WAR BONUS

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 55, 2 September 1916, Page 9

WAR BONUS

TO THE EDITOR.' Sir, —Several letters have recently appeared in the' Evening Post on the above subject, but as these are not illuminative and do not touch the' principle involved, a few words to point out the incongruousness of the scheme of distribution will not, it is thought, be • considered by you out of place. It is now known that the respective proportions payable began to accrue as at Ist April, 1916, which means, in a word, that the work on account of which the payment is to be made has not yet been completed. If this is so, then topsy-turvy-dom is in evidence with a vengeance. If, on the other hand, the payment of the bonus is in recognition of work already completed up to 31st. March, 1916, then, in the name of commonsense, why were persons who were in the Service on the date specified not included as recipients of the Government bounty? War was declared in August, 1914, and up to. 31st March, 1916, would represent twenty months' work under war conditions—high cost of living and extra work; and it cannot be conceded that the work to be paid for in the shape of the bonus as from Ist April, 1916, will be more onerous than the work done during the twenty months referred to. There, surely,, must have been a complete lack of consideration of individual claims for participation in the bonus. It is a fact that several persons retired from the Service as at 31st March last on superannuation. In view of the work done by those persons between August, 1914, and March, 1916, they ought to have been allotted a portion of the £400,000. There is another feature presented in respect of these superannuated persons (who in some cases have stepped from affluence to comparative beggary), and it is this, that, whereas during the greater portion of the eight years of the superannuation scheme's. existence the contributions thereto were made when a sovereign was worth 205., The pension is paid in coin with a purchasing power of, say, 155.. This ought not to have been overlooked when the bonus scheme was promulgated, especially in view of the fact that there is not a member of the Civil Service who hasnot, after disbursing the cost of living, a margin of salary remaining. As it is manifest that an injustice has been done to superannuated members of the Civil Service retired as at 31st March last, it may suggest itself to you that the matter is of sufficient importance to warrant you in taking such action as will bring the true position under the notice of the proper authorities. —I am, EQUITY. 31st August.