CLUBHOUSE FIRST

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 87, 12 April 1923, Page 4

CLUBHOUSE FIRST

THEN A MONUMENT

WAR MEMORIAL CONTROVERSY

RETURNED MEN'S OPINION.

The feeling of returned soldiers upon a proposal that a manorial club for returned soldiers should be established in Wellington as the city's war memorial, in preference to the proposed monument in Manners street was tested at a meeting convened at the Town Hall last evening by Mr. A. P. Whatman, of Mastertou. There were over 700 persons present, and opinion was sharply divided.

Colonel T. W. M'Donald, who presided, spoke of the strenuous advocacy of Mr. Whatman for the welfare of the returned men, and remarked that, in making his proposal, he was in no way antagonistic to the Memorial Committee and its work.

Mr. Whatman., who was received with applause,, said ho wished to submit to them three proposals—the erection of a war memorial in the form of a club for returned men, a cenotaph or monument, or a combination of the two. He considered that of the three proposals the club should take prior claim, and that any further moneys should then be expended upon a monument. If the Memorial Committee would join forces to the soldiers on those terms he felt sure they would work wholeheartedly and harmoniously together. Of all things they should avoid a conflict with the Memorial Committee. A sum of £35,000 would he required for the building a new club. He thought he could say on behalf of the men that they did not want a cenotaph to have' preferential claim to a club. He referred to tfte statue of Queen Victoria, in Cambridge terrace as an instance of the ineffectiveness of a statue as a suitable memorial. The returned men appreciated the intention of the War Memorial Committee, but they did not agree with the direction in which it was proposed to spend the money. This was the last opportunity the returned men would have to voice their opinion, and it was for them to raise their -voices and express their desires, which must be respected. The other large towns in the Dominion had provided clubs for their returned men as a first measure, a fact that Mr. Firth had overlooked. The question was whether Wellington was to remain a standing disgrace for all time, to be ridiculed by tlio other centres. Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin had raised money for clubs, and after having- provided accommodation for the returned men they were turning their efforts towards erecting other forms of war memorials. The present Wellington Clubhouse was like a morgue; its interior was dismal and foi'hidding. (Laughter.) It was an insult to the dead, and the living, and to every returned soldier who visited. Wellington from other parte. (Applause.) He left it to them to decide what was to be done, but he urged them to "kick out," and make their wishes known to the War. Memorial Committee. At present the.committee was doing exactly the opposite to what other districts had done m providing war memorials, but he was sure the members would recognise the claims of the returned men./ * ....■ ■.

■ >Mis ? ,LjJy;;B:utler, C.B.E.^OiW&Mother of ths corner of Blighty" hi Paris; spoke feelingly of the sacrifices made by tha soldiers in the war, and upheld,the project of erecting a memorial, of practical use to exrsoldiers.; It was her experience . during the war that where there were no' clubs: for- the troops,, the "diggers'.' were "rough. "The most eloquent testimony she could pay to the necessity for a decent club wasl that, in the other towns she had visited she had been accorded civic receptions in well-equipped and attractively-appoipted soldiers' clubs. In Wellington she had never been invited to a reception at the soldiers' club,_ and the Mayor had received her. in his own room. She urged them to stick together as they did in the war, and show the people that where they raised their voices their opinions were to be respected. (Applause.) The president of the Returned Soldiers' Association (Mr. W. Perry) alluded to Mr. Whatman as the man of all m«n in New Zealand who' had done most to assist the soldier, both during and after the war. He pointed out that since the war ended the war enthusiasm had died down, and it: had .become increasingly difficult to arouse public interest in the returned men. It-was, therefore, all the more credit to Mr. Whatman that he had been responsible for the present fine clubhouse in Masterton.

