WAR'S AFTERMATH

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 37, 12 August 1920, Page 8

WAR'S AFTERMATH

CLAIMS BY SOLDIERS

PATRIOTIC FUNDS VANISHING

LAST YEAR'S BIG EXPENDITURE.

A highly-important statement regarding the demands now being made by returned soldiers and their dependents upon the funds of the Patriotic Societies was made by Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp, chairman, at the meeting of the Advisory Board of the Patriotic Societies today. Mi". Tripp said that now when practically all the men had been back for more than a year, it would: be of advantage if the different societies administering fnnds in aid of disabled soldiers arid their de pendents exchanged experiences. As far as the Wellington society was concern, ed, its experience was that it had never been so busy. The cases were moro difficult to deal'with, and their expenditure during the past year had been particularly heavy. The same probably had been the experience of every other society. The War Funds Office had supplied him with figures which supported what his stated. During the twelve months which expired on 31st March, 1920, £368,468 was spent on giving war relief by Patriotic Societies, as against a total expenditure up to 31st March, 1919, on the same heads of £001,83fe. This showed that last year they spent more than during the. whole of the previous years in administering relief. A MISTAKEN IMPRESSION. The Wellington Society, he said, dealt with every case on its merits, and wa« trying to make up the monetary loss which the coldier had suffered through his own service; the society's scheme was working on the whole satisfactorily, i and it had been a privilege to deal with 'the disabled soldiers because they found them to be a particularly fine body of men ; on the whole cheerful, in spite of their wounds, and determined to help themselves. The society practicaUy never paid cash, but assisted the soldier in other ways in which he required assistance, and it, found this a good rule to adopt. Some of the societies seemed to be under the impression that because they had considerable sums and few claims they could wind up their funds by distributing them generally among soldiers. The original appeal made for funds in 1915 was on behalf of the wounded and men who were incapacitated as'the result of war service. That \ibs "• the cry throughout the country, and he contended that if any district at any time found that it had no claims on its funds it then became its duty to help some other society in New Zealand. The money was subscribed for wounded soldiers, and the objects of the trust must be carried out. The work of the societies to-day was first.of all to help their own men, and then, later oil, if they found they had more money than they required, they should agree to help any other society in any part of New Zealand. THE PROBLEMS TO BE FACED. To show the claims they were likely to havei made upon them, he produced a statement showing that on 31st March last thei total number of pensions being paid in New Zealand was 38,336. ' At that time there were over 1000 men still in hospital, and as many of those men had not then come before the Pensions Board, he thought they could roughly estimate the number of war pensions now being paid at 40,000. Roughly, there were 3000 of these pensioners suffering permanent disability of over 20 per cent., but this did not include the tuberculosis cases, which were examined annually, and were given temporary pensions. On 31st March last there were actually 23,144 men on temporary pensioa-s. Of that number it must be considered that a considerable proportion would become a permanent charge on the State in future. Then there was another class—men who were discharged as fit, and broke down as the result of then- war service in the future years. The Wellington Society had come across such cases, men who had been discharged three or four years, had married, and started on their own in business, who had broken down. If it was not for the War Relief Societies in many of thesEi cases the men would be practically ruined. They were faced with the fact that they would have to find a considerable amount of money for sick men. The War Relief Societies now had a total of about £1,000,000 in funds. He considered that every penny of this would be wanted. SUGGESTED CONFERENCE. He suggested that there should be a conference between representatives of the War Funds Council, V.M.C.A., Salvation Army, ]Red Cross, and Patriotic Societies, with a view to seeing whether they should set aside sums for the benefit of disabled men and others who broke down subsequently He suggested that such a fund should consist of the £30,000 at present held by the War Funds Council, .portion of the V.M.C.A. total of £64,000, and portion of the Salvation Army total of £26,000: He thought the Red Cross should relieve the V.M.C.A. and Salvation Army of the work now being done by those bodies in the camps. He urged that representatives of the Patriotic Societies should be placed on the War Funds Council, and that these funds should be invested, and at a later date should be used to help any society in New Zealand vrhicb was in want of funds. He thought it was only right to acknowledge the splendid work that had been done by Mr. George Davis, officer in charge of the War Funds Office, and his staff, in regard to war funds, and said he was aware that the War Funds Office had already been the means of conserving certain funds for the benefit of disabled men. Mr. Tripp also referred to the resolutions passed at the recent Palmerston North Conference, especially to that urging that societies which found they had a surplus for discharging relief should help other societies. He understood, for instance, that Reefton had many claims on its furi3s, which were now nearly depleted. Ho thought it was their duty, if necessary, to assist Reefton, which was not a rich district and had supplied a large number of men.