CASES OF DISTRESS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 108, 9 May 1930, Page 10

CASES OF DISTRESS

AMONGST EX-SOLDIERS

INCAPACITY QUESTION

COMMISSION'S REPORT

The report of the Royal Commission appointed by the Government to. inquire into the position of physically and economically incapacitated ex-soldiers was released for publication to-day. Tlio Commission consisted of Mr. J. S. Barton, S.M. (chairman), Sir John Luke (Wellington), and Mr. S. J. Harrison (secretary of the New Zaland Returned Soldiers' Association).

.The Commission sat in four principal centres, and. also in Rotorua, and hoard 16G witnesses in all.

Replying seriatim to the questions raised in the order of reference, the Commission states that the average age of ex-service men who are not in a position adequately to maintain themselves and their dependants is probably somevbere between 38 and 45 years, but that there arc many both younger and considerably older than that average age. The question of age is stressed as being a material element in the problem of expecting or assisting them to adequately maintain themselves and their dependants. Those whose ages range about the. average referred to, says the .report, aro perhaps past the period of maximum adaptability and liable to experience more difficulty than the normal young man in finding and retaining employment. The circumstances of the men is referred to as ,iust about on but frequently below the "bread-and-butter line" strata of our society. At the least they suffer from having missed some' years of training and regular work during the war, and at the most they have these disqualifications plus some degree of physical infirmity. "The evidence satisfies us," says the report, "that the sympathetic interest of the community to the returned soldier is tending to ■wane, and until it is again stimulated and organised, cannot be relied upon by him as tending to offset his economic and industrial ■ shortcomings." The number of these persons is estimated by the Commission as about 5000.

ADEQUACY OF PENSIONS.

Boporting on the adequacy of pensions from the to New Zealand veterans o^f the Maori War, the Commission expresses the opinion that no case was made out in 'evidence in 6upport of the claim for an increase of the present amount of £49 per annum, and it las no recommendation to make.

In regard to veterans of the South African War, the* Commission recommends that Where a South African veteran is otherwise qualified for the old age pension his age should for pension purposes be increased by five years to Snake-him eligible at an actual age of fixty years. The pension provisions already made Sn respect to cases, of total disablement, are- deemed adequate.

The Commissioners state that, tak-. Ing all factors into account, the evidence justifies the statement■ made by many tvitnesses that as at present administered; the economic pension tends in many cases to become a premium on idleness, and does not encourage the taking iip of "work.

'"THE INHERENT WEAKNESS."

"In our opinion," says the report, "the inherent weakness of the system, ■briefly stated, may be said .to be. that since the work of the Repatriation Department ceased there has been no attempt to link up rehabilitation with the payment of'the economic pension. The factors on which eligibility^ for the pension are based are the eeoilomic factors of employment, earnings, and other income; but the operation of these factors inj individual lives has been left to the untrained, unguided, and haphazard methods of the pensioners themselves, with the possible exception of the benefit of registration as unemployed at the Labour Department bureaux. In the report of the Commission on which the Economic Pensions Act was enacted the following appears: 'Every effort should lie made to procure work for these men in. their own interests and in the interests of the State.' This portion of the recommendation has apparently been lost sight of, and, as we have attempted to state above,' that would seem to be the basic cause of most of the weakBosses and causes of dissatisfaction brought under our,notice..

THE REMEDY.

"The remedy is, in pur opinion, to link up the State's dutym the matter of pension with the State's duty in the matter of rehabilitation, including assistance in the matter of finding employment. Medical witnesses said with great unanimity that the class of men ■we are considering would be better off physically and mentally if they had work; that if the State could find them work, and take away the fear of unemployment, many who otherwise would want the economic pension all their lives will soon become self-supporting. Many men appeared before us as typical cases, and assured us that what they wanted was not the pension, but work; whilst .officials, of the Returned Soldiers' Association, the various patriotic societies, and the one-time rehabilitation officers all assured us that among a very large body of the men there was a Strong desire to know the security of life and the self-respect that can be associated only with steady work, and they assured us that the men would welcome any. scheme that would give them not a 'dole,' but work. We arc conyinced that this is a correct statement of. the case of very many of these men, and our suggested remedy is that the assessing of tho economic disability of wen- and tho granting of a pension Should be linked up, firstly in policy, and secondly by actual organisation With the duty of training men. for work pnd finding work for them."

