FOURTEEN YEARS' WORK

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 25, 30 January 1930, Page 9

FOURTEEN YEARS' WORK

ASSOCIATION'S ACTIVITIES

Inaugurated by "Gazette" notice on the 2nd December, 1915, the War Eelief Association of "Wellington has now completed tho fourteenth year of its activities in the interests of soldiers and their dependents, and its annual report gives some indication of tho enormous amount of work transacted.

During tho past year tho Finance Committee dealt with 140 applications £or loins, the total sum involved being £12,877 I2s 2d. Fifty-six of tho 140 were new claims and 84 were revisions of applications previously dealt with. Kince the inception of the association, the committee has advanced loans totalling' £20,354 15s 3d.' Of this £23,842 #s 7d has been repaid, while the balance -vitstanding, nearly all of which is rcnayable during the years 1930, 1931, and 1932, amounts to £5012 9s Bd.

"The major portion of tho outstanding advances is covered by various forms of security," states tho report, "but the committee realises that some loss is of course* unavoidable, most of the loans having been made to disabled men who have little or no real security to offer, and many of whom may at any moment be deprived of, or become unable to earn a livelihood; nevertheless tho fact that the percentage repayable and actually collected during the term of repayment covered by the period ended 31st December, 1929, amounts to 71 per cent*, speaks very highly for the probity of our soldiers as a whole, although there certainly have been cases where, as stated on former occasions, neither gratitude uor a desire to repay were- shown."

Large numbers of tho applications submitted to the association are of an urgent nature. In order that immediate assistance may be given, the Emergency Committee meet daily on behalf ,of the Applications Committee, and usually bi-woekly on behalf of the Financo Committee. During 1929 there were 247 meeting of the Emergency Applications Committee, and 79 of the Emergency Finance Committee, when 926 and 114 cases respectively were finalised within 24 hours of their receipt. All these claims were afterwards referred to the main Applications Committee, and the maiu Finance Commitcc respectively and duly confirmed by them. The Applications Committee —with tho exception of "loan" cases—has to ultimately deal with every claim submitted to the association; for this purpose 48 meetings have been held during the year, when out of tho 2226 applications received 2169 cases were disposed of. Thus including the 140 cases dealt with by the Finance Committee the total number of claims received by the association during the .year under review was '2406.

VARIED ASSISTANCE,

' Provided that actual evidence of war disability is disclosed or that it is reasonable with or without a medical board to presumo such disability no application is excluded from consideration: There was considerable diversity in the nature of the requests made for assistance. Some resulted in our obtaining for applicants a supplementation of pensions, others embodied maternity and funeral expenses; grants for assistance to proceed to employment; tho provision of board and lodging; of clothing; the release of liabilities of many different descriptions, and in other directions. ■

Since the committee held its first meeting it has dealt with 37,537 applications, whilst its official flies now number 11,472 or nearly 12 per cent, of the total membership of the Nejy

Zealand Expeditionary Force,

. Tho nutaberjof persons who called at the offices of the association during the year under review was 3293, of these 2179 applied for direct assistance, whilst the remainder were in search of information or advice. Fifty thousand two hundred and four have been interviewed by the association during the fourteen yoars of its existence; and including circulars, orders on tradesmen, etc., 51,881 letters have been written en behalf of our soldiers and their dependents.

The total direct contributions since incoption. to the 31st December, 1929, amount to £101,031 IBs 7d, and adding to this figure life and annual members' subscriptions £649; refunds by applicants and by other societios, £45,671 10s 7d; interest, £27,232 2a Id, together with the sum of £5689 12s 7d received from war accounts and records, and representing deceased soldiers' war gratuities, retrospective marriage allowances, etc., paid to tho association for expenditure on behalf of the dependents concerned, the total funds are "shown as at 31st December, 1929, to be £180,274 Is 10a. The total outgoings as at the 31st December, 1929, including secured loans £29,354 15s 3d, amount to £180,534 15s 7d (exclusive of depreciation on office furniture and reserve account for irrecoverable loans). The balance brought forward as at the 31st December, 1928, less reserve account for irrecoverable loans (£1382 12s Cd) amounted to £30,476 6s. If to this be added interest £1220 12s Bd, refunds by other societies £2711 7s 3d, and repayments by applicants £307 10s 6d, the total is £34,715 16s sd, and this less the expenditure, £7545 7s Id (excluding loans), leaves a credit to the accumulated funds us at 31st Deaembor, 1929, ;of £27,170 9a 4d, including the total loans outstanding.

The report accords thanks to other societies throughout the Dominion for their assistance in dealing with men for whom the association is responsible; to the honorary officers, and to the Press.

The annual meeting will bo held on19th February. Tho following senior members of the executive committee retired from office at the end of December: Messrs. L. O. H. Tripp, C. M. Luke, A. M'lntpsh, C. Watson, and D. M'Laron, all of whom have been nominated for re-election,