PAYMENT DELAYED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20254, 23 May 1940, Page 14

PAYMENT DELAYED

WIVES OF SOLDIERS AUCKLAND COMPLAINTS PROMISE OF INQUIRY (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. An assurance that any cases reported to the military authorities of delay in the payment of marriage allowances to wives of soldiers would be investigated and remedied immediately was given by the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, in an interview last evening. The statement was made when his attention was drawn to an Auckland report stating, that constant complaints , were being received there from wives unable to obtain marriage allotment payments. Mr. Jones said there had been some complaints regarding the payment of the marriage allotment to the wives of men in the First Echelon. Some of these were due to the fact that the soldiers and wives concerned had not known the proper procedure, that forms had not been correctly filled in and the necessity for verifying the contents. In other cases the required information had not been supplied and in some cases it was not correct. Delays in making payment were inevitable in such cases. As far as the Second Echelon was concerned very few complaints I'd been received. Immediately particulars of any specific case had been receiv 'd by the Army Department or himself steps were taken to rectify the position. If anybody knew of a case i f a person entitled to an allotment foiling to receive it on the due date they should get into touch with the officer commanding the district or Army Headquarters immediately, f e matter would be remedied. A rmoral statement that there were delays was of no help whatever.