BIGHT TO ECONOMIC PENSION.

The Commission, submits that the Soldiers' Civil Be-Establishment league, the formation of which is suggested in another part of the report, would know the men who are subjects _cf the present problem, and that in -; ; the case of men in the class of 50 per cent, disability or over the league's officers would recommend them for the full economic pension as men who wore unemployable and quite unable to support themselves. As to others, their cases as potential pensioners would be considered by the league, whose officers, knowing the men's capabilities, would be able to take into account the various economic factors, .and their policy ■would bo to reduce the need for pension by increasing the economic and earning factors in each man's life. The Commission therefore recommends that as a general principle the finding and recommendation of the appropriate committee of the league should fix a man's right to economic pension.

MENTAL OASES,

It is further recommended that the remedy in respect to mental cases be left to the discretion of the league, a discretion to be exercised in the- light of the circumstances in each individual case, and including the right to divert the money to the War Funds Council •where a mental patient dies without (dependants. • As in the case of veterans of the gbuth African "War, the Commission recommends that the ago limit for eligibility for-the old age- pension in. thß

case of New Zealand ex-soldiers who served in the Great War should be 60 years and not Co years. "The AVar Pensions Board appears to have established a policy," says the report, "of declining application for pension by a wife in this class if the marriage was contracted (1) in Now Zealand, over two years after tho discharge of the member of the Forces, and if the member is in receipt of his war pension for any serious or progressive disability; or (2) after the expiration of, say, five years from the exsoldier's discharge. Your Commissioners strongly recommend that the time-limit in all such cases be abolished. We suggest that if the War Pensions Board is satisfied by inquiry that a marriage was contracted (a) when tho soldier was in a reasonable state of health, and (b) with the intention and with reasonable prospect of tho parties living together as husband and wife, the ease is a proper one for a pension. We are- of opinion that application of the two considerations suggested by us will effectively block improvident and mercenary marriages designed to securo pension benefits. We recommend further that on such applications being rufussd the applicant should have a right of appeal fo the War Pensions Appeal Board. A similar recommendation is made in respect to war widows —that all restrictions as to the dale of the marriage should be abolished. IMPERIAL PENSIONS. '

In the matter of Imperial pensions, it is recommended that, the Government confer with the Imperial authorities in regard to harsh treatment which, according to evidence submitted to the Commission, results from the application of tho Imperial war pensions legislation to Imperial ex-soldiers in New Zealand, many of whom represent a growing charge on the New Zealand war funds and patriotic funds. In reply to the question as to the adequacy of existing statutory facilities for enabling returned soldiers to go on the land, tho Commission states that with the exception of South African veterans and ex-service men from overseas, who are excluded from the benefits of the Discharged Soldiers Settlements Acts, the facilities provide sufficient openings. In the case of the excluded men, it is recommended that the benefits of the Act lje extended for the benefit of approved cases. The establishment of men in business occupations should bo placed as soon as possible in the hands of the Re-cstablish-nient League.

TO MEET SPECIAL CASES.

The Commission recommends that there should come within the scope of war pensions only those who are at present within the benefits of the War Pensions Act, with one exception. Tin; exception is to meet the cases of certain New Zealanders wlio, chiefly as the result of their own zual in tho service of their country, enlisted in circumstances that, excluded them from all benefit of our pension statutes. A case in point is the New Zealandcr who was temporarily iv England when war broke out and enlisted in the Imperial forces. . In such cases, the Commission strongly recommends that they bo mot by allowing tho Minister discretion to grant them the privileges of the Pensions Acts, on receiving a recommendation from the Ec-establishment League.