered the standard when the Imperial Government did so. Now, the examination had been stiffened, "and he was under the impression that it was made too severe, because the percentage of. men turned down was heavy. Anyway, the Department was now taking care that no man was sent who was not fit to stand the strain of '$■ campaign. If a. man made a false statement he was liable to prosecution. With regard to returned men and employment, it was well known that the Discharged Soldiers' Department was doing a-great deal for the men. Already hundreds of returned soldiers had been placed in employment through the medium of the Department. Provision had also been made for-train-ing men ill occupations that they were not accustomed to before the war,' but the difficulty was lo get a single soldier to take advantage of that provision. Men would not go to the State farms to learn farming; methods, nor would they accept the invitation of • the technical schools to learn a or a business free of charge to them. So anxious were the Government to ■ induce the men to adopt a healthy occupation that they had now under consideration—and would probably agree to it —a proposal that some ■ monetary assistance should be given io the men to learn a trade which would rexuru them something in addition to their pay or pension.