Mr. Perry moved:—That this meeting- respectively requests the Wellington War Memorial Committee to reconsider its plans and to enlarge its scheme eo that provision may be made in the fund which it is proposed to raiae: (1) For the building of a memorial club for the service men on the site of the present soldiers' club at a- cost of "not less than £35,000; (2) for the .erection of a monument or cenotaph at the Courtenay place site, provided that the memorial club sha'll have priority in' every respect, and that no steps shall be taken towards the erection, of a monument until the i"lI amount for the memorial club shall have boen raised. . Speaking to the motion, he said that in four and a half years since the Auniiawiv nO memol"'al had been erected in Wellington, while suitable memorials had been provided m nearly every other town and village in the Dominion. The Memorial Committee deserved the thanks and congratulations of the citizens on. what, it had already do'.ie, but why not combine the utilitarian and aesthetic tastes and do the same as Auckland and Christnhurcb had done in providing a club for ex-soldiers? If the motion were carried ho hoped the War Memorial Committee Vould receive it and respect the men's wishes, but they wished to avoid a clash with the citizens., Mr. A. Fair: "It can't be avoided, on your!motion." The speaker said he thought it could be avoided. The motion merely aslred for a reconsideration of the scheme. Tt. was clearly a case in 'which two schools -of thought existed, and he thought they should be able to get together and do something really worthy of the sacrifices that had been made in the war. It might be argued 'that the life of a club would be limited, and that in fifty years' time all the returned men would be dead. A voice: "Rat." Mr. Perry referred to the eligibility I of soldiers' sons i,o patronise tha club. and ho also referred light-heartedly to the grandsons. There was also the'pos. ability.of further wars. The Rev. Mr. Catherwood. in. seconding the motion, made an. appeal in the name of humanity, if ;t was only for those men who had been maimed in service, in favour of expending the money^ on a club. The soldiers' club had llw prior claim to a. monument. He concluded by mentioning .that Mr. Whatman had offered to donate £1000 towards the fund for a new club. (-Applause.) Mr. G. Mitchell moved as an amendment-; "That tin's meeting has every sympathy with the desire for :>. club, and will ueo every effort to have a, worthv building erected on tlip, present, ujut m w'Hv'i'Ki 1 '1-' vvit'"' V"" tci'n>B tit uur base, n.i:d trusts ihat Mr. Whatman 1!

generosity and help will be available: but m the meantime it congratulates the executive upon talcing the initial ntsps to carry out the repeatedly expressed policy of the association to have a memorial erected in Wellington, and expresses a wish that tho efforts of the Citizens 1 Committee will be crowned with success."

The .chairman said he could upt accept the amendment, as it was a, direct negative of the motion. (Applause.) Speaking to the motion. Mr. Mitchell said that the policy of the B.S.A. v?heu he was president vr a3 t 0 have a cenotach or suitable monument erected. The association was" unsuccessful in carrying out the object, but he maintained that tho instructions to the* committee still remained as the wishes of the soldier*. There was no desire to flout the War Memorial Committee, and as a m-ember of the committee he could say that/they ■would be willing to discuss the situation with a delegation from the returned men. The committee was carrying out the expressed -wishes of the men, and he protested it would be unfair for them to put a bombshell in their camp by passing the motion before the meeting. "If you carry this motion,' 1 he said, "you are going to put us off-jide with the people." (Applause.) Mr. 'Whatman remarked that if, it came to a straight-out vote thiee-fourth* of the returned men would support th» demolition of the present club buildings and the erection of an up-to-date club in its place.

Mr. Mitchell interjected that it was at a meeting of returned soldiers that tho executive of the association had received its instructions.

After_ Messrs. C. A. L. Treadwell and A. B. Sievwright had expressed the views of the "two different schools of thought," Mr. Perry said Mr. Mitchell was wrong when he said the policy of the association was the erection of a memorial in the'form of & monument or obelisk. It certainly was the idea of the association to erect a cenotaph, but it was never suggested that it should be the war memorial of the citizens of Wellington. Mr. A. Fair said that never at the meeting of the association committee had anything but a cenotaph been contemplated. The motion meant that if no more than £35,000 was raised for the memorial not one penny would be spent on a soldiers' memorial.

Mr. W. Hardham, V.C., said he approved of the desire of the pnblic to provide a memorial for those that had fallen, but personally he would not be a party to an appeal to the public to provide him with something with which to enjoy his leisure time at the cost of the lives of those who had fallen.

After further discussion, the motion was carried on the voices, but there was a, largo number of dissentients.