The Dominion TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1917. HELPING RETURNED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3132, 10 July 1917, Page 4

The Dominion TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1917. HELPING RETURNED SOLDIERS

■ A PAKTiQWLAitLY creditable record ot useful, public service is disclosed in the memorandum on the organisation and operations of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department, which was presented to tho House of .Representatives a clay or two ago by tho Hon. A. L Hekdman. It should be recognised that Ma. v Hbkdman aucl the voluntary fetaff over which he presides in this Department are doing work which merits the active interest and sympathy of every man and woman in tho Dominion. There is/no need to emphasise tho obligation of the. State to tho soldiers who return from the war to' resume their interrupted civil life., The existence of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department is due to a recognition that this obligation is only partly niet when men more or less broken in body and health have been as far as passible restored toy medical arid surgical treatment, and tho disabled have been granted pensions. The duty remains of restor-ing-tho' returned soldiers to civil life under tho conditions most likely to secure their own welfare and thcfintercsts of the community. This is the work allotted to the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department, and the record of its operations since lit was established in August, 1915, supplies clear proof that the work'is being done remarkably well. It is a very gratifying fact, and one in which tho beneficent work of the Department is epitomised, that of more than nine' thousand soldiers who have returned to tho Dominion during tho last two years not one has been neglected and left without proffer of assistance to recover as uest he could the place in , civil life- he vacated to servo his country in the field. Under the efficient organisation devised by Me. W. B. Hudson, of tho Government Life Insurance Department, all returned soldiers arc interviewed on and the Department is in a position to satisfactorily account for every man with the exception of a comparatively small minority who have failed to respond to repeated advances, and presumably stand in no need of assistance. On June 21 this year' tho records of the, Department showed that the cases of 7398 men had been finally disposed of, 1080 cases were shown, to bV "under action," and the names of 692 men, including a number who returned by recent transports, were entered as "not ready for action. Men in this latter class are still under the care of either tho Public Health Department or tho Defence Department. The valuable nature of the services rendered by the Department appears in a brief analysis of the general statistics just quoted. . Naturally, many of the men who return stand in no need of assistance. Of the 7298 men whose cases had been disposed of on June 21, more than 3000 had work to return to, or had re-enlisted or returned to military duty, and 1659 signed a statement that they required no assistance. But the Department actually obtained employment for 1573 men, more than twenty per cent, of those whoso cases had been, dealt with at tho date 'of tho return. Tho only unsatisfactory feature is that some hundreds of men have by their own neglect defeated tho good intentions of'tho. Department. These exceptions, fortunately, • only emphasise tho general and increasing tendency on the part of returned soldiers and their friends to avail themselves of the facilities afforded by the Department. ' ■ / As a whole the figures show clearlv that the Discharged Soldiers Information Department under Mr. Herman's administration is alroadv performing a most valuable service in enabling returned soldiers to return to civil life under the best possible conditions. What has been accomplished warrants a behct that the Department will not*-be found wanting when the time comes to deal with the problem of demobilisation in its full scope. A commendable feature of Mn. Herman's recent memorandum to Parliament is his frank recognition that although the Department is now working very ci-

licienlly, it is impossible meantime to lay down any hard-and-fast procedure to be followed as its operations broaden. "I recognise," he remarked in one passage, "that we in New Zealand, in common with all countries affected by this terrible w&v, are in our degree face to face with new and grave problems. We are treading an unknown road without precedent to guide us, and I welcome suggestions and criticisms having for their object , the benefit of the men who have- made sacrifices in the service of the country, and to whom we all owe so great a debt of gratitude." To an extent, the problem of demobilisation will be lightened, as com pared with that which now engages tho attention of the Department, by the fact that a very large proportion' of the men who return at the end of the , war will do so in sound health and physical condition. At best, however, tho problem will be of serious di- ! mensions, and will afford unlimited scope for skilled and tactful treatment. In meeting the, conditions of the demobilisation period, Mr. Herdman and his Department will necessarily have to depend very .largely upon expert advice, but there is one way in which the general community can render substantial help. The Department already obtains valuable co-operation from local committees (ordinarily subcommittees of patriotic societies), which are now established in 39 centres of the Dominion. Similar committees fill dn important place in the organisation for the restoration of soldiers to civil life in Great Britain. The excellent work of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department would undoubtedly be facilitated by tho establishment of local' committees in all parts of the Dominion. If these committees were of representative character— they should certainly include representatives of local bodies—and were set up on a common basis, thoy would at once usefully extend the organisation of tho Department, and enable it to keep readily and continuously in touch with public opinion.